The Twelve Year Old Thief

The Twelve Year Old Thief (7)

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I sat down at the kitchen table with the elderly lady.  I began to tell her about my adventure, starting with who I was.

“Well, my name’s Anna and I-“

“Anna Preston?  From Marigold Way?” she interrupted.

“Yeah, how’d you kn-“

“Anna, honey, you have know idea how worried your parents have been!” the elderly woman intermitted once again.  “They’ve been searching for you every day and night!” 

Really?  They’ve been looking for me?  I wiped away a tear on my cheek I didn’t realize was there.  Staring down at my palms, try to unearth answers, I asked, “They’ve been trying to find me all this time?”

She seemed shocked at my question, but immediately answered.  “Of course!  They haven’t stopped ever since you didn’t come home from school that afternoon.”

I almost forgot that I wasn’t the only one who lost family.  My parents must have been so troubled.  They were probably in an even worse state than I was- and I was the one kidnapped.

“Oh, that reminds me!  They’ll probably be back to ask around in the morning.  Anna, dear, you must-“

“What’s going on down here, Lauren?” asked a male voice.  There was loud padding as a man came down the staircase and around into the kitchen.  “Who are-“ he immediately stopped as he saw me.  “Anna? From the picture in that ad Mr. Preston gave us?”  He broke out into a smile.  “You have no idea how worried everyone’s been.  Where were you all that time?  Were you hurt?  How did-“

“Please, Bill, don’t scare her with your twenty questions!”  she scolded, but amusement was clear in her eyes.

“That’s ok, ma’am,” I assured her.  “You have every right to know.  It’s quite complicated, though.  It might take a while to explain.”

“Anna, we have all the time in the world for you,” the lady promised.

“Okay then, it all started one evening in detention for not doing my science homework. . .”

--

I had explained the whole situation of how I had gotten where I was, what the men were doing, and how I escaped.  I decided they might want to know some details, since they were legally allowed to sue.  It could come in handy if we went to court.

“. . .So far, they’ve printed about twenty eight thousand dollars.  I think there are around seventy people involved, so currently they each have four hundred dollars.  I also overheard they were each promised at least five hundred dollars.  Plus, Robert expects to make over a dozen thousand.  Do you think they’ll make fifty thousand dollars before they are caught?”  Honestly, I mainly wasn’t worried about my welfare.  I mean, I’m fine-maybe a little used, but overall I’m okay.  I was more concerned with the fact that they might get away with what they’re doing if I didn’t tell anyone.

“ I’m sure they’ll be caught sooner or later, Anna.  The good news is that you’re okay,” the old man told me.

“I hope you’re right,” I replied.

“Sweetie, why don’t I make up a bed for you to sleep in tonight?”

“No thanks, ma’am, I would rather just sleep on the couch if I could.”

There was banging on the door.  Everyone turned towards the chair shoved under the doorknob. 

“Who’s that?” the man asked, inching closer to the door.

“No!” I shouted.  It could be the men.  They could take me back and bring along this sweet older couple, too.

The door was slammed against.  The chair fell and the old man ran to lock second lock.  I heard a buzzing.  It was a chain saw.

“Hide!” I told them.  They stayed frozen.  What do I do?

“Follow me, please!” I begged.  I grabbed the paper with the couple’s phone number on it and unlocked the closest window at the back of the house easily, silently thanking God there wasn’t a screen.  I jumped out and beckoned for the people to follow me.  When I turned back around, standing there was Robert.

“So we meet again, Anna?” he teased with a smirk on his lips.  “Don’t worry; this won’t take long.”  What?  What won’t take long?

--

“Where. . .Where am I?”

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Cliffhanger! o_O Where is she?  Back with the men or in the safety of her own home?  Or maybe somewhere else. . .Comment, vote, like and fan if you enjoyed reading this!  Thanks!