Living Hidden

16

Sam's will was deteriorating rapidly. She had assumed that she had been held for at least a week by now. She had never given in when Gabe or Thomas had asked her where the SD card was, no matter what they did in hopes to persuade her to tell them.
A sliver of hope still managed to hang on in the depths of Sam's mind. She knew Henry and Lauren, and even Johnny would report her missing. Thomas had probably not anticipated that, he probably thought she was going to be easy to pick off. In other situations, if Sam had not stumbled apon the perfect place to begin a new life, no one would have ever thought twice about the new girl in town leaving after a short while.
As Sam wandered through her own thoughts, like she often did when Gabe and Thomas left her for long periods of time, she imagined what her friends were doing. She thought of Henry, and if he was worried. Knowing he was made her stomach feel knotted, and for some strange reason even a little guilty. She imagined Johnny laughing and joking bugging Lauren at the salon. She smiled to herself knowing her friend enjoyed Johnny's playfulness. Sam's heart ached wishing she was anywhere else but trapped in this makeshift prison. She wished to be horseback riding with Henry and Megan. Even running into the snobbish Whitney flicking her long locks around would be better than this she thought to herself.

Sam was torn from her thoughts when she heard a loud noise. Her eyes snapped up toward the ceiling. She could hear footsteps, it sounded like there was a lot of them she noted. There was the sound of voices yelling, she couldn't make out what they were saying, but she was terrified. The thoughts crashing through her brain were coming fast. What if Tom is trying a new tactic? What if Tom and Gabe thought that they would get better results if they called in more thugs to give her more beatings? What if they're going to try torture? What if someone found her? Maybe its Henry. Oh God, please don't let them hurt him.

Heavy footsteps pounded down the staircase and Sam felt like her heart was pounding just as loudly. A man appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He had a long tactical gun pointed right at her, Sam closed her eye's. This is it. She thought to herself. Suddenly the man turned his head to face the staircase. "She's here!" He yelled. His voice was steady and strong, he turned to his left and then his right. His gun moved with him as if it was a part of his body. He finished searching the basement and approached Sam. "Ms. Stewart I'm detective White. I'm with the police, are you hurt? There's an ambulance on the way." The police officer informed her as he freed her hands from their restraints.

"Nothing to serious." Sam answered in a shaky voice. "What about Thomas and Gabe?" She asked still unsure of her safety. She was worried they had gotten away. She knew they would find her again if they did. The thought caused her to tremble.

"They are both in custody. You dont have to worry Ms. Stewart. We have the SD card. No judge will grant them bond. Not with the charges we have against them." Detective White assured her.

"How?" Sam wondered aloud.

"Henry Patten," Detective White began explaining as he guided her up the stairs. The two of them walked through the small home that was now swarming with officers. "He went up to your apartment and saw your room torn apart. He said it was apparent that who ever had taken you was looking for something. He searched the room and found the SD card in a slit under your mattress. He gave us the chip when he reported you missing." Sam felt overwhelmed at the detectives words.

"How did you find me?" Sam questioned.

"We checked the footage of the security camera across the street from your home. After we learned the identity of Gabriel Jackson we searched for any properties he may own. We didn't find anything, they tried to cover their tracks. We set up surveillance outside of the law firm and followed Thomas here yesterday." Detective White finished.

The paramedic was standing at the back of the ambulance. His partner was in the back gathering supplies. Detective White guided her over to the two and they checked Sam over. After bandaging some surface wounds they informed her she should still ride over to the county hospital with them to get checked out further. Sam agreed and they soon departed from the crime scene.

Samantha was watching an old movie on the small television in her hospital room. The doctors had performed all sorts of tests on her and sent her for both a catscan and an MRI. She was grateful that she had not suffered any major wounds but the doctor's had sent a psychologist to talk to her about the mental trauma she had endured. Finally being left to herself was both a relief and a bit scary for her. She stared blankly at the screen and began to feel sleep tug at her conciousness.