I held out my arms and the three children ran to me. Johnny and Tyler, two of the three boys that lived there, were trying to be stron as we all held eachother close. Tyler was fourteen and Johnny was eleven. As we pulled apart I looked around. We were missing someone. "Where's Jamie?" I asked. The other three looked away. My blood ran cold. "He's not-" Tyler's head snapped up. "No! He's not....dead. But he's hurt. Bad." I quickly got up and went to Jamie's room, Marie, Tyler and Johnny close behind. Jamie's door was closed. I took a deep breath and pushed it open. Jamie was sitting on his bed with his back to us. I walked up to him slowly while the others crowded in. "Jamie? Are you okay?" He looked up at me and I gasped. His lip was bloody and he would definately have a black eye. He was really pale. Then I saw the faint handprints on his neck. He had really crossed the line. "Um, guys, why don't you go find some food? Be quick! Who knows when He will get back?" The kids hurried downstairs to find what food they could. He would be too drunk when he got home to notice anything missing. I sat down in front of Jamie and examined him closely. He was the eldest of us at seventeen and was a little rebellious. "What did you do?" Jamie let out his breath in a great gust. "I threatened to tell someone. He just laughed at first, but then he got angry and punched me. I laughed and he started to strangle me." I sighed and shook my head.
It might be a good idea now to fill you in on where we were and how we got there. When I was five years old, a man climbed through my window. He picked me up out of my bed and cradled me. He was so gentle. I didn't even think to be afraid. I fell asleep in his arms. The next thing I knew I was in a strange room on a bed that was not mine. The man was there. I still wasn't afraid. He was so nice. There was another boy there. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. I tried talking to him a few times. He didn't talk though. He didn't like me. After about a day I missed my mommy and started to cry. The man spoke to me soothingly and got me to quiet down. He said that my parents were in a far away place and that he was going to watch me until they got back. I can't believe I trusted him. I saw the haunted look in the boy's eyes, I heard his screams at night. I should've seen it coming.
After about a year, the man changed. He was no longer kind. He was mean. He began to beat me too. The first time I cried for hours. The boy sat next to me and gave me a hug and smiled. I stopped crying. We whispered for a long time and fell asleep in the corner of the room.
A few months later Tyler came. I remember the first time he was beaten. I wanted so badly to save him. But I knew I couldn't. A few years passed and Johnny was kidnapped, followed by Marie. Eleven years. I had been there eleven years, and I had no idea when I would ever be leaving.
