Missing by Jahla McCloud

Chapter Ten

 A few minutes later we pull into the hospital parking lot. She helps me inside and gets a doctor.

The doctor asks me for my name and what happened. “ Annamarie Baker” I say between breaths.

I start to get lightheaded and I fall to the ground. The last thing I hear is “ We need a nurse in here! This patient has lost a lot of blood.” the doctor yells. When I wake up I’m in a hospital room. There is three nurses standing around me. Standing in the corner is the woman that kindly brought my weak and breaking body here. If it wasn’t for her I could still be out there lying on the cold street. In a mirror across the room I can see my reflection. My head is wrapped in bandages and there’s scraps and scratches covering my arms and legs. I try to sit up, but fail letting out an ear piercing cry of pain. A nurse named Susan comes over to me with a heat wrap. “You’ve got a mild head injury, two broken ribs, and possibly a concussion. What happened?”She calmly asks. “ I’m not sure exactly.” I say. “Okay, Close your eyes. I want you to think back to right before all this happened.”she quietly says. “Okay. I’m just getting out of the pool.. I got first place. I was so happy.” I say with a grin. “Okay, then what?”,she asks. “I’m walking out of the door. To get something from the car. It’s kinda dark and a little chilly.”,I say. “What about your surroundings? Do you smell, hear, or feel anything strange?”, she asks. “Yes, I smell.. a cigarette. I turn around. There’s a man standing on the opposite end of the parking lot. I’ve seen him several places in the last couple days. He’s walking towards me”, I say starting to panic. “Okay, calm down. Can you see his face?”,she asks while stroking my arm to calm me. “Uhh kinda.. Yes! I can. He’s got dark brown hair, a small mustache,  a huge scar across his right cheek,he’s wearing blue jeans, big brown work boots, and a dingy used to be white T- shirt.”, I say breathlessly. “Okay, Annamarie you’re doing great. What’s happening now?”, she asks. “I’m in my car. Looking out the window. I think I’m looking for the man. I don’t see him. I’m getting out of my car now. I’m turning the corner around the back of the car and someone grabs me and yanks me off my feet. I start kicking and trying to get away. I get a brief glimpse of their face.. It’s the man from across the parking lot. Once he notices that I saw his face he pulls out white cloth and clamps it over my mouth.”, I finish taking quick short breaths trying my best to stay calm. “Okay. Can you remember anything else?”, she quietly asks. “ I remember being put in a room but I don’t remember anything that happened there. Except that there was two other girls there. They  both went to my school, but i can’t remember their names or anything. The next thing I remember is him taking me away in a box inside his car. We drove for a pretty good amount of time. Then he sat the box with me in it on the ground in the middle of nowhere. I don’t ever remember hearing his car turn back on and leaving. I sit and wait for little while before deciding to get out and figure out where I am. I slowly get out of the box and head towards the street. I’m walking down the street. I have to suddenly stop. I fall to my knees. A car soon pulls up. Someone steps out of the car and my stomach  has dropped as soon as I realize who it is. The man. I says something to me but I can’t remember exactly what. He then is kicking and beating me. He has now taken a knife to my side. I scream. He kicks me a few more times and then walks away. A car soon stops right beside me. The woman that brought me here gets out. She’s saying something.. I can’t recall what. Now I’m in the car. She’s trying to keep me awake. Asking me questions like what happened, who did this to me, and how I got out there. We arrive at the hospital. The last thing I remember is standing in the lobby.” I say tears running down my face. “Okay, Annamarie. You did great. Thank you for your cooperation sweetie.” she says.