Escaping Darkness

I Will Help You

I was laying on my bed, staring at the large stickers I had put on the ceiling of cute rainbow maned unicorns and little birds. I stared at them until a horrible feeling started brewing in my gut. I sat up, feeling the urge to go outside and walk around. I grabbed my phone and went downstairs. My mom was in the kitchen making dinner. "I'm going on a walk, I'll be home soon." I walked to the door, hearing her faintly reply an "Okay!" before I walked out the door. I don't know how long I was walking, but, I ended up at a neighborhood the same direction Hope walked home in. I looked at the house on the corner. It was a pale blue and not very well taken care of. It also had a creepy sign in the drive way saying "Leave your mistake you call children, outside". I didn't like it one bit, honestly. I was about to keep walking, that was until I heard screaming. Very loud screaming, that is. It sounded a lot like Hope. I went to the door and put my ear against it, hearing laughter and sobs. I ran to the window and peaked in, my curiosity getting the best of me. I wish I had never looked. I saw Hope, tied to a chair by belts. Tightly tied. Blood streamed down her forehead as the skin on her that was noticeable turned from her pale white to a dark purple and red as it got bruised, beaten, and bloodied. She looked defenseless, like a deer caught in headlights. It made me cry. I did the only thing I honestly could think of to do. I pulled my phone out and recorded it, just in time to see her mother put her lit cigarette on Hope's arm, burning it out. The tears streamed down Hope's face, her lip starting to bleed from her biting it so hard. I stood there for another five minutes before I uploaded it to an "Abused Children" website. I then ran away, back home, praying Hope would be at school tomorrow. Before I sent the video to the website, I made sure to add in the address along with it. I ran inside my house, tears streaming down my face. I fell to my knees, wondering how she kept something so life threatening a secret. My dad ran in upon obviously hearing my now loud sobs. He held me close, trying to comfort me the best he could. "What's wrong?" He asked, worry laced in his voice. I could barely even think over what I had just saw. I explained what was wrong, my mom in the doorway listening with a horrified look on her face, the same look that my dad had. I didn't know what to do. There was no way to unsee what I had just witnessed. I wanted to help Hope more than anything now, and, I was going to help whether she wanted me to or not.