Stockholm Syndrome

Free

"Delaney sweetheart, there is something you should know," mom says slowly. I look her way, waiting for her to continue. The next few words are hard to swallow. My stomach drops and I begin to hyperventilate. She holds me tight and I melt into her arms. My entire world comes crashing down around me.

After calming down, I run up the stairs. Taking a seat at my desk, I pull out a piece of paper and write, everything.

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We enter the courtroom and all eyes are suddenly on me. The stands erupt with whispers as I walk the aisle. I take my seat next to Matthew at the front of the room, wondering why only Matthew and I were called. A woman weeps in the back of the room as two armed guards bring Samuel into the room. I suck in a deep breath and grab Matthew's hand, just as Dean grabs my other.

"Margaret! Margaret sweetie. You have to listen to me--" Mr. Walker tries to break free of the guards and run towards me. I tense up and hide my face in Dean's shoulder as Matthew rubs my thumb slowly. He turns to Matt, and his expression quickly shifts to hatred.

"This is your fault! You will perish" he yells before the press a small, handheld taser to his side. He lets out an excruciating scream as they lead him to the seat facing us and begin the trial and I feel no sympathy. The first lawyer steps up and begins to talk, defending Samuel. You can see in his eyes that he doesn't agree with the words leaving his lips, and that's when I realize that no matter what happens, he will suffer. As Samuel's attorney finishes, mine begins.

"Samuel Jay Walker, accused of child abduction, child abuse, and the murder of 10 children." Matthew tenses up beside me and I turn to look at him, seeing the tears building up behind his eyes. He refuses to look at me, but squeezes my hand tighter. Murder? That can't be, he never killed any of us.

"The question a lot of us have been asking ourselves: why? After extensive research, I have finally come to a conclusion. Now, correct me if I'm wrong," he says turning to Samuel, "but about 10 years ago, you were engaged in a romantic relationship with Miss. Michele Carter, no?" Mr. Walker looks down and nods slightly. The attorney look back to the jury and continues.

"After finding out that Miss. Carter was pregnant, Mr. Walker admitted to her his desires. He told her of his plans to 'purify the world by converting the young'. Miss. Carter, a little nervous, reported Samuel to the police. After an evaluation, Samuel was placed in a mental institution called Cedarview, where he lived for seven years and met his partner in crime, David Mayes. Spending all of his time in the hospital planning his escape and plotting his revenge on Miss. Carter, he had a lot of time to work out all of the kinks. Finally convincing Dr. David Mayes to join him, he was cleared, and discharged from Cedarview at the hand of Mayes, beginning his scheme. A week after the discharge of Samuel, David Mayes quit his job at Cedarview Behavioral Hospital, transferring to the hospital in Miss. Carter's hometown. They built a house in the same town, big enough to hold several children --for Dr. Mayes. Then they built another house of very similar design in the town over, for Walker. They watched Delaney for years, plotting for the right time to move in and take her. In the meantime, they compiled others, starting their quest to "fulfill the will of God." When the time was right, they finally started the most crucial part of the plot: taking Delaney while she was at the bank with her mother. Shooting her in the shoulder to cause a commotion, they grabbed her and drove off. They left the state for a week, as to not be followed back to the house. After ditching the car in a different state, they used the backup car to take Delaney back to the what they called the "conversion room" where they began the brainwashing and mind altering techniques using the drug iXovindent. iXovindent is a deadly and very experimental drug from North Korea. So far, the drug has been known to have killed 73% of the subjects it was used on. Typically used on war prisoners, iXovindent can change memories, alter reality, and cause amnesia in surviving subjects. When Delaney had forgotten her life at the hand of the drug, they knocked her out, taking her back to the Walker house, where she lived for the next two and a half years, with 11 other children. When Walker had left on business, the children had run out of food. Taking some cash from a drawer, Delaney set out to a store, leaving the house for the first time since she had been captured. Upon seeing the missing girl, the store clerk called it in. Delaney was moved to a hospital where she underwent extensive therapy. Matthew, another child in the household, went after Delaney when she didn't return home that day. Both were found and taken to the hospital in which Dr. Mayes worked. Using information from the two children, officials found the location of the house and rushed there to save the rest of the children, but were too late. When they arrived, they house was in flames, the remaining children trapped inside. Walker tried to sneak away, but was quickly apprehended and brought to the jail, communicating with Delaney through Dr. Mayes, until Mayes was reported by Mr. Dean Wademan and the entirety of the case fell together." He pauses, turning to the jury and the judge, "Now, does that sound like an innocent man?"

I turn to Matthew and he meets my eyes. He-He killed them? Leaning into Matthew's shoulder, I cry, holding my letter tight in my hand. I hear my mom sobbing and feel Matthew's tears drip on my neck. After about 20 minutes, the Lawyer calls me to the stand and I know that it is my turn to speak. He nods to me in encouragement, whereas everyone else just looks confused as the attorney returns to his seat. I stand square in front of Mr. Walker and I begin.

"Samuel,

After everything you put me through, you tried to justify your actions saying that you loved me. I hate you. I hate every little thing about you. You ruined me. You turned me against my own family. You brainwashed me with an illegal drug. You tortured me, along with the rest of the children you so selfishly stole. You beat me. You stole my name, stole my life. You broke me. I will never forgive you for the things you have done to me. You are a hypocrite, teaching of God yet acting in such wicked sin. You, in turn, are the bad guy of my story. Whether for revenge or out of insanity, what you did to me will never be justified. You will die alone, loved by nobody. As for your friends that have helped you live out your sick operation, they will spend their life time inside of a cold, small prison cell, alone. All because of you. You disgust me and I am ashamed to have even associated with you, whether by will or by force. I will be in the front row when you die and my face will be the last thing that you ever see. Biologically, I may be your daughter, but you will never be my father."

With those words, I crumble up the paper that I was reading from. I storm out of the courtroom, never looking back as Samuel Walker screamed my name from behind me.

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"Delaney, you don't have to go," mom says to me as I grab the keys from the mantle.

"Mom, I have to do this," I respond, and she nods, watching me walk out the door. I drive to Matthew's house and pick him up on my way to the courthouse. He steps into the car with a blank expression on his face. We drive to the execution in silence, neither of us knowing what to say.

We arrive and check in with the guards. They lead us to a small room with a glass case in front of it. The room is empty and we take our seats in the very front row, right in front of the glass. Inside the glass box is a metal chair with leather straps all around it. After a few moments, I watch as they lead Samuel into the room. As they strap him to the chair, my hand finds Matthew's and we lock fingers, holding tight. Samuel looks me in the eyes and I firmly hold his gaze. I see his mouth moving, muttering my name over and over as the guards carry on with the process. My jaw locks and I don't move. He fights against the restraints as they press the needle to his skin. He stops moving and looks at me as a tear falls and the life leaves his eyes. In his final moments he is no longer the strong man I remember. He is broken and defeated, just like I was. His eyes glass over and I know it is finished, but I can't look away. In front of me lies the man that destroyed me, yet all I feel is pain. I finally let my tears fall as I lean into Matthew and he holds me tight. His chest shudders and we stay, holding onto each other tight.

I look at the glass case as the last tear falls from my face. His motionless body lies before us, he looks small and suddenly something changes. The pain in my heart grows and I realize that he was never strong, he was never evil, he was never good, he was only ever a man.

"I forgive you," I whisper, kissing the small diamond necklace that still hangs from my neck. Matthew reaches for my hand and I take it squeezing tight. We turn and walk away, hand in hand, never looking back. We walk away from the man that took everything from us. We walk away from the life that we knew. We walk away from the life that we will never forget.

We get back in the car as we drive home, hoping to put back the pieces of our lives and finally recover. I breathe out a breath that I never knew I was holding as I am finally free.