Stealing Silence(9)
Chapter 6
The Kidnapping
THE MUSTANG BOUNCED along the uneven pavement, clicking off the miles in the relative cool of early morning. The glowing red ball that was about to crest the horizon, promised another sultry, sticky day of heat. Once again, no rain was in the forecast and the spring fields lay abandoned. Even weeds struggled to grow along the deep ditches of the roadside, a place where they should have thrived. Mitch turned on the radio, setting it to his favourite oldies station that played in a continuous loop on the now fully automated radio station. The computers ran the show and selections were switched up at random by a preset group of commands. The human factor had moved on to find a place where food was available, a problem that machines did not have. The machines’ only problems related to the availability of power. Mitch grunted at his unhappy thoughts and forced his mind to focus on the puzzle of the two girls in the car.
Alexa appeared to be even younger than Avalon, which probably meant she was twelve or thirteen. He knew their parents had disappeared five years ago. That was a long time to live on your own with no help.
It was time to break the silence. “Have you lived in the barn the entire time, since your parents’ disappearance?” he asked, watching out of the corner of his eye as both girls stiffened at his question. “I am not trying to pry. I am marveling that you have been able to survive when so many others would not have made it. How did you do it?”
The girls exchanged glances, silently discussing the wisdom of sharing their story with a stranger.
Avalon nodded to her sister and said, “At first we stayed at the house, always hiding when a car came down the road. You can see the dust for miles, from the upper bedrooms. We had lots of time to get out of sight, if we saw anyone approaching. There was plenty of food as Mom had put away preserves against ‘a rainy day’ as she used to say. The pantry and cellars were full and we had no problem finding something to eat.
“The first to come by were neighbours or detractors, those who had heard the news – the curious and the gossips – those who wanted to check out the house for themselves. Later, it was the gangs that came, to scavenge and to loot. That was when we moved to the barn. We used to keep the front door locked, but people just tried to break in and there was no way that we could stop them if they wanted to come in. So we moved what we wanted to the barn and just left the door open after that. It was soon emptied by looters and those more desperate than we were, of anything of value that could be resold. We had food, and water from the well, a cozy spot to sleep and no worries about going to school, and no parents to set time schedules.” Alexa’s lip trembled for a moment but Avalon pushed on. “At first, we missed our parents horribly, but what were we to do? Go to a foster home? A home for orphans? Moving to town meant fighting for a spot against the gangs, and we did not want to leave home. Nope, the safest thing for both of us was to remain hidden where we were and to stay out of sight. And that is what we did,” she said, leaning in stiff defiance against the passenger door, “until we started to run out of food. That has been a recent problem.”
Mitch thought she might actually have jumped out of the car at that point, had Alexa not been in the back. Her hand even strayed to the handle.
He kept his eyes fixed on the empty highway, careful to not look at either girl as he phrased his next question. “What happened that night? Do you feel you can share it with me, after all this time? The police never solved the case.” I never solved the damn case, although I really tried.
Alexa stared at the partially eaten apple in her hand, and then put it down on top of the lunch box, linking her fingers in her lap. Suddenly, it did not taste so sweet. Tears threatened but did not spill. The memories were so raw that her throat tightened painfully even after so much time had passed. It was Avalon who spoke again, who took the reins of the wild memories that were threatening to bolt and carry the girls away with the bit between their teeth.
“They came at supper time, you know. Mom had just put the last plate of food on the table, when the doorbell rang. My father got up and went to the door, while we piled our plates with food. We heard voices and then they became angry. I will never forget my mother’s face. She frowned at first, sending a worried glance in the direction our father had disappeared, and then she got this frightened look on her face. She turned to us and grabbed both of us by a hand, and dragged us to the cellar door. ‘Do you remember everything we told you? Today is the day. Go to the hiding place. Go now and bolt the door behind you. Go!’
“We hurried down into the cellar, leaving the lights off, and grabbed a flashlight sitting on a ledge. We ran through the dim interior to the door of the fruit cellar and dashed inside it, closing the door behind us and sliding the lock from the inside. It would look like the door was locked from the outside. We then shoved aside a burlap sack of carrots, and pulled up a hatch in the floor, on the top of which a crate was nailed. We scrambled down the staircase and closed the lid. The door disappeared under the wooden crate, which was stuffed with straw. The earthen cellar had a back exit but we did not go outside. Mom had told us we must not leave until long after dark if we ever had to hide, as there would be people searching for us. So we hid. We did not come out for a full three days; we were so scared, preferring to sleep on the cots in the shelter. That was the last we saw of our parents. Albert and Ellen Gainsborough were never seen again. They were scientists, you know.”