The picture book
Chapter 11

The next day I woke up early, I had a hard time sleeping since I was so excited about my date on Friday. It was the first time I ever would go out with someone, and it made me think of things like kissing and other things that happened on dates. If he wanted to kiss me, would I let him? Letting my hand travel down to the necklace, I shook my head as I gathered my stuff for school and headed out of the door. I would have to know if he really liked ME before doing something like that.

As I went down the street, I heard someone walking behind me. I wasn’t too concerned about it since other people on my block went to the same school, so I just kept walking but a little bit faster than before not wanting to get in the way of whomever was that was following me. But as I hurried, the footfalls behind me seemed to match my speed which freaked me out. I turned my head to look at whoever was following me, and lo and behold it seemed to be Laura’s uncle. What was he doing here? That was weird. I slowed down to greet him even though my experience with him was he was someone rather strange, he was still someone I knew.

But when I slowed down, something happened that I wasn’t expecting. He took out a rather large bag, and threw it over my head. I started screaming at the top of my lungs, wondering why he was doing this. I struggled in the bag trying to get out. I felt him pushing me into some sort of vehicle and driving off to who knows where.

“What are you doing? Where are you taking me? Stop right now! I have friends in high places that are going to be looking for me!”

Well the last part was a lie, but I figured I would throw it in there just in case he might believe it. It was hard to think that I had so many plans for the future and here I was in a bag being kidnapped. What did he want? If he wanted money he was going for the wrong kid.

Soon I felt the car stop, and him dragging me out somewhere. He pulled me out of the bag and onto a chair, wrapping me up in ropes. I struggled trying to get away, looking at the place he had taken me. It looked like a dusty old house that hadn’t been lived in a long time from the looks of it. I started to yell at the top of my lungs, hoping the neighbors might hear but he took a cloth and wrapped it around my mouth making it impossible for me to make any more noise. I was so scared my heart seemed to be racing a mile a minute; I didn’t know what he wanted from me or why he took me captive.

“I don’t know how you survived the fire Olivia, but I can’t have you telling people what you saw”

So he thought I was Olivia? Did that mean her uncle killed her? What just did she see in that attic? I wrestled with the ropes around me, making grunting noises trying to convey to him that I wasn’t Olivia. He must be a little bit off to think I was her, even with how much I was supposed to look like her.

“Somehow I am going to have to get rid of you. Obviously the first time didn’t work so I am going to have to think of something else.”

Get rid of me? Was he going to try to kill me? I watched as he paced back and forth, I could almost smell his mind burning with what he was going to do with me. How was I going to get out of this? Then I thought of the picture book. I had brought it with me to show Laura after school. Maybe if he saw the real Olivia, he would let me go. My hands felt for my books, but it seems that I had dropped them when he had put me in the bag. Well there goes that option. I started to cry, thinking this was the end of me. My doom was the same as Olivia’s by the hands of this madman, and nothing I could do about it.

“No no no, don’t cry I can’t stand the crying!”

I wanted to tear off the gag and tell him off. He killed someone and crying bothered him? What kind of person was he? Whatever Olivia saw must have seen something he didn’t want anyone else to know about or he wouldn’t be going to these lengths. I began chewing on the gag, it tasted really bad but I really needed to say something or who knew what he would do.

“I don’t want to do it, it was hard enough to do the first time. Lighting the fire, making it look like an accident was hard work. I still have the feeling they are suspicious of me the way my brother treats me now. Isn’t there some way I can get you to shut up without killing you?”

I started to nod, relived that he really didn’t want to kill me. No matter what he had to hide, it wasn’t enough to do that, If I got through this alive, I would make sure to tell the police what had happened, He wasn’t going to get out of this scot free. I sort of had the feeling that he knew I was thinking of telling the police though, even if he was crazy he was smart enough to figure that out.

“I don’t think you’ll shut up. I think you’re lying!”

Didn’t he think if Olivia had survived, she would have already told the police he had tried to kill her? Perhaps she didn’t know, he could have covered it up so well that she thought it was just an accident. But what about what she saw? Didn’t he think she would have told someone already? What was he thinking? I made a muttered reply, shaking my head no trying to get to him that no I wasn’t lying and he could trust me.

“But the police haven’t gone after me, so that means you must of not told them what you know. After the fire happened, perhaps you struggled with your memory. Something so traumatic can do that can’t it? But now you know I started the fire. I can’t just let you go now. I’ll just have to keep you here.”

My eyes bugged out. He was going to keep me here as a prisoner! This was terrible! But it wasn’t as bad as being killed that was for sure. I wanted out of there though, and didn’t know if anyone would replace me. If only if I hadn’t dropped the picture book maybe I would be free now.

Time passed, and I was starting to get sleepy. Hoping to get his attention that I wanted to get some sleep I started moving around. Hopefully he wouldn’t make me sleep upright in this hard chair. But he wasn’t paying attention to me and walked into the other room. I sighed as I closed my eyes, not knowing how I was going to sleep in this situation but as it grew later, I felt myself drifting off into sleep. I must have been dreaming, since a familiar voice was whispering in my ear.

“Ayita, Ayita wake up. I’m here to help you.”

It was Olivia, boy was I glad to hear her voice right now but I knew that it was only a dream. Then I felt a strange tingling sensation going through my body as a chilly hand touched my arm. That made me snap open my eyes, though I knew I would see nothing. Boy was I surprised when I saw her face, I tried to talk to ask her what she was doing there but my mouth was still gagged. I pointed my finger to it to say that I couldn’t speak to her at the moment.

“Looks like you’re in trouble, let me look outside and see where you are so I can lead your sister here to get you out of this.”

My sister? I knew once that her uncle saw her, maybe he would set her free knowing she wasn’t Olivia but well he did know now she knew the secret of just who exactly killed her so maybe just knowing that she wasn’t who he thought she was wouldn’t be enough for him to let her go. Though seeing a ghost might scare him into it. I gestured into the other room trying to get her to go into it and face her uncle, though I didn’t know if he would be the type to be scared of ghosts at all. She ignored my gesturing and floated out of the door, presumably to see what street and street number I was at. She was gone for quite some time so I started drifting off into sleep once more.

When I woke up I heard someone knocking at the door, who was it? Some kind of accomplice to Olivia’s uncle? I raised my hands up to rub at my eyes but I found them still tied up. I watched as her uncle approached the door, seeming to not be expecting anyone. At the door was my sister, what was she doing knocking at the door and why wasn’t she with the police?

“You let my sister go!”

My sister pointed a gun at him, but as I squinted at it I noticed it wasn’t a real gun but a squirt gun. If I could slap my forehead I would. What was she doing? My captor looked at her with a bewildered expression on his face, and then grabbed the gun away from her like he could tell it wasn’t real. That or he was really brave.

“Sister, I don’t have your sister. Now go away little girl before I hurt you.”

Denise started turning a bright red, stamping her foot looking over to me like she was trying to figure out how to deal with the situation and get hints from me. But of course I couldn’t say anything. All I could do was shake my head. Get out of here! Get out of here and bring the police with you! I focused as if I could communicate mentally with her.

“That’s my sister over there, now let her go! My hands are lethal weapons!”

He looked over at me, then Denise seeming confused and not too convinced that her hands were lethal weapons like she said. Why was she doing this? She couldn’t handle a kidnapper by herself. What had made her come after me without the police, what was she thinking?

“That is not your sister. I would know you if it was. Stop playing these games with me before I have to show you some real lethal weapons.”

He then broke the squirt gun as to prove his point. Denise then started backing out the door and then away. I sighed, glad that she didn’t stay and fight when he was obviously stronger than her. I hoped if she came back she would come with police.