This novel isn't just a novel. It's also for the October Prep Challenge too. |
Jessica Strong Setting Description - “Multiple Residences” Over the last twenty-eight-years Jessica has lived in a lot of different residences. At least they appear to be different on the outside. True, they don’t look the same. Except for most of them being three stories tall. The insides all looked the same. Slight differences, but still the same. Most of them have been houses, but she has lived in other places too. Some of them have not even been considered residences. Why has Jessica lived in so many places? A little bit has been because of Social Services and the law. Most of it has been because of Secret Location. They have been trying to get to her one way or another ever since they found out she existed. During her preteen years, it has to do with her dad. Even during her teenage years, it is because of her dad. Most of these houses, or other types of living places, takes place during her preteen and teenage years. The house that Jessica liked the most is the one they had just after she turned seven. Jessica is eating a sandwich as she walks across her living room when she glances out her window and sees a familiar car pulling into their driveway. She quickly runs over to the hidden room with no door under the second-floor staircase. It’s a room the same size as the staircase but the full length of it. It is barely big enough for Jessica and her dad. That’s mostly because of all the surveillance equipment in there. they have cameras all over that house, both inside and outside of it. Jessica barely gets in there and turns on the cameras when Social Services starts knocking on their door. After three more knocks about a minute apart Daniel sigh. “I don’t think that they are home.” “They are never home,” replies Wilma. “I’m getting tired of always coming here for a surprise visit and us being the ones who are surprised because of them never being home.” “There’s nothing else we can do about it,” says Daniel. “If they aren’t here, then they aren’t here.” Wilma knocks on the front door again. “I’m getting tired of coming out in the middle of nowhere for nothing. This is the second time of coming out here this week so far.” “I don’t like it either, but there is nothing we can do about it. We have no choice but to leave and come back in a couple of days.” “I’m getting tired of doing that too.” Wilma cuffs her eyes for a better look into the door length window next to the door nearest her. It’s blocked by a curtain. She goes to the one on the other side and looks through it. It also has a curtain. Wilma walks down the front porch toward the living room window. She smiles. “I think I know what we need to do. Maybe there is something in there that will tell us where they are at. All we need to do is get in there.” “Oh no, I think I forgot to lock the front door.” Jessica taps a key on her computer in front of her seconds before Daniel tries to get in there through the front door. The door is locked now. “That was a close one.” “We can’t get in this way,” says Daniel. “Maybe there’s another way in there.” “I think that we should split up,” responds Wilma. “I’ll go this way. You go that way. We can meet at the back door. Yell if you find a way in there. I’ll do the same thing.” Jessica continues watching Daniel and Wilma as they split up to see if they can find another way in there. “I don’t think that I have left any other ways in here unlocked.” “Maybe it’s best if I check them out anyway just to be sure they are.” Jessica start tapping key on her computer. Each key she pushes bring up a view of another entrance to their house from the inside of it. She zooms in on them to see if they are locked. So far, they are all locked. Jessica bounces between Daniel and Wilma. Checking each way in there seconds before they try it. True, Jessica checks each one before Daniel and Wilma gets to them and all of them are locked. At least she does until she finds one that isn’t. She hits the key to lock it, but it’s too late. Daniel has opened the small window just before the back door. “I’m by the back door. I have found a way in there.” Daniel opens the window and craws through it. By the time he gets to the back door to open it for Wilma she already there waiting for him. “I looked into this house as best I could as I searched for a way in here,” says Wilma as she enters Jessica’s house. “Didn’t see anything that might help us know Jessica and Carl are at right now.” “I’ll finish checking out this floor and the basement,” continues Wilma. “You check the second and third floors. Yell if you find anything too.” Daniel doesn’t say anything. He just heads for the stairs leading up to the second floor. Jessica can hear him as he walks up the steps. She follows his every step with her eyes. “It sure does look like she’s the one in charge of them. Maybe it’s only because I’m a girl. Then again, maybe it’s not.” Jessica sets up the camera surveillance so that she can watch them both at the same time as they search through their house. She watches as they check out each room. They end the floor they are checking out at about the same time. Daniel heads up to the third floor about a minute before Wilma goes down into the basement. “Are they supposed to be doing this? I don’t think that they can without getting permission of some kind to do it.” “Hey, that’s my bedroom. You’re not supposed to be in there unless I’m in there. Which I’m not.” Jessica starts to concentrate on watching Daniel as he first searches through her bedroom. Then after he finishes doing that room he goes to the next one which is her playroom. She glances over at Wilma ever few seconds, but only for a second before she returns to staring at Daniel. “You’re not going to find anything here. I don’t even know where my dad is at.” After Daniel finishes with the playroom, he checks out the third-floor bathroom. Daniel stares at the two red bricks in the bathtub. “Those must be there so that Jessica can take a bath on her own.” “Of course, I take my own baths. I’m not a baby anymore.” While Daniel finishes checking out the third-floor Wilma continues to search the basement. There are no rooms down there, but it’s still harder to search there because that’s where they keep everything they don’t need or want. It’s a mess down there. there is trash and junk everywhere. Wilma can search through it, but it’s going to take some time to do it. After Wilma and Daniel split up, Wilma begins her search with the kitchen before she goes into the living room. Wilma goes over to a half of a sandwich on a plate with a few uneaten potato chips next to it. She bends down to take a big whiff of the sandwich and wrinkles her nose because of it. After another whiff and wrinkle Wilma goes over to the refrigerator. Wilma steps back in shock at what little food in in that refrigerator. Wilma searches through every cabinet. She even checks out the oven and the freezer. After she finishes the kitchen, Wilma goes into the living room to search it. Once she finishes with that she heads for the half bath on that floor. Wilma goes to a large room next that looks like an exercise room. “What is this room? It doesn’t look like what it’s supposed to be.” “At one time this was probably a library, a study, or a den. Now I don’t know what it is.” After checking out that room checked out two more before she heads for the basement. Wilma walks right past where Jessica is hiding on her way there. She doesn’t seem to notice anything, or anyone is there. After Wilma finishes with the basement she heads back up to the hallway where she meets Daniel. They are right next to where Jessica is hiding. Once again, they don’t seem to notice that she’s there. Jessica turns up the volume in her soundproof room so that she can hear what they are saying better. “You didn’t find out anything either, did you?” Wilma asks. “Nothing,” says Daniel. “If there is something here that says where they are at I didn’t see it.” Wilma smiles. “I still done know where Carl is at, but I do know where Jessica was shortly before we came here. Don’t know where she is now, but she was here.” “I’m pretty sure she’s still here somewhere,” continues Wilma. “I just don’t know where she’s at right now.” ”What makes you think she’s still here?” Daniel asks. Wilma looks toward the kitchen. She can’t see it because of the walls, but it is the kitchen. “There’s a partially eaten bologna sandwich with grape jelly on one side and strawberry jam on the other one. It looks like we interrupted her lunch.” Jessica looks at the sandwich on the table next to her computer. “I hope I didn’t drop any of the jam or jelly on my way in here.” Zooming down at the floor surrounding Daniel and Wilma. “It doesn’t look like I did.” “The sandwich looks okay, but it does smell funny. I wouldn’t eat it. It probably tastes as bad as it looks.” “No, it doesn’t. It smells just fine, and it tastes even better than it smells. You should try it some time. Maybe the next time I decide to talk to you I’ll make you one.” Daniel sighs. “I don’t know what to do now. Whether she’s here or not, she doesn’t want us to find her. We have no choice but to leave and come back in a couple of days. Hopefully, Carl will be back by then.” “We can’t just leave,” says Wilma. “I think we need to try to find her to find out why she’s hiding from us. After all, we are just trying to help her.” “Besides, we are here to talk to her anyway. It’s better if we do it without her father being her.” Jessica looks confused. “They just want to talk to me! Why do they want to do that?” Jessica asks herself as Daniel and Wilma starts looking for her together. “There is no way that they are ever going to find me. If they can’t do it being right in front of me, they aren’t going to do it by searching for me.” Jessica watches as Daniel and Wilma searches through her house two time together looking for her. They pass where she’s at several times. After doing it one more time they must have given up because they leave. Once Jessica sees that they have left she leaves her hiding place and returns to the kitchen via the back way. Jessica picks up her sandwich and sniffs it. “I don’t know what she is talking about. This smells okay to me, and it tastes just as good, if not better, than what it smells like.” Word Count = 1,943 |