His Mother's Necklace

There lays a field at which something dark resides within it. A girl lays surrounded by the golden strands of grass tainted by fall’s browns and yellows. Her skin resembles the oncoming snow that winter brings. Dark colors of night scatter across her body, the darkest around her nose and left eye.
A hand reaches across her body, setting two fingers on her throat. It is easy to presume her dead. The white gloved hands run across her body, searching for evidence. It tugs her shirt to the side, finding the cause of her death. A shot wound to the left shoulder, but it did not kill her instantly. If only she were found a few hours earlier. Her death may have been prevented but loss of blood took her life. If only the murderer could be easily found but that wish was never granted.

~*~

“Addie!” The girl turns to the sound of her name. “Addie?” Her friend runs towards her through the light crowd. She finally catches up to the girl. “I thought you were hanging out with that guy.”
Addie smiles at her friend. “I was but he said he had an emergency.”
“What kind?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know Tina, but I think it has something to do with his father. Whenever I try to talk to him about family, he gets all quiet. He gave me this though.” She pulls a necklace out from under her shirt. It is a small, round, bronze coin. “He said it is a rare coin from the eighteen hundreds. Isn’t it amazing?”
“It is! Why don’t you cyber stock him?”
Addie shakes her head. “No. I can’t do that. That’s too weird.”
“Oh, everyone is doing it. If anyone asks, just say you were making sure he had no criminal record or something.” Her friend suggests.
“Hey, sis! We need to go.” A boy waves from across the mall.
“Oh, sorry Addie but my brother’s my ride. Good luck. Tell me what you find out.” She gives a wave before running off.
Addie nods and continues her shopping.

“So I actually found out a lot. His mother was mugged and murdered. I think that’s why he doesn’t like talking about his family.” She says into her cell phone.
She stares out into the front yard. The neighbor across the street gives her a small wave before going inside. She returns with a curt nod.
“So that’s as far as I go on the whole researching thing. I don’t want to cross the line. So what are you doing tomorrow?”
“Nothing. What do you wanna do?” Her friend asks.
“Let’s go to the movies. There are so many movies I want to see! Anything special you wanna see?”
“Let’s wing it. It’ll be like living on the edge. So will you be picking me up in the morning?”
Loud voices start to come from inside the house. Addie sighs. “Yeah. I guess I should go. Another fight is breaking out at the Sander house.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow about ten?” Tina asks.
“Sure. Got to go!” She shuts her phone and opens the front door. “I am going to Tina’s. I’ll be spending the night.” The yells continue, ignoring her statement. She shuts the door and pulls the keys out of her pocket.

~*~

The camera focuses on the woman. The man signals her to begin talking. “Today is a sad and treacherous day for everyone here but most of all for the Sander’s household. Only a week ago their daughter went missing. It was believed that Addie Sander ran off with a new mysterious boyfriend but as we can see behind me, a body has been discovered. It has not yet been confirmed that the body is Addie Sander.” She walks over to a near by police officer. “Can you please tell us the description of the body found?”
“All we know is that it a young female between fifteen and twenty.”
“And wasn’t Addie seventeen?”
“That’s correct but-“
“And so we will keep you updated. This is news channel six with the latest news.”

~*~

In the darkness, the sound of water dripping echoes. Addie moves slightly but halts as her body screams with agony. She moans and opens one eye, unable to open the left one. She tries to reach up to touch her face but something restrains her. She moves her hands back and forth to see if she can break free. She can’t. Her mind runs through her last memories; the mall, shopping, the research, and then talking to Tina. After that, her memories go blank.
She pulls her tied hand underneath her body and legs. Even in the darkness, she recognizes the cool hardness of handcuffs. She jerks her hands apart out of irritation. The pain stings yet her fear of imprisonment override it.
She frantically looks around for an escape. A small sliver of light shines upon an old wooden stair case. Footsteps from above cause her to look up. She now knows she resides in a basement. Murmuring voices fall upon her, showing her she contains two captors. What do they want with her? Her family isn’t rich. Her head pounds interrupting her train of thought. She reaches up with both hands and caresses her forehead. “What happened?” Her voice croaks. Tears of frustration run down her flushed cheeks. A door springs open, showering light upon her. She raises her hands, shielding her eyes.
“Look who has awoke. Hello Addie. You have something I want.” The stranger steps slowly down the stairs, the light hiding his appearance. “Tell me where it is.” He demands.
He stops before her, blocking her only escape. “Who are you?” She mumbles shakily.
“Just give me what I want.” His voice is not so playful as before.
Addie quickly get to her feet and jolts towards the light. A strong arm stretches out in front of her knocking the wind out of her. It picks up. “Let me go!” She squeals.
The man slams her body onto the ground. He removes his arm from around her, letting her wallow in the sudden pain. She gasps for air as she rolls onto her side. She holds her stomach while curled up in a small ball. Tears of fear run down her face as she strives for air. “Let me go.” She cries weakly.
He spits on her and then thrusts his foot into her back. She cries out in pain. “Tell me where it is!” He bellows.
She looks up at his dark face, unable to define his features. “Even if I knew what the hell you were talking about, I would never be stupid enough to tell you. You would kill me right after I told you.”
The stranger lets out a loud yell before stomping upstairs. He slams the door shut, leaving her in complete darkness once more. His footsteps disappear to a distant room. Once everything went quiet, Addie hurries up the stairs to the door. She turns the knob but it does not open the door. She jerks it side to side and presses hard but it still does not budge. She turns, putting her back to the door.
Her mind thinks of ways to escape but they all seem impossible. She closes her eye and brings herself back to last night. She was on the phone and then her parents started arguing. She was outside because she opened a door but she did not go in. In her hand, she can almost feel the coolness of metal, something small. Keys. But where was she going? She can’t remember where she was going.
She opens her eye and staggers down the steps, caressing her torso with her arm. She walks straight until she meets a stone wall. Her hands shake as she raises them up. They run across the cool, moist surface, hoping to find any way out. She continues searching until fatigue grips her. Her eye lid becomes heavy until it finally closes.
A vibration startles her awake. Groggily, she sits up and reaches into her pocket. She pulls out her phone. The light causes her to wince until her eyes adapts to the variation. She opens it up and finds ten unread messages. Quickly, she rummages through the texts. They mainly asked where she was and why she was not home. She notices the low signal and only one bar of battery. She opens a new text and begins tapping away. I have not run away. A man kidnapped me. I don’t know what he wants. Please help me! I love you guys. Her thumb is about to press send when the door opens. Surprised, she accidentally drops it. Hurriedly, her hands scan the ground for her only escape. Her right hand comes upon it. She smiles inwardly as her heart lightens.
A foot presses forcefully on her hand causing her fingers to crunch. A high screech escapes her lungs. The man removes his foot and picks up the phone. He throws it against the wall. It shatters, falling to the ground in pieces.
She buries her face into the ground, trying fiercely to subside the pain but her hand aches with unfathomable pain. Her whole body rocks back and forth except her hand. She cannot move it without the pain shooting through her like a bullet.
In the distance, she can hear another pair of steps coming but her focus is deterred by her agony. Addie tries to look up but her pain is too great, she cannot be distracted from it. The captor circles her, watching her squirm like an animal.
“Father!” The second captor stops at the top of the stairs. “What are you doing?”
The man looks towards the light. He spits sideways at her. “Filthy piece of shit.” He says while climbing the stairs. “Shut the door and lock it when you’re done.”
Addie groans with anxiety, unaware of the new guest. The boy walks down the stairs. “I am so sorry Addie.” He pauses and then sits down on the second to last step. “I didn’t mean to you involved in this.”
She looks up at him to only find a shadow of a person. “Kyler?” She mutters.
“I am so sorry Addie. I didn’t know my dad was watching me when I gave you that necklace. I didn’t know. You were special and deserved something special. I’m so stupid.” He sets each hand on each side of his head. He shakes his head back and forth, distraught about the current situation.
She struggles to get up, trying not to use her right hand. “Get me out of here.” Her voice is but a whisper.
He continues to shake his head. “I can’t. He would kill me, bring me back to life, torture me, and then kill me again.”
“He’s going to kill me.” She snaps.
He ponders and then shakes his head again. “Just don’t tell him where it is.”
“Tell him where what is?” Her voice strains to speak.
“The necklace.” He states.
Addie’s mind suddenly returns to the articles about his mother. She was murdered and robbed. She was stripped of all her money and jewelry including her rare coin necklace. She sets her left hand on her bosom where the necklace hid. “Are you saying your dad murdered your mom?”
“Yes. She shouldn’t have cheated on him. I was there. I couldn’t do anything. I was only six. I took the necklace and kept it even though he said to throw it away.” He rambles.
“Is that why I am here?”
“I am so sorry.”
She sets a hand on his knee while trying to ignore the agony. “Kyler. Your mom would have wanted you to help me.” She looks at his face. His features begin to appear. “Please.”
He finally nods.
She glances back at the darkness before following Kyler quietly up the stairs. He turns, putting his index finger to his mouth. He looks around the corner before waving for her to follow. She limps into the light. Her stomach aches with every step.
She squints her eyes after entering the light. They adjust, revealing a kitchen with old mismatching chairs surrounding an ancient table. Kyler turns to the left. A door comes into view, her last obstacle to freedom. Her heart sighs with relief. Kyler glances over his shoulder. His eyes grow wide with fear. Addie turns. A fist meets with her nose, making a loud pop. The pain crosses her mind as white light before darkness consumes her.

In the mist of the black, Addie feels herself falling. She opens her eye to find the color gold encompassing her. Her body hits the ground with a dull thud. “Tell me where it is!” She looks up, seeing the man’s face. His features are normal, not what a killer would look like.
He grabs her hair and pulls her to her knees. Her eyes gaze at him and then back at Kyler. Her left hand lands on her chest, gripping the necklace. “Where is the necklace?” He raises a gun to her head. She gulps down her fear. Her fingers tighten around the small coin. She suddenly realizes there are no handcuffs. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Please let me go. I won’t tell anyone about this.”
He chuckles. “Do you really think I am that much of an idiot?” A malicious grin stretches across his face, changing his features to something evil.
The corner of her mouth rises slightly. She knows it will be her last remark. “You’re right. The second I get a chance, I am going to the cops.”
He lowers the gun to her chest. His finger slowly begins to pull the trigger. Time seems to decelerate as Kyler runs to his father. He tries to push the gun down. A shot rings throughout the golden field. Addie’s hand involuntarily yanks the necklace from her throat. She falls to the ground, her blood tainting the earth beneath her. She closes her eye. He murdered her and his wife.

~*~

The gloved hands run across the girl’s cold body for evidence. The pool of blood beneath her is still fresh. The gloved hands pick up her right hand. They examine her crushed bones. A white flash of pain crosses the girl’s dormant mind. She springs up, taking a deep breath. She raises her left hand only slightly, the pain restricting much movement. The necklace still remains in her grasp.