The Girl in the Alley

Jimmy dropped out of high school to take the journalist job. With his father away at war and his mother struggling to take care of the little ones, it just made sense. Even though he hadn't graduated, his exceptional English skills and credentials from writing for the school paper ,albeit a small paper, landed him the job of junior journalist.

He was hoping to cover the war, but of course he was stuck with the mundane stories, like the annual Putnam pie eating contest, the soccer finals at the local boys school and the like. It wasn't until he was walking home one night, that he found something he could really sink his teeth into.

His route from the office to home passed by several alleyways. It was in one of these alleyways that he happened to turn his head and as he peered into the darkness, he saw a figure lying curled up on the ground. As he inspected further down the alley, he discovered it was a young girl.She looked about eleven or twelve. He lightly touched her shoulder and she pulled away in fright.
"My name's Jimmy. I won't hurt you. I just want to help." he said softly.
Slowly she turned her head towards his. In the light of the street lamp , he saw her face was bruised.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Margaret," she said quietly.
"Tell me where you live and I'll take you home," he offered.
"No I-I can't go back there. Please don't take me back there," she pleaded.
"Wait here and I'll get help," he said.
Jimmy ran home so fast , when he opened the door he was too out of breath to speak.
"Mom ! Come quick! There's a girl in trouble! he said in a broken sentence.
His Mother followed Jimmy to the alleyway. After a bit of coaxing, she convinced the girl to come home with her. Once there, she washed her face and put some ice from the ice chest on the bruising to minimize the swelling.
After the girl had calmed down and had eaten a hot meal consisting mainly of soup, she finally opened up and told Jimmy and his mother why she couldn't go back home.
"My father and mother kidnap girls - all different ages. They keep them in a cellar. Then when they have a lot, they sell them for money," she said.
"I told my father it was wrong and I was finally going to stop him, and that's when he hit me," she added, wincing. "I ran out of the house and quickly hid in the alleyway. That's when you found me," she explained pointing to Jimmy.

The next morning Jimmy woke up , energized and full of purpose. He was in the office early and called his detective friend. He told Hal everything that the girl had told him. He had known Hal since he was in elementary school. Hal was quite a few years older but had always been like a big brother to Jimmy. He arranged, in exchange for the information, he would have exclusive rights to the story.

Detective Parsons went immediately to the address Jimmy had provided, taking with him two police officers for back-up. Once at the house, he found the basement. There was a man outside guarding it, who they quickly arrested. They unlocked the door with the key and found what must have been over a dozen young girls. They were hurried out into waiting ambulances and taken to the nearest hospital. the detective would question them all later after the girls had been treated.

After about an hour of interrogation and some gentle persuading in the form of a possible reduced sentence, the guard gave up the name of the big boss. Parsons immediately put out a warrant for his arrest.
A few days later Al Hoff was arrested for the human trafficking and a few other charges and , as promised Jimmy wrote the story. It landed him a promotion and a well needed pay raise.
As a result, his parents were able to adopt Margaret and give her the warm and loving home she truly deserved


Word count 692