Little Lost Girl

She was small; he guessed around six years old. Too short mousey brown curls fell out of her pigtails, tied with perfect pink bows.

He’d been watching her for a few minutes, ten, or maybe fifteen, and she was definitely alone. Morals tugged at him. He could offer to help her find her parents - and risk the gathering crowd labeling him a pedophile. He preferred keeping a safe distance, staying out of it but she was definitely lost.

He had decided to get up and find a security guard when a young woman approached the girl. “Saved by the matriarchy,” he muttered, carrying his paper cup to the nearest soda machine for a free refill.

****

She spent a large portion of her time here, watching people, making up stories about them. The little girl had caught her attention some time ago. She was certainly lost. She had given the little girl the name Alice. Alice was looking around the food court, trying to find someone trustworthy to help her. The people watcher was considering helping Alice when she saw another woman making her way toward the child. The people watcher shifted in her seat and now focused her attention on an elderly couple.

****

“Hi there, sweetheart, are you lost?” The little girl, who the woman guessed at about five years old, nodded, her blue eyes wide with panic. “My name is Carrie. What’s yours?”

“L-L-Laura.”

“Well, Laura, let’s see if we can find your mom.”

She took the little girl by the hand and lead her toward the mall office.

Passing the restroom, Laura tugged at Carrie’s hand. “I need to use the potty,” she whispered.

Carrie’s glance shifted from Laura to the restroom door to the door leading to the mall office. There was no telling how long it would take for her mother to get here, but Carrie was meeting friends for lunch and wanted to get this over as quickly as possible. Finally she decided it couldn’t take too long to take the girl into the restroom. She pushed open the door and let Laura go in first. She reached again for Laura’s hand, but the girl had bent down to straighten her sock.

A mirror on the wall caught Carrie’s attention and she gave her hair a quick preen. In the seconds her eyes were off the child, Laura produced a syringe from the sock she’d feigned straightening and stuck it deep into Carrie’s thigh, into the huge artery that ran there. Almost before Carrie had time to process the needle through her pain receptors, her leg was numb and she fell to the floor. Seconds later, the rest of her body was numb as well and Laura stood over her, her blue eyes vacant, a smile spread across her young face.

Carrie tried to plead with the young girl standing over her but only her vocal chords would comply, forcing a muffled, unintelligible noise from the fibers of her throat. Soon they were paralyzed too and Carrie lay on the restroom floor, helpless and trapped inside herself. Laura had disappeared from her sight and soon Carrie could see the ceiling tiles moving above her head, choppily, as the child dragged her across the floor a few inches at a time, just far enough to be out of sight when the door opened again.

Laura’s face returned to her field of vision as she felt herself begin to suffocate. With a satisfied expression, Laura once again disappeared from view and Carrie heard the restroom door open and close behind her.