It sounded like something hitting the metal water faucet just outside her window. So once again she got up and looked out her window, there on the ground was something silver, shining in the moonlight. Shelley opened the window and since it was very near the ground reached out and tried to grab the shiny object, when all of the sudden an arm reached out and grabber her!
The arm was attached to none other than Johnny Dubois, her best friend’s next door neighbor. Johnny and Shelley didn’t really know each other the way people do in a small town, but enough to know they didn’t get congregate in the same circles. Shelley was a member of the one and only Sandyhill Fellowship Friends Church, as was Mary and just about everyone else in town, except for a few heathens here and there…like Johnny Dubois, and Earl Kinkle.
Shelley was an only child to Erma and Bob Watergate, who happened to be descendants of the founders of the town Sandyhill Springs, population 985. Erma and Bob had been married for 30 years and were in love more now than when they first met and married right out of high school. Erma was a stay at home mom while Bob was co-owner of the Piggly Wiggly, the local grocery store.
Bob was generous to a fault, so his wife says, but Bob just did what he felt led to do, like the time he gave Mary Milner her 1st job about a year ago. Turns out she was a great and dedicated worker. Oh and his daughter worked there as well. Shelley worked from 3-7pm Monday through Friday and Mary worked from 4pm-8pm Monday through Wednesday and then on
Friday and Saturday, they both earned $8.40 an hour and made their parents proud.
Shelley was tall and thin, with brown hair that flowed gracefully over her shoulders. Her eyes were hazel and that was the one thing she loved about herself, her eyes. Though lately, it seemed as if nothing about her body made her happy anymore. She had started to cut drastically back on her calories and exercise a little too much, according to her parents.
Shelley had gotten the notion that she was fat from a magazine article she read 2 weeks ago. Now she was wishing she had eaten something last night at dinner.
Shelley had above average grades and didn’t seem to have to work at it like Mary did. They often teased each other over their different methods of studying. Shelley didn’t really have to do much but read something or work a problem once and she had it down. Mary on the other hand had to study every night and work the problem more than once to get it through her thick head. Shelley never made Mary feel inferior though, that just wasn’t her way.
Right about now Shelley was wishing she and her parents had said goodnight to each other last evening. They had been arguing over why Shelley had been exercising so much lately and she had gone and said something mean before going to bed. She had said “Why don’t you guys mind your own business for once”, she didn’t even know why she said it. They were wonderful parents, and they loved her more than anything, besides God, of course.
As far as she could tell she was in the trunk of a car, most likely a stolen car, compliments of Johnny. Her head hurt, the car smelled like gasoline, and it was making her sick. Shelley was only wearing a thin t-shirt and light gym shorts, her normal bedtime apparel, and she was shivering, hungry and wishing she were anywhere else but here. Why Johnny would take her, was beyond her, he was clearly OB-SESSED with Mary, every one knew that.
She had no phone, no paper on which to write a help-me note, no shoes, nothing but her tee shirt and shorts. Nothing to help her leave a trail for someone to find her, all she could do now was pray for God to keep her safe and get her out of this mess she was in.
Shelley and her family lived just across the street and slightly diagonal from Mary and her folks, in fact, if Shelley looked out her living room window she could see into the Milner’s beautiful bay window that opened into their spacious country kitchen. That kitchen was a special place to Shelley. The two best friends had spent many a weekend there cooking and coming up with future plans that would take them away to far off places and on exciting journeys.
Some day Mary wanted to be a chef, at least that is what she had told Shelley just last year when Shelley had confided in Mary that she was thinking of becoming a writer. Shelley just hoped that she was alive to see it. Right now she wasn’t so sure she would be alive to see next week. The creaky car had started to slow down and seemed to be coming to a stop. Shelley heard a car door open and then the trunk lid jerked up and the sun was shining down into her eyes. Johnny was looking at her with a scowl on his face and the next thing Shelley knew she was being dragged out of the car trunk and onto a dirt road, leading nowhere that she recognized.
Johnny told Shelley to start walking and not to look back. Shelley did as she was told; her father had taught her if she knew her assailant to do what they told you. Talk to them as if you know them, use familiar stories about growing up together, that kind of thing. All Shelley could think to do was walk and try not to think of all the what-ifs. It didn’t seem to make any sense to her why Johnny was doing this, but she would probably find out soon enough.
© 2010 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.
Stay tuned for part 3 next week same time.
I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I feel it not. I believe in God even when He is silent. *Written on a wall in a concentration camp*
3 comments:
This is a great story so far! I can't wait til next week!
I'm enjoying this very much!
me, too...keep at it!
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