Kidnapped

• Ann Shi, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2019

The curtain of night fell upon the kingdom of Avendale. Shadows danced across Emma's bedroom and an unexpected zephyr drifted outside her window. Suddenly, her ear caught something. A distant noise, like someone speaking. The sound echoed off the walls then, as fast as it had started, it was gone.

"I must be hallucinating!"Emma thought dreamily, putting her heavy head to rest on a pillow as soft as the clouds dangling from the sky. Soon, she started drifting off to sleep. It was then that she felt someone tie a bag on top of her head and steal her away. Next she remembered the frightening sound of a motor starting and zooming away, the immense pain of a fist upon her skull. Then all she remembered was darkness. Dark, dreary, dismal darkness.

Emma woke up with a pounding headache, bruises all over her body and a split lip. Her head lolled to one side, as if it was unbalanced. The next thing that she noticed was men's voices. Speaking, chatting and laughing. She caught a conversation;
“When's that girl waking up? We'll give her a bit of a surprise, won't we?"
”No, she needs to be in good shape to do the work!"
"A bit won't hurt, will it?"
"Oh, I suppose it won't. Hide all the chores behind you and give her a GOOD welcome, won't you?" This comment was followed by a roaring approval. Emma raised her head and they stopped talking abruptly. They gave her a GOOD welcome(tripping her over and slapping her so hard on her back she toppled over) and she fainted when they showed her the pile of clothing she had to wash. This continued for one year.

On one faithful day, their friend came over for dinner. They didn't want to eat Emma's food (for it is usually burnt on purpose) so they went outside to eat, taking Emma with them. At the end of the meal, she volunteered to pay the bill. Her captors waved her off with a hand continuing to chat. She tiptoed to the counter and wrote a note, HELP ME. Instead of the cash, she gave it to the counter lady. The counter lady nodded, grim. Emma returned to her seat. Moments later, she heard the sirens of a police car and smiled to herself. This was the payback she had always wanted. A life in jail would suit her capturers well.