She lay there alone. The hot sun was the only comfort in the dreary scene ahead of her. Her hands were bloody with a fair share of bruises and gauges in her legs. Her shoes were gone, ripped off her feet like the sealant on an envelope.
Walking. She started walking. She didn’t know where she was going. She only knew where she wanted to go. As she unconsciously marched down what seemed like an everlasting road, she stuck her hands in her pockets. A sting of pain surged her body as her bloody palms scrapped against the denim of her shorts. Empty. Her head hung as she trudged along the pavement, every step drained her energy. As she walked she remembered.
She was walking just like she was now, except she had shoes. She was wearing brand new white shoes. She was heading to her friend’s house for a swim. Arizona’s weather was almost intolerable without a safe haven like a pool. A yellow vintage Ford pulled up beside her and the occupant inside the car offered her a ride. She had seen him around the neighborhood and figured that he was a nice guy. She climbed in a told him the address. Silence struck for a slight moment, but then was broken by a subtle and comforting question. “Today’s a real killer huh?” She replied, “I guess so, two summers ago it was twice as bad.” She glanced out the dust ridden window just in time to see her friend’s house, blur by. “Umm sir, you missed the turn.” “I know”, he said “You’re going to help me with something first. “ She was getting uncomfortable. Her palms were sweaty and she could feel the adrenaline pump through her body.
The man pulled into a gravel paved lot. He told her to get out and find the wrench in the trunk. She slowly exited the car. She thought about running, but the exit was a distance away and she had no chance up against a man of that build. As she approached the trunk she heard a click and the trunk rose for her to open it. She could see the wrench, shoved all the way in the back of the trunk. Her petite arms reached as far as they could to the back of the trunk until something pushed her.
She now lay in the trunk of the car. It was dark. The musty smell of the old car forced its way into her nostrils. She franticly patted herself down for her bag, yet she forgot it in the front of the car. She couldn’t call for help. She started banging her fists against the cold hood of the trunk. After countless minutes she stopped. Her whole life flashed before her. As she lay on the stain ridden interior of the trunk she cried. The tears streamed down her face into a growing stain on the floor.
That’s where it ended. She didn’t remember anything else. Her head lifted up as she suddenly snapped back into current events. Her feet were searing with pain from the bits of gravel in her soles. Then she saw. She saw a metal clump wheeling its way down the path. She started waving. Waving her hands frantically then stopped. She thought, “ I got in a car with a stranger. That’s how this started. I won’t do it again.” She leaped onto the side of the road. She got down on her stomach hiding behind the hill that created the road above. She lay there motionless, minimizing the amount of time she breathed, but she still was breathing heavy. The dirt beneath her received its first moisture in months as she lay in the dirt, hiding from the passing car. After a few moments she heard the car whir by, calling her out of the dirt and back onto the road. She kept walking and walking and walking until she saw the sign.
Phoenix; 12 miles. The green sign was a heaven. She now knew where she was. She had seen this sign on the road trip to her Aunt’s. The blue fish sticker was still on the sign from two years before. A small smile emerged from her chapped lips as she passed the sign. Now she only had to walk twelve miles to Phoenix and another one and a half miles to her Aunt’s house. She was relieved. She was going to be safe.
For the next eight days she walked. She followed the same schedule. Walk as far as she could before the evening. Find a bush, tree or pre-existing and abandoned structure to sleep in. Every car she saw she would hide from. She got water from the native Cacti of Arizona. She got food from various plants that she recognized and relieved herself wherever she wanted. It seemed like forever and she finally reached Phoenix.
The sight was overwhelming. She saw familiar stores and landmarks. She knew she needed to turn left at the statue of the dog. She trudged on. She passed the statue, turned left and waited to see the quaint, blue house with the white porch. She turned into the walkway of the house, and walked up the stairs to the porch. As she walked up to the door she stamped little bloody footprints along the porch. Her trembling finger managed its way to the brass doorbell and she waited as the ring echoed through the house. She heard a click at the door and stood motionless as she saw her Aunt. “Jessica!?” she said. “Auntie Joan, just call my mum and then the police.”


ALTERNATE ENDING: The sight was overwhelming. She saw familiar stores and landmarks. She knew she needed to turn left at the statue of the dog. She trudged on. She passed the statue, turned left and waited to see the quaint, blue house with the white porch. She turned into the walkway of the house, and walked up the stairs to the porch. As she walked up to the door she stamped little bloody footprints along the porch. Her trembling finger managed its way to the brass doorbell and she waited as the ring echoed through the house. She heard a click at the door and stood motionless as she saw her kidnapper. He was drenched in blood and held a tire iron in one hand. “What a surprise!” he said, “You’re in for a real treat.”