Captured (Short Story)

It was a late Monday morning, October 18th when l got a day off from work, and decided to take a drive down by the beach. La Jolla Shores. The sunlight streamed through the trees and glistened off the water with echoing waves lapping onto the shore. The soft sand squishing between my toes. The smell of fresh salt water filled my nostrils, with a brisk of wind ruffling through my hair, it felt like paradise. Suddenly, I got an unexpected call from an unknown number. It was quite abnormal but I answered the phone anyway. I listened in for a voice but no one was there. “Hello?” I waited on a response. “Silence.” I got annoyed and hung up the call. Seconds later I got another call from the same unknown number and answered it with a grim tone. “Hello! Who is this?” I waited. “HELPPP! JEFFERY!” My wife’s screaming came through the speakers. “Sahrah? Hunni what’s going on? Who is this?” “Daddy help us! I’m scared! Dad!” My daughter cried out. “Oh Mia, my babygirl.” I sobbed. “Everything is going to be o-” the call ended.

My heart started to beat like a runaway train. Sweat trickled down my face. My entire body froze. I was uncertain on what to do. But one thing for sure I was going to get my family back if it’s the last thing I do. I headed straight to my van with my legs wobbly. I got behind the wheel with sweaty palms and drove off with momentum. It took an hour to reach my destination but was determined to reach there in half. My mind was flustered with questions, I couldn’t think straight. I reached the house and immediately bolted to the door. It was unlocked, and that made me more provoked. I slammed in the door with my foot and stepped in shouting for my daughter’s and wife’s names. “SAHRAH! MIA! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?” still nothing. I searched around the house first heading to their bedrooms upstairs but no one was there. I went back down into the living room, then the kitchen and found something distressing. An empty pint of blood bag pouring on the floor with a shoe, size 7 in kids, laying in the pool of blood. A painful thug gripped my heart of the thought living a life without my daughter. I went searching for clues but found nothing.

Heading back into the kitchen I sat staring at the shoe to glimpsed an address written on the blood bag. Sunnybrook Hospital 5thAve. “That must be a clue.” I was overwhelmed with ecstasy of the possibility to bring home my family. I arrived at the hospital charging at the entrance. I went to the counter making a scene asking every frontline worker if there was a cheek in by the names Sahrah Willson and Mia Dahmer, but there was no response. They just stood there looking petrified. “Ammm, were they any cheek in by the names Sahrah Willson and Mia Dahmer? My wife and daughter are missing. CAN ONE OF YOU ANSWER ME! PLEASE!” “Beep. Can security come down to B-floor please.” said the 2nd woman behind the counter. “Look, I’m not any harm, I’m just trying to find-” “Hey sir!, I’m going to ask you to put your hands up slowly. Where are you from and why were you here earlier?” The officer said. “Here earlier? I’ve never been to this hospital in years, since my little girl was born.” “Sir, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave the premises to be asked a few questions. Let’s not make this hard for both of us” “No I’m not leaving! My wife and daughter are missing and there are clues that lead to here. So, I am not leaving until I search every inch of this building!” I said sternly.

I started to run the opposite direction yelling their names, searching every room and corner in sight until they were found. It came to a point where I was being chased by a dozen officers, ready to put a bullet in my chest. I ran up every stair case still shouting their names but no one responded. Eventually I was losing stability and gave up on the search. I was cuffed by an officer who badge read, Officer Jones Harris. I was carried down to the station feeling hopeless of not finding my family. They asked a few questions like my address, my family, and my age. I gave them what they wanted and after a few hours sitting in a cold chair without food or water they let me go. Leaving the building I was eyed down by a tall muscular built black man, probably in his 40’s. I kept searching, and searching but no sign of them. It was getting late and soon I won’t be able to see my surroundings so I decided to head home. I was weary and droughty. Exhausted by thought and emotions. I felt like screaming but had a lump down my throat. All I wanted was to feel their embrace.

I drove up to my house to see police cars and officers surrounding my home. But then my eyes alighted with excitement, with relief. There they were, on my front porch cloaked with blankets. I was never so glad to see my home and family. Tears of joy cascaded down my cheeks as I started jogging towards them with smiles and hugs, but was rudely interrupted by the same man at the police station when he grabbed my arm and spoke. “Mr. Dahmer, you are under arrest for imprisonment and physical abuse of 29-year-old Sharah Willson and 6-year-old Mia Dahmer. Whatever you say or do will be used against you in the court of law.” The officer said putting my hands behind my back. “What! No officer you’ve made a mistake! LET ME GO! GET OFF ME!” I pushed, kick and tried to run but was knocked out by a man whose badge was recognizable. He pulled out a taser and shocked me in my stomach making me unconscious. And before I knew it everything was black.

An officer did some investigating on Jeffery Dahmer and has found that he is suffering from a rare disorder called Schizophrenia. Which is a mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. May result of hallucinating, delusions and hearing voices that are not there. Jeffery was release from a mental facility to visit his family for a week and after a time period of two days he was accidentally exposed to a hammer in the basement where he impacted it on his wife while she was making lunch in the kitchen. His daughter Mia, was drugged with a pill that was forced down her throat and was thrown in the basement alongside her mother tied up with rope and tape against their mouth both unconscious. They were stuck down there without food or water. One day Jeffery went to the hospital to get a supply of blood where he was planning on giving it to his wife with the amount of blood she had lost to her head. When he arrived home at that time his daughter had escape searching for help but was caught leaving, Jeffery had no choice but to drop the bag and hold her down where she lost a shoe in the fight. After a couple of days his mind was slowly forgetting what had transpired, and eventually he continued to live life like nothing had happen.