Slumped In Dark Mold
Grant Hope #97
“Hello? Can you hear me? Against the wall?”
There she was. A woman who didn’t look past her early 20s. I couldn’t believe there was somebody here. We got a report just a few hours before that something may have happened here, but the tip was old, a case that had gone cold. We didn’t think anyone would be here, or if they were, let alone be alive.
The walls are spotted with mold breaking through the paint. The floor is lined with mounds of foreign rubble that must have come from a hardware store. There’s only a little light coming through from a window near the top of the opposite wall, but even in the dim dark I could make out a metal chair, tables, a cabinet against the wall.
Is this girl sleeping? “Hello? Miss? Can you respond?” There’s hardly a sign of struggle in this decrepit hole. Her position is supremely odd for someone sleeping, hiked up on a chair cross-legged, hands holding them in place. My approach became decidedly louder, more pronounced. The last thing I want is some girl scared awful in this awfully dead house. She seemed to silently stir a little, but she still didn’t rouse. Precautions were over. I don’t know how long she has been here.
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“Miss. I’m here to help. I’m going to carry you if that is ok.” I say this with some resonance and could hear it in this room that felt heavily of reckoning. She’s moving, finally… “I couldn’t stop him”
She whispers this so softly I can barely hear the faint words. I didn’t have time to process and at once had a worst fear appear. Collapsing back on the chair as I caught her, her legs are no longer crossed. I knew something was taken of a very high cost. It was time to lend a hand to help this burden be beared.
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If you’ve been a victim of abuse, know that people care and there is help. Reach out to resources like the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit www.thehotline.org.
This post is not sponsored by The National Domestic Violence Hotline and is not affiliated with any other group.
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