Scarlett.

Scarlett stood at the counter of the bookstore, bored. She snapped her gum and tapped her foot. She couldn’t wait until 5:30, when the store would close and she could be on her way. She loved her job. She felt very fortunate to work with books. She loved being able to recommend her favorites and have first access to new novels. She had gotten the job because she came into the bookstore so often and she had built a rapport with the owner. She did that a lot, she supposed that it was because she just liked people. She was on good terms with a lot of shop owners and she always talked to the homeless people on her walk home from work. She knew they were always looking out for her, because she was nice to them and she did what she could to be pleasant and helpful.

She was startled out of her reverie by the sound of the cuckoo clock, letting her know that it was 5:30 and that she could get ready to go home. She locked the cash register, tied her hair back into a ponytail, and buttoned up her ruby red pea coat. Because it was October, she knew that it would be freezing cold and dark by the time that she got home. She stepped out of the store and locked the door and hit the road. She stopped a few times to talk to various shopkeepers and bums, so it took her over half an hour to arrive at her front door. As she had predicted, it was freezing cold and pitch black. She dug in her pockets for her key and she came up empty, so she knocked.

The door swung open, and her mother stood before her. She looked dazed and grouchy, which was typical. Ever since her father had died, her mother was detached. She had quit her job and she spent most of her days in her robe, watching soap operas on television. If she were not doing that, she would get dressed and go sit all day at the cemetery, staring longingly at his grave. It was really kind of ironic that he had a grave, since there had been no body. He had gone missing in the mountains and they had ended up having to bury an empty coffin.

“Hi, Mom,” said Scarlett, “Did you happen to make dinner? Or should I order out?”

“I’m sorry, I got caught up watching Passions. You’ll have to order out. Can you pick it up and then take some to your grandmother as well? She called this morning to say that she was ill. I told her I would send you over with dinner, but then I got caught up in my stories,” said her mother, vacantly.

“Sure what are you in the mood for, ma?”

“Oh, it doesn’t matter to me. Whatever is easy and on the way to Grandma’s is fine with me.”

Scarlett shuffled off to the phone and dialed the number for the local burger joint. She ordered enough for three people, called goodbye to her mother, buttoned up her coat, and headed back out. It was darker and colder than she usually would have gone for a walk, but she didn’t seem to have much of a choice.

After she left the restaurant, with her takeout bags of food, she stopped to talk to a homeless man named Tom. Tom told her that she should be very careful, because lately there had been a string of burglaries in town. He told her to walk straight to her grandmother’s and straight home, and to be sure and not talk to anyone who wasn’t familiar. Scarlett smiled, thanked Tom, and offered him her French fries. He declined and told her that he would keep his eye out for her to pass him coming back.

Not long after she left Tom, she got to the quiet part of town where her grandmother lived.  Most of the neighbors were older, like her grandmother, so after 6 there was seldom anyone out and about.  She was surprised to see an older gentleman coming toward her, as they crossed he stopped and looked at her.

“Hello, little lady,” he said.

“Hello, little man,” she responded, somewhat sarcastically.

“Where are you headed this evening? Don’t you know that there’s a burglar about? It’s not safe for a young girl like you to be out in the night.”

“I had some errands to run, taking my grandmother dinner, and then I will be headed home. Burglars don’t usually strike this early in the evening, do they? And if they did, all they would get from me would be a cheeseburger or two.”

“Well, if you are headed to Mockingbird Lane, you should know that the sidewalk is closed off. They have been working on the sewer for a couple of days. I take it you are Mrs. Calash’s granddaughter? She’s the only old woman that lives alone in this area.”

She looked at him, with trepidation, “How would you know that? You don’t look familiar, you don’t live around here.”

“Just moved in. I went around and introduced myself, that is, before the sidewalks got shut down. You’ll have to go the long way around to get to your grandmother’s. Have a nice night.”

She watched him walk away; making sure that he was headed toward downtown. He had given her the creeps, and she didn’t trust him. He didn’t turn around, so she continued on. As soon as she got to Mockingbird Lane, she noticed that he was right, she would have to go around the long way to get to her grandmother’s front door. She sighed, because it would take her an extra fifteen minutes now, and it would have only cost her five if she had listened to the man in the first place.

Little did she know that as soon as she had stopped watched the man, he had turned tail, and sprinted the long way to her grandmother’s front door. He was much quicker than he looked. He had burgled almost every home and business in the town that he felt was worth his time. He had one last plan in mind; he was going to kidnap Scarlett. His life as a burglar was lonely. He traveled from town to town, cleaning them out and then moving on. He never formed any real relationships and he longed for companionship. He figured that she could be like the daughter that he never had. He had plenty of money, and they could travel around together, robbing and seeing the sights.

He knocked on Mrs. Calash’s door, and when she opened it, he punched her square in the jaw. He knocked her out cold; he didn’t even feel any remorse for hitting an 83-year-old woman. He just felt content, knowing that soon Scarlett would be his adopted daughter and he wouldn’t have to travel around alone anymore. He knew that he had less than half an hour, so he tied her up and shoved her into a closet. She was still unconscious. He changed into her clothes and her bathrobe, dimmed all of the lights, and climbed into her bed.

It didn’t take long for Scarlett to knock on the door. The Man called out, in a weak and feeble sounding voice,

“Do come in dear, I left it unlocked because I am too weak to get up.”

Scarlett opened the door and called out, “Hey Grams! Sorry it took so long, you know, your whole block is torn up and I had to go around the long way. I brought burgers. I’ll just go and fix yours up and then I will be right in.”

She went into the kitchen and prepared a plate for her grandmother. Then she took it into the room.

“Honey, my head is pounding, can you leave the light off and just bring the plate over please?” said The Man.

Scarlett walked over with the plate, and just as she got close to the bed her granny leapt up and took a swing at her. She jumped back in surprise and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed that it was The Man dressed in her grandmother’s clothing. Before she could even run, The Man swung again and everything went dark.

She woke up and heard a rustling sound. Her head was pounding, from being punched in the face and knocked out cold. She took a second to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. She realized that she was in a trunk and the rustling was coming from the outside. She banged on the door and heard The Man call out,

“I’ll let you out, but I won’t untie you. You’re going to come with me, be my daughter, be my companion.”

She banged again and he opened the trunk. He put his arms under her armpits and pulled her out.  He left her tied and left the tape on her mouth and asked her,

“If I take the tape off, do you promise not to scream? I’ll let you ride shotgun, but you have to promise to behave. I almost have everything packed; we should be ready to leave in just a few minutes. I will call 9-1-1 so that your grandma gets cared for, but she shouldn’t be hurt too badly. Life on the road is rough and lonely; I just want you to come along. I have plenty of money, we could have a good time.”

She nodded her head, agreeing not to scream. He un-taped her mouth and she said to him,

“I have a mother who needs me, and a job. I can’t come with you. You have to leave me here.”

But he shook his head to indicate that he wouldn’t and he carried her over to the passenger seat. He placed her there gently, and resumed his preparations for their departure.

As he was finishing up, he heard a rumbling sound. He jumped into the car and pulled out of the garage. He figured it was the police and that they had gotten wise to him, he peeled out and saw a horde of angry townspeople headed his way. He figured that he could speed through them and they would break up. All of a sudden, Scarlett screamed.

“DADDY??!!?!?!? OH MY GOD!!!!!!”

She looked at him, her eyes wide with fear.

“Mister, that’s my dad. He disappeared in the mountains six months ago. And next to him is Mrs. Moon. She disappeared up there two years ago.”

He looked at her, with some hesitation, and then said,

“Well they don’t look right. What do you think I should do?”

“Get a little closer, I want to see if I’m right.”

He pulled forward a little bit slowly, and as soon as he moved the mob of people moved forward too.

As soon as they stepped into the moonlight, Scarlett and The Man could tell that they weren’t normal. Some of them looked like they were decaying, and some of them looked like they had been gnawed on by the wildlife in the mountains.

“Ummm… mister, I think you should reverse. I think we need to get out of here,” said Scarlett.

And that is just what the man did. He reversed and then sped off in the opposite direction. He knew that there had to be another way out of town. He was sort of surprised how things had turned out. He had gotten the traveling companion he had always wanted, but apparently he had gotten a set of adventures that he had never imagined.