A New Life: Sequel to Amber

Chapter 10

Jenny's POV

I drove to my brothers' place of business, a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. It had been abandoned long ago and they had taken up their business there. They said they worked as a product shipping company or something like that. Apparently dollar stores would buy the cheap items they stored at the warehouse. I was amazed that my brothers had been able to turn their lives around and actually hold a steady job. They were always getting into trouble when they were young. 

It had been a long time since I had seen my two older brothers and I thought I'd check up on them. I wanted to see how they were doing. I had the day off from working at the carnival. I really loved working there, but ever since that kidnapping and that man who was shot, I've been a bit uneasy working there. I hope the man is alright and his daughter is safe at home. I felt absolutely horrible for him. I remember being pretty bugged with him for coming back. I guess I was just tired, but then the kidnapping and shooting happened. I couldn't believe I had witnessed something like that. I wondered what happened to them. I sort of wanted to see the man again, just to make sure he was alright. He seemed like a good person. He wasn't even worried about himself, just his daughter. He is a good man.

I walked to the door and didn't knock, this was going to be a surprise. I jiggled the knob for a minute before it finally opened. I stepped into the cold warehouse and zipped up my jacket. It was dark, but a few lights were on. "Hello?" 

No response. I walked to some offices and peered in. No one was there. Maybe they weren't here today, but then, why was the door open? 

"Hello?" I called out louder than before. I kept walking until I suddenly froze in my tracks. I listened with all my might and sure enough, I heard someone crying from a slight distance. I listened as carefully as possible and followed the noise to a beat up old closet. There was a rope tying the handles together. I began to pull at the ends of the rope, untying it. I froze up for a second. What if this person was dangerous? No, they needed help and I was going to give them that. I threw the rope to the side and took a deep breath before forcing myself to swallow. I drew my bottom lip into my mouth and bit down on it. I closed my eyes and grabbed the handles. I pulled them open and opened my eyes. There, in the corner, sat a young girl. I gasped. She cowered in fear. Ropes bound her wrists and ankles together. I reached my shaking hand out to her in a comforting manner.

"It's alright, miss. I'm going to get you out of here as soon as I can. Don't be afraid. I'm here to help you. It's going to be alright," I said gently. She continued crying. My heart shattered into millions of tiny pieces at the sight of this poor girl.

I knelt down next to her and began to untie the ropes. So, maybe my brothers hadn't gotten any better. I have a horrible feeling deep down in my heart that they kidnapped this girl. Somewhere out there, her family was terrified about their daughter being gone. I have to get her out of here before my brothers come back. It would not be pretty if they showed up before we were gone. I unbound her wrists and ankles. I glanced at her hand and my heart froze up in my chest. On her left hand, there was a stump where her pinky should have been. It looked infected. I felt like I could throw up. They did this to her. They cut off her finger and are going to send it to her parents. That was one of the sickest, cruelest things I could think of. I grabbed her right hand and pulled her to her feet.

"I'm Jenny. I'm going to help you get out of here, but we have to go now. We can't have those men come back before we're gone." I didn't want her to know they were my brothers. If I have any chance of her trusting me so I can help her, she can't know we are siblings. She'd never trust me in a million years. "What's your name?" 

"A-Amber Neal," she said softly.

"Alright Amber, I'm going to take you home. We have to run to my car though. Come on. Everything is going to be okay. Let's go," I said and began to run to the front, dragging the poor girl behind me. We ran out of the building and out to my car. I unlocked the doors and she got in. She rested her head and began to cry again. I didn't know where to take her, but I started driving anyway. I pulled onto the street and drove off down the long road. A light misting and fog covered the road. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a car drive into the warehouse parking lot. Two men were in the car. They were my brothers.

Link's POV

I trudged outside and to the mailbox. I grabbed the bills and small packages that were shoved inside. I carried them back into the house and set them on a table. I sorted through the mail and came to a small, unmarked package. I looked for some sort of identification, but there was nothing. I ripped it open and pulled out a piece of paper. It was a typed out letter. My heart stopped as I read it. The paper fell to the ground and I looked into the package and saw my fears were confirmed. My head spun and I knew what was going to happen. I couldn't sit in time. I fainted, my world was crashing down in front of my eyes. They cut her finger off and sent it to me. 

Rhett's POV

My peaceful sleep was interrupted by a low thud in the kitchen downstairs. Link. I grabbed my bathrobe and threw it over myself. I ran out of the room and to the kitchen downstairs. Link lie on the floor, unconscious. His head slightly bloody. My eyes went wide and I ran to him. Thankfully, the bleeding had already stopped. I knelt down and pulled his body onto my lap.

"Link, Link, wake up. What happened?" I asked. He didn't respond. I checked for a pulse and it was there, but it was irregular. His breathing was also irregular and shallow. I picked him up and carried him to the couch. I set him down and then grabbed a damp towel. I put it on his forehead. I took off his glasses. I walked over to where he had fainted and saw a letter. I immediately knew why Link had fainted. Inside the small, unmarked package, was a pinky finger. Amber's pinky finger. They cut it off. They sent it to Link and said they would kill her if he didn't have the money by next Friday. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, they did. Big time.