Safe and Sound

Safe and Sound - Chapter 1

Chapter ONE

The last thing I remember was being on the train. I could hear the sound of the humming as it hurried along the track. It was late, past midnight, and the train was nearly empty. At least the train car I was in was. I had been on the train for a couple of hours, heading from Dallas up to Chicago. I really hated Chicago. It was a long train ride, overnight and into the morning, a train ride I had only done once before. I was twelve then, and my mom was with me. Now, I was alone. My mom had insisted I go visit my dad while I was on winter break from school. She knew I would rather spend my break with my friends, of course, but she still bought the ticket.

"He's your dad, Cass. He misses you," she told me, the night she told me about the ticket. It was only a few days before I left. "He took four days off work to spend with you."

"What will we do? Make awkward conversation for four days?" I asked her, rolling my eyes.

"Well, he got tickets to the Black Hawks game," she told me, smiling.

"I haven't liked hockey since I was nine," I shot back.

"Just do this Cassidy, please? For him?"

Of course she knew I would go. I was seventeen, and travelling alone, on an overnight train practically across the country actually sounded fun. I pretended I would hate it, but I was sort of excited as I packed my bag. It was only for five days. It would be fine.

My parents split up when I was ten and I moved from Chicago to Dallas, with my mom. My dad stayed. He had a career and friends and, actually, he didn't have a hard time letting us go. I had only seen him about once a year since then.

My best friends, Sonya and Kate, whined like I was leaving for a month, when I told them about going to Chicago. They wanted me to stay and go shopping and go see the new Chick Flick at the theater. But, I knew I had to go. I wanted to keep somewhat of a relationship with my dad, even if he made little effort. I was almost an adult and I would be off living my life soon enough.

"Call me when you get there," my mom said that evening, then kissed my cheek. "Should be by noon."

I nodded. It was almost nine p.m., the train would arrive in a few minutes. I planned to listen to music on my phone, eat the snacks I'd shoved in my sweater pocket, and sleep. I would worry about Chicago when I got there.

"I will," I told my Mom.

"Love you, Cass. Have a good time," she finished, backing away.

I waved to her before turning back to wait for the train.

~~

But now I was on the ground, with no memory of what had happened. It was cold and dark, and my head was pounding. There was no one around. I couldn't see the train. My heart was beating so fast and I couldn't catch my breath. And then I realized my jeans were ripped and my leg had a huge gash in my thigh. I reached down to touch it, but soon realized my arm hurt, too. Really bad.

What the hell happened?

"Hello?" I tried to yell, but it wasn't very loud.

I was in a wooded area, a forest, and even though I had jeans and a sweater on, I was freezing. I knew I wasn't in Texas anymore. Somewhere north, I assumed. Instinctively, I reached down to check my pockets for my phone. It was gone.

I wanted to cry but I knew I had to find help, somehow. I had to find someone.

I couldn't hear cars, or traffic. It was pitch black. I heard a bird flying up over head, so I closed my eyes tightly. Where was I? How was I going to get help? I tried yelling again, but it seemed pointless. I tried crawling, but it hurt so bad. I couldn't even see a few feet in front of me, and after only ten minutes or so, I gave up. My leg was really bleeding now, so I took off my sweater and wrapped it tightly around my thigh. And then I passed out.