Scars Along the Way

Survivor

Eva endured unimaginable torture and abuse for an entire year.

She was right; they weren't planning on giving her back to her parents.

She wondered how her parents were hiding the fact that they let the cult have her. What did they tell people when they asked where she was?

Did they even care when they realized they weren't going to get her back?

Most of all, she worried for Jack. Did he think she ran away without him?

Whether he was angry at her or not, all that mattered to her was if he was okay. She desperately wanted to know.

He was all she thought about.

Her escape from the pain was imagining that she would make it out of there and find him.

They would get so far away from here, from their parents, and they would have a happy life together. Just like they planned.

At night, she pretended to talk to him in her head. She imagined things being the way they used to be. It felt real to her, his voice and his face were burned into her mind and never faded. She imagined the things he would say to help her feel strong.

When she turned 14, the cult's leader decided she would be old enough to be a care taker for the ten children living in the mansion.

She was only a year older than another girl, but that girl was so traumatized she was unable to function, let alone take care of the children. She was like a six year old in a 13 year old's body.

Being the care taker meant she was finally free of the torture. But it was also horrible taking care of these children, seeing the effects the abuse they endured.

For whatever reason, during her first year, Eva was the only one the leader had spared of any type of sexual abuse.

She had to be grateful for something, so she was grateful for that.

She had attempted to escape once, but the punishment when she was caught was horrific. She was caught because she simply didn't move fast enough.

With her eating disorder being at it's worst, she had become weak and malnourished. If she exerted herself too much, she would become faint and out of breath.

The fence was 10 feet tall, with barbed wire at the top. The only way out was to dig underneath, which would have been easy if she was stronger and healthier.

The day she witnessed the other girl commit suicide, she knew she had to get out.

She had to get out before that level of despair got to her. That gave her the strength she needed to escape.

She ran with her frail, weak legs. She dug and dug, then she crawled under that fence. She was too focused on her freedom to realize that the fence had scratched her up as she crawled underneath.

She walked and walked for so long.

For miles, there was nothing around. The cult mansion was in a rural area outside of her home town, where it was hard to find unless you knew how to get to it.

Finally, she made it to a small gas station. Her muscles were on fire, but she was close to safety now. She got to the payphone, now she needed change.

After begging the next stranger leaving the store for change, she hesitated before dialing.

She knew she should dial 911, but she wanted desperately to hear Jack's voice. That was what she needed right now. She would talk to him first, and then she would call 911.