In The Silence, I Hear

Episode 5, Amber Redding and Sally

** Warning this fictional story contains scenes of gun violence, physical assault and human trafficking**

Amber Redding, Amber Redding, Amber Redding, Fredrick lay in his hospital bed trying to compel his mind to dream of the imprisoned young lady. Twice he dreamt of Officer Steven Janes, one of the interviewing officers, when he first woke at the hospital. The two dreams in the darkness of his headspace presented the sounds of Officer Janes, likely at home, playing a video game. It sounded like it was a multi-player war game. Officer Janes, Fredrick concluded, is a jerk. He would cuss and yell at the game and use racial slurs and derogatory language about women. He would speak periodically to someone whose answers Fredrick could not hear. Fredrick concluded that they were talking via a headset and playing together online. The doctor told Fredrick earlier that he would discharge him in the afternoon. Fredrick looked forward to going out to the location and freeing Amber and the other lady. He hoped that he might gain more information in a dream before he left the hospital. Fredrick asked the nurse for some pain killer, and the nurse obliged, and before long, Fredrick was swimming in the blackness of his dream space. Anticipation needled him; he swallowed and opened his mouth wide, releasing the tension of yesterday and the morning hospital activities.

Soon in the blackness, he heard the shuffle of feet, the rattle of chains, the clink of dishes, and the sound of something frying. “Amber?”

“Humm, yes, sally?”

“Morning, I thought you might want some breakfast before it got too late. You never know when they will show.”

“Morning, please, thank you.” Chains rattled, a floorboard creaked, hinges of a door squeaked, and the sound of someone urinating floated in the darkness of Fredrick’s mind. A toilet flushed, water ran, movement, chains rattling, a cabinet slammed, more water running. “You made coffee already, thanks,” Amber said.

“I couldn’t help myself, I was so happy when I woke, and they had not returned,” Sally said.

“I hope they died in a gruesome car wreck or something,” Amber responded.

“Yes, sister, yes. If there is a God, that.”

What came next was close to laughter but quickly turned to silence.

“What would we do if they didn’t come back?” Sally asked.

“Die in peace,” Amber answered.

“Mr. Appelton, sir, excuse me. Sorry to wake you.”

“Hello, you are fine; what time is it?”

“It is about two in the afternoon. I am Alice; I will complete your discharge information and help you get to the front door. Do you have someone who can come pick you up?”

“No, I will have to call an Uber.”

“Ok, then, let’s get started; it will take about twenty minutes, so you decide when to call for a ride.”

Alice asked Fredrick standard questions and completed the information on a tablet. She E-Mailed copies of his file to him and waited for him to get dressed. The clothes he wore yesterday were clean, so the hospital had washed them. However, the bloodstains were still visible, reminding him of the pain he should be in. She took him to the front doors in a wheelchair.

“Goodbye Fredrick. I hope you recover quickly. Did you hear about the incident yesterday at the park?”

“Yes, the police came by and filled me in.”

“It is so crazy that we have that kind of thing going on. I moved here from the city hoping to get away from all that,” Alice said.

“Same here. I had to review the last two years of my life to figure out why I have so much negative Karma,” Fredrick chuckled.

Alice smiled, “We are lucky you were able to tell the police about those men. It might have been horrific. I’m pretty sure your Karma account is on the positive side.”

“I hope,” Fredrick said.

A car displaying an Uber sign pulled up, “This is me.”

Alice moved closer and handed Fredrick a piece of paper. “If you need a friend,” she turned and walked away.

Fredrick got in the car and greeted the driver. He unfolded the paper to reveal a phone number and realized that he had seen none of the usual signs of pitty, surprise, or disgust when he first spoke with Alice. How about that, he thought, a lovely lady likes me. He smiled. At home, Fredrick showered, and changed. He got coffee, veggies, and ranch dressing and sat at the computer. He pulled up the mapping app, typing in J & L Gravel Pit; the application zoomed in. He then followed RR-5 north till he saw a dirt road and then followed that road as it carved a path into the woods. He zoomed in more. Eventually, he saw a small building and zoomed in on it. Fredrick shared the map information with himself using messenger. Whistling a horrid deaf person’s version of I’m no fool.

“I told Pinocchio there is a right way to do things and a wrong way,” as he hummed, he loaded his duffel bag: a shotgun, bolt cutters, the first aid kit, water bottles, some snacks. He put his pistol in his shoulder holster and put on his jacket. He put the duffel in the passenger seat, opened the garage, and got a shovel putting it in the trunk.

“Be prepared,” he said and saluted. “Don’t worry, girls, I’m coming.”

He started the car, backed out of the drive, and headed toward RR-5.

Fredrick pulled up to the small building, two large prefab sheds built together. Solar panels lined the roof, and a large water collection barrel stood on a raised platform next to it. He retrieved the duffel bag from the seat and walked to the front door. Joey and Todd, he assumed, had added a porch to the front of the shed. It had two chairs and a side table on it. He decided to look around the exterior of the building before going in.

“I’m no fool he said out loud,” circling the house looking for traps, trail cams, or anything out of the ordinary. He found nothing and was back in front by his car, when another vehicle rolled around the corner and pulled up next to his car. The man in the car was Steven Janes. A million thoughts ran through Fredrick’s mind; he settled for putting his car between them, setting down the duffel, pulling his gun, and letting it hang to his side. Then, Steven Janes realized that he didn’t recognize the car, and oh hell, that’s the kid from the hospital. What the fuck was plastered all over Officer Janes’s face. Fredrick saw it clearly and knew that what came next would not be fun. Fredrick realized that his face also read shock and surprise, further compounding what came next. However, for Officer Janes, it appeared he had decided on his next course of action. As he exited the car, he drew his gun, brought it to bear on Fredrick, and realized that Fredrick had already fired his weapon. Then Officer Janes died.

“Well, ain’t that a bitch,” Fredrick said aloud. He spun about, looking for signs of anyone else. He picked up Officer Janes’s gun and sunglasses, he wiped the small amount of blood off the glasses with Officer Janes’s shirt, put them in the duffel, and went to the door. Inside, the two girls, in shock, stared at Fredrick.

“Don’t worry, I am here to free you,” Fredrick said.

The two girls remained frozen in shock and fear. Visages of terror etched across their faces.

“Really, I am here to get you out of those chains and bring you to safety,” Fredrick insisted.

“Dude, that guy never comes alone. Four or five other guys always show up after he gets here.” Amber said.

“Freaky fucks,” Sally said and spit. “Thanks for that, by the way. Whoever the fuck you are. She is right, though; we probably have ten minutes before they start showing up.”

“All at once or individually in separate cars?” Fredrick asked.

The two girls stared in confusion, part what the flip is this guy asking? Is he speaking English? And part shock.

“The other guys, do they straggle in one by one or all together?” He asked again.

“Oh, one at a time, usually staggered ten or fifteen minutes apart. They bring a TV, game console, snacks, and drinks. Throw a big fucking rape party.” Sally said.

Fredrick turned and ran out the door. The car was still running. He pulled the trunk release, picked up Janes, threw him in the trunk, shut it, and then moved the vehicle to cover the blood and brain matter on the ground. Then he went back into the shack.

“Always five? Ever more than five? Always staggered, never in a bunch?” He asked.

“Can’t say for sure. I was never free to just watch them arrive,” Amber said.

“Sure thing, they always come in one at a time and separated by five or ten minutes,” Sally said.

“Fuck,” Fredrick said, crossed to the duffel bag, took the baton out of it, and then set both items behind the front door. Then, retrieving the bolt cutters, he cut the locks off the girl’s restraints. “As I take them out, I need you two to help move the bodies to the other side of the couch out of the way. Then put the shackles back on and wait for the next guy.”

“Usually, the first guy unlocks us and makes us start setting up the TV and stuff. So we can be standing in the kitchen.” Sally said.

“Ok, good, I am deaf. Listen for the cars and let me know; I don’t want to be staring out the window.”

“Ok. I’m Amber, and that is Sally.”

“Fredrick. You two are ok with me killing these guys? Right?” Fredrick asked.

“Fuck yeah,” Sally said.

“No,” Amber said. “There is a tall thin guy with blond hair. You let me kill him. Understand?”

“Ok. You want dibs on anyone?” Fredrick asked Sally.

“No, I am fine with watching, but if you need help, I got your back.”

“How many of these guys do you think are cops?” Fredrick asked.

“Just the one. The others are locals in odd jobs. Group of friends, it appeared to me,” Sally said. Amber agreed.

“Oh, a car is coming,” Amber said; she crossed to the window and looked out. It is him; I get this bastard.

“Fredrick, Let me get your gun. You hide in the bathroom. He will come in; Sally and I will be in the kitchen, behind the island; when he gets away from the door, I will shoot him,”

“Ok,” Fredrick said, taking the duffel bag and shotgun into the bathroom.

Fredrick sat in the silence, waiting; the door was cracked so he could see the girls and part of the room. A change in air pressure and the vibrations of the door shutting warned him of the entry. He peaked out. Amber, sally, and the man talked for a bit. The girls pointed to the bathroom. Ah, shit Fredrick thought, raising the shotgun. Then Amber raised the gun and fired. Fredrick counted five muzzle flashes, and Sally was plugging her ears. Fredrick came out of the bathroom. Both girls were smiling and looking at Fredrick.

“Umm, what’s up?” he asked.

“Joey and Todd are dead. Did you do that?” Sally asked.

“No, they committed suicide by cop the other day. Though they thought they were going to shoot up a bunch of people having fun in the park.” Fredrick explained as best he could, filling in details with words that made sense where he needed them. “Another should be showing up soon. Are you listening for cars?” Fredrick asked.

“Oh. Sorry, fuck head, Jerry, there told us that there is no party tonight. He and Steven were just coming out to let us know we were under new management. He had a big smile on his stupid face until Amber shot him,” Sally said.

“Good.” Fredrick crossed the room to Jerry, took his high school ring, then went to the kitchen, a key chain with two keys on it, hung on the wall, and he took them. They, in his mind, belonged to Todd. Then he fished through the drawers finding a shirt button that he assigned to Joey. He took it as well, putting the items in his duffel bag.

“What is that about?” Amber asked.

“Mementos. All we need is a good story that explains all this, and we can get you two to the hospital and then home.”

Sally began to cry. The two girls hugged. After moving Officer Janes’s car, to reveal the gore that came out of his head when Fredrick shot him. they put Steven out on display. They spun a tale that explained the site on the way to town. They had a good story. But, Fredrick wondered, was it a story they could stick to?

He set the collected items on the shelf at home and smiled.

To Be Continued

Next up, Episode 6, Friends that lie together, die together.

Find Episode 4 here.

© 2022, T. Mark Mangum

I am T.Mark Mangum. From an early age, I was hooked, addicted to the imagined, unfathomable worlds of Star Wars, Star Trek, Conan, the Lord of the Rings, and many others. I love writing fiction tales. I love writing in multiple genres. However, my favorites are Sci-fi and Fantasy fiction. I am a father of six; we have two cats and two dogs. Tabletop gaming is a passion.

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