Chrissy had been separated from her brother and grandparents two summers ago on a camping trip to Yellowstone. She’d met a younger girl in an RV park along the way, and they became the best of friends. April had a baby sister, and Chrissy loved playing with her. Her mother’s boyfriend, Chad, had befriended April’s dad, and they agreed to let Chrissy stay with April’s family for the rest of the trip into Yellowstone. Chrissy tried to go back to her RV to say goodbye to her brother and grandparents but for some reason Chad wouldn’t let her. He and April’s dad told her that April’s family was leaving right away and she wouldn’t have time to say goodbye. Chrissy thought it was odd but was happy to hang out with her new friend’s family.
Chrissy began to worry when April’s dad said he would spank her if she asked anyone about when they were going to get to Yellowstone. Chrissy was scared of April’s dad and made it a point to stay close to April whenever he was around. When everyone laid down in bed at night, April’s dad would look at her funny. One afternoon when they were eating lunch at a rest stop, April’s dad caught Chrissy alone in the RV and began tickling her. Chrissy kept telling him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen. As Chrissy began to cry, April’s mom came into the RV. April’s dad swore he was just tickling her and apologized to Chrissy for not stopping. April’s mom got really mad at April’s dad and said something about him being sick and how he had promised the last time that he would get better.
The next day, April’s parents got into a big fight. He left with some guys and never came back. When Chrissy tried to be nice to April’s mom to help her calm down, April’s mom starting screaming at her and saying it was all her fault. Chrissy tried her best to not make her mad, but April’s mom starting slapping and kicking her. Chrissy ran away as fast as she could and didn’t stop until she couldn’t hear April’s mom screaming at her.
Chrissy was lost. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. She didn’t know where she was or how to get back to her grandparents. She walked for hours and eventually made her way into a small town and started knocking on doors, desperately hoping someone would help her. Eventually, someone let her in and drove her to a nearby church that had been converted into a homeless shelter. Chrissy was welcomed in, and the church staff took care of her. She bounced back and forth between three church families and lived moderately well for the better part of a year.
Chrissy had taken a liking to the church staff and enjoyed helping out with the smaller children at the homeless shelter. One day while she was playing with a little three-year-old girl, a bunch of men with guns came into the church gymnasium and started firing at the ceiling. They kept screaming, “Get your hands up! Nobody move!” The preacher obeyed and slowly walked over to the men, trying to reason with them. One of the men with guns shot him in the chest, and the preacher fell to the gym floor. Although the sight of so much blood frightened her, Chrissy wisely snatched up her little playmate to protect her
A fearful silence hung over the gym. Those who had witnessed the death of their beloved preacher knew they had no choice but to cooperate or be killed themselves. The kidnappers forced them all to walk outside and line up in two lines. The slavers sized all of them up. Any people who were sick, weak, or disabled were shot in the head. Chrissy hugged the little girl to her chest to keep her quiet, raising her gaze from the ground only once in an attempt to make eye contact with the child’s parents for reassurance.
Fifty men, women, and children were loaded into the back of the semi and locked in muted darkness, the bullet holes in the roof providing an eerie star-like illumination. Chrissy returned the little girl to her desperate parents, found a place to sit, and began to cry. She missed her mother and her older brother, Timmy. She missed her grandparents most of all. They weren’t really her grandparents; they were the parents of her mom’s boyfriend. They insisted on being called Grammy and Pappaw. They were the closest thing Chrissy had to loving caretakers. She tried her hardest not to think about the evil men and what they would do when they opened the door to let them out. She had no idea where she was going or what was going to happen to her.
Chrissy tried her best to wiggle free from the old woman’s sweaty embrace without waking her, but it didn’t work.
“Angela? What are you doing, dear?”
“My name’s Chrissy, ma’am.”
“Oh, Angela, don’t be silly. You always like to play your little make-believe games. Is something wrong, dear?”
“I just want to stand up and stretch, ma’am.”
“Sweetheart, you start calling me Granny. Stop being silly.”
“Uh… you’re not my grandmother.” Chrissy practically whispered it for fear of angering the confused woman.
“Angela, dear, be a good girl and ask your father to pull the van over. I need to use the restroom.”
Chrissy finally understood what was going on; the poor old woman had something wrong with her mind. She wasn’t sure, but she thought the men with guns had killed all the old people. Chrissy was scared for the lady; if she acted like this in front of slavers, they would surely kill her.
“Granny, Daddy told me earlier that we’ll stop at the next gas station. We’re in the middle of nowhere, and it will be a long time before we can stop.
“Such a little sweetheart; there’s my good girl.”
“He wants you to get some sleep. I’ll wake you up when we stop.”
“Okay, dear. That’s probably a good idea.”
For the first time since all this madness began, Chrissy began to feel a bit more confident and less fearful. She had a purpose now, something to keep her mind occupied. She had to take care of this woman and make sure she was safe.
As the truck slowed to a stop and the cab door slammed shut, Chrissy’s fear returned with a vengeance. Once the engine was silenced, she was blanketed by the frightened mewing of her fellow captives. Angry people could be heard pleading for divine intervention.
“They can’t do this! We have to do something!”
“Shut up! You’re gonna get us all killed!”
The doors opened and two rounds were fired into the roof of the truck.
“Get the fuck out! NOW!”
“Listen here! You can’t do this to us! This isn’t right! I demand to…”
Another shot was fired; silence followed.
When will these people figure out that the bad guys will kill them if they don’t keep their mouths shut? Chrissy closed her eyes and prayed.
“Anybody else have any fucking demands? Huh? Anyone? No? Good, that’s what I thought. Hurry the fuck up and get out!”
The first two people stepped out. Both were grabbed and flung to the ground. “You’re not moving fast enough! Hurry up! We don’t have all day! Everybody out! Get in a double line, now!”
Chrissy started to panic. She had to come up with something quick to keep the old woman safe. “Granny. Granny! It’s time to wake up now. C’mon, let’s get going.”
“Are we there, dear? I hope your father found a place to eat. I’m very hungry.”
“Uh… yeah, we’re at a restaurant now. They want us to line up outside so they can get the tables ready. We need to be quiet and let them figure out where we’re gonna sit.”