Face on the Milk Carton

Kevin comes across a small girl on the side of the road as he returns from a late call.

 

Face on the Milk Carton

 

Kevin braked sharply as his headlights caught something beside the road. At this hour, his eyes might try to lay tricks on him, but he did not think this to be the case. He turned around and turned on his overhead lights as he tried to find the object that caught his attention. He informed dispatch of his location and slowly drove back up the secondary road until he saw the hair blowing in the wind again. 

            His first thoughts as he stepped out of his truck floated around a lost wig or bag of trash tossed on the side of the road. The dark hair was hard to see against the blackness of the asphalt. Kevin was surprised he saw this at all. 

            Kevin stopped a few feet from the form he saw on the ground and took a quick look around for potential trouble. He felt under his uniform for the Browning, just in case. He kept his flashlight trained on the hair as the wind picked up and blew it aside to reveal a young girl’s face.

            Kevin’s heart leapt into his throat as he requested an ambulance and police response. He went to her head and carefully checked her for injuries. She looked more ill than injured, but her clothing was covered in filth including human waste, vomit and grease. As he evaluated the girl’s condition further, he found several bruises around her lower back, abdomen, forearms, upper arms and her upper legs. She had a few open wounds on her elbows and knees, her face was very pale and her lips were almost grey in color. She appeared to be of mixed descent, Hispanic and Asian with maybe some other heritage tossed in for good measure.

            She was breathing regularly, her pulses were slow and her pupils reacted slowly to his penlight. She was cold, so Kevin covered her with his jacket. Even the coastal areas get cold in winter. The sirens were a welcome sound.

            “She’s about twelve or thirteen I think. Mandy, let’s c-spine and board her quickly she needs oxygen. I’m not sure how long she’s been out here. Looks like she was beaten and left for dead.”

            “Either that or she escaped from someone who did this to her. I got the straps on, ready?”

            “On my count, three, two, one and lift!” Kevin ordered. 

            She was so light they almost threw her onto the stretcher. Kevin was surprised at her weight, but then his girls were bulkier due to their muscle mass. This girl’s legs lacked muscle tone. 

            They placed her on oxygen, covered her with a warm blanket, placed ECG pads on her chest and checked her vital signs. Mandy cleaned some of the grime from her face and dressed a couple of her lacerations while Kevin started an IV to start re-hydrating her. 

            She began to respond as they worked on her. Mandy popped an ammonia capsule under her nose to help her wake up, and the reaction to the people in the ambulance almost caused her to panic. Kevin’s soothing voice quickly calmed her down as they explained what they were doing for her. 

            “Can you tell us your name?” Mandy asked.

            “Yeah, it’s Brooke. I’m Brooke.”

            “Okay Brooke. I know you hurt everywhere, but is there one place that hurts more than anything else?”

            “No, well, maybe. They tried to do stuff to me, but I jumped.”

            “Do you know who did this to you Brooke?”

            “If I tell, they’ll know it was me, and they’ll do this to me again. I can’t tell you.”

            “Brooke, whether you tell us or not, it doesn’t matter. They will do this to you again, and they will keep on doing this to you. We’re here to help you and get you to the hospital. We’ll keep you safe, okay?”

            “Uh, okay. I’m really tired. Where are we? I mean what state?”

            “Texas, Brooke. Where are you from?”

            “Seattle. My Mom lives in Seattle, my Dad lives in Nashville, you know, Tennessee. I spend the school year with my Dad, and vacations with my Mom. I sing, or I did. They choked me.”

            Brooke told Kevin and Mandy everything she endured after they kidnapped her, They threatened her if she didn’t do things for them, hit her is she didn’t do as they wished and after they got drunk earlier, they tried to rape her. 

            “I did most of the things they asked me to do, but I would rather die than be raped. I mean, it didn’t feel good to stand in front of them naked, but they didn’t hurt me when I let them take my clothes off me. When I didn’t want to play with myself or touch myself, they hit me. I think they had a camera.”

            “Brooke, how long have you been missing?”

            “What month is this?”

            “It’s November, almost at the end of the month.”

            “They took me in April. I was singing and they took me after I did a show with my Dad. He was right there with me, then someone grabbed me. He only looked away for a second while he was loading his guitar in the van. He called for me, but I couldn’t answer him. He tore the alley apart looking for me, but they had me in their truck by then. I bet he thinks I’m dead.”

            “We can call him if you want to. You’ve been missing seven months.”

            “After we get to the hospital, please? I want to be sure they didn’t rape me. I mean, they hurt me down there. I still hurt, but I never looked at myself to see.”

            “Mandy, how about taking a look and see if Brooke’s been assaulted sexually, if that’s okay with Brooke.”

            “Brooke, is it okay to check your private area? If you trust me to look at you, I can tell if you have been hurt there or not.”

            “Okay, just be careful. They weren’t careful with me.”

            Mandy checked Brooke’s private area. She was badly bruised and cut, but all the parts to prove Brooke a virgin remained intact. She placed a icepack on the bruising after warning Brooke about the cold. She sucked in a deep breath as the cold hit her private area, but relaxed as the cold removed the pain.

            “Medic 51-A3 Island General, we are inbound with a thirteen year old female, primary complaint exposure and multiple soft tissue trauma from suspected abuse. Request private room with security. CPS is notified.”

            “Island General Medic 51-A3, affirmative. We have security standing by. Place patient in Trauma Room Three.”

            “Brooke, they are expecting you. About your father and mother?”

            “Yeah, I’d like to call them.”

            “Mandy, check this out. This is her, the girl’s picture on the ECG package is Brooke.”

                       

Reviews

[James Watts]

This is not a bad start. You have set the hook well. Send me read requests when have added more. Nice write.

[Jenny Davis]

Although I am an avid poetry reader, this story was worth the time...you have a great way of conveying a message and an image...this was fast moving and very real-to-life...I imagine this came from your own experiences and then some to add to the story, very well written :)

[PoemRodent]

Great write my friend, sorry took so long to start reviewing again. You really did a nice job here, keep them coming!!!!


Dostani

[Amy Whetzell]

Very well written. I'd loveto read more of this one.

[Marie]

This was an excellent bit of writing. Could you send me the stuff before it, please? I'd like to read or re-read, if that's the case, the stuff before this.