Ada was more than shocked as Mia showed her the pictures from the photo album, explaining them to her and Ada could see the wistful look in Mia's eyes.
"Do you remember anything?" She had asked.
Ada bit her lip, eyes now staring intently at the back of the seat that was in front of her, "I..." She wished she did.
She wished she could remember something, anything. How her room looked, or her friends.
She hated this, and she felt angry at herself for not remembering.
She felt a hand place itself on her own which was clenched tightly, "It's alright if you don't." Mia whispered, trying to comfort her little sister.
Ada wanted to scream that it wasn't alright, no one should forget their childhood. They shouldn't forget the faces of their parents. They shouldn't forget their friends. They shouldn't forget who they were.
"We're going to be landing in a few minutes, please buckle up." Came the crackle of the speaker as the captain informed the passengers.
Ada made no gesture to buckle her seat belt, so Mia took it upon herself to do so, "I... I just want to remember." Ada's lip trembled and she felt tears come to her eyes.
Mia's heart clenched as she stared at her younger sister, her baby sister, who had such a heart broken expression, "Everything will be alright, I promise."
Within twenty minutes Ada and Mia were off the plane, heading towards the exit of the airport.
Mia stopped as she felt a vibration in her pocket, which surprised her as she had nearly forgotten about the phone. Ada stopped beside her, her eyes now blank like they usually were, no longer filled with tears, "What's it say?" She asked Mia.
Mia flipped the phone open, reading the message, 'There's a car in Parking Area F, a cobalt Ford Fusion, license plate RCMA 713. You are to take that car to 19 Sycamore Place and wait for further instructions.'
"Let's go." Mia said, taking out the key that had come in the envelope, being used to this sort of situation by now.
"Any idea where that is?" Ada asked.
"Nope."
Ada nearly laughed, "Guess we're just going to have to wing it."
When they arrived in Parking Area F, it didn't take them too long to find the car and Ada had snatched the key from Mia, hopping into the driver's seat, "Why do you always get to drive?" Mia asked, lips formed in a frown as she grudgingly got into the passenger's seat.
"Because you-" Ada began, starting up the car, "-are a horrible driver."
"Horrible is a bit of an exaggeration..." Mia mumbled as she put on her seat belt.
"Whatever you say Rabs." Ada laughed, falling back into the habit of calling Mia by her nickname, just in case the car was bugged or something. You never know who is listening.
Mia took it upon herself to search through the glove compartment and center console as Ada backed out of the parking spot, "GPS." Mia announced, taking the device out of the glove compartment and plugging it in, "He said 19 Sycamore Place, right?" She asked as she plugged in the address.
"Yeah."
The automated voice of the GPS started to spit out directions as Ada drove and within a half an hour, due to a large amount of traffic, they had arrived at their destination.
Mia and Ada stared at the house in surprise as they pulled up, "This..." Mia was at a loss for words but she quickly scrambled to get the photo album out, taking out the picture that showed a clear view of their house, comparing it with the one in front of them.
They were exactly the same.
"What's going on?"
(Just letting you know, the license plate number are the initials of the girls' family, Ryan, Charlotte (mother's name I thought of, you can change it if you want), Mia and Ada and the numbers are the day they were kidnapped July 13th.)
(Ooh and the plot thickens. Nice idea with the license plate!)
Just as they pulled up a woman came out of the front door with a small boy, who ran to the SUV parked in the driveway.
Mia felt the lump in her throat and swallowed hard. It wasn't there mother. Her hair was lighter and she was younger.
Before the woman could get in the truck, Mia jumped out. Her sister shouted her name but she couldn't stop herself, she ran across the street and up to the lawn.
"Hi!" The little boy said,
"Hi," she said, taking a deep breath.
"Hello. Can I help you?" The woman asked, coming to the other side of the car where Mia was standing. She definitely was not their mother. Her hair was much darker than Mia's mother and her face was lighter as well. She didn't have the freckles that their mother had either.
"Um, do you live here?"She asked, all cool leaving her. For the last ten years it had been her job to lie and be other people, but now? She was having trouble.
"No, I don't." The woman said. "I'm Avery a friend of Charlotte's, the owner. Are you here for the walk and fundraiser?"
People always told you more than they should and needed too. Mia felt herself calm down and created a role for herself to play. "I'm Alyssa Henry, I just moved in a few streets down and my cousin and I heard about the walk and were just wondering if we could help."
"Oh," Avery said and put a hand on the little boy's head. "Well I think Charlotte and her family have done everything. I was just watching Aidan, their son and bringing him down now. You could follow me if you want?"
Mia looked toward their car, where her sister was staring intently at them. "You know we have to go back home and get some stuff. We'll meet you there. Where is it again?"
Avery smiled. "It starts in Memorial park and circles around town. You can't miss it."
"Thank you," Mia said and jogged back to the car.
"We have to change before we go to the park. I think they'll be there." She shook her head as she watched as the little boy got into the car. "They have a son. We have a brother."
Ada started driving. She tried to look at all the houses and buildings to see if she could recognize anything but nothing really came. They finally came to a motel a few miles down the road and stopped there. They got a room and changed. Ada pulled on a black wig and Mia put her hair in a bun. She went to the bathroom to wash up and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked like her mother but not quite. No one should recognize her without her hair down and no one would look at her sister because her hair was so dark. Just in case, Mia put on a dirty blonde wig.
"We can't meet with them yet. We just do recon. It's to risky. There's someone after us and I don't want to put them in danger before we can figure it out." She didn't want to admit she didn't think she was ready to meet her parents again after all these years. She wasn't even sure how they would react. They had a kid now, maybe their life was better. They put the past behind them. She bit her lip as they walked out the door and Ada pointed the car in the direction in the heart of town.
"Holy shit."
Everywhere there were posters. School pictures with their names MIA RYAN QUINN in large letters with dates 07/17/1989-07/13/2010 and ADA CHARLOTTE QUINN 01/15/1994-07/13/2001. LOST BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.
Another poster proclaimed that the annual QUINN GIRLS Fundraiser and Walk for missing children would be on 07/13/2010 in Memorial Park. There was even a banner strung up between buildings. LOST BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.
Every single person here has gathered here for the girls who they thought were missing.
For the girls who didn't remember any of them.
That's when a thought struck Ada.
Their parents hadn't forgotten them.
They had never forgotten.
Guilt hit Ada head-on. She couldn't remember her parents names or their faces and here they were, having lived nearly ten years with the knowledge that their daughters were gone and possibly dead.
"We shouldn't be here..." Ada mumbled as she followed Mia through the crowd of people, "Why did he send us here?"
"Who knows." Mia answered, peering through the crowd.
"Mia..." Ada started, but her sister swatted at her for using her real name, and here of all places, "Sorry."
"Come on, the walk is about to start soon."
Ada trailed behind her, taking in all of the faces she saw until she spotted two familiar faces, "Rabs..." She tugged at her sister's sleeve, "It's them."
Mia turned her attention to where Ada was nodding to.
Ryan and Charlotte Quinn stood there, about twenty feet away, talking with an older couple. Charlotte's hand was laced with the little boy's from earlier who was eagerly looking around at the crowd. They had changed from when the photos were taken. Age had taken hold of them and it was beginning to show. Charlotte's skin was no longer as vibrant as it was in the photo and Ryan's eyes were no longer as bright. There was another thing that had changed as well.
They looked sad.
All of the pictures of them, they were smiling, happiness showing in their eyes, but now, there was no joy in their eyes, only sadness.
Ada's attention turned towards the boy.
He was a perfect mixture of the two. Big blue eyes and tousled auburn hair.
Ada felt a familiar pull to the boy. The same sort of pull she had to Mia. He was their brother. Even if they didn't know about him until an hour ago.
"Rabs..."
Mia looked at her, curiosity in her eyes as Ada spoke, "I don't want to live this life anymore."
Mia sighed and felt all of the exhaustion, all of the fear, all of the anger bubble up and spill out in her eyes. She made a low sound in her throat as it closed and squeezed shut as she tried to wipe furiously at the tears. It wasn't fair.
She had always been good at stopping in the middle of crying and acting as if nothing was wrong. It was a occupational hazard actually but this time it wouldn't stop as she would have liked.
Ada's eyes were worried and she put a hand on her sister's shoulder to comfort her. Mia wiped at her eyes and turned her attention toward a stage that was right next to a big balloon arch that probably was the beginning of the walk.
A woman Ada didn't recognize in a two piece suit set despite the weather got up to the mike. Her face was grave but determined. She looked like a politician or public speaker of some sort, ready to rally the crowd.
"Hello everyone. I'm Martha Reedus candidate for State Senator and one of the chairperson of the Quinn girls charity for missing children."
A small round of applause after this but Martha did not pause. "Ten years ago this great town was robbed of two young children. It was a tragic loss and devastating for Mia and Ada's parents, Charlotte and Ryan. But instead of grieving in silence, they decided to share their story with the nation and they set up this wonderful charity. The Quinn girls charity has helped local and national police and the FBI educate families on protecting their family. They have also donating many funds to advancing the Amber Alert program. With all the services provided we are proud to announce that we have located three hundred and fifteen missing children in the past seven years since we have been running. Charlotte and Ryan have been there throughout it all and without them this organization would not be. Today we honor their missing children and we vow after ten years that we would never forget."
The woman took a deep breath as did the rest of the crowd. "And now I would like to introduce Charlotte Ryan."
There were applause but it was all subdued. Mia figured that it was a sad thing to celebrate and cheer but she was happy that her mother got the recognition they deserved.
"Hello." Mia and Ada's mother spoke. Behind her, their father held Aidan and looked out to the crowd with a grim expression. Mia bit her lip and listened.
"Ten years ago my husband and I put our daughters to bed in our own home and went to our neighbor's backyard to sit and enjoy the peaceful night. When we got home an hour or two later we found their beds empty. It was a mother's worst nightmare. A local search was started, frantic calls were made but they were no where to be found. The state police investigated and again, they were no where to be found. A national search was started and again, nothing. We were told that there was nothing they could do. But I could not except that. My husband and I and friends and family set up this organization to try to do our own investigation along with the police. Until three years ago when-"
Her voice broke and Mia's heart swelled. Her father reached forward and squeezed her shoulder. "When we were told that they would stop investigating. That is when I knew I needed to do more. And this is the third annual walk and fundraiser. So no mother can be told that her children are dead." Charlotte smiled. "Mia would have been twenty one in a few days and my youngest daughter would be turning seventeen." Her face scrunched up as if she was in pain and a sob escaped her. "I just wish-I'm sorry."
yan took Charlotte off stage and Martha came back to the mike. "Thank you all for coming. Thank you for supporting us, as you know it has been very hard."
Then someone else with a more uplifting voice got on the mike to tell them about the walking route. Mia couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She was so angry. Not only that she had been taking away but the pain it had caused her family. How could someone do this to them?
All she wanted to do was run and hug her mother. But she couldn't. Not yet, if ever. She felt tainted almost. Charlotte and Ryan Quinn had a little boy. They had another life. She looked at the throng of people walking in a mass exodus and wished she was just another person. She almost wished she could bring her mom and dad closure. That maybe if their bodies had been found it would have been better than this.
She hated to admit it but her and Ada had been through so much that they didn't remember. If they went back now that would just add more turmoil. No doubt they would be checked out medically, psychologically and every other way. Tests would be done to see what had been done to them. People would question their sanity, there memories.
They had to figure some stuff out. Retrace their steps or some shit like that.
"We have to solve our own abduction." She told her sister. It was the only way they could go.
She watched the people and felt a swell of more emotion. They were all their for her and her baby sister. She just wished she could give them the happy ending they dreamed of.
Later that night Mia and Ada sat in the motel room, each lost in their own thoughts.
A sudden buzzing caught the girls' attention and Mia was the first to reach out and grab the phone that was lighting up and vibrating. It took her a couple of seconds of intent staring at the screen before she started reading the message, voice shaking, "I hope you enjoyed that little look at the past and now I have a question for you." She took in a deep breath before saying the last sentence of the text message, "Do you want to know who ripped you from your home that night?"
"He..."
"He knows." Mia confirmed her sister's thoughts, "That... that bastard!"
Ada ran a hand through her hair as she got up from her bed to sit next to her sister on her own, "What are we going to do?"
Mia took a few moments, before snapping the phone shut, "We're going to find out who took us," She threw the phone to the side, "-and we're going to make sure they don't ruin any more lives." Mia turned to Ada, "Do you remember what happened after we were let out of that room?"
Ada stumbled over her words, "We were, um, they took us to that man, h-he said that he had jobs for us..."
"Yeah, but do you remember ever leaving the building or anything?"
Ada's eyebrows furrowed, "We were blindfolded, I..." She thought back to that day, they were barefoot and being led through hallways, she remembered the cool feeling of linoleum floors against her feet and the cool air due to air condition, but that's all she remembered, no grass between her toes or hard surface of concrete that she would've felt if she had gone outside, "No... we didn't leave the building."
Mia nodded, "So, the man, the man in the suit," Mia said, thinking back to the man they had met with on that day, "-he works for the organization."
"But why would he want to help us?"
Mia scoffed, "I doubt he's trying to help us." She quickly changed subject, trying to piece the memories together, "And do you remember the first job we had? Where they dropped us off?"
Ada thought back, they had been placed in the back of a van, once again blindfolded. Once they got out of the van, the blindfolds were taken off and one of the men handed them a bag before driving off again, "It was in Nevada. That old farm." Ada said, remembering the smell of fresh air and the run down barn they had explored, "We weren't in the van for that long."
"Right... right!" Mia had an excited look on her face, "So where we were kept, must be close to that old farm, we just have to retrace our steps back to there and maybe we can find out who took us."
Ada paused for a second before nodding her head, "Alright. Let's do this."
"We'll leave in the morning." Mia told her, turning off the light, "Get some sleep."
(Have to say, I'm a fan of our own story! And I feel very rude, all this back and forth I haven't even talked to you! How are you? What's up?)
Mia woke up early enough that the sun was just rising. Her sister was sprawled out on the other bed, snoring softly and deep in sleep. She hadn't been able to sleep at all. It was usually the opposite. Ada was always waking her up in the morning and telling her to hurry up and Mia would have to rush around to get ready. She was never up before her younger sister.
She went out quietly and was hit by pure sunlight, blinding her. It would have been nice and comfortable but she felt irritable this morning. She had had a late night of tossing and turning and bad dreams. At one point she had put on an informercial hoping it would bore her to sleep. She stayed awake until her eyes burned from staring at the TV's light and her head hurt from straining to hear the sound of the spokesperson even though she could give two shits about the product they were trying to sell.
She grabbed an ice tea at the vending machine and went back to the room. It was too quiet when she got back and that unsettled her. Turtle had stopped snoring and had rolled over on her back. She looked peaceful and she didn't have the heart to wake her up. They were going to have to take these moments when they could get them.
She put the TV back on low, hoping for some movie on a cable channel that she hadn't seen. Instead she got the news.
"Yesterday was the third annual walk for the Quinn Girls Charity. You might remember the horrible tragedy ten years ago when two local girls where abducted from their home. The charity raised a record breaker of two million dollars in the past year. The proceeds from that charity go to helping local and-"
Mia turned off the TV then and rubbed her temples. How could this much attention be focused on them and they were never found? How come no one ever noticed them? Were people that ignorant?
She remembered her mother's face as she made that speech yesterday. A few disconnected images flooded her mind. Her Mom looking sleepy in the morning, her mom grinning like in the picture, and now that image. Her father as well. She remembered when Turtle was born and Mom and the baby were in the hospital for a day for observation. She and Dad had gotten up and gotten McDonald's pancakes and had gone to the park. She spent the whole day giggling on the swings and going down the slides so much that the metal from the slide almost burnt her bottom as it got hot as the day went on.
It had been a perfect day. She couldn't believe she remembered it. She knew now that she never worried too much about her parents forgetting her and focusing on her sister. She always knew where she stood in the family. She was the first born and Ada was the baby. And her parent's loved them equally.
But now they had another baby. Aidan. If things had been normal she could be there right now. Or maybe she'd be living in her own apartment. She might have gone away to college or had a boyfriend. She might have gotten a job. She loved to write, maybe she would have been a novelist or a journalist. They would be having breakfast right now. Mom, dad, Mia, Ada and Aidan. Around the table in the breakfast nook. Mom would have made her pancakes and dad his famous scrambled eggs. She would have played rock, paper, scissor with Aidan for dish duty. After they could have gone swimming in the backyard and had s'mores on the fire pit.
But Aidan was an only child. Probably living in the shadow of his two older sisters he never knew. It must be terrible for him. Mom and dad must have never let him out of their sight. He was probably never able to do anything. Not that she could blame her parents. Half of abductions were done by someone the family knows and they had no way of knowing that the person wouldn't come back. If they had been there Aidan would have been allowed to do anything. By the time the third child rolls around parents have been through everything with the first and second that the last one is easy. Poor little boy.
And then she sat up on her bed. What had she just thought about? Half of the abductions were done by someone they knew?
She felt bad but she lightly shook her sister awake. "We need to go get a laptop. We have some research to do."
(I also think that maybe you should post another comment as the next part because these posts get smaller and smaller. I keep forgetting to do that...sorry. Unless you want to see how small they can get? Lol.)
"Do you remember anything?" She had asked.
Ada bit her lip, eyes now staring intently at the back of the seat that was in front of her, "I..." She wished she did.
She wished she could remember something, anything. How her room looked, or her friends.
She hated this, and she felt angry at herself for not remembering.
She felt a hand place itself on her own which was clenched tightly, "It's alright if you don't." Mia whispered, trying to comfort her little sister.
Ada wanted to scream that it wasn't alright, no one should forget their childhood. They shouldn't forget the faces of their parents. They shouldn't forget their friends. They shouldn't forget who they were.
"We're going to be landing in a few minutes, please buckle up." Came the crackle of the speaker as the captain informed the passengers.
Ada made no gesture to buckle her seat belt, so Mia took it upon herself to do so, "I... I just want to remember." Ada's lip trembled and she felt tears come to her eyes.
Mia's heart clenched as she stared at her younger sister, her baby sister, who had such a heart broken expression, "Everything will be alright, I promise."
Within twenty minutes Ada and Mia were off the plane, heading towards the exit of the airport.
Mia stopped as she felt a vibration in her pocket, which surprised her as she had nearly forgotten about the phone. Ada stopped beside her, her eyes now blank like they usually were, no longer filled with tears, "What's it say?" She asked Mia.
Mia flipped the phone open, reading the message, 'There's a car in Parking Area F, a cobalt Ford Fusion, license plate RCMA 713. You are to take that car to 19 Sycamore Place and wait for further instructions.'
"Let's go." Mia said, taking out the key that had come in the envelope, being used to this sort of situation by now.
"Any idea where that is?" Ada asked.
"Nope."
Ada nearly laughed, "Guess we're just going to have to wing it."
When they arrived in Parking Area F, it didn't take them too long to find the car and Ada had snatched the key from Mia, hopping into the driver's seat, "Why do you always get to drive?" Mia asked, lips formed in a frown as she grudgingly got into the passenger's seat.
"Because you-" Ada began, starting up the car, "-are a horrible driver."
"Horrible is a bit of an exaggeration..." Mia mumbled as she put on her seat belt.
"Whatever you say Rabs." Ada laughed, falling back into the habit of calling Mia by her nickname, just in case the car was bugged or something. You never know who is listening.
Mia took it upon herself to search through the glove compartment and center console as Ada backed out of the parking spot, "GPS." Mia announced, taking the device out of the glove compartment and plugging it in, "He said 19 Sycamore Place, right?" She asked as she plugged in the address.
"Yeah."
The automated voice of the GPS started to spit out directions as Ada drove and within a half an hour, due to a large amount of traffic, they had arrived at their destination.
Mia and Ada stared at the house in surprise as they pulled up, "This..." Mia was at a loss for words but she quickly scrambled to get the photo album out, taking out the picture that showed a clear view of their house, comparing it with the one in front of them.
They were exactly the same.
"What's going on?"
(Just letting you know, the license plate number are the initials of the girls' family, Ryan, Charlotte (mother's name I thought of, you can change it if you want), Mia and Ada and the numbers are the day they were kidnapped July 13th.)
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Just as they pulled up a woman came out of the front door with a small boy, who ran to the SUV parked in the driveway.
Mia felt the lump in her throat and swallowed hard. It wasn't there mother. Her hair was lighter and she was younger.
Before the woman could get in the truck, Mia jumped out. Her sister shouted her name but she couldn't stop herself, she ran across the street and up to the lawn.
"Hi!" The little boy said,
"Hi," she said, taking a deep breath.
"Hello. Can I help you?" The woman asked, coming to the other side of the car where Mia was standing. She definitely was not their mother. Her hair was much darker than Mia's mother and her face was lighter as well. She didn't have the freckles that their mother had either.
"Um, do you live here?"She asked, all cool leaving her. For the last ten years it had been her job to lie and be other people, but now? She was having trouble.
"No, I don't." The woman said. "I'm Avery a friend of Charlotte's, the owner. Are you here for the walk and fundraiser?"
People always told you more than they should and needed too. Mia felt herself calm down and created a role for herself to play. "I'm Alyssa Henry, I just moved in a few streets down and my cousin and I heard about the walk and were just wondering if we could help."
"Oh," Avery said and put a hand on the little boy's head. "Well I think Charlotte and her family have done everything. I was just watching Aidan, their son and bringing him down now. You could follow me if you want?"
Mia looked toward their car, where her sister was staring intently at them. "You know we have to go back home and get some stuff. We'll meet you there. Where is it again?"
Avery smiled. "It starts in Memorial park and circles around town. You can't miss it."
"Thank you," Mia said and jogged back to the car.
"We have to change before we go to the park. I think they'll be there." She shook her head as she watched as the little boy got into the car. "They have a son. We have a brother."
Ada started driving. She tried to look at all the houses and buildings to see if she could recognize anything but nothing really came. They finally came to a motel a few miles down the road and stopped there. They got a room and changed. Ada pulled on a black wig and Mia put her hair in a bun. She went to the bathroom to wash up and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked like her mother but not quite. No one should recognize her without her hair down and no one would look at her sister because her hair was so dark. Just in case, Mia put on a dirty blonde wig.
"We can't meet with them yet. We just do recon. It's to risky. There's someone after us and I don't want to put them in danger before we can figure it out." She didn't want to admit she didn't think she was ready to meet her parents again after all these years. She wasn't even sure how they would react. They had a kid now, maybe their life was better. They put the past behind them. She bit her lip as they walked out the door and Ada pointed the car in the direction in the heart of town.
"Holy shit."
Everywhere there were posters. School pictures with their names MIA RYAN QUINN in large letters with dates 07/17/1989-07/13/2010 and ADA CHARLOTTE QUINN 01/15/1994-07/13/2001. LOST BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.
Another poster proclaimed that the annual QUINN GIRLS Fundraiser and Walk for missing children would be on 07/13/2010 in Memorial Park. There was even a banner strung up between buildings. LOST BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.
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This was for them.
Every single person here has gathered here for the girls who they thought were missing.
For the girls who didn't remember any of them.
That's when a thought struck Ada.
Their parents hadn't forgotten them.
They had never forgotten.
Guilt hit Ada head-on. She couldn't remember her parents names or their faces and here they were, having lived nearly ten years with the knowledge that their daughters were gone and possibly dead.
"We shouldn't be here..." Ada mumbled as she followed Mia through the crowd of people, "Why did he send us here?"
"Who knows." Mia answered, peering through the crowd.
"Mia..." Ada started, but her sister swatted at her for using her real name, and here of all places, "Sorry."
"Come on, the walk is about to start soon."
Ada trailed behind her, taking in all of the faces she saw until she spotted two familiar faces, "Rabs..." She tugged at her sister's sleeve, "It's them."
Mia turned her attention to where Ada was nodding to.
Ryan and Charlotte Quinn stood there, about twenty feet away, talking with an older couple. Charlotte's hand was laced with the little boy's from earlier who was eagerly looking around at the crowd. They had changed from when the photos were taken. Age had taken hold of them and it was beginning to show. Charlotte's skin was no longer as vibrant as it was in the photo and Ryan's eyes were no longer as bright. There was another thing that had changed as well.
They looked sad.
All of the pictures of them, they were smiling, happiness showing in their eyes, but now, there was no joy in their eyes, only sadness.
Ada's attention turned towards the boy.
He was a perfect mixture of the two. Big blue eyes and tousled auburn hair.
Ada felt a familiar pull to the boy. The same sort of pull she had to Mia. He was their brother. Even if they didn't know about him until an hour ago.
"Rabs..."
Mia looked at her, curiosity in her eyes as Ada spoke, "I don't want to live this life anymore."
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She had always been good at stopping in the middle of crying and acting as if nothing was wrong. It was a occupational hazard actually but this time it wouldn't stop as she would have liked.
Ada's eyes were worried and she put a hand on her sister's shoulder to comfort her. Mia wiped at her eyes and turned her attention toward a stage that was right next to a big balloon arch that probably was the beginning of the walk.
A woman Ada didn't recognize in a two piece suit set despite the weather got up to the mike. Her face was grave but determined. She looked like a politician or public speaker of some sort, ready to rally the crowd.
"Hello everyone. I'm Martha Reedus candidate for State Senator and one of the chairperson of the Quinn girls charity for missing children."
A small round of applause after this but Martha did not pause. "Ten years ago this great town was robbed of two young children. It was a tragic loss and devastating for Mia and Ada's parents, Charlotte and Ryan. But instead of grieving in silence, they decided to share their story with the nation and they set up this wonderful charity. The Quinn girls charity has helped local and national police and the FBI educate families on protecting their family. They have also donating many funds to advancing the Amber Alert program. With all the services provided we are proud to announce that we have located three hundred and fifteen missing children in the past seven years since we have been running. Charlotte and Ryan have been there throughout it all and without them this organization would not be. Today we honor their missing children and we vow after ten years that we would never forget."
The woman took a deep breath as did the rest of the crowd. "And now I would like to introduce Charlotte Ryan."
There were applause but it was all subdued. Mia figured that it was a sad thing to celebrate and cheer but she was happy that her mother got the recognition they deserved.
"Hello." Mia and Ada's mother spoke. Behind her, their father held Aidan and looked out to the crowd with a grim expression. Mia bit her lip and listened.
"Ten years ago my husband and I put our daughters to bed in our own home and went to our neighbor's backyard to sit and enjoy the peaceful night. When we got home an hour or two later we found their beds empty. It was a mother's worst nightmare. A local search was started, frantic calls were made but they were no where to be found. The state police investigated and again, they were no where to be found. A national search was started and again, nothing. We were told that there was nothing they could do. But I could not except that. My husband and I and friends and family set up this organization to try to do our own investigation along with the police. Until three years ago when-"
Her voice broke and Mia's heart swelled. Her father reached forward and squeezed her shoulder. "When we were told that they would stop investigating. That is when I knew I needed to do more. And this is the third annual walk and fundraiser. So no mother can be told that her children are dead." Charlotte smiled. "Mia would have been twenty one in a few days and my youngest daughter would be turning seventeen." Her face scrunched up as if she was in pain and a sob escaped her. "I just wish-I'm sorry."
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Then someone else with a more uplifting voice got on the mike to tell them about the walking route. Mia couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She was so angry. Not only that she had been taking away but the pain it had caused her family. How could someone do this to them?
All she wanted to do was run and hug her mother. But she couldn't. Not yet, if ever. She felt tainted almost. Charlotte and Ryan Quinn had a little boy. They had another life. She looked at the throng of people walking in a mass exodus and wished she was just another person. She almost wished she could bring her mom and dad closure. That maybe if their bodies had been found it would have been better than this.
She hated to admit it but her and Ada had been through so much that they didn't remember. If they went back now that would just add more turmoil. No doubt they would be checked out medically, psychologically and every other way. Tests would be done to see what had been done to them. People would question their sanity, there memories.
They had to figure some stuff out. Retrace their steps or some shit like that.
"We have to solve our own abduction." She told her sister. It was the only way they could go.
She watched the people and felt a swell of more emotion. They were all their for her and her baby sister. She just wished she could give them the happy ending they dreamed of.
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A sudden buzzing caught the girls' attention and Mia was the first to reach out and grab the phone that was lighting up and vibrating. It took her a couple of seconds of intent staring at the screen before she started reading the message, voice shaking, "I hope you enjoyed that little look at the past and now I have a question for you." She took in a deep breath before saying the last sentence of the text message, "Do you want to know who ripped you from your home that night?"
"He..."
"He knows." Mia confirmed her sister's thoughts, "That... that bastard!"
Ada ran a hand through her hair as she got up from her bed to sit next to her sister on her own, "What are we going to do?"
Mia took a few moments, before snapping the phone shut, "We're going to find out who took us," She threw the phone to the side, "-and we're going to make sure they don't ruin any more lives." Mia turned to Ada, "Do you remember what happened after we were let out of that room?"
Ada stumbled over her words, "We were, um, they took us to that man, h-he said that he had jobs for us..."
"Yeah, but do you remember ever leaving the building or anything?"
Ada's eyebrows furrowed, "We were blindfolded, I..." She thought back to that day, they were barefoot and being led through hallways, she remembered the cool feeling of linoleum floors against her feet and the cool air due to air condition, but that's all she remembered, no grass between her toes or hard surface of concrete that she would've felt if she had gone outside, "No... we didn't leave the building."
Mia nodded, "So, the man, the man in the suit," Mia said, thinking back to the man they had met with on that day, "-he works for the organization."
"But why would he want to help us?"
Mia scoffed, "I doubt he's trying to help us." She quickly changed subject, trying to piece the memories together, "And do you remember the first job we had? Where they dropped us off?"
Ada thought back, they had been placed in the back of a van, once again blindfolded. Once they got out of the van, the blindfolds were taken off and one of the men handed them a bag before driving off again, "It was in Nevada. That old farm." Ada said, remembering the smell of fresh air and the run down barn they had explored, "We weren't in the van for that long."
"Right... right!" Mia had an excited look on her face, "So where we were kept, must be close to that old farm, we just have to retrace our steps back to there and maybe we can find out who took us."
Ada paused for a second before nodding her head, "Alright. Let's do this."
"We'll leave in the morning." Mia told her, turning off the light, "Get some sleep."
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Mia woke up early enough that the sun was just rising. Her sister was sprawled out on the other bed, snoring softly and deep in sleep. She hadn't been able to sleep at all. It was usually the opposite. Ada was always waking her up in the morning and telling her to hurry up and Mia would have to rush around to get ready. She was never up before her younger sister.
She went out quietly and was hit by pure sunlight, blinding her. It would have been nice and comfortable but she felt irritable this morning. She had had a late night of tossing and turning and bad dreams. At one point she had put on an informercial hoping it would bore her to sleep. She stayed awake until her eyes burned from staring at the TV's light and her head hurt from straining to hear the sound of the spokesperson even though she could give two shits about the product they were trying to sell.
She grabbed an ice tea at the vending machine and went back to the room. It was too quiet when she got back and that unsettled her. Turtle had stopped snoring and had rolled over on her back. She looked peaceful and she didn't have the heart to wake her up. They were going to have to take these moments when they could get them.
She put the TV back on low, hoping for some movie on a cable channel that she hadn't seen. Instead she got the news.
"Yesterday was the third annual walk for the Quinn Girls Charity. You might remember the horrible tragedy ten years ago when two local girls where abducted from their home. The charity raised a record breaker of two million dollars in the past year. The proceeds from that charity go to helping local and-"
Mia turned off the TV then and rubbed her temples. How could this much attention be focused on them and they were never found? How come no one ever noticed them? Were people that ignorant?
She remembered her mother's face as she made that speech yesterday. A few disconnected images flooded her mind. Her Mom looking sleepy in the morning, her mom grinning like in the picture, and now that image. Her father as well. She remembered when Turtle was born and Mom and the baby were in the hospital for a day for observation. She and Dad had gotten up and gotten McDonald's pancakes and had gone to the park. She spent the whole day giggling on the swings and going down the slides so much that the metal from the slide almost burnt her bottom as it got hot as the day went on.
It had been a perfect day. She couldn't believe she remembered it. She knew now that she never worried too much about her parents forgetting her and focusing on her sister. She always knew where she stood in the family. She was the first born and Ada was the baby. And her parent's loved them equally.
But now they had another baby. Aidan. If things had been normal she could be there right now. Or maybe she'd be living in her own apartment. She might have gone away to college or had a boyfriend. She might have gotten a job. She loved to write, maybe she would have been a novelist or a journalist. They would be having breakfast right now. Mom, dad, Mia, Ada and Aidan. Around the table in the breakfast nook. Mom would have made her pancakes and dad his famous scrambled eggs. She would have played rock, paper, scissor with Aidan for dish duty. After they could have gone swimming in the backyard and had s'mores on the fire pit.
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And then she sat up on her bed. What had she just thought about? Half of the abductions were done by someone they knew?
She felt bad but she lightly shook her sister awake. "We need to go get a laptop. We have some research to do."
(I also think that maybe you should post another comment as the next part because these posts get smaller and smaller. I keep forgetting to do that...sorry. Unless you want to see how small they can get? Lol.)
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