8-year-old Kelly wakes up from her coma and pleads for help. Stunned by the terrible ordeal the girl escaped from, the doctor immediately calls the police. Kelly had almost given up on saving her mother until an unexpected visitor entered her hospital room.
Kelly stirred awake, her eyes scanning the unfamiliar surroundings. Tubes snaked from her body, connecting to beeping machines. This white-walled room was just like the hospitals she’d only seen on TV.
Kelly’s heart raced as memories of the last time she’d seen her Mom flooded her mind. It was a moonlit night when Mom had ordered Kelly to run.
Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing kind faces. “Please help me!” Kelly pleaded. “I know the truth about my Mom! My stepfather killed her. You have to call the cops!”
Dr. Freeman listened intently as Kelly took a deep breath and recounted everything…
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Kelly, sick and weak, didn’t go to school. She descended the stairs to tell Mom about the mess on the bathroom floor. That’s when she overheard Mom’s angry whisper directed at Jerry, her stepfather.
“Jerry, the doctor specifically stated it’s coz of the contaminated water…seems he’s seen many kids and elderly people with similar symptoms,” Mom said.
Kelly frowned and curiously listened. “No…it can’t wait!” Mom snapped. “The whole town is getting affected coz of your business. If you don’t stop, then I’ll have to do it.”
Mom’s footsteps were drawing closer. Kelly dashed upstairs to her room and heard Mom raiding Jerry’s room, looking for something. Moments later, Kelly tiptoed down the hall and saw Mom packing her backpack.
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Kelly could no longer hold herself back. “Mommy, what’s wrong?” She approached Mom.
“Sweetpea! You scared me! I’m fine, darling,” Mom told her. “I have some errands to take care of, baby. I’m sorry to have to leave you when you aren’t feeling well. But this is really important.”
Kelly was disappointed. She didn’t want Mom to get involved in something dangerous, so she came up with a vague excuse to make Mom stay.
“I’m sorry, Mommy. I was a little sick. I tried to do it in the toilet. But I messed up on the bathroom floor.”
“Oh, baby!” Mom hugged Kelly. “I’ll clean it up, don’t worry. It was an accident. Everyone makes accidents. Now be a good girl and get some rest, alright? I’ll be home soon, and we’ll have your favorite pasta for dinner, okay?”
Mom then kissed Kelly and left.
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Hours passed. Kelly felt a lot better, but her eyes often darted to the front door, as she waited for Mom. Suddenly, the door creaked open, and in walked Jerry. He was alone, and Kelly was disappointed.
“Hey there, princess! Where’s your mom?” Jerry asked.
“I thought she was with you,” Kelly anxiously replied.
“With me? I haven’t seen her since this morning. Anyway, let’s get started with dinner. I’m sure Tina will be surprised when she gets home.”
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Jerry and Kelly made chicken nuggets for dinner. Mom still wasn’t home, and that got Kelly worried sick. Another hour passed, and Kelly started nudging Jerry to do something.
“Can you call Mom and find out where she is?” she asked.
“You’re still worried about her, aren’t you?” Jerry looked Kelly in the eye. She nodded.
“Fine…I’ll drop her a message, okay?” he took out his phone and typed a message.
A small smile lit up Kelly. She went off to bed, hoping to see her Mom when she woke up.
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However, when Kelly rose from bed the next morning, she saw Jerry surrounded by three cops in the living room, explaining Mom was missing.
Fear kicked in as she darted downstairs. “Mom went to see you!”
Jerry and the cops turned to Kelly. “That’s impossible…I was busy all day yesterday. I never saw Tina at all,” Jerry declared.
“No…I heard her speaking to you on the phone,” Kelly told Jerry. “She was talking about some business and poison that made people sick…then she said she was going out to do something important.”
“Did she say where she was going?” a cop asked Kelly.
“No…but I know she was going to do something Jerry didn’t want her to do.”
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Jerry chuckled. “Oh, that! Tina wanted me to get some rat poison from the store…but I had no time.”
Kelly shook her head. She was certain Mom hadn’t mentioned going to the store.
“I was at work the whole day yesterday, officer. You can confirm with my colleague, Steve,” Jerry insisted.
The cop took Steve’s contact details and left when Jerry told him Kelly was getting late for her school and that he had work.
“Alright…but we’ll be in touch if we find any leads,” the officer turned to Jerry.
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“I know you’re worried about your Mom, Kelly. But why did you lie to the police?” Jerry asked Kelly as they hurried to his truck.
“I didn’t lie. I heard Mom talking to you on the phone.”
“I know, princess. But you probably misunderstood things. This is why we don’t overhear other people’s conversations,” Jerry told her.
Kelly was upset. She hopped into the truck and froze while fastening her seat belt. Mom’s backpack was squeezed into the small storage space behind the seats.
Kelly didn’t understand what was happening. After seeing Mom’s backpack, she understood Jerry had lied to the cops and was still lying to her.
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Just as they pulled up outside the school, Jerry got distracted by a phone call. Meanwhile, Kelly got out, and as she slammed the door shut, she noticed a blue tarp covering the back of the truck.
She quickly climbed over the tailgate and hid beneath the tarp, curling up in the small gap between two large barrels and a big crate.
The truck pulled away, and Kelly quietly sat in the hideout, knowing Jerry was the key to finding her Mom.
Half an hour later, the truck stopped. Kelly heard the car door open and footsteps crunching on the gravel. Convinced the coast was clear, she lifted the flap to peek outside.
Panic surged into her veins when a hand grabbed her from behind. Kelly screamed and froze when she turned around.
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“Thought I didn’t notice you sneaking into my truck, you little brat?” Jerry snarled as he tugged Kelly from the vehicle. “You’re just like your mother…poking your nose in my private matters!”
“Let me go!” Kelly wriggled and kicked.
“No way! You’re going to join Tina,” Jerry dragged Kelly toward a dilapidated barn.
“MOM??” Kelly’s mind raced. Jerry’s frightening voice worried her. She feared that Mom might be dead and that Jerry would kill her too.
The rusted metal sheet door slammed shut behind Kelly, and she couldn’t escape. Beams of moonlight partially lit the barn’s dark corners, and then, she noticed a chilling sight.
“Mommy!” Kelly shrieked as she sprinted to the wall Mom was lying against. “Mommy…wake up!”
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“Kelly? Wha-what are you doing here?” Mom sat up, startled.
“I was looking for you. I saw your bag in Jerry’s car and realized he was lying. I hid in his truck…but he found out and threw me in here.”
“I’m so sorry, baby,” Mom hugged Kelly. “Jerry’s so dangerous. I was so wrong about him.”
“Because of the poison?” Kelly asked Mom.
“How did you know?” Mom frowned. “Jerry’s working with some bad men who pay him to dump poisonous chemicals in the lake. Those chemicals are turning the town’s water supply toxic.”
“I came here to stop Jerry, but now…We need to get out of here,” Mom gently kissed Kelly’s forehead.
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Mom scanned the barn. “That’s it!” she exclaimed, pointing at the window. “Baby, look, I’m too big to make it through that window. But you can, okay! Just climb on my shoulders and get out.”
“What about you, Mom?” Kelly worried.
“Once you’re out, you’ll find a bolt keeping this door shut. I don’t think it’s locked. Just open the door, and we’ll get out of here, okay?”
Kelly nodded and climbed onto Mom’s shoulders. She made it through the window and fell to the ground, landing safely.
Convinced nobody was around, Kelly let Mom out immediately, and they sprinted to the dark woods nearby. Kelly panted as she ran beside her mother, assuming everything was now okay. That’s when a shrill voice pierced the night air.
“They’re gone! Get the dogs…we need to find them.”
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Mom swore under her breath and stopped running. “Baby, run to the creek and get into the shallow water…the dogs won’t be able to find your scent that way, alright?”
Kelly nodded. “What about you, Mommy?”
“I’ll meet you on the other side…now run!”
Kelly bolted through the thickets, heading in the opposite direction. Several minutes later, she reached the creek and got into the water, just like Mom told her to do.
Closer and closer, she was almost there. Suddenly, a gun fired, shattering the stillness.
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Another gunshot went off as Kelly turned around. Fear rushed into her body as she froze, falling to her knees. Kelly burst into tears, but she couldn’t stop now.
She knew Mom would be waiting for her on the other side of the creek as promised. So she kept going.
Just then, a shrill scream that sounded like Mom tore through the trees. Startled, Kelly turned around to head back. But her foot slipped on a rock, and before Kelly could scream, she rolled down the icy water.
Kelly kicked hard, but the fierce current was too strong for her might.
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“…that’s all I remember,” Kelly told Doctor Freeman. “I’m sure it was my Mom screaming…
…Jerry and the other bad men must’ve killed her.”
“You’re safe here,” the doctor said. “A ranger pulled you from the river and brought you here. You’ve been in a coma since then.”
He patted Kelly’s shoulders and promised to call the cops right away. “I’ll tell the police everything you told me…and we have to leave the rest to them, alright?”
“Please tell them to hurry,” Kelly desperately nodded.
Doctor Freeman then called the cops and reported everything.
“Alright…we’ll send some officers to search for this girl’s mother immediately,” the police officer told the doctor.
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The following day, Doctor Freeman pushed a woman in a wheelchair out of the elevator and headed toward one of the wards.
“I hope you know you’re a hero,” he said. “Now we know what’s been making so many people in town sick.”
“I just did what felt right,” the woman replied.
“Here we are!” Doctor Freeman stopped outside a ward and locked the wheelchair’s brake. “She’s inside.”
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The woman rose from her wheelchair and limped toward the room.
“Kelly, you have a visitor!” Doctor Freeman opened the door.
The little girl rose from her bed, and her face lit up when she saw her visitor limp into the room.
“MOMMY!” Kelly screamed, springing out of her bed. “I thought…I thought they killed you.”
“No, darling. I’m very much alive! Just a little hurt…one of the bullets grazed my leg. But the doctor said it will heal well.”
Doctor Freeman looked on as the woman, and Kelly hugged each other and cried.
“You saved me, Kelly,” the woman told the little one. “Jerry and his men planned to cover up their illegal activities and leave. But thanks to you…the police found them. They arrested all of them and brought me here to get treatment.”
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