And so that's how Ashley and I ended up in the back of a police car. Cuffed like prisoners for the crime of, uh, opposing human trafficking?

We pass most of the trip in silence, watching the same stupid town as usual pass in the window. A country song sung by a woman plays on the car's speakers, but it's so quiet that I can only make out a few words here and there.

Ashley breaks the silence when she comments, "Wow Anja. You sure know how to push people's buttons."

This gets a smile out of me. "Hehe. Yeah, I guess I do."

She takes a long breath, as if preparing for something. Then, she says, "Anja, I'm sorry."

Pleasantly surprised, I don’t respond at first. She closes her eyes and continues after a moment. "You are a really good friend, Anja. In fact, with Zoe promoted to girlfriend, you're the only possible candidate to be my best friend. I... appreciate you."

My smile grows wider, and I think I turn a little pink. "Oh... thanks Ashley. It does mean a lot."

We stay silent for the rest of the trip. I vaguely make out the words "All I wanna be is done!" from the song. Well, I can relate to that much.

----------------------------------------

Nova was looking out the window as Ashley and Anja were taken away… in cuffs. I can't imagine what they would've been doing to warrant that. The others think there's a mole within the force, so maybe he realized they're onto him?

Because of that, we don’t get any updates from them, but thankfully we didn't need any. I called my dad, who's still at work, and told him to be on the lookout for a red-haired girl and a short tomboy with glasses. The rest is in their hands.

"You're sure we can trust your dad, right?" Ruth asks when I get off the phone. The four of us are lounging in Charlotte's apartment near the front window.

"He's completely oblivious that there even is a plot," I respond, which from what I could tell is true. "It seems that they're not communicating within their own ranks."

"Well, that could be an interesting conversation," Charlotte adds.

"That's what I'm hoping for," I say.

"Hey, your landlord's that Indian lady, right?" Nova asks, still intently watching the window. "She's getting into her car right now."

"Really? Where?" I ask, looking out the window and not seeing any movement.

Nova points, and after a few seconds I spot someone who's starting up her car.

"How'd you find her so quickly?" I ask, impressed.

"I… dunno?" Nova says. "I just saw it."

"As an fyi, she's actually Pakistani!" Charlotte corrects. "She’s pretty particular about that."

"Are you talking about Ms. Patel?" Charlotte's mom asks, coming into the room. I turn to look at her for a second, and then turn my eyes down to the floor to not be rude.

"Uh, yeah," Charlotte replies, trying to sound casual. "Just reminding them, since a lot of people assume she's Indian."

"Yeah, she does seem to have an issue with that, huh?" Charlotte's mom says thoughtfully. "Anyways, I wanted to let you all know that you're welcome to stay for dinner."

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Viridian," I say courteously. "I'd love to."

"Well you seem like a nice young man," she says. "What’s your name?"

"I'm Kevin,” I say. I turn back to her, making sure to look at her eyes, and shake her hand. "Nice to meet you." I find myself unreasonably nervous and short of breath talking to her…

"I'm Ruth," Ruth says. "I think I'll be staying as well. As will Nova."

"What?" Nova says, looking a little dazed.

"Wonderful," Charlotte's mom says, smiling at us all. "I apologize for being cross with you all earlier. I just don't want any of you getting yourselves into danger."

"I understand completely!" I say, a little too quickly. "We'll be on our best behavior." I feel my phone vibrate and ignore it.

"Where'd those other two girls go?" Charlotte's mom asks, looking around the sitting room.

"They went home already," Ruth answers.

"Hey guys," Nova says in a whisper. "Group chat."

I feel a rush of excitement. Did Ashley or Anja get their phones? Or maybe Zoe's telling us she's alright? I get my phone out and open Skype to see…

Zoe: HEY FAGGOTS

Nova: ZOE?? HOLY SHIT

Zoe: NO DUMBASS IT'S COLLIN

WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE

Charlotte: Ooh I'm in a group chat :o

We're going to rescue her.

You can count on us!

Zoe: RESCUE HER FROM WHAT

EXPLAIN SHIT

Ruth: You're safe in Jason's apartment, right?

Zoe: YES I'M FINE

Ruth: Kat and Charlie too?

Zoe: YEAH EXCEPT WE'RE ALL TRAUMATIZED FROM BEING TRANSPORTED INTO HELL

Nova: that wasn't hell

Zoe: WELL WHAT THE FUCK WAS IT THEN

Ruth: Please stop shouting.

Allow us to explain the situation.

----------------------------------------

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Before long we arrive at the police station in town. We're led past the front desk, which is currently unmanned, and into a plain, fluorescent-lit hallway. Now that we're here, it's time for the hard part.

"Officer," I say. "We need to call our parents. They'll be worried about us."

"We will be calling your parents, don't worry," the officer responds.

"I… don’t remember my home number," I say, improvising. "I need to check it on my phone."

"We're the police, little girl. We have the numbers of everyone in town."

Well, damn. He seems intent on not letting us use our phones. Does he know…?

Another police officer emerges from his office. This one I recognize; the bespectacled, somewhat square-jawed officer who met us when we escaped from Ms. Truman's palace. AKA, Kevin's dad. We're not fucked yet!

Officer Snyder looks up at us with recognition. He smiles at Ashley and says, "I thought I told you to stay out of trouble, young miss."

"You know these girls?" the other officer asks.

"Sure do," Kevin's dad says. "They go to school with my son. What trouble did they get into this time?"

"We didn't do anything wrong," Ashley says defiantly. "We're being silenced!"

"They've been disturbing the peace," the other officer explains. "I got there as they had just destroyed a lady's office. I don’t plan to press charges, but they're restrained just in case they try to act aggressive again."

"What??? That wasn't us!" I protest, but at the same time I curse myself. Of course, she wasn't just destroying her office for no reason. It was to have an excuse for our arrest!

"Really?" Kevin's dad asks. "Does this have anything to do with the disappearance?"

The police officer can't catch himself fast enough; there is a brief moment of surprise on his face, before he resets it and says, "A private word, please." He takes Kevin's dad a little ways down the hall, and they converse in low voices.

We're up against a crafty opponent, but we have some tricks up our sleeve as well. Looks like Kevin's idea was worth something.

Kevin's dad ends up taking us back to his office, where we both take a seat across from his desk. In friendlier territory, maybe we can press our advantage and get the ‘good’ ending. If not, ‘neutral’ will have to do.

"Officer. We already know where our friend is," I say. "We can give exact directions of how to get there, so if you could drive us, we-"

"Officers have it under control," Kevin's dad says, smiling warmly at us. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll have your friend back soon."

“Yeah, I'm not holding my breath,” Ashley mutters bitterly.

“Hey now,” Kevin’s dad says to Ashley. “Who can we trust, if not our police force?”

“Who can we trust indeed,” Ashley responds mysteriously.

“Officer… hear me out,” I say. “Can't you admit that there have been some strange things happening around here?”

“Like what?” he asks, leaning back in his chair.

“Remember the day we met? The response for the police officers there was a complete mess. You were the only one who had the idea of checking security cams.”

He scratches his chin, thinking about this. “How did you know about the... Well, I suppose that doesn’t matter. I think everyone was just confused. We were being told one thing and then another thing, and we never had-”

“My parents were very unimpressed with the other officers there,” Ashley interjects, cutting him off. “That’s how we know about that. Seems like they weren’t really motivated when it wasn’t one of their kids on the line.”

“I’m sure their hearts were in the right place,” Kevin’s dad argues. “But yeah, we could’ve handled that a lot better. What does that have to do with today, though?”

“Because, intentions are not good enough. They must be followed by action,” I state bluntly. “And, how do you know they’re going to handle this situation well? I’d feel much better if someone we know was on the case.”

“Well, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but there is a problem,” Kevin’s dad explains, trying his best to be patient. “As a police officer, it is important to follow a clear protocol, as breaking it could interfere with an investigation. This isn’t like one of those movies, I can't just ‘go rogue’ and be the hero. Doing so will probably just make everything more confusing. That’s why everything we do has a structure. Not to mention, violating protocol will incur penalties or possibly termination, and I have a daughter going through college and a son who's not far off from going himself, so my family can’t afford that. If you have issues with how our department is run, your best bet is to take it up with our Sheriff. But I’m not in a position to just take over this investigation.”

Well. I’m not sure how we’re going to convince him now. Might be time for plan B: ask to use the bathroom.

But before I can say anything, Ashley chimes in, “Hmm. Actually, I think I would like to take it up with the Sheriff.”

Not expecting this at all, I stare at her. “What?” I ask.

“Can you show me the way to his office?” Ashley continues, ignoring me.

“Oh. Uh, sure,” Kevin’s dad says, seeming taken aback. “We can walk down and see if he's there.”

I lean over to Ashley to whisper, “What are you doing? This wasn't part of the plan!”

“I have a better idea,” Ashley whispers back to me. “Just trust me, okay?

“Alright Anja, hold tight here for a moment. Ashley, follow me,” Kevin’s dad says, getting up from his seat. He leads Ashley into the hallway, leaving me to wonder what impulse overtook her. Also, I wish he had uncuffed me before he left, because I actually do have to use the bathroom.

----------------------------------------

I don't know how much time passes. I can't do anything but sit here as the last words of those men and the girl I'm with, who has remained silent since, ring in my ears.

Images from history books of dark-skinned people in chains, forced to work in fields, echo through my mind as well, and I start to put together what's going on. There are some people who only value someone by their appearance, and those men are just like them. They view us as chattel, only defined by our monetary value. But even within the chattel, there are some who are preferred. It is unfair, sickening… I guess I understand why she was mad at me. She expects me to just abandon her. Cast away, left for dead, for something of no fault of your own… What a horrible feeling.

I'm shocked out of my stupor when the door to our room opens.

For a foolish moment, I expect it to be Ted, or Ashley, or I don't know, Ashley's parents, a police officer, someone here to let me free. Instead, it's a dark-skinned woman I've never seen before.

"Hello there, Zoe," the woman tells me cheerily.

I don't say anything.

"My name is Ms. Patel," she continues. "I've come to rescue you."

I feel a rush of excitement, followed immediately by skepticism to douse it. "The lady from the apartment?" I ask.

"That’s right!" she confirms. "Your girlfriend is really worried about you. Let's get you home, okay?"

She's talked to Ashley? Maybe she really is helping me. But isn't she the landlady? I thought she was the bad guy.

What did they say about her? She makes people "disappear" from the apartment. Can I trust her?

"How did you find me?" I ask.

"The ginger girl had figured out exactly where you got taken," Ms. Patel explains. "When she told me, I came right here to get you out."

I feel a warmth inside of. Ashley was out there looking for me- I knew she would be! Feeling relieved, I get up and take a few steps towards the door-

…

But…

I turn around. The other girl here, the one with olive skin…

"Wait. What about her?" I ask, gesturing towards her.

"Hmm? What about her?" Ms. Patel asks.

"I don't want these men to hurt her anymore."

"Of course, nobody does," Ms. Patel says, with a poor attempt at a reassuring smile. "But, sometimes life's unfair. Come on."

"Hey! Let's take her with us, too!" I say, smiling. All she has to do is come with us, and…

"That’s not how this works, kid," Ms. Patel says flatly. "Come on, stop wasting my time. Don’t you want to be free?"

"But... why can’t she come?"

"We can't do anything for her. You have a family waiting for you. She doesn't. She has nowhere to go."

I think for a moment… "But surely anywhere is better than here," I reason. "Isn’t there a shelter that can take her?"

"Nope. Come on, Zoe," she says quickly, as if that settled the matter.

I start to feel frustrated. Why can’t she just take both of us? Is she like the men, in that she believes I'm just worth more for some reason?

Wait… in that case, she must actually be working with them. Think about it… how else would she be able to waltz in here? Why is nobody else trying to stop her? It makes too much sense… she's in on this somehow.

"No," I say.

Ms. Patel looks shocked, as if I struck her. "No??? Don’t be absurd. Would you rather stay here???"

I imagine what will happen if I stay here… what exactly are they planning to do? I feel afraid… I remember Kevin, how empty and defeated he looked when Ms. Truman had taken advantage of him…

I look back at the girl. Did they do that to her? No wonder she looks so miserable.

"I don't want them to hurt her ever again," I say. "If you really cared, you'd take us both."

Ms. Patel takes a long, deep breath. I think I made her angry…

"So. You’re just as stubborn as your friends. You bunch of bleeding hearts would rather march to your own demise if it means clinging to the illusion of morality. You know you're not helping her, right? The options are, you go free and she gets abused, or both of you are abused. What happens to you has no effect on her outcome. So you have no reason to refuse my offer."

"But those aren't the only two options!" I plead. "You can take us both! I'm not worth more than her, why should only I escape?"

"Because your parents are some of the most influential and affluent people in town, idiot girl!" she says sharply. "The town will rejoice when you're rescued! And her? She'll just be another burden on the welfare system. Who cares?"

"ANYONE WITH A HEART WOULD CARE!" I shout, losing my temper. I walk back to my mattress and plop down onto it. "You're just a selfish person who wants fame. You don't deserve any. Go away!"

"So that's what this is? Spite?" Ms. Patel spits at me. "Spite for the person who came out to free you? Well. Aren't you an absolutely ingrateful fucking brat then! When you're being raped six ways from Sunday, remember this moment. Remember when you denied your own freedom out of SPITE!"

She slams the door, the sound ringing through the room, until fading and dying down, taking my easy chance at an escape with it.