A State Away

John L.

*This is not a true story but I hope you enjoy*

Josh enjoyed talking to people online and never really had complications with it. He rarely ran into creeps that everyone seems to warn us about. Everyday at school he has a story to share about someone he met. It was his hobby and we didn't judge.

One morning at school he was sitting quietly, not sad, depressed, or mad.. just quiet. I sat next to him and asked him if he had a new story to share. He looked at me and smiled. Josh told us he met a girl our age online and she was only a few hours away. Obviously we warned him she might be fake and be careful. A few months passed and she was all he talked about. No one new, just her. Her name was Vanessa and he had gotten some pictures from her. She was beautiful. She was in theater at her school and performed in every play she could.

They had called on the phone and video chatted a lot so we weren't really concerned with if she was fake anymore. A few months passed and when he got to school he couldn't sit still and he was rambling on and on and on. Something about he could go see her and spend a few days up there. Spring break was coming up so we had a week off school. Josh planned to go up to Georgia and see her for 3 or 4 days and come back. We live near the top of Florida so this wasn't impossible. Only a few hours away like I said.

The day he was heading out he called me and told me he was on the bus and he was having a hard time sitting still. We talked for a while but as he got close he told me he would call me back that night.

When Josh got off the bus he was greeted by Vanessa and an older man he assumed was her father. He hugged her and they walked over to a black truck. They drove back to her house and went inside for dinner. As they ate her father obviously had quite a few questions and they spent the time getting to know each other. I sat around that night waiting for his phone call telling me how it went. That phone call came late at night and he told me something seemed off. He was sleeping on the couch but he could here the father in his room walking around. It sounded like he was getting stuff out of drawers.

This was odd because it was almost midnight. We came to the conclusion that he was just getting ready for bed. Maybe he stayed up late every night. Just in case Josh texted me the address and told me he would call each night at 11:30. We hung up and went to bed.

The next day they went out around town and had fun doing simple things. Walking around parks, feeding ducks, getting lunch, nothing out of the normal. When they went back to Vanessa's house her dad went to his room and said he would be right back. Vanessa asked if she could hold Josh's phone to take selfies on it for him. Of course he gave it too her. She held the phone and said she was sorry.

Her father came out and hit him. He fell to the floor unconscious. Needless to say, I didn't get the phone call that night, or the next. I started to freak out but decided to take my car and drive up there to find out if everything was ok. I didn't want to cause a panic over nothing. I drove up there and started searching for her house. When I finally found it there wasn't a truck there so I figured they were out doing something. I parked around the corner and played on my phone. I glanced at the house every now and then to see if they were home yet.

As it started getting dark the truck pulled in. Vanessa and her father got out but Josh wasn't with them. I tried to call his cell and that's when I new something was wrong. Vanessa pulled it out of her pocket and looked at it then showed it to her father. He pushed the end call button and it went to voicemail. I pulled over to the house as they went inside.

I ran up and knocked on the door. Her father opened the door.

"Can I help you?" He gave me a confused look and glanced around to make sure I was alone.

"My friend Josh came here to meet a girl named Vanessa and I haven't heard from him. Is he ok?" He looked at me with a confused look and I couldn't tell if it was real or not.

"Josh left last night without saying a word. We figured we scared him off and he was going home"

"Then why does your daughter have his phone?" He paused like he was thinking of an excuse.

"She doesn't" I definitely knew something was wrong now.

I backed away from the door a few steps "I sat around the corner and called it. I saw her pull it out of her pocket and you hung it up" I was getting really nervous and he seemed to be calm still.

"Would you like to come look around?" I shook my head and took off running for my car. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and started dialing 911. I felt something hard hit the back of my head. I fell to the ground and he started dragging me back to the house. I heard the operator on the phone asking what my emergency was.

I quickly yelled his address and started screaming for help. He smashed my phone then took me inside and closed the door behind us. He pulled me towards a strange door and I started fighting back more but something else hit me in my side and took my breath away. I looked and Vanessa hit me with a bat.

When he opened the door it was a stair case going down into a padded room. I saw Josh strapped to a chair in the room. I couldn't help but feel this was it. I was going to die down here. I grabbed onto the door as my last hope. I heard the sirens outside and there was pounding on the door. I screamed as loud as I could. They opened the door and arrested the man and his daughter. Josh was rushed to the ER for severe wounds to his head and body.

I was given ice and some pain pills in the back of an ambulance. I kept getting questioned about what I knew and I told them everything. When I was done I went to the hospital to visit Josh. He had an IV in his arm but he was awake. I walked in and he smiled.

"They said you were the one who saved me" I smiled and sat in a chair near the bed.

"What happened?" I saw the chills run down his body.

"They got some sick thrill out of torturing me. They hit me, cut me, did just about everything they could think of" He teared up.

"It's over now" I hugged him and the next day we went home.

*This isn't a real story but this is a lesson. Be careful who you talk to online and if you are going to meet someone in person that you talk to online, don't go alone. I hope you enjoyed*