Embedded Files
By Brynn Shaw
May 2nd, 12:13 pm, the underground tunnels of Lewistown, 2004
Jasmine, Nyla, Jade, Raina, and Flo rushed through the underground tunnels. “Escaping, Escaped, Safe? Escaping, Escaped, Safe?” thought Jasmine.
The corners of her mouth slowly turned upwards, even though she knew they were far from safe. As the children began to relax, voices broke out from one end of the tunnel. Raina's little brother, Florence, more often called Flo, turned to look at the closer-coming police.
“No, Flo!” yelled Raina.
She turned just in time to scoop him up and keep running. As Raina caught up with her friends, they were met with…
April 25, 6:14 am, Straightlock Orphanage, Lewistown, 2004
Jade and Jasmine laid the paper plans over the bed.
“So?” asked Raina.
Nyla taped her forehead, a nervous habit she had developed after Mam Elle threatened to hit her with a broom when she spilled jello on a prized hall rug.
Raina nibbled her nails, then glanced at Flo, sleeping on a hard metal cot. When he shivered, she pulled off her sweater and gently placed it across his bare legs. Raina and Nyla both let out soft sighs. Jade and Jasmine, twins, understood their restlessness. Considering that Raina and Nyla had been at Straightlock far longer than the others, this escape they were about to try and pull off seemed far more important to them.
While Raina and Nyla were older, they had never been to school. If they had, they would be in about 6th or 7th grade, while the twins had not finished 4th grade when their parents died in a tragic car crash.
Now, Jade and Jasmine are 12, Nyla is 14, and Raina is 13. Flo’s exact age and birthday are unknown; he and Raina were very young when they were just dropped off at the orphanage, Raina being old enough to know her age. He is estimated to be about 7 or 8, currently. Even though the orphanage was supposed to teach, they only taught the children incredibly hard math, which would not be used in the outside world, and told them the grade they were in.
“Ok, I think I get it!” Nyla exclaimed. “We escape through the air vent above shower 13b, and somehow make it down to the underground tunnels and run, just hoping they don't find us?”
She batted her eyes and made a “Seriously??” Face.
“Basically,” Jade said.
Raina sighed.
“I don't have confidence that Flo will be safe here without us. What if they, like, strangle him like they did Jane Retena?”
“What if…..we take him with us?” Jasmine asked, glancing at Flo.
“That's a good idea!” Raina exclaimed.
They had been planning around Flo, coming back to get him somehow. For some reason, no one had thought of just bringing him along.
May 2nd, 12:47 pm, the upper ramps of the underground tunnels, Lewistown, 2004
Bang. A bullet barely missed Nyla’s ear. There were officers with handguns shooting at them.
“This was not”–She stopped to catch her breath–“planned,” breathed Raina.
“Guns,” Jasmine said
“Guns were most definitely not planned on,” Nyla reached for Raina’s hand.
“It’s gonna be okay”
Raina sighed and muttered
“It’s not going to be okay, not with guns coming into play.” Nyla leaned down and whispered something in her ear, and the comforting words seemed to calm her down a little. Raina and Nyla were almost like sisters, they had known each other their entire lives.
The girls were almost out of the tunnels, and once they were out of Lewistown, the police had no concern for them any longer. They should be able to walk far enough, until finally reaching Pandama Road, where Nyla’s mother lives. Nyla ended up in the Orphanage after her single mother was wrongly convicted of 2nd-degree murder.
October 2nd, 9:54 pm, Striaghtlock Orphanage, Lewistown, 1996
5-year-old Nyla Bakshi sat quietly on her bed. Her mama was gone. The men in blue came to get her yesterday. They put metal rings around her wrists and said “You are under arrest, mam”. They dragged her out of the house and put her in a blue car. Then another blue car drove to Nyla’s house. The men put her inside. That was the last time she saw her mama. The blue men brought her here. The people here were mean. They told her that she was garbage. They made her wear a blue shirt, like the other children.
Throughout the next couple of days, subtle changes were being made. Nyla noticed that her small, shabby bed was now accompanied by another one. A small doll crib had been pushed into the corner. She pretended not to notice, doing her load of daily math homework and tidying up the room. Inside, her thoughts were a windstorm. Is someone moving in? Is a housekeeper having a child? Is Mam Elle—Ding-dong—The Straightlock bell rang through the halls, interrupting her mental chaos. Nyla sat up. She felt goosebumps forming on her skin from the chills. She saw the lady called Mam Elle push a young blond girl holding a baby into the room. The girl stumbled into the bed next to her, then dropping her backpack, moved toward a small crib to set the baby into.
The next morning Nyla mustered up all her courage and talked to the girl. Her name was Raina. Her brother, Florence, was just born. They instantly became friends. They both wished for freedom. Escaping only seemed like a dream….
August 16, 10:11 am, Straightlock Orphanage, Lewistown, 2002
Jade and Jasmine were scared. Very, very scared. So scared, the first two nights at Straighlock they barely ate or even spoke. They had been quite traumatized. Their fears were calmed when they met Nyla and Raina, two girls who knew the orphanage like the back of their hands. Jade thought back to Violet, her best friend, who she left without goodbye. The girls had barely finished 4th grade when their parents died in a car crash, and they were taken to the orphanage.
May 3rd, 11:14 am, The streets of Bayland City, 2004
The children had been walking all night, only stopping for short breaks. After Flo was almost hit by a car, Raina stopped to establish some rules, like not talking to strangers and looking both ways before crossing roads. They had made it out of the state, so technically no one was looking for them. This was unsure because not police, but orphanage managers may still be looking.
“We need to stop,” Raina said “We won't get much farther without food or sleep”.
“Yes,” Jasmine agreed, “But the little money we were able to steal from Mam Elle won't get us far”.
“Mm, Pizza,” Flo said. Raina looked to where he was pointing.
“$4 for a whole pizza?” She exclaimed. “I think that's cheap!”
“It sure is,” Jade said, assuming it was a scam. The girls decided it would be worth just going in to see if it was true.
May 3rd, 11:34 am, Louie's Pizzeria, Bayland City, 2004
Bring. The bell dinged as they walked through the door. Nyla walked up to the counter. “Hi, I was hoping to get one cheese pizza?” She said hopefully. “That'll be $4,” The grumpy guy behind the counter said. Nyla smiled. “Thank you”. She turned and looked at her friends. “Should I do it?” She mouthed. They all gave her a thumbs up. Nyla pulled a dollar out of her pocket. She handed it to the grumpy man. Then, to her surprise, he turned around and yelled, “One full-size cheese pizza, get ‘em done!”
Flo munched loudly on his pizza. “I wuv pizza.”
“Love, Flo” Raina corrected him.
“Love,” He said proudly.
After quickly devouring the salty pizza, they were even more thirsty than before. Nyla walked back up to the counter. Somehow the person at the register had changed, and was now a young girl, maybe in her early 20s. “How much for 3 bottles of water?” Nyla asked sweetly. “That’ll be $5,” The girl said. Nyla blinked. If she paid that, they would only have $14 left, and they still needed to eat on their trip. “Um, how much for just one?” Nyla asked. “$1.50,” The girl said. “Ok,” Nyla handed the girl $2. “And a few extra straws please.”
Flo basically inhaled the water. Raina had to pull the straw out of his mouth. Just then, Channel 4, the news began to play.
“5 kids missing from an orphanage in Lewistown. Police are on the lookout,” The reporter said.
“No!” Raina said, a bit too loudly. “The girl behind the counter looked at them. “Are you…” Her voice trailed off. “Follow me!”. When no one responded or made a move to follow her, she said, in a loud whisper, “Look, I think I can help you, ok? Jasmine turned to her friends.
“Look, guys, if she helps us, she helps us. Great! If she doesn't and reports us to
the police, we are out of luck. But if we run away, we either miss good help or she reports us. There is no upside at this point,” she said. Her friends nodded in agreement. Slowly, they stood up and followed the girl into the kitchen.
May 3rd, 12:01 am, Behind Louie's Pizzeria, Bayland City, 2004
They moved around the chefs and spilled flour until they reached a back door. Outside, the girl introduced herself. She said her name was Valerie. “Look, I'm gonna help you guys,” Valerie said. “But I can't help you forever. Do you know where you are going?”
“Yes!” Jade said. “We are going to 13 Panama Road, where my mother lives,” Nyla stepped in. “Oh, that reminds me!” Valerie exclaimed, and strangely she asked, “What are your guys’ stories? Like, how did you end up in the orphanage?” She asked. “I mean like, only if you are comfortable sharing”. They didn't know she was asking this for a very important reason…
“I am,” Nyla said. “When I was five, my mother was convicted of murdering her then-boyfriend, also my father. She was put in jail. If everything went smoothly, she should have been out for at least a year now.”
“Wow,” Valerie said. “What about you?” She asked, pointing to Jasmine. “You stood up for me,” She said, smiling.
“Well, I’m her twin,” Jasmine said, pointing to Jade. “Anyway, our parents died in a car crash, and well, you know.”
“Yeah,” said Valerie. “What about you guys?” Valerie's facial expression changed when she looked at Raina and Flo, but no one put a finger on why.
“Well, we went to the orphanage when our mom got sick and we couldn't stay with her. We don't know what happened. I was so young…” A tear dripped down Raina's face while thinking about her mom. Everyone was looking at Raina and no one noticed that Valerie was crying too. Raina continued. “I had a sister too. I don't know what happened….” Raina locked eyes with Valerie. “We’re”
“Sisters,” Valerie finished.
May 3rd, 1:23, Valerie’s car, Highway 12, 2004
“What happened to Mom?” Raina said.
“I didn't know you had a sister,” Jade said.
“What a coincidence we found Raina’s older sister nobody even knew about!” Nyla joked. Everyone was talking.
“Ok, ok,” Valerie said. She sighed, “I know this is sad, but do you remember when mom said, 'It'll all be fine, I will see you again soon?’”
Raina thought for a moment.
“I think so?” Valerie continued talking.
“Well, Mom went to the hospital that day. She passed a few weeks later.”
Valerie looked at Raina. “I’m so so sorry sis.” A tear dropped down Raina's cheek. “S-s’ok,” Raina said, voice shaking.
“I’m sorry sis,” Valerie repeated, taking one hand off the steering wheel to rub Raina's back.
It took Raina a long time to convince Flo that he was, in fact, Valerie's sister. Jade, Jasmine, and Nyla also needed to be convinced Raina and Flo had a sister.
May 5th, Valerie's apartment, Seston, 2004
“So you are 100% sure that your mom will be there?” Valerie asked Nyla. “Like, 99.9%,” Nyla answered. “Ok then, today's the day,” Valerie replied, grabbing her car keys. “Wait, right now?!” Jade questioned. “Yes,” Valerie said. She swung open the door and moved toward the elevator. She stopped and turned when no one followed her. “What's up, guys?” she said, “Are you coming?”.
Nyla, Jade, Jasmine, and Flo turned to show Raina, crying in the corner.
“What’s wrong, Raina?!” Valerie cried. “Are you OK?”
“No,” Raina sniffed. “I’m not ok”.
“Why are you not ok? Are you hurt?” Valerie said in a concerned voice.
“What did I do to you?” Raina whined. “Why are you so eager to find Nyla's mom? Don't you love me?!”
“I-I,” Valerie had no words. She sighed, tears running down her face. “Look, sis, I-I am only 17. If the police found me, I would go to jail. I am not an adult yet. I shouldn't be living alone, let alone having 5 other kids with me.”
“Oh,” Raina said. “I thought I was a burden that you didn't want”.
“You've never been a burden,” Valerie claimed. “Never ever”
“Not even when I filled your pillowcase with erasers when you were in 3rd grade?” Raina said, wiping her tears and smiling.
“Ok, maybe a little bit then,” Valerie said, laughing. “Well, with that covered, shall we go?” Jasmine asked.
“Yes!” Raina and Jade said together.
“Hey, that was my line,” Raina joked. Jade made a disgusted face.
“C’mon, I’m getting bored with this place,” Flo said. Everyone laughed. They rode down the crowded elevator and piled into Valerie's car.
May 5th, Panama Road, Seston, 2004
“My stomach is churning,” Nyla claimed.
“Why?” asked Valerie.
“I mean, she’s gonna see her mom for the first time in 9 years,” Jade said. “Yeah, I can't imagine why she's nervous,” Jasmine added. Valerie just nodded.
The car pulled up to the house.
“Well, she’s painted it blue,” Nyla said.
“Ooh, change,” Jasmine said playfully. Nyla closed her eyes. When she opened them, she swung open the car door.
“She better still live here,” Raina said. “What do we do if she doesn't?” Jade said.
“I don't know,” Valerie said. “I think we just ask if the people who answer the door know where she lives now”.
“True,” Nyla said, ringing the doorbell. “Moment of truth,” she said, taking a deep breath.
An older lady with deep brown eyes opened the door. “Hello, children,” she said, sounding a bit scared. “Can I help you?”.
“Mama,” Nyla said under her breath. “Yes,” She said. “Did you have a 5-year-old daughter 9 years ago who would now be 14?’’
“I did,” The woman said. “When I went to jail for 'murdering' her father, which I didn't do, she went to an orphanage that I don't even know the name of, and can't get custody because of my 'criminal' past…” Tears were running down her cheeks.
“Well, I know where she is,” Nyla said.
“Where?” The woman said. “Where, where, where, where, where??” She said, shaking her head back and forth violently.
“Me,” Nyla stuttered. “It 's–it's me!”
Page updated
Report abuse