Page 49 of Echoes From Within
“Here they are,” she says, standing from her chair.
I take her seat and carefully go through the forms. There are a total of thirty beds in the community action section and twenty-nine each in both male and female sections of our unity center. As sad as it is to say, the women's section at UNITY is almost always maxed out. The men’s section is usually half-filled. Now, there are over twenty free beds in the men’s section and fifteen free beds in the women’s.
I pick up the desk phone and hit the button for security.
“Cady,” John answers. “Is everything alright?”
“Hey John, it’s Sophia,” I say. “Would you please come here a moment?”
“Oh, sure thing ma’am. I’ll be right there.”
I continue looking over the files until John stops to stand by Travis.
“Who are you?” he asks suspiciously.
“He’s with me, John. Listen, have there been any people hanging around the building lately,” I ask. “Maybe someone who just appears to always hang out nearby?”
“No, ma’am,” he answers. “I’ve trained all of my men personally and that’s something they’re trained to look for. Why? What’s going on?”
“There’s just been a weird amount of people who’ve left in the past few days,” I tell him. “Without letting Cady know they’re leaving and not coming back.”
“Surly that’s not unusual,” he says, head tilting slightly. “People come and go from here all the time.”
“I know.” I look up and watch as I land the blow. “Sally’s gone.”
“What?” he shouts. “Did you check her room?”
“Not personally, no,” I admit. “But she’s been logged out of the system as of yesterday.”
“She didn’t sign out either,” Cady says. “When the therapist went to her room for her appointment she wasn’t there. Security searched the entire building and couldn’t find her.”
John turns and runs.
“Slow down,” I shout out. “Those women are sensitive around big men like you.”
John slows to a quick pace.
“Well, that was interesting,” Cady says.
“Sally was actually here before I was taken,” I tell her. “She was absolutely terrified of leaving for fear that her brother would find her and kill her. I don’t know her whole story, but I do know that she was way too scared of the world to have simply walked back into it.”
“What happened to her during that time you were taken?” Travis asks.
“She was still here,” I tell him. “I guess there was a petition to keep this place open after I disappeared. We mostly run on donations and voluntary work from the community, so it wasn’t too hard for them to keep the place running. Because of the donations we receive we’re able to take on a large staff to help keep the place going.”
“I think that’s so wonderful,” he smiles. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Technically, UNITY is my mom’s baby,” I say, feeling the blush at his words. “When my parents died they entrusted me to keep this place running and active.”
“Where the hell could she have gone?” John asks frantically as he returns. “There’s no way in hell she would have simply left here and not said anything.”
John has been sweet on Sally since Mom and Dad gave her a room. He’s always kept a respectable distance from her because he knew he would scare her. But, right now, he looks both scared and worried.
“I’ll reach out to some of her family,” I assure him. “She probably just found the courage to go stay with her parents. Her brother hasn’t been seen around here for a long time. I’m sure she’s fine.”
He nods but doesn’t look convinced.
“Would it be alright if I did that?” he asks. “It’s just… Ma’am, I need to find her.”