Shooting Stars

The next morning I awoke with less of a start and felt a little better physically. By that, I mean that I didn’t feel as achy or like I needed to throw up. I noticed that all the same people were still there, but awake now and conversing with each other.
“Sophie, sweetheart, it is great to see you awake. How do you feel? Do you need more pain meds?” my mother quickly went about. She came over to hover and give me lots of kisses. It was a bit much and I shook my head. “Are you sure, hunny? The nurses are ready to give you something if you need it.” I just shook my head once more.
“The boys here were really worried, Soph. They refused to practice and play until you were found. And this morning, they still wouldn’t give in until they got to see you open your eyes. Tell them to go out and win a game for you, won’t you? They are super great for doing this, but need to get back to supporting their city, right?”
“Mr. Mosier, it was partially our fault that Sophie was even in this situation. We wanted to do the right thing. But, if Sophie doesn’t want us here than we will go.” Jonathan spoke up. He was seated next to Jackie, who was on the chair’s arm while Jon sat in the seat so she could lean into him. I was glad they hit it off, they looked cute together.
“Guys, go and play some hockey. You can come back later. Don’t disappoint any more fans, me included,” I said in a low voice. It hadn’t been easy to talk as my throat kind of stung, but I got it out in a croak. Jon nodded and made a gesture to the team. They all slowly got up and said their goodbyes and well wishes with promises to come back before leaving. I noticed that Jon gave Jackie a kiss, too, before exiting my room. “Mom, Dad, I’m kind of hungry. Will you find out what I can have please?” they nodded and each kissed my forehead before leaving me with Jackie.
“You really scared us, Soph. We thought they had really taken you and possibly killed you when we hadn’t heard anything in three days. We were all so relieved when you called into the hotline and we found you. And seriously, the guys refused to play. Coach Q was pissed at first, but once he realized you hadn’t just gone out for the day or something, he relented and made the stand too. You are basically the start of a movement, Soph. All missing persons’ cases around the US are being taken a lot more seriously now because you had some amazing hockey players trying to find you.”
“What day is it anyways?” I looked around the room to see lots of flowers and cards with a wide array of stuffed animals too. There was suddenly a knock and both Jackie and I looked towards the doorway that everyone had left through.
“Sophie Mosier?” a man in a dark suit asked. He looked to be some kind of agent/detective type. My guess would be agent of some big department or something. There was also another man standing a little further beyond him.
“That’s me,” I replied to him. He was about six foot eight with broad shoulders and a slim body. The other man had blonde hair, freckles, and stood about six foot even. They both only looked to be in their mid-twenties.
“We would like to ask you a few questions. Would you like anyone in here with you while we question?” the same one replied with this. They both, however, moved into the room.
“This is my cousin, Jackie. I would prefer she stay.” They took that as a signal that they were allowed to stay and so they pulled chairs close to the bed.
“Of course. We are from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Agents McNally and Pierson. Now, the questions we have might bring up some unwanted memories, but we need to do this when it is still fresh in your mind. If you feel overwhelmed, we can stop at any time. Just let us know.” Agent McNally paused to make sure that I was okay with it. I just gave a nod because my throat was still kind of sore and they were going to expect answers to their questions sooner or later. “We want to know if these are your rapists?” Agent Pierson held up a few pictures of men in mug shot style photos while Agent McNally asked.
“Yes,” I said after taking a brief glance at them.
“You are positive?” they kind of didn’t expect that. Maybe most of the people they see wear a mask or something with their captives, but these guys didn’t.
“Definitely.”
“Where did they keep you?” this was Agent Pierson’s voice asking the question. It was the first time he had spoken. His voice was rough, almost like D’s voice. It made me cringe and Agent Pierson noticed.
“The middle of a warehouse. I’m not sure where exactly it was. You could ask the responding officers to my call. I just wanted to get out of there, but then they sent me here in an ambulance. I didn’t have time to know where I was.”
“What was in the warehouse?” Agent McNally got back to questioning me after seeing my reaction to Agent Pierson’s voice.
“Saws, sawdust, carpentry items, anything that goes with carpentry,” I answered like I had a true clue, which I didn’t. I just assumed that was what it was.
“What did these men call themselves in front of you?”
“M and D. They only used the first letters. Never once did they use a full name or anything resembling it.” Jackie grasped my hand as she knew that it was probably getting harder and harder to answer their questions. It was really hard, but the next question just about killed me to even think about. I was trying to repress these memories the most.
“How many times did they rape you?” Agent McNally sensitively asked. It was the lowest I had heard his voice so far. But since I was young, I could see why he went with the softer voice. He was hoping I would answer him because of his sensitivity. I had seen it portrayed in my online classes.
“The first day it was only twice per guy. Then it went anywhere from three to four times a day.” I cringed again. Tears were beginning to gather in the tear ducts of my eyes.
“Before you were kidnapped, had you ever seen either man in your life?”
“Not to my knowledge. I could’ve seen them on a street, but that wouldn’t mean anything to me.” I added a shake of my head. I had pondered long and hard over this for hours in my sleep before the nurse had given me the sleeping pill last night.
“Thank you, Sophie. Someone will be in contact with you or your family with court dates and other questions. Have a nice night,” they left my room after shaking both mine and Jackie’s hands. I thought it was weird because they were in a big rush to get out. My dad reentered after the two agents left.
“What did they want?” he was super curious anyways and then to see guys in suits leaving his daughter’s hospital room was especially different for him. He looked more relaxed when he saw that Jackie was still with me, however.
“They wanted more information on the guys. My guess is that they are on some wanted list and they needed more information to pinpoint if they were the same guys.”
“You watch too much TV,” Dad said before telling me that my mom was arranging to have lunch sent up to me. He just wanted to come and sit with me for a bit.