Seven, eight ... gonna stay up late (Rebekka Franck #4) Page 6

  "She left ... some guy ... Don't know where."

  It felt like my heart stopped. I stared at the boy as the music became loud again and the band started a new song. It was like the entire tent started to spin. I looked towards the entrance, then stormed out. Outside I stopped myself. There were so many directions they could have gone. I pulled my hair. How was I ever going to find which one they took?

  I began spinning around myself, walking first in one direction, then in another. The music from the tent quieted down while they got ready for a new number. That's when I heard the groaning. A deep moaning was coming from behind the tent. I walked around it and stopped. Someone was lying in the mud, he was barely moving.

  "Hello?"

  I walked closer as he didn't seem to respond. Probably just some drunk guy who had passed out, I thought. But instinct made me walk closer. A feeling, a sense that this was something else. This wasn't just your ordinary drunk-passing-out-in-the-mud kind of thing. This was something else. As I approached him I realized I was right. The man lying on the ground was severely bruised.

  "Please help me," he muttered. "Please someone help me."

  Chapter 17

  I helped the man get on his feet and had him hold on to my shoulders. He was mumbling incoherently while I helped him walk. I still had no idea what happened to him or how he ended up like this, but he was badly bruised and I knew I had to get him to the paramedics right away. But he was heavy and barely conscious, and I couldn't carry him far. I got him out in the open then I had to let go of him and place him on the ground. A couple strongly entangled in each other walked by and I stopped them by yelling.

  "A little help, please? This man has been hurt."

  They stopped walking and approached us. The young woman kneeled down next to him. "I'm a nurse. Let me have a look at him. What happened?" she asked.

  "I have no idea. I found him like this. He's severely bruised."

  The woman leaned over him. "Looks like he has been beaten," she said.

  I nodded. "I think so too."

  The woman checked his pulse, then lifted his eyelids to look into his eyes and see the pupils. "He doesn't seem to be affected by drugs or alcohol," she said. "Who did this to him?"

  "I have no idea. I found him in there," I said and pointed. "I don't even know who he is."

  "We need to get him to a hospital as fast as possible," the woman said. Then she turned her head and looked at her boyfriend. "Mads, could you run and get the paramedics?"

  Mads nodded. "Sure," he said and began to run.

  The man on the ground moaned and the woman spoke to him. "We'll get you to a hospital soon, don't you worry."

  I felt my heart racing in my chest. I still had no idea in what direction I was to look for Camilla. I was confused. Had she gone with him willingly? Had he lured her to go with him, maybe told her he knew where Amalie was? No, Camilla wasn't that stupid, she wouldn't fall for that, would she? I breathed heavily. I realized I didn't even know either girl's last name. I wouldn't be able to file a missing person's report for Amalie nor Camilla. I wouldn't even be able to call their parents. I felt suddenly helpless. I received a text from Sune.

  YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON A GREAT CONCERT. COMING SOON?

  I touched my face. I had no idea how to begin to explain the whole thing to Sune, and I certainly didn't have time to answer now. So I put the phone back in my pocket, as Mads arrived with the paramedics. They got the man on a stretcher, then looked at me. "Did you see anything?" one of them asked.

  I shook my head. "No I just found him." I reached inside of my pocket and found a card, that I handed them. "Here in case the police want to talk to me."

  "Good," the paramedic said. Then they carried the man away. I sighed and thanked the young nurse and her boyfriend. They left me and suddenly I was back to chasing Camilla and the mysterious man. I stomped my feet in irritation. Where the hell could she be?

  That was when I heard a scream. It sounded like a small shriek and then it was suddenly gone. Convinced that it was Camilla I ran towards the sound, but soon found myself at the area in front of Orange Stage. Bruce Springsteen was still going at it on the stage and people were dancing and singing in a daze of ecstasy. No one would have noticed anything let alone heard Camilla scream. What now? I thought. He had Camilla somewhere, but where? Where would I go if I had just kidnapped a young girl? I wouldn't stay here on the festival grounds would I? No of course not. I would take her away from here to a place where no one would find her. I turned and spun around myself. There were several entrances and exits. The ones leading to the stages were all guarded. He could pretend that she was very drunk and use one of those exits since they were closest. Or he could play it safe and use one of the exits by the campsite that weren't guarded. I started running towards the campground when I realized something. You only had to show your bracelet going in on the festival grounds. Not out. It didn't matter what exit he took. No one ever noticed anyone exiting. The smart person would choose the closest, I thought and spotted one not far from where I was standing. The big concert on Orange Stage was almost over and people had already begun walking towards the exits. In a matter of minutes it would be overly crowded when all the people who didn't stay in tents on the campsite were about to leave.

  After that it was going to be very easy for him to escape in the crowd.

  Chapter 18

  Chloroform always did the trick, Allan thought as he went through the exit to the festival. He quite enjoyed himself walking with Camilla tightly wrapped around his shoulder, carrying her by holding her around the waist. To people passing by it looked like she was just wasted and clinging on to him to not lose her balance. Allan found this part amusing because it was always so exciting to see if anyone would even notice. He had found that he could walk around with his victims even bleeding from their heads and yet with his appearance and charming smile no one would even blink. If they did notice something was wrong with the girl, they would assume that he was taking care of her. Allan knew it and often found himself taking chances that no one else would dare, just for the fun of it, just to feel the thrill of excitement of possibly getting caught.

  Just like all the other times, Allan managed to walk all the way to his car without anyone even asking him if the girl was alright. Of course he knew perfectly well to tell them that she was his younger sister and that she had called for him to come and get him because she was too drunk to get home on her own, of course he was prepared for questions, but they never even came. Not a single person turned their head to look or addressed him. It was too easy, he thought slightly disappointed. It was always more fun when he had to fight for it, it wasn't as fun when everything went too smooth. That was just plain boring.

  Allan opened the door and put Camilla in the backseat while talking to her like she was awake and could hear what he said.

  "I'll get you home now safe and sound," he said and closed the door.

  Just as he had shut it, the scene became slightly more interesting and exciting when he spotted a woman run out of the exit, scanning the area, looking desperately around her. In her hand she was holding a phone tightly. Allan laughed. He knew perfectly well who she was. He was happy to see that he had in fact underestimated her thinking she wouldn't care who was on the other end of the phone asking for Camilla. She had known somehow that he was going to get her and somehow she had found him.

  Allan studied the woman for a little while. He watched her as she talked to people passing by, probably asking them if they'd seen a young girl with brown hair with a man, maybe he was carrying her. However she had no idea what Allan looked like, how old he was or how he was dressed. If she had at least known that it would have been easier for her, he thought. I should at least have given her something to make it a little more interesting, he thought. Throw the woman a bone. He chuckled while watching her desperately asking everybody in the parking lot, explaining to them that she was looking for this girl, only fourteen, brown hair, etc. Oh how fu
n, Allan thought and for a few seconds wanted her to come to him and ask. She was pretty, the woman. In her mid-thirties, probably had a kid or two, but still gorgeous. Would make a beautiful corpse. He started imagining what he could do to her body after he had strangled her. He would definitely have sex with her. That would be perfect. Then he would cut out her organs, maybe boil her tongue and eat it. With a great Chateau La Garde from 2009 or maybe even a Castello Fonterutoli Chianti from 2006.

  The woman came closer and Allan shivered with pleasure. This woman triggered something in him. A lust, a desire to do something, to deviate from the plan. He could put her in the car with Camilla, then hang her from a meat hook in the cellar, maybe have sex with her while she was hanging there, her feet scraping across the ground. Maybe kill her in the car before he took her inside. No that was no fun. It was better to have Amalie watch him. Maybe kill the woman while she was looking at it. That sounded like more fun. Allan licked his lips while watching the woman approach.

  "Excuse me," she said.

  Her voice was like music in Allan's head. Like promises of spring. He smiled and their eyes locked for a second. The beautiful second when two souls meet. He could smell her, smell her blood. It drove him insane. The lust for the kill, tasting her, sinking his teeth into her flesh. Oh how he craved the kill. He yearned to look into those eyes and see the fear, the anxiety when she realizes it's all over.

  "Excuse me?" she repeated.

  "Yes?" Allan smiled endearingly.

  "I'm looking for a young girl. She is possibly with a man. I'm afraid that he is forcing her to leave against her will. I don't know ..." The woman sighed resignedly. "I don't know what I'm looking for."

  Allan grabbed her hand and held it in his. "A girl, fourteen years old, brown hair?" he asked.

  She looked at him startled. "Yes. Exactly. How do you know?"

  "I heard you talk to some people over there. I'm afraid I haven't seen her. What did the man look like? The man she is with?"

  The woman sighed again. "I don't know. That's the problem. Look it's a little complicated. I just know that she is in danger and I'm afraid she might have gone with him, maybe even voluntarily. He might have told her something to make her go with him."

  Allan licked his lips while staring at the woman's soft skin on her neck. He fought hard to restrain himself. His hands were shaking as he imagined strangling her.

  "Anyway," she said. "Here is my card in case you see something or hear anything or remember something that might help me. I will have to keep looking."

  The woman handed him her business card. He studied it for a few seconds. "I'll be in touch ... Rebekka Franck," he said, then walked to the side of the car and opened the door to the driver's seat. He paused for just an instant. Part of him wanted her to look inside of the car and see the girl in the back seat. That would give him an excuse to grab her and drag her with him as well. He took in a deep breath and breathed her scent, as the woman turned her back to him and began to walk away.

  "You were lucky this time around, Rebekka Franck," Allan said and started the car. Before he backed out he looked in the rear view mirror and looked at Camilla still lying unconscious on the backseat. Then he smiled to his own reflection. "Hi, I'm Allan, wanna play?" he said and stepped on the gas pedal.

  Chapter 19

  Amalie heard something in the darkness and opened her eyes. She had been sleeping, exhausted after screaming and banging. Now she was yet again awake slowly realizing that her nightmare hadn't ended. She gasped and touched the roof of her box once again. It was still there. She sighed, desperately preparing herself for whatever was in store for her, when suddenly there was another sound. A new sound. It didn't come from her or from inside of her box, it came from outside, out in the room.

  Afraid that it might be her captor coming to hurt her, she kept quiet to make sure it wasn't him. The sound was still there. It sounded like a moaning. Slowly it became stronger, then grunts and groans. Amalie listened carefully. She had gotten to know the sounds of the cellar very well in her hours of darkness, but this was certainly new. This was definitely one she hadn't heard before. The moaning came from a person. Someone else was in the room!

  Amalie gasped and tried to look, but her eyes couldn't see much through the darkness. The only light that came into the cellar where she was kept, came from under the door where she had seen the stairs end. It was dim, but at least it was something.

  Amalie blinked her eyes trying to figure out where the noise was coming from. The grunts became louder, and then there was a thump, like the person hit their head, then the familiar sound of someone patting, examining something frantically, and not finding what they were looking for, while slowly realizing that there might not be an escape. The grunting became louder and now Amalie heard fists hammering. It sounded just like when she had banged her fists against the plastic of her own cage. She exhaled deeply knowing exactly what the person was going through. A few seconds later the inevitable came. The person started screaming.

  "HELP!"

  Then a pause and more hitting, punching on the plastic.

  "What is this? Hey, where am I? Hallo?"

  That was when something got really stirred up inside of Amalie. She felt tears piling up behind her eyes. She knew that voice and even if she was happy to hear a familiar voice, it also filled her with tremendous waves of angst and sadness.

  "Camilla?" she said and stared in the direction of the sounds. All she could see was the outline of a box similar to hers.

  The other person stopped hitting the plastic.

  "Is that you, Camilla?" she said again.

  "Amalie?" she replied, her voice subdued by the box. She was sobbing as she spoke. "Where are we?"

  "I don't know," Amalie replied with a thick voice. "I’ve tried to figure it out for a long time now." Amalie sniveled and put her palm on the plastic. She couldn't see Camilla, but liked hearing her voice even if it meant that she too now was a captive.

  "How did you get here?" she asked.

  Camilla went quiet. "I don't know," she cried. "There was this guy. He was really nice, he ... he ... he had your phone. I recognized the cover, so I followed him to ask him how he got it. I had been looking for you for days. He told me he had found it somewhere ... then he ... then he put something over my mouth and nose, something that smelled horrible ... so horribly sweet ... and I guess I fainted after that. I have a terrible headache right now."

  Amalie couldn't hold in her tears any longer. She put her palm on the plastic box's side and silently let it all out. She didn't want Camilla to see her losing it, so she kept it to herself.

  "At least I found you," Camilla said. "It drove me crazy not knowing what happened to you or where you were. Have you been here all the time?"

  Amalie wasn't ready to talk. Tears were still rolling across her face. She felt so lost. If Camilla was here, then she couldn't have told the police or Amalie's parents what had happened. That meant they weren't looking for her, they weren't on the verge of finding her. Now with Camilla being here, instead of on the outside, then no one would know where to begin looking. For all they cared Camilla and Amalie had gone sailing and once they didn't come back they would begin the search for them. But who would know that they had even been at the festival? Who would help track them down?

  Amalie sulked and for the first time in her life, she gave in. She didn't hold it back any more.

  Chapter 20

  I couldn't believe I lost her. I searched and looked and talked to everybody I could find. Once the concert was over, the parking lot at the festival turned into a conglomeration of people and cars moving. I knew I had to give up, I knew I had been defeated. I texted Sune and he came to find me. I was sitting on a bench at the parking lot with my head in my hands. I wasn't crying, but I was close. The frustration, the feeling of failing knocked me down.

  "What's going on?" Sune asked and ran to me. He squatted in front of me, then grabbed my hand. "What happened?"

 
I looked into his soft eyes, then exhaled. "I lost her," I said. "I was this close to warning her, but I was too late. If it hadn't been for that man, maybe ... just maybe I would have found her."

  "Whoa, hey, let's back up a little here," Sune said. He got up and sat next to me on the bench. "Try and tell me the story from the beginning."

  I sighed deeply. "Okay. Where to start?"

  "Well how about beginning where I left you? In the press-room?"

  I nodded. "Of course, sorry. Well after you left me, I wanted to finish my article."

  "You never finished it? What have you been doing all this time?" He interrupted me.

  "Let me talk," I said. "A phone started ringing in the room. At first I thought someone had just forgot it there, so I tried to continue my work, but then it hit me. Who has One Direction as a ringtone?"

  "Someone who has a child that likes to play with your phone?"

  "Or maybe a teenager! I got up and went to look at Camilla's phone that I had been charging for her and realized it was her phone that was ringing. When I looked at the display it said 'Amalie.'"

  "So naturally you picked it up, I get it. But it wasn't her, was it?" Sune asked while putting his arm around my shoulder.

  "No. It was some guy. Some creepy guy. Worst of all I told him where to find Camilla. I thought he was Amalie, it was before he spoke ... it's complicated. But anyway I had a feeling he wanted to find Camilla so I tried to warn her. But I was too late. Once I arrived at the tent, she wasn't there. I spoke to a couple of boys who said she had left with some guy. Then I figured he had taken her out of the festival somehow, and I ran here. But now with all the people crowding the place, I have no chance of spotting her." I gesticulated resignedly. "She's gone!"

  "Well we're still here," Sune said. "We'll tell everything to the police."

  "I thought about that, but ..." I looked up and met Sune's eyes. He tried to smile to make me feel better.