A seven year old girl sat in silence, watching the stars. This hill, she thought, was hers. No one could hurt her here. She was safe, temporarily. Safe from her father, safe from Will, and safe from the world.

Her life was awful away from this hill, but no one knew just how awful. No one knew her father beat her, or her father’s friend, Will, raped her, or that no one in the entire world seemed to care.

But on her hill, life was peaceful, happy even. No one bothered her on her hill. No one even knew it was her hill. On nights like this one, after Will and her dad had passed out from drinking, she would sneak out her bedroom window and ride her bike through and out of town, all the way to her hill.

In another two hours the sun would be up and she would have to go home. She shuttered at the thought of returning to her life. How much longer, she wondered, could she live like this? How much longer would she get away with sneaking off before they caught her? How much longer would it take her brother to finish college and come back and take her away from him?

As she lay back on the grass thinking about these things, she fell asleep.

A young man stood, looming in the shadows, unnoticed. He knew about her life, all of it. He knew about her brother, and Will, and her father. He was there to protect her, she just didn’t know it.

Quiet as a mouse, the young man slipped from the shadows and up to the girl. He stared down at her sleeping form, he made his decision. Careful not to disturb her, he picked her up and walked steadily away with, Little Davy Sadie.



Twenty-four hours later


“That’s right, seven years old, black hair, blue eyes….Yep, missing….her name? Davina Sadie.”

“Thank you, sir. And you don’t have to worry; we’ll find your missing daughter.”