I wake up at sunrise unknowing of where I am, and then I remember. I remember all the previous months of torture and assault. “I am 14 years old, I can’t give up yet.” Is what I keep reminding myself; so I still keep hope and have faith because the only thing that can save me from this misery is God. Therefore, I keep moving forward on this scary journey.

My life has turned upside down since the warm, spring day in Mason City, Iowa, when I was snatched off the sidewalk as I was walking back home from my best friend’s house. Jake he “said” his name was and his brother, Bill, are the two people that are keeping me in this abandoned house right off the coast of Maine. A few days after they took me, Bill and Jake cut off most of my hair and have been making me wear boy’s clothes. They have held me captive in this house for 93 days now. They give me food to eat about once every week, I get so hungry I could eat a horse. Luckily, the brothers give me water every day.

Bill and Jake are convinced I am the President’s daughter so I devised a plan that could help me get back to Iowa. Around noon that day, I told them that the President (or as they think, my father) is having a secret meeting back in Mason City, Iowa, and he would offer millions of dollars for a reward for me. They didn’t question me; they were too focused on the idea of making millions. After 10 minutes of me convincing them that we could get millions from my father, all of us were in the car driving to Iowa.

The drive took many days and was very uncomfortable. Jake had duct taped me to the back seat. I could barely move during the entire ride. But at least I couldn’t be beaten, like usual, until we arrive back in Mason City. During the drive, I thought about my family; it’s the same thing I have thought about for the past 93 days. I miss them so much; I miss their voice, their smell, their laugh. I miss everything about them, I can’t wait to see them again and tell them I love them and that I am ok. I am afraid they think I ran away or left them, but I didn’t, I was taken away from them.

Finally, we had arrived at sunset one week later; it looked as if nothing had changed, but everything had… We walked through the city and the first thing I had notice were the flyers. They were everywhere and they had my face plastered all over them. “My parents must have covered these all over the city!” I thought as my mind now raced. Of course they would have put my face all over town; my dad is a police officer and has been for 17 years. Now, I have to escape; my family knows I’m out there somewhere unable to come back. My only worry is the threats Bill and Jake made against my family and friends. They told me on the ride here that if I tried to escape they would kill everyone I ever knew, everyone I ever talked to. So I guess if I can’t escape I’ll have to bring the party to me.

We didn’t spend much time in town; it was only about 10 minutes before they found a place to keep me. The junkyard; they sat me down and strictly told me not to move. Then it hit me! I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before! This would be my way out, my way to escape. After the two of them got things situated I started out to try to complete phase one.
”Don’t you guys think we should call my dad and tell him where to put the money?” I ask Bill and Jake.
“Yeah, okay what’s his numb-” Bill starts to ask before I cut him off, “But if you call him you’ll have to put me on the phone for him to know I’m still alive,” I say a little too bluntly.
“Okay you call him, but if you say one wrong thing you’ll pay for it,” Jake says while picking up an old metal pipe. Bill hands me the phone and I put in my dad’s number; I gulp as I hear it start to ring.
“Hello?” asks my dad.
“Dad,” I ask, in such disbelief that I am actually hearing his voice; tears start to roll down my face.
“Oh honey, is that you?” Demands my dad; as he keeps berating me with questions, Jake gives me a look that says, “Ask about the money now!”
“Dad, now listen, the guys that have me want something. They want you to bring two million dollars at 7 pm tonight to the red SUV that’s in our town’s junkyard,” I manage to say in between joyful sobs.
“Sweetheart you’re not making any sense, but thank you. You know what you have done and how much it helps; I will see you as soon as I can!” he tells me and hangs up the phone. And with that I knew I had done it, I knew they would be coming.
“So, is he bringing the money?” asks Jake.
“Yes, he will bring the money tonight,” I lie. They have no idea what I have just done.
You see, having a dad as a cop comes with its advantages. For one, you can learn many ways to get out of a nasty situation and I just used one of them. I learned that if you call someone and your conversation lasts over a minute, the police can trace the call back to your location. So that’s what I did and my dad realized what I was doing. That one minute just saved my life.
Sirens, they sounded like they were coming from everywhere; dad must have sent the whole station down here. Bill and Jake heard them as soon as I did. They started to panic, they dropped everything. They really started to freak when they saw five police cars pull up by the entrance. Bill and Jake didn’t bother taking anything else; they grabbed me and ran. Then the race really began.
I was slumped over Jake’s shoulder and every step he took was a step farther way from my freedom. The three of us scrambled through the junkyard trying to escape. They chased us all through the night, but surrounded us at the new dawn. Jake had put me down and as soon as he did, he and Bill were tackled to the ground by three police officers each! Then, one of my dad’s friends, Dave, came up to me with hope in his eyes.
“Are you Elizabeth Smart?” Dave asks me.
“Yes, I’m Elizabeth Smart.” I reply.