Trigger Warning: Human Trafficking

Explicit language

“We can’t keep living like this John!”

“Well what the fuck do you want me to do?! I can’t just pull money out of my ass! Maybe if you weren’t such a bitch you’d get better tips and we wouldn’t be in this mess!”

“Oh don’t give me that bullshit! You know it’s your fucking drinking!”

Mum and dad had been screaming for hours. I held Katie for dear life, covering her ears to block out the noise.

Katie looked up at me, whimpering “do you think it’ll stop soon?”

I tried not to cry, I didn’t like seeing my sister like this.

“I don’t know Katie, I don’t know”

“John…John will you shut your mouth for one fucking second!”

Mum’s voice went quieter. Katie and I looked at each other and moved towards the door to listen.

“…all we have to do is tell them where we want to meet, we take the kids there and they give us the money.”

“You want to sell my kids on the fucking black market? Are you insane?”

Gretel turned and looked at me with wide eyes, “what’s the black market?”

“I don’t know, but I do know that I don’t want to be sold.”

“You said the other night that if you got rid of them then all our problems would disappear, but now I’m giving you the chance and you’re backing out?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Bullshit you meant that with every bone in your drunken body.”

“We can’t sell them okay? That’s fucked up”

“Look John. All we have to do is say we’re going on a picnic or some shit and they take them off our hands. It’s not fucking hard.”

“Are you even listening to what I’m saying?”

“Are you even listening to what I’m saying?! I have a solution to our problems. Stop being a fucking coward for once and…”

“Fine. If it will shut you up.”

“Good. I’ll tell them we’ll meet them at Mt Hood. We’ll go on a little family…hiking trip.”

“Andrew,” Katie looked me with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen, “what are we going to do?”

I didn’t know what to tell her. This wasn’t good. She stared at me for a few moments and then she said “I know!”

She ran over to the bookshelf and started searching.

“Ah ha!” She pulled out a book and ran back to me. “This one! Hansel and Gretel! They left stones! That’s what we’ll do! We can use the rocks from my rock collection!”

“Perfect! Let’s do it!”

“Kids! Time to wake up! We’re going on a hike!”

“Yes mum.” I’d been awake for hours. So had Katie.

We tried to act as excited as possible. Ran to the car. Sung songs. Being as happy as possible. Just like we planned. Dad stayed quiet the whole trip, but mum joined in.

“Okay kids, we’re here!”

Katie reached out and held my hand. She was just as nervous as me.

“Okay if you guys just want to go and wait by the tree over there, dad and I just need to go talk to the ranger.”

It’s time. We held hands as we walked over to the tree. We were ready.

Katie let out a gasp. “THE STONES! I LEFT THEM IN THE CAR! WE HAVE TO GO BACK AND GET THEM!”

As she turned to get them, a man grabbed her and threw her in a van.

“KATIE!”

I ran in after her. As soon as I got in the door slammed shut and the van drove off.

This house smells like our house after Dad smokes the stinky stuff. As soon as we got here they locked Katie and I in a cage and told us that tomorrow someone is coming to collect us. Since then, the three men have just been playing cards and smoking and drinking like dad does with his friends.

“Read ‘em and weep boys”

“Nah fuck off”

“Deals a deal”

“I don’t want to cook”

“Come on man, I’m fucking starving. Stop being a little bitch and cook for us.”

One of the men looked at us.

“Oi, can one of you fuckers cook anything?”

Katie’s eye’s went wide.

“Mummy taught me how to cook eggs.”

The man laughed and said “naw, mummy taught you how to cook eggs. He stood up from the table, walked over to us and unlocked the cage.

“Well let’s see how well mummy taught you to cook eggs.” He pulled Katie out of the cage and slammed the door shut, but didn’t lock it. “Now you stay in there boy, and you…” he dragged Katie by the arm to the kitchen, “…make us some eggs.”

I watched Katie get the eggs out of the fridge and walk over to the stove.

“Excuse me,” she said.

The man rolled his eyes, “What?!”

“Can I please have a chair so I can reach the stove?”

The man groaned and then picked up a chair and took it to Katie.

“Thank you.”

He went and sat back down.

“Excuse me?”

“For fuck sake kid what do you want?”

“Can you please turn the stove on for me?Mummy says I’m not allowed.”

“Ugh fuck me.”

The man stood up and headed over to Katie who was now shaking a can of cooking spray.

He turned on the stove but as soon as he did, Katie sprayed the cooking spray over the flame and straight towards the man, who’s coat caught on fire. She jumped off the chair and kicked the backs of his knees making him fall to the ground. The two other men ran over to help him.

Katie ran past them “come on Andrew!”

I opened the door of the cage and ran after Katie and then we ran outside and there ran and ran til we found some other people and that’s how we found you so can you please help us?