Her Bear In Mind Read Online Free PDF Page B

the living room was a cage.
     
    And in the cage was a little girl.
     
    The girl was about six. She was wearing footie pajamas with frogs on them. She had dark skin and her hair was pulled up in two po o fy pigtails. Whoever put her in the cage had provided her with a sleeping bag and pillow, but the girl wasn’t sleeping. She was staring up at Sierra with big eyes.
     
    “Who are you?” she asked.
     
    “I’m Sierra. What’s your name, sweetie?”
     
    “I’m Brenda.”
     
    *
    “I don’t know you.” Brenda said. “Are you from outside?”
     
    “Yes.” Sierra told her. “Brenda, who put you in this cage?”
     
    She was afraid to ask why she was in the cage.
     
    “Mean people took me away from my mommy and daddy. They said they had candy. Then they locked me in here and they didn’t give me any candy.”
     
    “Has anyone hurt you?” she asked.
     
    “Not yet. But they said they would. Please help me, Sierra. You have to let me out.”
     
    Sierra examined the cage. The bars were inch-thick steel. There was a massive lock on the front.
     
    “Brenda, sweetie, do you know where the key is?”
     
    “The mean people keep it on top of the refrigerator.”
     
    Sierra rushed over to the refrigerator. There was the key, just like she said. Sierra shoved it into the lock and pulled the door open. Brenda scrambled out of the cage and hugged her.
     
    “Thank you, Sierra.”
     
    Startled, Sierra returned the hug.
     
    “It’s going to be okay, sweetie. I’m going to get you out of here.”
     
    She took Brenda by the hand and carefully opened the door of the house. No one was outside. It sounded like another fight had started. Hopefully that would keep everyone distracted. It wasn’t far back to the woods to their right. If they ran for it, they could hide in the trees and make their way back to the truck. She would take Brenda straight to the police, and then she’d lead the police right back here along with every photographer on staff at The Post. She was going to nail that lying bastard Joe to the wall with this.
     
    “Let’s go this way!” Brenda said, and darted off towards the fight.
     
    “Brenda!” Sierra called in the loudest voice she dared. “Come back! That’s the wrong way.”
     
    Sierra chased after her and caught her by the hand.
     
    “My car is this way. I’ll get you out, I promise, but you have to listen to me.”
     
    Brenda froze in her tracks. She looked up at the full moon and her body shuddered.
     
    “Uh-oh.” Brenda said.
     
    “What’s the matter?” Sierra asked her, tugging on her hand. “Come on! We have to go!”
     
    Brenda shuddered again.  Tears sprung into her eyes.
     
    “I thought I could do it, but I can’t.” she said.
     
    “What are you talking about, sweetie?”
     
    “You have to put me back!” Brenda said, pulling Sierra back towards the house. “You have to put me back in my cage right now! And then put the key back on top of the refrigerator so mommy and daddy won’t know I got out!”
     
    “Brenda, calm down! You’re not going back in that cage. You’re safe now. I’m taking you to the police.”
     
    “No!” Brenda protested, as she tried to tug free of Sierra’s grasp. “No you’re not safe! Let me go! I can’t do it !”
     
    “Shhh! Keep your voice down!”
     
    “HELP!” Brenda screamed at the top of her lungs. “Mommy, help!”
     
    Frantic, Sierra tried to pull her away around the corner, praying everyone was too distracted by their blood sport to notice. Brenda dug her heels into the ground.
     
    “I said let me go !” she shouted and raked her nails across Sierra’s forearm.
     
    The scratch cut straight through her leather jacket and deep into her arm. The pain seared and bright red rivulets of blood poured out of her arm. Sierra let go of Brenda’s other hand in surprise. She clutched her arm to staunch the bleeding and stared in horror at the child in front of her.
     
    Brenda was holding her hand,