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The next morning, Hannah gazes around her room, her attention stopping on her father who is asleep in a chair near her bed. He looks so different than how she remembered him. It has, of course, been fifteen years since she has last seen him, but he has more than just physically changed. He seems broken. She knows that she must tell him about her mom, his wife. He needs closure to move on.
“Dad,” she whispers to him, not wanting to alarm him. Mr. Randoff stirs, rubbing his eyes then remembering where he is. He quickly moves from his chair to her bed, grabbing her hand in his.
“Hannah, are you okay? Do you need something?”
“I’m ok Dad, I need to tell you what happened to us. When that man took us. I need to tell you about Mom.”
The older man shakes his head, knowing that they need to talk about the past events.
“We should get the officer in here, he’s been waiting around for you to wake up to question you about all of that. Would that be alright with you? That way you only have to relive it once, and not over and over. I don’t want to see you in any more pain than you have to be in,” Mr. Randoff tells her. Hannah agrees and he leaves to find Officer Merritt.
While by herself in the room, she tries to pat down her unruly hair and straightens her hospital gown out of nervousness. Her door opens revealing her dad and the officer.
“Miss Hannah, I’m Officer Merritt. I have been on your case since you were last reported missing by Mr. Monson. If you don’t mind, can you tell me any details you remember from your first abduction, then if you are up to it, I need to ask you about the last abduction also.”
“I’m not up to it, but I need to do it. Are you ready now?”
Both Officer Merritt and her dad nod at her. The officer takes a seat in a chair by the window, while her dad takes the chair by her bedside and takes her hand in his. She takes a shaky breath and begins.
“I remember that day, the day everything happened. Mom decided that we should surprise you and come up for a visit. I don’t remember what day it was, but I think it was spring because I remember looking out the window at the bluebonnets on the side of the road. Mom kept up with the days and years while we were in the bunker. When she was gone, I didn’t care anymore.” Hannah wipes a tear from her cheek and takes a shaky breath.
“It was a Thursday. March 18, 2002. That day is engraved on my heart, it’s the day my world stopped. I knew you were still alive though, I never stopped searching for you both. Even when everyone encouraged me to give up, I couldn’t,” her dad gently tells her.
Hannah nods her head, wiping away more silent tears.
“I’m glad you didn’t give up. I did forget a lot of things. I couldn’t remember our hometown, just that it was in Texas. I forgot your face and what your voice sounded like. The only thing I could remember about you was that I have your skin color. I remember camping and looking at the stars with you. You would tell me that your love was constant like the stars. Is that right or did I imagine it?”
“It’s right. I’m glad that that stayed with you. I thought about you and your mom every day. It was so hard to try to go back to living a normal life without you both. I eventually had to, and it pained me. I felt guilty going through our normal routine, not knowing where you were or what you were going through.”
“I love you, Daddy. I never stopped, even when I forgot just about everything,” Hannah cries as she leans over to hug him to her. He reciprocates and cries into her hair, murmuring his love for her. They remain embraced for a few moments before regaining their composure.
“I need to tell you everything. Are you ready for me to continue?” she asks quietly. Her dad nods his head as he holds her hand.
“Do you remember how mom would always get lost and call it taking the scenic route? That’s what happened, and we ended up on a dirt road, then the van got a flat. So, we were on this deserted dirt road in the country with a flat. She tried changing it. She was working on it when a car came by. It drove past us then stopped and backed up to our van. It was an older kind of car, really long. Mom told me to stay in the van and she went out to talk to the person. I watched in the side mirror at them. The man that came out of the car was shorter and balding with a little bit of red hair on the sides of his head. He had big, thick glasses and wore older styled clothes. He was quiet but gave off an unsettling feeling. He told mom that he could help us, but he needed help getting some tools out of his trunk. I watched her follow him to the back of his car from that side mirror, then I heard her scream. I got out of the van and ran to her, I wasn’t even thinking that the man had done anything to her. I was just scared that mom was hurt or something.
When I got to her she was laying on the road and her head was bleeding. I couldn’t move, I was so terrified. I had never seen mom hurt before. Then I felt someone grabbing my arms from behind me, and then a cloth was pushed over my face, then it was black.” Hannah reaches for a tissue from the side table to wipe away her constant flow of tears.
“I woke up and tried to move, but I was tied up. I was lying in a dark room that felt like it was moving. I tried to scream but something was in my mouth,” Hannah continues to tell the officer and her dad about being in the trunk of the man’s car and being carried to the bunker.
“The man, who I was told by Beau was named Chester, then carried in mom who was still not awake. I laid down on the floor next to her, waiting for her to wake up. When she finally came around, she began screaming for help. I was still too scared, all I could do was cry. Mom told me to be brave and to help her. We both started screaming, Chester must have heard us. He came down the stairs of the bunker and told us to shut up. He said if anyone heard us he had rigged the door to a bomb that would go off if anyone but him opened it.
The bunker he kept us in was so small. It had a little kitchen, bathroom, and a living space. It only had two doors, one for the bathroom and one to the outside. The bunker wasn’t big enough for both of us, let alone one person. Chester said that we were kidnapped to save us from evil. He told us that he was trying to rid the world of evil and would remove the evil that was already inside of us.
We were ordered to strip off our clothes so we could be cleansed. Mom pleaded with him to let us go. She told him that we wouldn’t tell anyone, and it could all be forgotten. He stepped up to her and slapped her hard across the face. He shouted at her to never speak unless spoken to. He led us to the bathroom and turned the water on all the way to hot. He hooked a hose up to the faucet and began to spray us down. The water felt like it was boiling. He then got a brillo pad and scrubbed our skin so hard. We had burns and scratches from that cleansing. Mom and I ended up with scars every time we had to be cleansed of our sins. He made us put on clothing that he thought was appropriate after he was done.
Chester brought a little bit of food, barely enough for one of us. He said it had to last us for seven days. We were ordered to read and study the Bible every day. He told us that he would know if we were obedient to him.
We had to keep the bunker clean, up to his standards. He gave us hospital grade cleaner that smelled awful. The fumes from the cleaner made us sick each time. There were no windows or vents to air out the place. We were only allowed one candle to last seven days also. We were given one sleeping bag to share and had to sleep on the floor. Needless to say, we didn’t sleep much. We were too scared to sleep anyway.” Hannah stops to get a drink and calm herself down before continuing. Officer Merritt rubs his face, clearly feeling stress from listening to what a young Hannah has had to live through. Mr. Randoff silently cries while listening to his daughter, horrified at what she and his wife had to endure.
“The first few days mom refused to follow his orders. She thought that maybe if she made him mad enough he would get fed up and let us go. She was wrong, he punished her instead. He beat her with a horse crop while she was naked. I had to doctor her wounds. We quickly figured out that he had the bunker outfitted with cameras to watch our every move. That’s how he knew if we obeyed or not.
He brought in some fairy tale books and a set of encyclopedias. He had ripped out the endings of all the fairy tales. Mom would whisper the endings to me though. Mom taught me with the encyclopedias and taught me how to read with the Bible. She didn’t want me to be behind when we were rescued. We prayed all the time that we would be rescued soon.
Mom would sing a lot, especially when we were about to give up hope. She kept track of the days by asking Chester indirectly, but he caught on to what she was doing and she was punished for it. He never beat me, just her. He said he was keeping me pure for a special event. I had no idea what he was talking about, but mom did.” Hannah takes a few trembling breaths while closing her eyes to calm herself. After a minute, she begins again.
“A couple of years later, I guess I was around twelve, mom began to secretly teach me ways to defend myself. She told me that if I could get away to run and never stop. He must have heard her one day. He came barreling through the door of the bunker and grabbed her by the throat. He then threw her to the floor, jumped on top of her, and began choking her. She tried to fight back, but he was too strong. The more she fought, the tighter his hands were on her. I was frozen were I was, crying and pleading with him to stop hurting her. He slapped me and told me to shut up. Mom turned her head and told me she loved me, then she stopped breathing. Her eyes went blank. I knew she was gone. He hauled her body up the stairs, I never saw her again.” Hannah begins to violently sob. Her dad embraces her, crying himself. He feels as if he is reliving that moment along with her.
“I need to finish Daddy,” she whispers to him, he sighs and nods.
“I spent the remaining years cleaning, cooking for myself, and reading those horrible encyclopedias over and over. I was growing, but I was never given any new clothes. I received less food for the week. I was starting to give up. I prayed for God to let me die. I had dreams of running. Running outside, far away from that dungeon. Those dreams gave me hope that I could get away. I always thought about what mom taught me about attacking someone.
When my food was out, Chester came with more. That day I waited for him at the bottom of the stairs, he must have been in a hurry because he didn’t lock the door behind him. I held out my arms to take the bag of food from him, but I slapped him hard across the face instead. It knocked his glasses off, I took the opportunity to poke him hard in the eyes. He fell to his knees and yelled at me. I then kicked him between the legs as hard as I could. He started rolling back and forth on the floor, shouting that he was going to destroy me. I don’t know why I did it, but I reached behind me and grabbed the frying pan. I ran up to him and slammed it over his head. He stopped moving, and I didn’t think anymore. I bolted up the stairs and threw open the door. The sun blinded me but it felt wonderful. I began running, I didn’t know where I was going, I just ran. I fell a lot, I didn’t have any shoes, and I could barely see anything. Each time I fell, I got back up and kept running. I kept chanting to myself to keep going. It was a long time before I came to a road and followed it. I eventually came upon some buildings, it was late and dark out. I saw the lights of the buildings and ran toward them, hoping someone there could help me. I ended up almost being attacked by some strange man, but Sawyer heard me scream. He scared off the man and helped me. He took me to his parlor to clean up my scratches from running and falling. I was so exhausted that I fell asleep before he could bandage me. He didn’t know what to do with me, so he took me upstairs to his place and let me sleep on the couch.
He wanted to call the police, but I begged him not to. Chester said if I ever got away he would find me. He said he would convince anyone that I was supposed to be with him. He said he erased anything about me, and it was like I didn’t even exist anymore. I believed every word he told me. I thought if the police knew, I would end up back in that bunker or that he would kill me.” Hannah pauses, looking over at Officer Merritt. His face mirrors the alarm he feels at her statement.
“I’m sorry for making Sawyer not tell you. I was just scared. You must understand that I believed anything Chester told me. I didn’t have any reason not to, he killed my mom in front of me. I was terrified.”
“Look, I understand. I was angry with your boyfriend when I first found out, but now I get it. What you have had to live through, no one and I mean no one should have to go through that. It amazes me that you are still caring and happy despite everything. I can see why Mr. Monson is so protective of you, I would be too. I keep thinking about my daughter, she’s six. I don’t know what I would do if that happened to her. Mr. Randoff, you are a strong man too.”
Hannah smiles at the officer. She agrees, her dad is a strong man.
“Miss Hannah, do you think you can tell me about your second abduction?” Hannah nods.
“There was a knock on the door, I thought Sawyer forgot his keys. I opened the door without checking the peep hole, when I saw it was Beau I tried to shut it. He kicked it open on me, knocking me to the ground. I tried to get up, but he grabbed me. He threw me against different things in the living room before he put something over my face and I blacked out. When I woke up I was in a dark shed, there were gardening tools all around. Beau was there and told me to be quiet so his neighbors wouldn’t suspect anything. He kept putting that cloth over my face and knocking me out until I woke up in the back of a car. That’s when he took me to the big building. I was brought in and scoured like I was when I was in the bunker, but by very stern women who wouldn’t talk to me. They catheterized me, and I was only allowed to have broth. They said that it was unclean to use the bathroom, that I had to stay pure. I was tied to a table and left naked the entire time. Beau would come in and talk to me and try to touch me. He said that I was needed for their god’s plan of salvation. I was going to be the mother of mankind, Mistress of Salvation. The day of my twenty-first birthday would be the day their plan would take place. I was to be given to Beau to have a son that would be heir to the world. He said as soon as I had a son I would be sacrificed to their god and any daughters that I might have too.
Beau told me that his brother was the Savior Paul, and he was going to become the new god. They were crazy. I was more terrified of them than I ever was in the bunker. He said they killed and sacrificed Chester to their god because he let me escape. I had no idea when I was in the bunker that that was the reason I was being kept. Beau told me that I was chosen and groomed from a young age to fulfill the duties of mistress.
One time I got sick and threw up, they brought in that Paul guy and he said there was a demon in me. He picked up a board and hit me on the head to cast it out. They are insane, all of them.
Beau told me that his main job had been to recruit. He would seduce the women so that they would give their money to him and leave their families to become servants. If they didn’t want to do what they were told, they were also sacrificed. I was mainly confined to a small room, tied to a metal hospital bed. The only people I really saw were the women and Beau. I prayed so much that if I couldn’t be rescued that God would let me die before my birthday.
The morning of my birthday they woke me up. I was bathed, shaved, and finally allowed to eat some solid food. Then I was led to the stage of the big room and bound on a stone altar. Then there was a loud noise and a large man yelled that it was time. Everyone began screaming and running. They were grabbing guns and shooting. I think a bomb went off, I don’t really know there was so much chaos. I don’t really remember many details about when I was in the building. I was so hungry and cold, only Beau talked to me. I just really remember praying, I spent most of the time praying to die or be rescued.”
“Miss Hannah, you’ve told me enough. Some of the members of the sect are in custody, what you recounted matches their statements.
You don’t have to worry about Chester, Beau or Paul anymore either. We have found the body of Chester Philatanus in a shallow grave about two hundred feet from the sect’s building. The medical examiner ruled that his death was caused from being stabbed in the chest. Charles Patterson, or Beau as you knew him, was found dead on the stage from asphyxiation. His brother Lance Patterson, or Paul Dunnaway, was arrested the day of the siege. He has been in the county jail along with thirty-seven of the other survivors taken into custody from the sect. This morning we were notified that Lance hung himself in his cell overnight. The people that are being held in jail are awaiting trial for their involvement in your kidnapping and various other charges. We were very fortunate that no police or other agents were killed during the siege. Several were wounded, but no fatalities,” Office Merritt states.
Hannah feels guilty to be relieved that Beau, Chester, and Paul are dead. She knows that it is wrong, but she can’t help but feel grateful that those horrible excuses for human beings are gone from the earth. She is saddened by the amount of pain and suffering they caused during their lifetimes. Hannah believes that the vilest thing that the men did was to steer so many innocent people away from God. She knows that the members of the sect are not innocent, but they had a chance to do what was right and they fell into temptation.