William POV.
I was in my car, hidden in the shadows of the forest trees in Nebraska; in the passenger seat was a bag full of the instruments I would use later. There he was, the boy I'd been tracking for the past month and a half: Garrett Schmidt. He would be perfect. Six years old, youngest son of Elenor and Harry Schmidt, not very social, only ever hanging out with his older brother Michael Schmidt. His family out here camping in Nebraska for a week, set to leave in 2 days.
Harry really thought he could just screw me over like that. He knew I was a perfect customer and was 100% qualified for that loan. The only reason he denied them was for FUCKING rumors that were never FUCKEN proven. The police even said there wasn't enough evidence, and I was free to go, so why the hell was he holding on to that. Maybe I should have used an alias. Perhaps I should have been a little more careful with that last kid. Hell, this whole thing is probably a bad idea, but it's too late now we're already here.
As soon as I learned that Harry and his family were coming here for a family trip, I decided to surprise Vanessa with a camping trip to Nebraska; the site was big enough that we shouldn't cross paths with them until I could set my plan in motion. This time, I gave us different names on the paperwork so we wouldn't have any connection for the police to find. Vanessa was thrilled, of course; she always loves it when daddy takes her out for an adventure. It'll be a fun weekend for just the two of us.
Vanessa is currently back at our campsite a few miles west, looking for the perfect sticks to start a fire with, even though I told her I was out to buy some fire logs and would be back in a few hours. So that brings me to where I am now in my car, parked at a camping site in the middle of Nebraska, watching this little boy play with his orange toy airplane. Huh, I bet Vanessa would like that toy. If anything, I can use it to bribe her to keep some details about this trip hush-hush. His parents have left, leaving the two kids alone, and now I just have to wait for dear old big brother to walk away. I see my chance when Michael gets distracted with a frisbee, and Garret starts running toward my car. This could really not go more perfectly.
I roll down my window and call out to get his attention, "Hey, kid!" he looks around to see that he's the only one there, then back at me. I give my kindest and most non-threatening smile, "Yeah, you kid, you seem nice. Tell me, do you want to make some friends?" he gives me a faint nod, "Well, that's perfect, you see, I brought my daughter on this camping trip and she's having a hard time making some friends. She's around your age and has been having difficulty being more social since her mom and I divorced, and she has been feeling guilty about it." It is half a lie and half a truth; I have found that that is the best method to earn a kid's trust. I can tell he is still a little unsure, so to seal the deal, I finish it with the one thing that always works, "I've got some candy back at my site too, some Kit-Kats and Twix bars. Don't worry; I'll bring you right back after. You two will have so much fun together.
That makes him excited, and he runs up to my car. I lean back to open the rear car door, I don't need him seeing what's in my bag just yet, and he scrambles onto the back seat. Once he is seated, I lock all the doors and drive off to a hidden part of the campsite I found scouting the area yesterday. I hear some shuffling, and when I look into the rearview mirror to find the cause, I see Garrett looking out the rear window. I adjust the mirror and see his older brother running after us; it's a good thing I replaced the license plate. I continued to drive off, speeding up just a bit to stay ahead of the tween yet still looking non-suspicious, and after just a few seconds, he was nothing but a speck in the woods.
I look back at Garrett to see he is now sitting down and playing with his toy plane; he asks some questions about my daughter and if his brother can join us, and replay to keep him in a false scene of security. After about a 15-20 minute drive, we reached an empty part of the woods; no people were hiking, kids playing, or families staying for miles. The only company was the wild animals. I pulled the car into a cave and grabbed my bat from the bag. I got out of the car and then pulled Garrett out.
I finished burning the kid after half an hour. The sun was setting, but now the unmarked grave just looked like a natural formation in the earth and not like some kid was buried there; it was a shame that I didn't have any animatronics to stuff him in. I did make sure to burn his body with some chemicals that I snuck in though, nobody was ever finding him. I picked up my bat; it took hours to clean off all the blood from when I hit him, but it looked good as new, and I hopped into my car. It's been a few hours, and Vanessa must be wondering where I am now, but I have the perfect idea of how to distract her. I kept that little toy plane from the boy and decided to surprise my little girl with it.
I pull up at our camping site, which is more secluded than the other. I see Vanessa climbing a tree, but she stops when she notices me, running to the car. I hid the bat from her view.
"Dad! What took so long? You were gone for hours. I was starting to get worried." She tackles me in a hug.
"The firewood place was surprisingly packed, plus I got a little surprise for you." That piques her interest, and she jumps up and down, looking for it.
"Really, what is it? Where is it? Can I have it now? Can I? Can I? Can I?"
I put my hands on her shoulders to keep her still. "Wow, slow down, Princess. First, Have you eaten anything since I left? It's been a few hours."
"I had an apple and some tuna salad that we packed." she is still trying to peek over my shoulder to find her gift.
"Well, I brought the wood so we can make some burgers. Then I will show you your surprise."
"Ok, Dad."
Once she was settled, I went to the trunk to get some of the firewood; we actually needed it. "Alright, now help me set this up so we can make some dinner."
Once the dinner was ready, we sat on the picnic table enjoying our food, "You know these are some pretty amazing burgers; this is why you're daddy's favorite little helper, Princess," she beams; she always loves being helpful, and that I'm proud of her. It always gets her doing what I ask, like staying at the dinner to help out, being an alibi, lying to a judge or police. It always works.
"Thanks, Dad," she says, smiling in her burger.
"I mean it, you are such a good daughter," I lean forward to brush her hair out of her face, "You know I always have your best interest at heart. That's why you told the judge you wanted to stay with me, right." She nods. "It's also why you are going to tell everyone that I was with you all day today; you don't want the judge to think I'm just as bad as your mother. You know I'm not right?" She nods again, looking down, but I lift her face to keep eye contact.
"You're my little girl. I know I can always count on you. Which is why I got you this surprise." Her eyes light up as I pull out the orange toy plane. She jumps out of her seat and engulfs me in a hug saying thank you over and over. She always loved vehicle toys: she has cars, trains, trucks, and now a plane. She grabbed it and started running around with it in the air, playing some imaginary game. After a few hours, we clean up and sleep, not before getting our stories straight for tomorrow.
By the morning, the Camping site is flooded with cops; no doubt everyone is worried about the missing boy. I remind Vanessa to stick with our story and to keep her new toy in her. Bag, "You don't want to rough it up too much, Princess. It's brand new." I tell her, and she listens, burying it under her clothes.
The cops question us, and we give our stories. After an hour of questioning, the officer gave us a card to contact them and leave us to our devices. We decided to go walk a trail, one that isn't swarming with police and K-9 units, and admire the wildlife. Vanessa is quite the whole walk, no doubt feeling guilty and a bit worried. We reach a small river, and we decide to make a small stop there, eating some granola bars we packed.
"Dad, do you think the police will find that boy?" she asks me, keeping her eyes locked on her feet.
No. "I'm sure the police are doing everything they can. You shouldn't have to worry yourself about such things, though; we're here to have fun."
"It's just...why did we have to lie to the cops? You didn't do anything wrong,...Did you?" She finally looks up at me, and I can see the doubt in her eyes. I kneel down to her level and put my hands on her shoulders, ensuring eye contact. I keep my voice soft but firm.
"Vanessa, sweety, you don't really think that do you?" She shakes her head softly, but she still seems unsure, "What is your mother telling you on your phone calls? I know they are mandatory, but that woman is a snake. You know that, right?" She nods her head. "Vanessa, she is the reason you had to lie. I didn't mean to stay out so long yesterday, but I really wanted to get you that toy; it just took a while, so it's not lying if that was the plan all along. And if your mother found out you were alone in the woods for half a day, she would use that to ensure you never saw me again. You know that, right?" She nods, and I can see she is starting to believe me. "Good, now let's stop talking about these sad topics. We're here to have some fun! Let's enjoy the rest of our trip!" And with that, there was no more talk about Garrett and the police.
Vanessa POV.
Mike insisted on always checking up on me when I was checked out of the hospital. He and Abby always stopped by with food, and we ate dinner together. It was nice having them over; I never had many friends growing up. Dad liked to keep me isolated. The part of my stomach where my dad stabbed aches thinking about him. Mike notices, but before he can express any worries, Abby asks me when we can visit the Animatronics.
"There, my friends, and they must be lonely now that we stopped visiting them. Don't you miss them too?"
I do. They have always been my closest friends, even as a child, before I knew the truth about them. I don't know if I can go back, though, not after what happened.
Mike butts in, clearly trying to avoid go back to the dinner he hates so much. I can't really blame him, "Abby, Vanessa is in no shape to go back to the diner yet. That place is in shambles. It's unsafe for anyone to go, plus the cops are still hot on our tail." Lying to the police still hasn't changed, even with my father gone. It was inevitable, though, with how many missing people he is connected to. I took charge once I woke up, carefully weaving a believable story that keeps us out of jail. Mike notices I'm really good at it but doesn't ask how. I don't ask where he hid his aunt's body.
Abby slumps in disappointment but leaves it alone for now, and we decide to end the night watching a movie. We're all sitting on my couch, and Abby falls asleep halfway through the movie between us. I keep my eyes on the TV. The Lion King has always been my favorite. After a few minutes, I hear Mike give a light gasp and turn to see if everything is okay. His face is torn between a shock and a pained expression. I'm confused until I realize what he is looking at. A framed picture of my family taken when I was 3: me, my mom, and, of course, my dad.
This was inevitable, really, and it looked like we were finally going to address the big old elephant in the room after dancing around it for the past few weeks. I still can't believe I forgot to take down that picture before they arrived. We sit there for a few minutes, biting my lip. He hasn't said or done anything, just stared at the photo. I don't want to scare him off, though, so I just wait in that agonizing silence, and after what feels like hours, he finally looks at me, and I try my best to keep eye contact.
"Did you know that the toy plane was my brother's?" He finally asks. It's not accusatory or angry, just sad and broken. At first, I was confused. How did he know about the plane? But then I remembered it was in the picture I showed him.
"I had my suspicions after I found out about my dad's...Hobby," I answered him truthfully. He deserved the truth. He nods, and I can see he's holding back some tears. He looks down at the little girl using him as a pillow as if she were his whole world, and I can say confidently that she was.
I remember a simpler time when my dad would look at me like that, and for the first time, I wondered if it was just an act. I never did before. I even found out he murdered those kids, and I had to help him cover it up. It's why I refused to go with Mike to save his sister. I was always so sure that he loved me until the moment he stabbed me and left me for dead. I replayed every moment of my life, searching for clues if it was a lie or not, if I were just as bad as him for believing in one.
I knew I had a long road ahead of me to pay for my family's sins, but I knew just where to start. I carefully got up from the couch, trying not to disturb Abby. Mike was about to get up to help me, but I turned him down, saying I would be right back. I walked across my one-bedroom apartment to my room, where a box of some of my old toys sat. Slowly aware of my stitches, I kneeled down and picked up an old dusty orange plane before walking back to my living room.
As soon as Mike saw it, there was no holding back his tears. I think he would have jumped up if his sister wasn't laying down on him. I hold the toy, and ever so slowly and carefully, he takes it out of my hands.
He's just staring at it before holding it close to his chest, full-on sobbing. I can catch some words like "I'm sorry" and the name of his brother. I decide to give him some privacy, or as much as possible, so I head over to my kitchen, hoping this small gesture helps him in the long run.
Who knows, maybe we can help each other. Maybe one day I'll tell him about the sad, lonely little girl who just wanted to help her dad, whom she loved more than life and thought he loved her the same.
END