Cheyenne

Eventually, I reached the edge of the forest, I had decided that that was what I was in, which had begun to thin out the last twenty feet or so towards the noise. I stayed a couple of trees in, deciding to stay covered before making myself known to others.

I had gotten close enough that I could make out parts of the structure before me, and it looked like a gas station. A busy gas station. I had never been to such a crowded gas station before, which was both a blessing and a curse. I could disappear into the group of people within the store, but so could my kidnappers. At this point, I had assumed that they were long gone and had ditched the area once they realized that I had run away, but I could never be too careful.

Glancing around, I made my way out of the trees and quickly into the parking lot. I didn't need anyone asking why I was hiding in the forest, so I went as quickly as possible without running. I'm sure I looked like a total mess, but no one stared for too long at me, so I hoped I just looked like I was on a long road trip.

Making it into the gas station without anyone questioning me, I waited for the line to the counter to clear and walked up to it, asked if there was a phone I could use.

The lady behind the counter, name tag reading Claire, responded to me without looking up as she was preoccupied underneath the counter, "Sure sweetie, there is a payphone around the side of the building,"

I shifted on my feet nervously, "I actually don't have any money. My name is Cheyenne and I have been lost in the woods for over 24 hours. Someone abducted me."

She immediately looked up, "Oh my lord, you're Cheyenne Hunter!"

I stood there shocked that she had recognized me. I had assumed that even if Owen had gone to the police about my absence, that they would have brushed him off until it had been long enough to prove that there was a reason to worry.

"We need to call the police," the poor woman looked extremely overwhelmed as she searched for her phone behind her, "You've been missing for months! I can't believe you're just showing up here, of all places!"

Months? I have been missing for months?

There was a serious time gap there. I could only remember two days since being abducted. How could I have been missing for months?

I grasped the counter before me, needing the extra support as Claire pulled out a cell phone and began dialing 9-1-1. I stared at my hands. Months. The word seemed to circle in my mind, as I couldn't focus on anything else except for my time gap. Months missing from my memory. What had happened to me?

Maybe she was mixing up her times. Maybe she was thinking about some other kidnapping victim and had just attached my name to their case because that was the most recent case that had aired? And her frantic mind just decided to pull the most memorable name and date. Even though these thoughts were circling my mind, I somehow knew that she was probably right.

I was missing for months, and I couldn't remember where I had been.

I looked up once Claire's hand landed on my own, and I was met with a friendly face, "Don't worry sweetie, the police are on their way, and they are going to make sure you are alright from here on out."

"Thank you," I nodded to her, holding back tears, "Would you mind if I used your phone to make a personal call?"

"Of course," Claire smiled, "There is an office at the end of this wall, and you can wait in there until the police arrive as well," she handed me a single key and motioned to her left, and I walked away with her phone as she started to help the line of customers that had formed during our interaction.

Walking to the office, I typed in the familiar number that I was grateful I had committed to memory and stared at the phone in my hand. Once I got to the office door, I unlocked it and quickly slipped in, hitting the call button as I shut the door behind me.

~~~

Owen

Things had started to derail on the search for Cheyenne. After months of searching with no results, Ida, Carmen, and Philip had decided that they had to focus more on college and work than a search for someone that seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet. I understood, as I also had to cut back on the number of hours I spent searching for Chey.

I had to work to pay for an apartment that had once been the responsibility of both Chey and I to pay for, but there was no way I was moving out until I knew what had happened to her. I couldn't stand the thought of Chey trying to come home only to have the door being opened by strangers.

So, I worked more hours and accepted some help from my parents, who knew how much I loved Chey and looked for her in every open moment I had. I knew that she was out there somewhere, but I just had to find her.

I had gotten the rare day off, as the manager couldn't fit me into work today, so I was back at trying to figure out how to find Cheyenne. There were no real leads, and Tom had become even more busy than usual, so my in with the police was missing.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard the beep of the coffee pot, signaling that the pot I had just brewed was finished. Standing to pour myself a cup, I grabbed a dark blue mug out of the dishwasher and turned to grab the coffee pot. I poured a cup, about ¾ of the way full, and headed back towards the kitchen table where all of the paperwork surrounding Cheyenne's case was laid out.

Before I had even made it two steps, my phone began buzzing in my pocket, signaling that I was receiving a call. I hesitated, as I rarely received calls anymore, people knowing that I was constantly busy and that my schedule was unpredictable at this point.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, only to see an unrecognizable number and hesitated, considering the possibilities of who it could be. Not wanting to let the call ring out, I hit answer and pulled the phone up to my ear, "Hello?"

"Hi Owen," the familiar voice spoke over the phone.

My breath caught in my throat, and my next statement came out so breathless I was worried that she wouldn't be able to hear me, "Cheyenne."