Being a parent is never easy. We often find ourselves obsessing over every painstaking detail of our children’s lives, especially when it comes to their safety. With the internet, the world has become a much more dangerous place. I know the hard way about the dangers of raising children. The story I’m about to tell you was a nightmare that came true.
My name is Lexi and I’m a mother of the most amazing daughter any parent could ever ask for. She had just turned 14 and I couldn’t be more proud of her. She was on the dance team and an honors student. Life hasn’t always been perfect, we’ve had our fair share of arguments, but even with our feuds, I would give anything to keep my daughter safe. That’s why what I’m about to share with you is beyond the worst moment of my life.
It was a day in the fall where school had just started up. Even though my daughter was involved in several after-school activities she decided to take the bus home real fast to get something to eat and change before going on to her dance practice. I worked from home and I remember this day perfectly. I was watching the news at that moment in the afternoon. They were going over a brutal murder.
“What we are about to share with you is not suitable for kids. Police have discovered the body of Calvin Nichols this morning. The MO follows closely to 3 other murders. It seems the man had been subjected to some kind of compound that turned his skin a dark blue. It seems he was tortured. They’re in the process of running an autopsy. However, what links this with the other 3 murders is a junk drive that was wrapped around his neck. They found a video of the victim who was under duress but admitted to sexually assaulting 4 teenage girls. These murders seem to be similar to the Ghost murders, however, the difference is that in these cases, the victims were subjected to chemical compounds earning this killer the name The Chemist. Each victim was either registered sex offenders or was charged but never prosecuted with sex crimes,” the reporter said over the TV as I quickly made my daughter a salad while watching the window for her arrival. Whenever she takes the bus, she always gets dropped off at the corner of the block which is a few houses down.
I remember something was off that day. There had been a white van parked down the street. It just looked out of place and I remember seeing it there a few times before. It just looked suspicious. If only I had reported it to the police…
The bus finally pulled up and my daughter got off as normal. She had her sporty outfit on with a matching pink shirt and pants. She radiated with happiness which filled me with joy. I was just imagining what kind of day she had at school, hoping it was a good one. But then she came across the white van. Her face contorted in fear as the side door slid open and a man in a mask grabbed her and yanked her in. I dropped what I was doing and screamed.
Panic gripped my heart as I grabbed my cell phone and rushed out the door as the van started to drive off while I called the police. It felt like I just got stabbed in the stomach. I could barely form words as the van drove off. It had no license plate on it. I was hysterical as I tried to tell the operator what had just happened. I could barely form a coherent sentence. I had just watched my baby girl get taken. My heart was racing so fast, I thought I was having a heart attack. I couldn’t breathe. The operator was telling me to calm down as another car drove by as I frantically told the person on the phone that they took my daughter. Tears were falling down my eyes as they said they were sending a patrol car over now.
After I got off the phone with them, I quickly called my husband and tried to tell him everything. He said he was on his way home. I felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs. I was in shock. It felt like some horrible nightmare. The police arrived just before my husband. I frantically told them what happened. A few more police showed up and I believe one of them was a detective. I remember her name. It was Hallie Everett. She was very calm and went over the details. My husband was a complete mess as he paced around, trying to pull out his hair.
Detective Everett said they put out an APB on the van and they’d do a thorough investigation as if that would make us feel any better. Our daughter was taken by only god knows who for who knows what means.
“You need to find her. You need to find her,” I said hysterically. I felt like everything was spiraling out of control. They told us to remain here in case she or her kidnappers tried to contact us. James, my husband wouldn’t just stand by as some maniac made off with our daughter. He took his truck and went out to search for her while I waited by the phone, praying to god to hear her voice one more time. They stationed a patrol car outside our house. Praying desperately not to hear the worst news any parent could ever hear. I just couldn’t face that fact. I won’t accept it. I just had to pray she’d be returned to us safely.
It was worse than any nightmare. I had to just wait there while some psychopath had my daughter. I’ve never felt more helpless in my life. Every second that passed by felt like an hour as I just stared at my phone, waiting for it to ring. I had the TV on with the news so I could have something to drown out the fears running rampant in my head.
Each and every minute that went by felt like my daughter was falling farther and farther away. I broke down and cried. I finally broke as the fears ate at me. All I wanted was to hold my baby girl. I just wanted to reassure her everything was going to be okay. God, how could this happen? She looked so happy when she got off that bus. I should’ve been there waiting for her. If only I had been there. I could’ve stopped it or at the very least I’d be with her.
Hours went by and it was well into the night and still no phone call. I was starting to lose my mind as all the terrifying possibilities burned into my thoughts. Where is my baby girl? I pray that she’s still alive. I pray that no harm has come to her. If something happened to her, I… I could never forgive myself.
Then the phone finally rang. My heart stopped as I stared at it filled with dread. The second ring pulled me out of my trance as I hastily picked it up and answered it. It was Detective Everett. They found her. She’s safe. I felt like I could breathe again. They brought her to the station.
I rushed to my car and called my husband while I sped to the police station. I met my husband at the police station where we found our baby girl. She looked so afraid and worried. She ran to us immediately as we both held her in our arms. Tears fell from my eyes as I held her tight. I never felt so relieved in my life. To have my baby girl safe back in my arms is beyond anything a mother could ever hope for. I felt so filled with joy at that moment, nonstop tears ran down my face. When we finally settled down, the detective pulled us aside. I thanked her profusely as I tried to calm myself. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
She then told us what happened. Apparently, someone called the police and reported the van. However, when the police arrived the scene was horrendous. They found the man that took my daughter strapped to a chair. His face had been melted off and there was a junk drive tied around his neck. They found my daughter in a bedroom upstairs with headphones on her ears. She had not been harmed.
She told them that after they arrived at the kidnapper’s house, he took her to the bedroom. She was crying and pleading with him. He took off his mask to reveal an old man with long grey wiry hair that was starting to bald. He had a thick gut and a scar on his left eye. He started to unbuckle his pants when someone broke in downstairs. He went down to investigate when a struggle broke out. A few minutes later a man she didn’t recognize walked up. He was kind, untied her and he gave her headphones and he told her to put them on and listen to music because he didn’t want her to hear what he was going to do to the man who took her. She held the headphones tight to her ears as she heard terrifying screams come from downstairs. He said all the terrible things he did to other girls, but she tried not to listen.
Before she knew it, he came back up and told her to wait here. The police would arrive shortly and she’d be reunited with her family and then he left. Not long after the detective arrived to find the perp strapped to a chair with his face melted off and he was dead. She found our daughter in the bedroom.
The news broke the story that night after we got home. They reported about the kidnapping of our daughter and how the Chemist had struck again, saving our daughter.
To the Chemist, if you are reading this, whoever you are… Thank you. Because of you, our daughter is safe now. I will never forget this. I don’t think there is anything we could ever do or say to show our gratitude for saving our daughter. To all the parents out there, just please, keep your children safe. The world is a dangerous place. If you see something suspicious, report it. Don’t second guess, don’t hesitate, take action.
The End.
Remember, you’re never safe in the dark…
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