She woke with a jerk. Pain shot through her body. Where was she? It was dark. She saw lights and heard beeping. As her eyes adjusted, she realized she was in a hospital room, alone.

The door opened and a nurse walked in with a smile. “You’re awake.”

She watched as the nurse checked her vitals. She blinked. Her eyes felt crusty.

The nurse pulled on a cord and placed the end of it on the bed. “See this red button. If you need anything, just press it and I’ll come.”

She opened her mouth and tried to speak. Pain shot through her throat and only the sound of a raspy breath came out. She clutched her neck, flinching. It hurt, so bad. Both her throat and her neck. Tears welled in her eyes.

The nurse paused. “I’m so sorry, hun. You’ve temporarily lost your voice and it’s going to hurt like heck.”

She just stared at the nurse, trying to keep the tears from coming. Her throat still burned.

The nurse bit her bottom lip and continued. “You came in with strangle marks on your neck.” She nodded toward the door. “There’s an officer stationed outside your room.”

***

She watched the police officers leave the hospital room. They had asked all sorts of questions, but she couldn’t give them answers. The nurse had told them she had short-term memory loss. Did she want to remember?

The door opened again. There stood her best friend, tears running down her face, holding a bouquet of flowers.

She smiled and motioned for her best friend to come in.

Her friend came over and busied herself with getting the flowers set up just right on the tray next to the bed, avoiding eye contact. Did she know something? Something no one had told her yet?

She opened her mouth and slowly pushed out the raspy words. “I need you to help refresh my memory.”

Her friend almost tipped the flowers over and stared back at her, wide-eyed.

***

She watched as her best friend steadied the flowers on the tray and sat in the nearby hospital chair, folding her hands in her lap. It looked like her friend’s hands were shaking. Why wouldn’t she make eye contact?

She opened her mouth and slowly pushed out the raspy words. “What’s the story? Why am I here?”

Her friend glanced up and quickly adverted her eyes. “I don’t know.”

She frowned. Maybe she could find answers another way. She rasped. “Do you know where my clothes are?”

Her friend looked back at the door. “The police took them. But your purse might still be here.”

Her friend walked to the door and stuck her head out. She could hear mumbling. Her friend turned back into the room and feigned a smile. “They’ll bring you your purse.” She knew her friend well enough to recognize that smile for what it was.

***

She stared at her purse which sat on the hospital tray. Her friend had moved the tray over the bed before she had left. What did she hope to find? She frowned. Something that might trigger her memory.

She dug into her purse and started pulling things out. Her car keys. A small bag with makeup for touchups. Her sunglasses. Her wallet. She flipped it open and started shuffling through the cards.

She paused. A ticket. For something yesterday evening. She rubbed her thumb over the glossy surface, trying to remember. The name for the place or event, whatever it was, was unfamiliar. She flipped the ticket over.

A shiver shot up her spine and the hair at the back of her neck stood on end. There was a handwritten number. She didn’t recognize the number or the handwriting, but seeing it made her want to vomit.

***

She flinched and dropped the ticket as pieces of her memory began to flood her mind. She had been out with her best friend, heading into a local hangout for an event. It was dark out. Music was blaring.

A guy had stopped them in the middle of the parking lot, flirting. She squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t remember what was said. He had written his number on the back of her ticket. She could taste bile. What had happened next?

It came in fragments, all a blur. Hands grabbing. The world turning upside down. She saw her best friend running away into the dark. She was being shoved into a vehicle.

She had tried to twist away. Something tightened around her neck. She started to lose consciousness. The last thing she remembered was a shout.

***

She tried to still her shaking as she watched her best friend walk into the hospital room, with the two officers from before. The gravity of what had happened was becoming all too real. Her friend sat in the chair next to her and the officers stopped and stood at the foot of the bed.

One of the officers motioned toward her friend. “Thanks to your friend, we were able to identify one of the men. We’re currently tracking him down.”

The other officer cleared his throat. “Based on that man’s connections, we believe this may all be tied to a local sex trafficking ring.”

She gasped, wide-eyed.

Her best friend stared at the officers.

“Wha…wha…we almost got snatched by sex traffickers?”

The officer nodded. “That’s what it looks like.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, a mix of feelings flooding in. Relief that the men hadn’t succeeded. Disgust at what they did. Anger that they were still out there.

She opened her eyes, tears lining her eyelids. “I’ll help you. I’ll help in anyway I can.” She heard the officers responding positively with next steps, but had no idea what they were saying. Something was rising up in her. Something she could only label as a sense of justice. She wanted to take this ring apart. This was now her purpose.

***

This post was inspired by the hope*writers May 2021 Instagram Writing Challenge daily word prompts.

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