Everyone yells Gigi’s name with no response.
The stranger doesn’t call again.
Dominic doesn’t call me back. I hope he’s okay.
Looking up, I see an abandoned car, positioned off the track. It’s slumped near the edge of the fence like a forgotten artifact.The metal sides are riddled with rust. Paint peels in long flaking strips. Vines climb up the sides, while thick grass curls around the wheels rendering them almost invisible.
My heart hammers in my throat as I approach the train car.
Wrapping my hand around the cold metal handle I pull.
At first the door doesn’t move. I yank it harder and it slides back with a loud groan.
I poke my head inside.
A figure is in the shadows.
“Gigi!” I scream, leaping into the car and rushing to her side.
My sister lies on the floor in the fetal position.
Her arms and legs are bound and a gag is tied around her mouth.
“Gigi!” Tears fill my eyes as I remove the gag from her mouth.
Her eyes flutter open and a dazed expression crosses her face. She doesn’t speak.
“It’s okay, Gigi,” I reach for the knife inside my leather jacket. “I’m here. You’re safe now.”
The blade cuts through the ropes on her wrists and ankles. My fingers shake as I pull her into my arms. “Gigi! Gigi! Are you alright?”
She moans and mumbles something.
Her speech is slurred.
They must have drugged her.
Fuck.
“Gigi, it’s okay. I’m here. I’m here.” Cradling her head, I brush her hair away from her sweaty forehead. As I rock her in my arms, I take my phone out and call Matteo.
“I found her. I’m at the end of the yard in the old boxcar that’s against the fence. Gigi’s been drugged! Gather everyone and get here quickly.”
Matteo is talking, but I don’t hear him as I catch sight of something on the wall above us.
The phone slips from my hands and clatters to the floor.
Nailed into the wall are two butterfly wings.
They are fake and synthetic, like the ones little children strap to their backs around Halloween time. The striking orange and black are the only colors in this drab setting.
Monarch wings.
The only butterflies that are known for being majestic and royal.
Farfalla. Butterfly.
My nickname since birth.
