FINALLY FREE The Rescue of Lisa Kittle By James H. Morris Lisa Kittle, an eighteen-year-old girl, sits in the corner of a cold, dark, musty room. Since her captor had the room’s windows boarded up, the only sound she had heard was birds chirping for the past year. Lisa believes the house she is being held prisoner in is somewhere in the country. She is curled up in the fetal position, as she does after every time her captor sexually assaults her. A single tear rolls down her face. Another day goes by, nobody to rescue her from her living hell. A brief thought of her tolerance level comes to mind as she remembers there used to be many more tears and a lot more crying. But now, one tear is all she can well up. Fearing escape or rescue is looking less likely to happen. After some time passes, Lisa crawls onto her old, used mattress and places the tiny sheet that her kidnapper gave her a year ago over her small, frail body. She reflects on a happier place and time with her family. She can only imagine the pain they have been through. It saddens her. She wonders if she’ll ever see them again. The vision of the time with her family is the only way she can fall asleep. Before sleep arrives on this day, she hears a loud noise in the hallway. Lisa does not recognize the sounds, and it frightens her. She sits up in her bed and places the sheet over her head. Only her eyes are visible as she peers at the door, trembling in fear, not knowing what is about to happen. The yelling and screaming from down the hall only scare her. Unable to tell what is happening on the other side of the door, she only becomes more frightened, causing her to shake in fear. Lisa recognizes only one voice—her kidnapper. He is screaming profanities at whoever just forced their way into his home. As she waited, she wondered if she would be next. She shivers in anticipation.
Large, heavy footsteps come down the hall towards her room. She hears them stop in front of her door. She shakes even harder and covers her head, hoping to hide from whatever it was, not knowing who was on the other side. Then, unexpectedly, there is an enormous bang. Whoever was in the hallway had just broken down the door. Terrified, she trembles as she puts herself in a small ball, with her face buried in the mattress. She cries, not knowing her fate. “Lisa?” a soft female voice says. It was the first time she had heard her name spoken since she was taken. “Lisa? It’s okay. We’re the police.” She brings the sheet down slowly from her face and sees a female kneeling down in front of her. She has a dark blue police jacket on and attached to her waist is a gold badge. After a year of not talking and being abused, Lisa struggles to say anything. The bright light from the flashlights hurt her eyes, causing her to squint and cover her face with her hands. Not knowing if this is a dream, a trap, or another hopeful vision that she used to have, Lisa stands up and the detective escorts her out of the room. When she sees her kidnapper handcuffed and sitting on the couch, she realizes this is really happening. As she passes him by, leaving the house, she glares at him. His eyes are sorrowful, and for once, he finally seems broken and hopeless. Just as she has felt for the past twelve months. A part of her feels lost and sad. The man that sat there was her only lifeline for the past year. Even though she had to endure the assaults and the rapes, she also knew he cared for her. Bathing her. Feeding her. She knew if it were not for him actually caring for her, she would probably be dead. Another part of her is glad it is finally over. She no longer has to deal with the abuse from her kidnapper. And finally, he will get to know the feeling of being locked up and treated like some animal. A brief thought passes through her mind, hoping he will soon find out what it is like to be raped. “Lisa,” the detective says in a quiet voice. “Before we release you to your parents, we are going to take you to the hospital to have them check you out, and then I will need to get a statement from you. Okay?” Lisa nods, not saying a word. Her eyes still squinting from the sunlight that she has not seen in a year. She sits in the back of an ambulance that drives her to the local
hospital to be examined. The ride is quiet. Lisa can do nothing more than stare at everything passing by in the window. Seeing items like trees, cars, buildings, and people— the things she never thought she would ever see again. Everything seemed new. Everything seemed crisp and fresh. She has never been happier to see anything now that she is out of that damn cold, empty room. The ride only takes a few minutes. The EMTs unload her from the back of the ambulance. They wheel her into an exam room, where a doctor did a complete check of her. *
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Lisa woke up in a hospital room. Several hours have gone by. The detective sits, waiting for her to wake up. She knew Lisa had been through an awful ordeal, and it was probably the best sleep she had received since being abducted. “Hi, Lisa. I’m Detective Julie Marshall. I’m the one that found you yesterday. Do you remember?” Lisa adjusts herself in bed to sit up. The detective helps her by using the bed’s controller to raise the back. Lisa watches intently, not knowing what the detective is doing. “Are you hungry or thirsty?” Julie asks. Lisa nods, still not saying a word. As Julie stands up to get Lisa a glass of water, she asks, “You have said nothing since I found you yesterday. Can you talk?” Lisa nods. “I… I… I… have not said a w… w… w… word in over a year.” It took time, but Lisa’s first sentence finally mumbles out. Julie hands Lisa a glass of water. The detective places her hand on Lisa’s shoulder—Lisa flinches, still nervous about people touching her. “It’s okay,” Julie whispers. “It’s okay.” The detective returns to her seat. “Can I ask you some questions?” Lisa nodded as she looked down at the water. “Do you remember the day that man took you?”
Lisa remains still. Her eyes open, and Julie can see she is thinking. Lisa finally shook her head. “No,” she whispers. “Did he hurt you at all?” Julie already knows the answer after receiving the report from the doctor that examined her. But she needs Lisa’s statement. Lisa looked down and nodded. A tear wells up in each eye, and she cries—the memory of the things the man did to her returns. The memory makes her curl up and place a blanket over her head, hoping the darkness will make the recollection go away. “Lisa,” Julie says. “Lisa. I’m sorry. I know this is difficult for you. But I need to know what he did so we can make sure we put him in jail for an extremely long time.” Julie places her hand on Lisa’s back, causing her to flinch again. “Lisa. Can you please talk to me?” The sheet slowly comes off Lisa’s head. “He hit me,” she says. “Okay, okay. Did the man use a weapon or just his hand?” Lisa shakes her head. “Just his hand and fist.” She cries again, thinking of what the man did to her. “Then he… he….” She weeps harder, unable to finish the sentence. “Lisa,” Julie whispers. “Did he sexually assault you? Did that man rape you?” Lisa bursts out crying again, nodding her head. “How many times?” Julie asks, afraid to know the answer. “Every day,” Lisa responds as she continues to cry. Julie stands up and gives Lisa a hug. “I’m so sorry, Lisa. I’m so sorry you had to go through that. It’s going to be okay.” The hug continues until Lisa’s crying subsides. Julie knew then that Lisa needed more time to rest and to heal. Not only physically, but mentally as well. She stands up. “I’ll be right back, Lisa.”
The detective steps outside and walks to a waiting room where Lisa’s parents anxiously await to hear from the detective. “Mr. and Mrs. Kittle? I’m Detective Julie Marshall. Your daughter just woke up.” Both parents rush to the door. “Wait… wait!” The detective says, stopping them from leaving. “She is still very skittish and is having a hard time talking. She doesn’t remember much, but if you could keep the conversation only to things about the family and not bring up her experience, it would be helpful.” “Of course, detective.” The parents rush in to see their daughter, while Julie follows. Crying started from all the family members—a reunion, one year in the making. The detective knows that statistically, these crimes rarely end so nicely. She knows the family will go through a rough time during the kidnapper’s trial—Lisa having to relive what that man did to her. And the parents having to hear what their daughter had to endure. This is one of the few that has a happy ending. The detective knows everyone will go through some hard times during Lisa’s emotional healing before returning to everyday life—if she ever does.