Page 13 of Claimed By the Hitchhiker

“You know why I was hesitant to tell you even though most victims would probably ask for help first? Because two girls got out in the middle of the night and ran all the way to the nearest police station. The following morning, the cops brought them back. They didn’t even make it to their rooms. Father gave them an early graduation. Turned out the cops were on Father's payroll, so were several people in power.”

“Father. Why do you call him Father?”

“I have no idea. We rarely see him. He only appears at graduations, and he never interacts with us. He’s pretty old, maybe around…70? He has white, curly hair. Dark brown eyes, and a scar on the left side of his mouth. He’s always surrounded by at least five guys.”

She rests her chin on her hand and grimaces. “I know what you’re thinking, and after reading about it before, I also realized how eerily similar our setup was to all the other cults.”

* * *

It takestwo rings before he answers, and I’m digging the heel of my shoe into the soft soil, unable to calm down. I’ve been restless ever since that talk with Dani. I hate sitting here while her Father roams free.

“Chief.”

“Davenport. You in town?”

“Not yet, sir. Got stuck a couple of hours away after my truck broke down.”

“I hate to say I told you so, but I’ve been telling you to sell that junk for years.”

I chuckle. He’s been trying to convince me to buy a new ride. Guess I don’t have much choice now.

His voice changes, and he clears his throat. “So, I sense something. Why are you calling?”

“Yeah, so. I hitchhiked after I was standing in the middle of nowhere. Driver’s a girl. I noticed something was off, and she was scared out of her mind, jumpy too. Almost had a heart attack when a motorcycle roared past us. Did a bit of digging, and she told me she escaped from a compound deep in the woods.

“I have her sketch right here, and I’ll send a pic to you. Says a guy who calls himself Father has an entire community of women and young girls. They’re taken care of like they all need to be perfectly healthy. They also get blood work done every few months. By the time the girls turn 18, they have this graduation. And it’s really just them leaving the compound and being brought to a small clinic so their organs could be harvested.”

Chief doesn’t respond. The only obvious sign he hasn’t hung up is his heavy breathing. “You have an idea what this Father looks like?”

“Curly hair. Brown eyes. Scar near his mouth.”

I hear him curse under his breath. “You say you have a sketch for the location? I’ll gather the team as fast as I can and go where you are. It might take some time because there’s some asshole or a team of assholes leaving black duffel bags in public areas, so we’re out in full force. Everyone’s breathing down my neck since people are panicking. Send me your motel address.”

Something niggles at the back of my mind. “You’re not really surprised. Do you know about this?”

“Yes. We’ve had several reports about organ harvesting somewhere west of here. Deep in the woods, like you said. Someone sent people to scour the area and found nothing.”

“It would be hard to find it tonight.” I give him the motel’s address.

“Send me the photo. I’ll just check something.”

He mutters another curse, which is surprising because he rarely does so. “I was right. There’s a precinct near this location, and I’m friends with the new Chief who moved in almost at the same time as me. He says he’s currently cleaning up the ranks, so he might not know about this but he’ll go back to the office to check.”

“Yes. Dani said two girls escaped before but were brought back by police officers. They’re in her Father’s payroll.”

“We have to be careful. We don’t know how far and deep that bastard’s claws reach.”

“Figured out as much.”

“Plan is to surround them. Can’t have a chopper announcing our arrival.”

“Right. I’ll wait at the motel so we can follow you.”

“We’ll do it first thing tomorrow as soon as we can. It’s gonna be a pretty big operation. Keep your lines open.”

* * *

It’spast 10 and I fully expect Dani to be deep asleep, especially after the long day she’s had. I’m still pumping full of adrenaline, unable to rest until I find these fuckers and make sure they can’t harm anyone anymore.

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