Don't Talk to Strangers

>Lizy Loud sat at a pink plastic table in the side yard facing the street, surrounded by five of her closest friends: Mr. Fangs the dinosaur; Diver Dan; A Tonka truck with a smiling face; auntie Luan’s old dummy Mr. Coconuts, and a bald Barbie hairdresser head that used to have hair before she ripped it all out. She picked up a plastic teapot and pored an imaginary slug into Mr. Coconuts’ cup.

>“You really need to lay off the tea, Mr. Coconuts,” she cautioned, “you know it goes right through you.”

>A dark shadow fell over her, and she looked up to see a man backlit against the sun. At first she thought it was her father, but when she squinted, she saw that it wasn’t: He was tall with bushy black hair, sharp features, and a wide smile.

>Lizy’s heart clutched, and her eyes followed him warily as she sank to one knee. “Hi,” he said in a friendly tone and looked around the table. “Quite a party you got here.”

>Lizy didn’t say anything.

>The man’s smile widened and he nodded at Mr. Coconuts. “What’s his name?”

>For a minute, Lizy didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t a’pposed to talk to strangers, but it would be rude not to answer him. “Mr. Coconuts,” she mumbled.

>The man’s brows lifted. “That’s a silly name. He looks more like a Mr. Chuckles.” He reached over and pinched the dummy’s nose.

>When he turned back to Lizy, his brows pinched seriously. “Do you like puppies?”

>All of her apprehension melted away and she nodded eagerly. She loved puppies. She’d been trying to talk her dad into getting her one for a long time, but he kept saying no.

>“Good,” the man said, “see...I have a litter of puppies and I can’t take care of them.” He touched his hand to his heart as if to punctuate his sincerity. She already knew what he was going to say before he spoke, and she bounced in giddy excitement. “Can you take one?”

>She nodded. “I’d love a puppy!”

>He smiled. “Great” He looked over his shoulder at a black Ford van with a sliding side door parked at the curb. “They’re in my van. Let’s go get you one.”

>Forgetting everything her parents had ever told her about stranger, Lizy jumped up and skipped after him, dreams of a cute brown puppy with floppy ears dancing through her head. When they reached the van, the man slid the door open, and before Lizy knew what was happening, another man, grinning ear to ear, snatched her by the front of her shirt and dragged her in.

>Terror burst in her chest like a bomb as he pulled her to his face - his eyes were red and bleary, his chin covered in gray stubble, and he smelled funny. “Hiya, little girl.”

>She started to scream, but he clamped his hand over her mouth and forced her to the floor, matted carpet tickling her face. The other man closed the door, came around the front, and slid in behind the wheel. “Happy Birthday, Ferret,” he said.

>Lizy’s little heart blasted painfully as Ferret tittered madly and wound a length of rope around her wrists, the fabric digging painfully into her flesh. He leaned over until his lips brushed against her ear, his hand slipping under the back of her shirt and his rough fingers brushing her skin, making her shake. “You like puppy dogs?”

>Lizy squeezed her eyes closed - maybe if she concentrated really hard the scary bad men would go away. The man’s hot, ragged breathing did not abate, did not disappear.

>When he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her shorts and dragged them down her legs, she found her voice, a sob bursting from her throat. Stinging tears slid down her cheeks and cool air caressed her bare butt, her nakedness making her so ashamed she cried harder.

>“Shh,” Ferret said and kissed her neck, the touch of his lips sending goosebumps of revulsion up and down her arms. She bit her bottom lip and tried to stop, to be a big girl, but she couldn’t. He laid his hand on the small over her back and moved it slowly down the swell of her butt; her skin crawled and she squirmed. “You’ll like it, I promise.”

>He looked up at the man behind the wheel; they were driving now, away from home, away from her mommy and daddy, away from salvation. “How about some music, Krog?”

>“Anything for the birthday boy,” Krog said. A cigarette jutted from his lips, smoldering. He leaned over and turned on the radio. Distorted rock music filtered from the speakers; acrid smoke stung her eyes.

>I like 'em big

>And I like 'em small

>And if I had to take the oath

>I would take them all

>Ferret laughed evilly, and when Lizy felt his finger slip between her butt cheeks, she jumped and cried out. “Please stop,” she hitched. “Please.”

>Instead he nipped her ear so hard she yelped and sang along with the radio:

>Just give me that ruff stuff

>I want ruff stuff

>Baby give me ruff stuff

>You don't want ruff stuff?

>His finger prodded her anus, and her entire body prickled in horror. She screamed so hard her head throbbed and her throat stung, and Krog turned the radio up to cover the sound.

>“I like it when you scream,” Ferret said, and jammed his finger into her, his jagged nail ripping her. Pain exploded in the center of her skull and the air left her lungs in a rush. Her muscles clamped around him, and he giggled darkly.

>Lizy bit her bottom lip against the horrible sensation and sobbed silently. He pulled his finger out and reached for something on the floor - a screwdriver.

>“Please,” Lizy wept, “please let me go home.”

>“You can go home after this,” Ferret said and pressed the cold, steely point of the screwdriver against Lizy’s aching rectum.

>But he lied.

>She never went home again.