Held (24 page)

Authors: Edeet Ravel

BOOK: Held

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iii. It is possible that Chloe is living in a fantasy world that she created during her captivity and that the entire report is a fabrication. Chloe may have been kept blindfolded in the presence of her captors (this is the most likely scenario, for obvious reasons). She may have been confined in a small room or closet during her captivity. Certainly the tennis, daily outings, wine (!), computer games, and DVDs seem farfetched. Trapped, sexually assaulted, and deprived of sensory stimulation, Chloe may have passed the time by creating this elaborate fantasy. She would know that her report is a fantasy but would prefer to hold on to the invented scenario in order to delay facing the trauma of her ordeal.

C. Options to be considered

1. Continued questioning.
There is some urgency, as Chloe may have information that will be more valuable now than further on down the line. Chloe is tired and vulnerable, and it should not be very difficult to break down her defenses. A deprogramming expert should be on hand. Assessments based on Chloe’s Pre-SAT scores and school-work indicate a high Intelligence Quotient, between 135 and 140. Appeals to her intelligence should prove effective, though she will also be better at contriving elaborate resistance strategies than the average person.

2. Delayed questioning.
This may prove to be more successful, as Chloe’s feelings for her captors may fade, and her determination to protect them may weaken. If they do not contact her, she may be angry at them for deserting her. The predicted progress of PTSD will also make her increasingly vulnerable and open to reason. However, valuable time will be lost.

3. Enlisting Angie Shaw.
Chloe has by all accounts a close and trusting relationship with her classmate, Angie Shaw. It is recommended that a profile of Ms. Shaw be requisitioned, as Chloe may confide in her and Ms. Shaw might be persuaded to act as liaison between Chloe and authorities. Chloe will almost certainly experience an overwhelming need to describe her experience to someone so as to feel less isolated.

A more detailed assessment follows.

Washington, D.C.
Sunday, 3:45 a.m.

I can’t sleep. Faint buzzing noises from the walkie-talkie of the guard on the terrace woke me. Or maybe my dream woke me. It was such a strange, vivid dream, almost like a hallucination.

I dreamed a CIA agent came into my room and began explaining that I’d been conned, tricked, manipulated—like the woman in
Gaslight
. He said everything that happened to me was a sting operation.

I shook my head and cried out, “You don’t understand!” But he took me in his arms and stroked my hair and said, “We all make mistakes in vision.”

I asked, “Are you his brother?” and he answered, “We used to be twins but that was a long time ago. But I love you too.” I felt consoled and I laid my head on his shoulder.

He said, “Remember the sound you heard, of kids laughing and talking outside the warehouse? Why do you think those sounds ended so abruptly, instead of fading away?”

“You’re wrong, you’re wrong,” I said. “It wasn’t a tape.”

“He doesn’t want to save the prisoner, you know. He wants to kill him before he talks.”

I was about to protest, but just then pieces of plaster began to fall from the walls and the ceiling, and I realized there was a war outside, and we were part of it. I looked out the window to see if Mom was there, but instead I saw dead bodies lying all over the street—men, women, children—piles and piles of bodies. And there were mourners standing around them, holding candles. The agent said, “They’re mourning the end of the world.”

I woke up shivering. Is the dream some kind of message from my unconscious? Is it a warning? But who or what is it warning me against?

I know I have to get rid of what I’ve written. I have to soak these sheets of paper in water until they’re in shreds. But it’s hard. Everything is in these pages—my love for my hostage-taker, his love for me. I know our love will bring us together again. Love is the strongest thing there is.

Memorandum number: CM1172-15.

Classification:
Secret

Status:
Urgent

Memo to:
Dr. Geraldine Marlowe, Dr. Anil Rajan, and Professor Erez Shaked

Attached is the document that was seized from Chloe Mills during the night. We had been aware that she was furtively writing what we assumed was a diary over the past six days. The papers were seized as she was about to destroy them. Chloe has been in a highly emotional state since the papers were taken and is under medical care.

Comprehensive preliminary analysis required ASAP, pending detailed report.

PHOTO CREDITS
Front and back cover image,
Jose Antonio Sánchez Reyes;
teen in parka,
Tamás Ambrits;
two teens,
Monika Wisniewska;
teen in slicker,
Ljupco Smokovski;
heart,
Pathakdesigner;
woman in sunglasses,
Bigchen;
woman with long hair,
Andres Rodriguez;
candle,
Timothy Boomer. All ©Dreamstime.com.
Gymnast,
©iStockphoto Inc./Keith Binns

Edited by Barbara Berson
Cover and interior elements designed by Sheryl Shapiro

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