A new day dawns

Trigger warning: This story reflects in nature the issue of human trafficking.

It was the hottest day of the year. The haze shimmered and danced in every direction. With her feet on the verandah couch and eyes closed, Sara rested as the fiery ball began to drop below the horizon.

Sitting bolt upright, she listened, straining to hear the noise that had disturbed her thoughts. “Señorita, Help me! Help me!” Through the haze, a young girl half ran, half stumbled towards the verandah.

“Señorita, the men … .” Without waiting for any further explanation, Sara shepherded the girl inside, secured the screen and bolted the thick wooden door. The blinds were already drawn to deter the heat, the security system impenetrable, a rifle and ammunition on the shelf beside the door.

Sara’s green eyes absorbed the pitiful sight before her. Fear etched across the dusty, tear-stained face, long dark hair tangled and glued to her head, scratches of dried blood covering her arms and legs.

Sitting side by side on the sofa, Sara drew her arm around the girl’s shoulders, softly stroking her matted hair. Tears of relief and exhaustion overflowed and the girl felt safe for the first time in days.

“Here, drink some water,” Sara coaxed, as she placed a glass into the girl’s shaking hands. The cool liquid swirled around her mouth, loosening her tongue and relieving the parched, sandpapery feel in her throat.

“My name is Sara,” she waited. After several more sips, the girl replied, “My name is Mia, Mia Garcia”.

“Where are you from, Mia? Who are the men?”

With eyes lowered, she began in a faltering voice, “I am from Mexico. My cousin, Maria and I were walking to school. We live with our grandmother on her farm. A black car started following us outside town. We walked faster, then we ran, but they kept following us. The car stopped and two men grabbed us. We were screaming … but nobody could hear us. Maria … she is older than me. She bit one of the men on the hand. He slapped her across the face and they dragged us into their car.”

Sara’s heart sank as she struggled to keep her thoughts and emotions in check.

“They took us to a house … on a farm … a long way from our farm. They … they locked us in a room and didn’t give us any food or water. We could hear them arguing … three of them … the driver, plus the two men who dragged us into the car. The two men … they said they wanted to have some fun with us, but the driver kept telling them to shut up and get the job done. We thought … we thought … they were going to kill us. There was no way out. The windows had bars on them. When it was dark, they took us outside and locked us in the back of a van. The windows were mostly covered but there was a small gap around the edge. It was a full moon and we could see a little. We could tell that we were heading towards the rainforest.”

“Sometimes we could hear the men talking. They said Maria would earn them lots of money … and … and a man, … a man named D’argo was looking for a pretty little wife and he might like me … Señorita Sara, I don’t want to be any man’s wife, I’m only 12!” Mia’s trembling voice gave way to uncontrollable sobs as she buried her face into Sara’s shoulder.

Stroking her hair, Sara whispered, “You are safe here, Mia. I won’t let them hurt you.” As the sobs subsided into whimpers, Sara began again. “Mia, I know this is really difficult, but I need you to tell me what happened to Maria, how you came to be here with me. Did you hear them mention any names or places?”

“Not places, only two names … Carlos and Juan, the men who grabbed us on the road. They took us to a place in the forest … near a river … there were tents hidden among the trees. There were more girls … some were cooking over a fire and there were men, lots of men … and they had rifles, … the ones that fire for a long time. We were taken to a tent where three older girls were. They were 16 and 17 … just a bit older than Maria.”

“The men … they come … and they … they take the girls when they want them … and they do bad things … they hurt them … . They put a tattoo on the girls … here, … on the back of their neck, to show other men who they belong to.”

“That man, D’argo … they have heard about him. He was coming soon to find another wife. Sofia said that he made other girls his wives … he likes them very young. She said I had to get away before he came. I was so scared, Señorita, I did not want to leave Maria. They will hurt her … they will do terrible things to her like they did to the other girls.”

Struggling to restrain her own tears along with Mia’s, Sara’s low, steady voice continued, “Mia, you are so brave, so very brave. How did you get away?”

“We … we heard the men talking. The ones that grabbed us, they were leaving again in two days. The girls said my only chance was to escape when they left for town. They usually leave before sunrise so no one will see them coming out of the forest.”

“The van was parked near the road in, a long way from our tent. Last night, once everyone was asleep, Sofia and Maria took me to the van while Olivia and Sonya kept watch. A boat came yesterday with boxes. We overheard some of the men say it was ammunition. Inside the van, we could just make out the rows of long boxes stacked on top of each other. There was just enough room for me to hide behind them. I begged Maria to come with me but she said it would be more dangerous if we were both missing. She would tell the men in the morning that I had gone into the forest to wee because the bathroom was busy and I couldn’t wait. They would eventually come looking for me.”

“I must have fallen asleep. When the van lurched forward, the boxes shifted … it jolted me awake. I didn’t know what time it was, but I guessed that it would be a couple of hours to the main road, which meant that there was still at least two hours of darkness. I was close to the cabin wall and I could hear snippets of the conversation between Carlos and Juan. They were going to be meeting someone called Miguel to give him the ammunition.”

“I heard them talking … they wanted to have a pee and a smoke before they got to the main road. It would be my only chance to escape. I thought that if I could open and close the door before the van stopped completely, they might not hear me. I waited with my hand on the handle and as the van started to stop, I quickly jumped out, closed the door and slid underneath the van. I could feel my heart pounding in my throat. What if they saw me in the mirror or heard me?”

“Both Carlos and Juan stood on the left side of the road to pee. The forest canopy overhead kept out most of the moonlight, but I could make out that the trees became thicker not far from the road. The moon started to go behind a cloud and it was getting even darker. I crawled out and just ran as fast as I could and hid behind the trees. I was still close enough to the van … I could hear them talking. One of them flicked his lighter … I could smell their cigarettes. Then they checked the ammunition before they drove away.”

“I waited and waited until they were a long way down the road. The moon came out again and there was just enough light for me to see. I ran along the road, but stayed close enough to the edge so that I could hide if I heard anything. As the sun started to rise, I could see the main road ahead in the distance. I was afraid … once they couldn’t find me near the camp, they would come searching for me. I could see the farm lands backing onto the forest, so I followed the fencing, but still staying in the forest.”

“I ran and walked as far as I could. It was so hot … I had no food or water and the sun was starting to go down. I could hear horses in the distance. I hoped that I would find someone who would help me. You have plenty of trees on your property. I was able to stay hidden to get close enough to your house. I could see you on the verandah … you were my only hope. That’s when I ran to you,” Mia gave a small smile as she looked up at me.

“Ping”, an alert sounded on my phone. My front gate camera detected a van. A gloved hand reached out the driver’s side window and proceeded to press the intercom buzzer. I lifted my finger to my lip in a gesture of silence as I casually asked, “Hello, can I help you?”

“Hello, my niece took her horse out riding this morning and she hasn’t come home yet. I thought she may have stopped in here to rest as it has been such a hot day. Have you seen her? She is about 12 years old, long dark hair, very pretty.”

I glanced over at Mia, her eyes wide as saucers.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t seen your niece. If you can let me know your name and a contact number, I’m happy to organise a search party with some of the neighbours. Where did you say you were from? I haven’t seen your van in these parts before.”

“Oh, um, never mind. She has probably arrived home by now.” With that, he reversed out of the driveway in a cloud of dust.

“Mia, did you recognise his voice?”

Nodding, Mia affirmed, “That was Carlos.”

“Ok, they are looking for you. Mia, can you describe Carlos and Juan to me?”

“Carlos … he is about your height but fat … and ugly. He has a dark beard … and his eyes are black and squinty. Juan is taller and thinner. He looks more like an Americano … his hair is brown not black … he has a beard though. He has a finger missing on his left hand … this one,” Mia pointed to her ring finger.

“That is really helpful, Mia. We need to get Maria and the other girls out. You said there was a river near the campsite?,” Sara questioned as she lay her map on the coffee table.

“Yes, Senorita. A big river, deep enough for the boat. The road goes all the way down to the river.”

“It has to be this one,” Sara pointed. “It is the only river remotely close enough to this area.”

“Mia, would you like a shower and something to eat now?”

“Yes, please Señorita. I’m very hungry and I am feeling better now. Will you be able to find Maria?”

“I will find her, Mia, and the other girls as well. I give you my word,” Sara’s gentle voice obscured the emotions she felt inside.

Walking to the other side of the room, Sara rolled up a rug and pulled a book from the bookcase. The floor began to slide, revealing a small stair case. “Come Mia, follow me.” Sara led the way down into a fully self-contained apartment.

“Señorita, this is so beautiful,” Mia exclaimed as she gazed in wonder at what lay before her.

“Mia, here are some clean clothes, I think they will fit you nicely. The towels are here, there is shampoo, everything that you will need. Take your time. I will make us some dinner. Then you can sleep. You will be totally safe down here, no one will even know where you are. I will be working for a while yet after dinner, but let’s get you settled.”

It didn’t take long for an exhausted Mia to fall asleep. Sara’s gaze lingered on the young girl. “She’s been through so much, so brave. All of these girls are courageous, putting Mia before themselves to save her from a life of torture, all the while knowing what was going to befall them.”

Closing the bedroom door behind her, Sara sat at the table taking notes, cross-checking Mia’s information to the map, noting the co-ordinates of the camp site. She picked up the phone. “Mike, yes, we need to talk.”

As the dawn broke, Sara noted that it was a little cooler than yesterday. Thankful for a small reprieve in the heat, she methodically packed her backpack as she had done many times before - food, water, first aid kit, compass, map, and ammunition. She strapped her rifle to the outside and slid her Glock into its holster on her belt.

Mia was still sound asleep. Sara was not about to disturb her and she hoped that she wouldn’t be frightened when she discovered Marcia, Mike’s wife, there instead of her. With her grey hair wound into a bun, ready smile and cheerful personality, and amazing food, she was sure it wouldn’t take long for Mia to feel comfortable.

The front gate camera pinged as Mike and Marcia arrived, followed by the rest of the team. Sara loaded her ute as she waited for them to drive the 2.7 kilometre trek to her house. It had been eight months since the team had been together in person, but, as with any elite team, trust and knowing each other’s very thoughts, means they work as one.

Sara embraced Mike as he alighted from his ute. “Special Agent Sara McKenzie, it is so good to see you again.”

“And you, Mike. Let’s get these bastards!”