There was a barn on top of Lake Hills, a small country town in the middle of the United States. In that barn lived Jacob Buchanan. His father owned that barn before him, and his grandfather before his father. He was young for his life style; he was 22 years old at the time. His father had argued that Jacob should go out and have fun once in a while. Jacob insisted that he stay in the barn. He had always liked the barn. The seclusion, the silence, it pleased him. But his father was insisting, too. He didn't want him to spend the rest of his life in a barn doing nothing, like him.



His father, before he was born, got into the business of making special drugs. It was somewhat illegal, but no one had complaints, and all of his father's profits helped support some charities. He created various things to help ailments, including those in the barn animals. Jacob was familiar with having a dose or two of something his father concocted because he was sick.



One night, near the end of October, Jacob decided to go out and get some food for his home, a part of the barn's land. His parents, now retired, lived with Jacob, and would do so until some government intervention meant that they had to live in a home someplace. Jacob never hoped this would happen, but it was inevitable at some point, he thought. He drove out to town in his truck, stopping at a grocery store.



Inside, he grabbed some cartons of milk, a bag of various vegetables, and some cheese. His father was very fond of cheese. Stepping to the register, he placed down his items, to which the teenage boy behind the counter typed in some numbers in response. $40.29.



On his way back, he had to take a road in the middle of some woods. Before he left, it was bright enough to see, but without the brightness now (it was around 8 P.M.), he couldn't tell where he was going unless he used his truck lights. Approaching a turn, he suddenly swerved into a ditch to the side. Jacob's eyes were wide open.



In the middle of the road was a boy, probably 3 years of age, Jacob thought. He was short, and had a blue blanket with orange stripes on it. In shock, with adrenaline pumping through his veins, he stepped out of his safe place in the truck to approach the boy. He put his hand on the boy's shoulder, to which the boy did not respond immediately. The boy's head turned with tears in his eyes, and Jacob had a feeling that the boy was someone familiar, but it was on the tip of his tongue. He asked if he was lost, but there wasn't enough time to respond.



In the distance behind him, another truck approached, this time slowing down at the sight of the boy. A man and his wife exited the vehicle, approaching them. The lights were shown behind the two, but Jacob could not make out the faces.



Arriving at the boy, they asked him what his name was. They took no notice of Jacob. Perhaps they were more concerned with the kid, he thought. The boy said his name was Lily, short for Lilybeth. The two adults began to ask him where his parents were. Jacob was still confused. Why didn't they ask him, he thought. He was another adult there. Were they really old? Did they not realize he was there? These were all questions he was asking to himself.



The man began to speak again to the child.



"Are you sure you don't know where your parents are?"



The boy began to cry. The man began to look around, seeing if anyone else was there. He looked to the woman, his wife, and said,



"Okay?"



"Okay." replied the woman.



He turned back to Lily.



"Lily. We know where your parents are." he lied. "We would like to drop you off, but we don't have time. Why don't you come with us in the truck, and we'll bring you to our house first?"



Lily, reluctant, nervously nodded. The man took the kid and placed him in the truck. He opened the trunk, grabbed a suitcase, pulled out a needle and a bottle, and handed to his wife, who got into the back with the scared Lily. The man got into the truck and began to drive off, with the muffled screams of Lily being heard in the back. Lily never let go of the blanket.



Jacob quickly ran to his truck, turned it on, and sped towards the escaping criminals. Jacob continued to go, only to have the kidnapping couple race off. Suddenly, their lights went out, and Jacob lost track of them. He continued driving down the road, hoping to stop them at the dead end, only to discover that the dead end had no one there.



Jacob began to cry, in fear of what they were doing to the child he had met only a few minutes before. He reluctantly drove to his home, only a bit further, and headed inside, determined to make a phone call to the police.



His parents walked in, greeting him as he came in, and they said they were going to bed. He decided not to tell them, and went to deal with it on his own. He told them that he loved them, and they embraced before they left for bed. He left for the telephone, which was in the basement. As he went down, something caught his eye in one of the boxes stored down there. Slowly, he opened the box, to be shocked in what he saw.



The blue blanket with the orange stripes.



Lily screamed at the top of his lungs.



Happy Halloween