It all started on June 15. Aida received an anonymous call from Queensland, Australia. She thought it was a “happy birthday” call from her three girl cousins, aunt, and uncle. It was not. It was a strange voice. A deep, spine-tingling voice. Aida did not know who it was or why he was calling her or how he obtained her number. The man remained unnamed and only stated four words, “I have your family.”
Aida’s phone slipped through her hand, slammed against the ground, and shattered the screen. Aida was horrified! She did not know whether to scream, cry, or throw something against the wall. She screamed and her parents came running into her room. They asked her what happened, so she told them. She could barely talk, but while taking many deep breaths, she cried, “There was a man. He told me he has my family. I do not know how he got my number, or why he has our family.”
Aida’s mother gasped, and her father replied,“Is that all he said?”
“Yes!” Aida replied while holding her tears back.
Now both parents were very worried and did not know what they could do. Aida’s dad, Michael, decided they needed to do something, anything. Aida’s dad made a decision and declared,“We are going to go to the police right away.”
They all got into their car and went right to the police station. They had to wait two hours before the police would even listen to their problem. A cop came and brought them into a special holding room until the police chief could come hear what they had to say. The room was small and dark with concrete walls and only had one window with a cage over it. It had a table with two chairs, one on each side of the table. Aida felt like she was being detained for a major crime. She was very nervous because she heard yelling and banging outside the door of the holding room. The police chief came rushing into the room, slamming the door into the wall. He walked over to the table and slammed his hands down. Aida jumped, and her heart started beating faster and faster. She thought it might just beat right out of her chest.
Chief Belker shrieked, “Which one of you is going to tell me your problem?”
Aida’s dad told her to tell the chief what happened, so she replied, “That would be me, sir.”
The chief then shouted, “Ok, then sit down in that chair!” Aida quickly moved across the room and sat in the chair. Chief Belker said, “Start from the beginning, and do not leave anything out.”
Aida started at the beginning, “Well, I received a call from an unknown caller in Australia. I answered it thinking it was from my family who lives in Australia. But when I answered it, it was a deep, creepy voice. He only said four words, ‘I have your family.’”
Chief Belker threatened, “Wait a minute. You mean to tell me the problem is not even in this country?”
Aida answered,“Well, no sir.”
After Aida answered that, the chief yelled, “Then why did you even feel the need to come here?”
Aida stuttered, “Ah ah, I...” She did not know what to say. Out of frustration and fear she shouted, “My family is in danger!”
Chief Belker stated, “We can't do anything for you, so please leave.” The chief yelled,“Cop Daniels, get in here and get these people out of here!”
Aida screamed, “Please, help us!”
The chief just walked away. Aida and her family left the station with sadness and helplessness. They did not know what to do. They were all scared and worried for their family. Aida’s dad, Micheal, decided they needed to do something, They were probably the only ones who knew their family was in danger. He made a rash decision and bought three tickets to Australia. They left the next morning at three.
As they arrived at the airport, Aida got another call from the mysterious number. She called out to her parents and put it on speaker.
The mystery man dictated, “The tower, 9:30 p.m, no later or they will die!”
Aida and her parents were horrified. They knew nothing could delay their plans or their family could die. They boarded their plane and were in misery for the next seventeen hours. They arrived in Australia, and got a cab to their family’s house.
When they pulled into the driveway, their family's house looked normal. When they got to the door, the lock was broken open, and the inside of the house was torn to pieces. Aida and her parents were in shock. They decided to head to the police station right away. They searched the house for the car keys, and once they found the keys, they were off to the police station.
When they arrived, they told the first police officer they saw their names and said their family was missing. He gasped and quickly answered “Come with me right away!”
This statement made Aida very nervous because she knew it meant her family had not been found yet. Again, Aida and her parents were led into a holding room where they waited, but only for a few minutes this time.
The police chief came through the door, but this time he was nice and not swelling with anger. He politely comforted, “We know your family is missing, but we do not know where they are or who took them. We are going to need you to tell us everything that was said by the mystery man.”
Aida was so worried as to where her family went or who had them captured them. She began at the beginning of the story with, “Well, I received a call from an unknown caller from here in Australia, and I answered it thinking it was from my family who lives here. But when I answered it, it was a deep, creepy voice. He only said four words, ‘I have your family.’
The chief asked, “Is that all?”
Aida responded with, “No, when we arrived at the airport, I got another call from that number. But this time he said, ‘The tower, 9:30 p.m, no later or they will die!’
The Chief pledged, “We will start an investigation right away. I am going to need your phone, so we can try and track his phone’s GPS and locate him and your family. Also do you have any idea what or where the tower he mentioned is?”
Aida handed him her phone and responded with, “No sir, I am sorry.”
The chief sympathized, “That's ok, we will find them. I am having my men track this mystery guy’s location as we speak.”
A police officer came into the room and whispered something in the chief’s ear. The chief then cleared his throat and requested, “We need you to come with us and not ask any questions.”
Aida did not know what to think. Her family went with the police chief, but did not know where they were going. They were led outside and into a police car. They drove for what felt like an hour and ended up in front of this weird clock tower. The tower was in the middle of nowhere. Aida asked the cop who was driving, “Where are we?”
He threatened, “You will find out, just remain silent.”
Everyone got out of the car and looked up at the clock tower. The cops broke down the door and rushed in the tower. They had to go all the way up to the top level. There was Aida’s family, sitting all in a group. They were all tied together with ropes and had duct tape over their mouths. They tried screaming when the cops came in, but the duct tape restricted the ability to scream. The cops found a note nailed to one of the support posts. It read, “Good job you found them. If the family tries to move, a bomb will go off. It will blow up this whole tower. I will need $250,000 cash, a boat, and a guaranteed get away. If I get that, I will disable the bomb.”
The cops knew they had to grant this mystery guy’s wishes. They called the station and got all the things required by the kidnapper. Aida was very scared her family would be blown up. The chief came over and consoled, “We are getting his ransom items, so your family should be free soon.”
Aida was very happy. This was the best news she had received in the last few days. The chief came over and told Aida and her parents they could go in the building and see their family if they wanted to. Aida was confused because in all the crime shows she had watched, they never let people go into the crime scene. But she and her parents agreed and followed the chief into the tower. When they reached the top level, lights flashed and there was a bell that rang. Unknown people came into the tower and Aida was very confused.
One of the random people shouted, “And scene!”
Aida was very confused. Then someone came and told them this was all a set up. Their family was part of a new movie, which now included Aida and her family. Aida did not know whether to be happy or mad. She had so many questions, but that did not matter. Her family was alright and that's all she cared about. Aida’s family came running over and gave them all big hugs. Her aunt rejoiced, “Sorry, we did not tell you. We were not allowed to because the producers wanted real and raw reactions. Also just so you know, you were secretly being filmed that whole time.” Aida and her parents were confused but happy their family was ok. In the end, Aida was glad this was all fake and her family was not harmed.
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