As the night wore on, he left the room one more time and she managed to get her phone back on the charger. Finally she fell into an exhausted sleep without dreams.
When she awakened again, it was morning. Once the girls were up, Jacob escorted them to the bathroom. “Listen, girls,” Annalise said. “There is no more food for anybody. Drink as much water as you can since that is all you’re getting.” They drank using their hands as cups.
“Can’t we get out of here?” Tanya asked. “I want to be back in my own room.”
“Me, too.” Emily broke down in tears. “I’m tired of being here. I’m so tired of being scared.”
Annalise hugged the little girl close and then released her. “We need to stay strong. You all know by now that Jacob doesn’t like crying. I know it’s hard, but we’ve all got to keep our emotions in check until somebody gets us out of here.”
It was going to be a difficult day. The girls were fussy, and Annalise did her best to give them a pep talk, not only to keep them strong, but also to keep them alive.
When they returned to the classroom, the girls once again took their positions against the wall, but Annalise remained standing.
“Jacob, I want the girls to sit at the desks and work today,” she said.
One of his bushy black eyebrows shot up. “Who made you boss today?” he sputtered with a laugh of disbelief. “I don’t give a damn what you want.”
A faint fear trembled through her as she faced off with her captor. “I know you’re calling the shots, Jacob, but I have to think about the well-being of my students. It would be better for their mental health to focus on some work.”
“I think it’s best if you shut up and sit down,” he replied.
Annalise remained standing. “The girls need to do something besides just sit against the wall for another day.” It suddenly seemed vitally important that she stand her ground.
He gazed at her for a long moment. She boldly maintained eye contact with him. He finally looked away and frowned. “Can they work and be quiet? I don’t want any damned noise.”
“They can be very quiet,” Annalise replied. She quickly turned to the girls. “Go to your computers,” she said.
Thankfully they all moved quietly, eagerly to their desks. Jacob watched them. “Hey, Sadie, a little bird told me you’re the smartest girl in this room.”
“I am smart,” Sadie replied. There was no pride in her voice, rather it was just a statement of fact.
“I heard you really know your way around computers,” he said.
“Sometimes I think I might be smarter in computer arts than Miss Annalise,” Sadie replied with pride, and flashed a small smile to her teacher.
“Yep, that’s what the little bird told me,” Jacob said.
“What’s the name of your little bird?” Annalise asked. Had somebody on the inside told him how smart Sadie was? Was there somebody else involved in all this? Who from inside the school would have anything to do with this madness?
“The name is none of your business,” he snapped. “I gave into them working at their desks, now stop asking me questions.”
“Why don’t you all build your own web page,” Annalise said to the girls. “I want it to be a happy page with links to your favorite foods and animals and anything else that you love.”
As the girls got to work, Annalise sat at her desk. Even though she knew in the grand scheme of things nothing had really changed, this felt like another success to her.
She wondered if Jacob had really had inside information on how bright Sadie was, or if he’d merely picked her out because she’d interacted with him and the other girls hadn’t.
She didn’t know, and at the moment it didn’t matter. All that really mattered was that the girls were engaged in their work instead of sitting against a wall with nothing to think about but their own fear. At least now, hopefully, they were thinking about their skills and creativity.
As the girls continued to work, she heard Evan on the bullhorn. He was attempting to build a relationship with Jacob, but the cult leader was having nothing to do with it. He would curse and demand Evan move the police presence away. He would then fire his gun out the window.
Meanwhile, as the girls worked, Gretchen walked between the desks, apparently checking to make sure the girls did nothing to contact anyone from the outside world. She occasionally asked questions to different girls, and it was obvious when they answered that the students were all terrified of her.
By noon Evan wasn’t talking to Jacob anymore, but rather directed his comments to the men in the building. He told them that he understood and supported their mission of feeding the hungry and that he wanted a peaceful resolve to all of this.
Annalise knew Evan was using all the tools in his box to get to the men with Jacob. Unfortunately some of the attributes that make him a great hostage negotiator were also the traits that had eventually torn apart their relationship.
He’d been controlling and often emotionally unavailable to her during the time they had been together. She’d loved him desperately...still had deep feelings for him, but she hadn’t been able to live with his control of her. She believed he’d seen her as too weak and too inadequate to run her own life. Not that any of that mattered now.
The standoff continued. Annalise knew at some point Evan was going to have to make a decision as far as ending this. If they used force to enter the building, she prayed that Jacob and his men would
