BXBX NOVEL Chapter 194: Officer Jones
As she tried to make sense of her new environment, a voice came from the corner of the room.
"You\'re finally awake?"
Mira turned her head, seeing a middle aged man sitting there. He was the one who found her under the rubble that he had admittedly caused by blowing up her front door and taking half the front of her house with it.
Confusion and fear washed over her as she tried to comprehend what was happening. This was the first time she had ever left her house, and the realisation made her panic.
She started to breathe rapidly, her small body shaking with anxiety.
The middle aged man noticed her distress and slowly moved over to her side, gently stroking her freshly cleaned hair.
He had some female officers help clean her up when she first arrived here, as her body was in a bad state when he brought her in.
It wasn\'t just from the rubble sticking to her, as she probably hadn\'t taken a bath in weeks.
"Hey, hey, it\'s okay. You\'re safe here," he said softly, his touch and tone soothing her frayed nerves.
"What\'s your name?"
Mira hesitated, not used to speaking.
She hadn\'t spoken in years, as her father used to beat her even harder than normal when she did so, telling her that she didn\'t deserve to speak and so on.
But after a moment, her hesitation stopped, and she opened her mouth.
"M-Mira," she finally croaked out. Her voice was hoarse from disuse.
"Hello, Mira. You can call me Officer Jones," the middle aged man introduced himself with a gentle smile.
He was still stroking Mira\'s hair, as it seemed to calm her down.
With his other hand, he fiddled with his communicator, before a holographic image of a man was projected into the air, for both Mira and himself to see.
"Can you tell me if you recognise this man?" Officer Jones asked.
But Mira\'s eyes immediately widened in fear, and she flinched at the sight of the man in the hologram.
It was her father.
Officer Jones noticed her reaction and reassured her once again.
"Don\'t be scared. Nobody can hurt you here, you are safe in this place."
His voice was still as calm as ever, which had an effect on Mira.
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And it also made her more trusting of his words, as she looked around the unfamiliar room for a second time, realising that she really might be safe in this place.
But she was still locked in this room with an unfamiliar man, so she knew she wasn\'t totally safe.
Her father never really said much about what to do when interacting with strangers.
But from the snippets she had caught on tv a few times when her father wasn\'t home or looking, she knew that it could be dangerous for small children like her to be left alone in the presence of a stranger.
"What\'s your relation to this man?" Officer Jones asked, his voice gentle but probing.
Mira stared down at the bedsheets, her tiny hands clutching them tightly.
After a few moments of silence, she finally spoke. "M-my father…"
Officer Jones sighed, his expression sombre. He had hoped for a different answer, but this confirmed his worst fears.
Internally, he was hoping that Mira was just a case of being kidnapped by a strange man, as he had seen how she flinched when he showed the holographic image of her father.
If she was a simple case of kidnapping, then that meant she would have had a loving family she could go back to when all of this chaos was over.
But things are never so simple.
"Did your father do any bad things to you?" he asked, trying to keep calm in front of Mira, trying to keep his composure.
Mira, now a little more trusting of Officer Jones, pointed to a long scar hidden under her hair and then to a fresh bruise on her face.
Officer Jones\' face darkened at the sight.
\'This bastard! She\'s just a child for god\'s sake…\' he thought, nor letting his thoughts slip out for Mira to see.
However, he was still very apprehensive about his next question, but he had to ask it, for Mira\'s sake.
"Did your father do anything… naughty to you?" he asked carefully.
The room went silent when this was asked.
Mira looked confused.
"Naughty?" she repeated, not understanding the term.
Officer Jones facepalmed.
How could Mira know what this would mean?
She was still just a 9 year old girl, and her father had kept her isolated all her life.
She didn\'t have any education, so she would have no inkling of what he was referring to.
"Did your father do anything to you that hurt your… private parts?" he clarified gently.
Mira\'s eyes widened in realisation this time, as she understood what he meant now with further clarification.
She shook her head vigorously, letting a quiet \'No\' slip out of her mouth, barely audible.
Seeing her reaction, Officer Jones let out a breath he didn\'t know he was holding.
\'Thank god, at least you left her a little bit of dignity, Kaiser, you sick bastard.\' Officer Jones thought to himself.
With the immediate concerns addressed, Officer Jones began to explain things to Mira in a way that she could understand. "I am a police officer, and we are in the police station right now — the safest place you can be in this little mining colony!"
Mira listened intently, very interested in hearing more about this place.
Like all children her age, she was a very curious kid. Being cooped up in her house all day, every day for the past 9 years was like torture for her curious mind.
But now that her father wasn\'t here, and she was already in a new place she hadn\'t experienced before, she didn\'t have to hide her curiosity anymore.