The Girl Who Was Taken

Chapter 19 shifts to Megan’s third-person perspective in the present. In the aftermath of her abduction, Megan has been working at the county courthouse. Officially, the job is referred to as an internship, as if it were a professional opportunity for Megan instead of attending college as she had planned. In practice, the job is tedious and has nothing to do with Megan’s plans for her future. Nonetheless, it keeps her busy, and Megan goes through the motions because it makes her parents happy. They equate having an internship with being successful. Megan reflects on the irony of her new reality; as the victim of an abduction, she should be receiving support and accommodations for her struggles. Instead, she stifles her emotions and goes out of her way to help her parents feel better.

On her lunch break, Megan drives to a nearby airport and listens closely to the sounds of planes taking off. She is hoping that if she finds the right airport and listens to the right sounds, she can pinpoint a spot where the sounds of airplanes and train whistles converge. Then, she can figure out where her abductor held her and lead the police to the right spot.