A hand grabbed my hair forcefully, and I tried to get away, but I barely had room to flinch before someone removed the gag from my mouth and ripped away the blindfold.
As things came into focus, I saw Aimee lying next to me with blood on her face and realized she was the one screaming. We were on our sides, and I was breathing in dirty, dusty air on a slab of cold hard concrete, which was scraping my skin. Aimee’s legs were bent at the knee because her feet and hands were tied together behind her back. As she struggled, I saw the rope cut into her skin.
We locked eyes as she continued to scream. The blood I’d noticed earlier was from a huge gash on her forehead. She looked terrifying, but I was too shocked to scream.
“¡Cállate Puta!” The man yelled again and grabbed Aimee by the hair. He dragged her away and out of view, but I could still hear her now-muffled screams. No, no, no! I wanted to stay with her. We needed to get out of here!
I tried to turn my head to see what they were doing to my friend, but instead of seeing Aimee, I saw Jack. He was tied up as well, sitting next to me.
He looked so angry, as if he would kill someone if they untied him. His expression scared me.
What had happened to us? I began to replay the events of the night.
The last thing I remembered was going to the beach with Aimee and Jack. I remembered having a few beers, and then…nothing. I had no recollection of how I got into this room. I was beginning to breathe at a normal rate, but my anxiety levels were still going through the roof. I looked at Jack to see if he could help me with some answers.
I whispered, “Where are we?”
His piercing gaze was not the reaction I was expecting. I noticed that he was still gagged, so I wasn’t surprised that he only shrugged his response.
Then I heard a door open. I couldn’t see who came in, but I heard new voices.
“We need to move. Now!” a man with a thick Spanish accent screamed. “Get them into the van. Keep the bitches together in the back, and the boy close to the front. Now, move! ¡muévete!” he yelled.
The man continued to scream out orders, and I could hear people scurrying around. Before I was hauled off the floor, I could feel someone behind me. The blindfold was placed over my eyes, causing me to panic again.
“Please don’t do this. Please. Where are we?” I screamed to no one.
As they tried to force the gag back into my mouth, I refused to yield. “No! No! I won’t scream. I won’t make a sound. I’ll die if you gag me. I don’t want to die. Please!” I sobbed.
It didn’t matter how much I pleaded, they forced open my jaw and pushed the thick rag down my throat, causing me to gag again. When they wound thick tape around my head, I felt the sticky side pulling the small hairs on my face, effectively locking the rag in place.
Once again, the only way for me to get air was by breathing through my nose. I knew that I would only pass out if I continued to panic, and that thought was enough to help me focus.
I tried to calm myself down by thinking about my breaths. I concentrated on pulling a deep breath in, and then letting it go. In and out. In and out. This was the only important thing in my life in this moment. In and out.
I made a vow with myself to stay strong. I promised myself I would make it out of here alive. I had to believe that with each breath, I was still alive, and that meant something.
I was picked up off the floor again and thrown over someone’s shoulder. We were definitely moving, but I had no idea what direction we were going. A door opened, and I knew I was outside. It must have still been dark because even though I could feel heat, it was much cooler than it had been during the day.
I heard a van door sliding open, and I was thrown inside and against the far wall. Another person was thrown in next. When she landed on top of me, I knew it was Aimee.
I could feel her struggling to get off, and I wanted to tell her to be still, but she eventually maneuvered around and wound up lying pressed up against me.
She was still making crying noises, and I wanted to reach out and hold her. I was thankful we were together.
They must have put Jack in the front like the man who spoke English told them to, because the van door slammed shut, and there were two loud bangs, probably the signal to the driver that we were situated, and he could leave.
Two men talked near our feet. They spoke Spanish, so I didn’t know what they were saying, but every now and then they would laugh in such a vile way that it sent cold chills down my spine.
Each time they laughed, Aimee would struggle next to me. She wouldn’t stop yelling. It was her way of not giving up. I wondered if she thought I’d given up. I wasn’t yelling. I wasn’t struggling. I think I was just numb.
“Mira Este,” one of the men said. As I heard him coming toward us, I strained to listen for any clue as to what he was doing when suddenly his fingers were on my nose, and he pinched it, cutting off the only air supply I had.
I became crazed with fear. It was like being buried alive, butI couldn’t move enough to shake him off. I was screaming behind my gag, but no one cared. My lungs burned, and I knew I was going to die.
My mind convinced me that if I kept my eyes closed and let the darkness overtake me, all of this wouldn’t exist. Just the idea of opening my eyes and seeing the horrors that awaited me sent me into a panic.
As my thoughts continued to race, someone touched my arm. It was more of a punch or a kick, and I tried to pretend I was still sleeping.
“Hmmm. Hmmm!”
I opened my eyes to find Aimee still gagged, but my blindfold and gag were gone. The kidnappers must have removed them to help me breathe after they’d had their fun.
“Are you okay? Where are we?” I whispered.
I noticed that Aimee was wiggling her hands in her bindings. It looked as if she might be able to get them free. Hope sprang in my chest, and I silently began to pray. We were still in the van, and Jack was sleeping in the front. I couldn’t see the driver, but figured if I couldn’t see him, he couldn’t see us, right? I nodded to Aimee to continue.
Finally, she broke one hand free, followed shortly by the other.
We reveled in our success for only a second, and then I shook my head. “Don’t move. We can’t let them know.” She nodded with tears in her eyes. We were both excited about the prospect of freedom but had to be careful.
I motioned for her to try to get the rope away from her feet. She made small movements, and it started loosening around her ankles. Then she nodded to let me know she could free herself.
We sat staring at each other for what seemed like hours. I felt it was important for me to memorize her face. There was a part of me that knew what was coming, but I was trying hard to keep those thoughts away.
We were thrown backwards as the van came to a screeching halt.
“!Vayamos¡ Baño…Baño!” someone yelled, and we both stared at each other in fear.
The men up front got out, grabbed Jack, and pulled him out of the van. One of them leaned back inside and yelled, “No se muevan,” at us and slammed the door.
I could tell we were alone, and I whispered urgently to Aimee, “Hurry! We don’t have much time. Get the ropes off now.”
She wiggled free in no time and pulled the gag from her mouth.
“Oh, God,” she whined. “Come on, Maddy. Let me get you untied. Turn over.”
I could hear voices. They weren’t far. I tried desperately not to allow her to see my tears as I pleaded,“There’s no time.”
“No, Maddy. No, I’m not leaving you here. Please turn over. There’s time. Come on, let me try,” she sobbed.
My still form was her only answer, and she threw her arms around my neck and continued to cry. “No, no, no. I won’t do it. I have to stay with you. Please, Maddy. I can’t make it without you. We need to be tog
ether.”
She pulled away and attempted to retie her hands. “I’ll just put it back on. They won’t even know. I can’t leave you. I can’t!”
Trying to remain calm, I said quietly, but with as much force as I could, “Aimee. Look at me. Look at me.”
She finally relented, and I stared into her tearstained face. “No,” she sobbed and shook her head. “There’s still time. We can keep working on your ropes.” We both pulled on my restraints, but there was no way we would get them off any time soon.
“Listen. You have to go. You’re our only hope. You leave. Run as fast as you can. Stay away from the main roads and get to the next town. Find a way to get to a phone and call our parents. You can do this. I need you to do this for me.” I was crying now. “Hurry, Aimee. They’ll be back in no time.”
She hung her head in shame, knowing I was right. “Okay.” She hiccupped. “But I will get you out of here. I’ll be back soon.”
Mustering up all my courage, I gave her a reassuring smile and motioned toward the back doors. “Get help. Go.”
She pulled herself away and quickly dashed to the end of the van and pulled on the door handle. Luckily, it was unlocked, and she sighed in relief.
We locked eyes again, and she whispered with tears rolling down her face, “I love you, Maddy. Never give up. I’ll come back for you.”
And with that, she was gone into the night.
That’s when it all hit me like a Mack truck. I was alone. Sobs wracked my chest, and I cried in agony. I knew she had to leave, but now that I was all alone, my future seemed even darker, and I hadn’t thought that was possible.
I tried to picture her running until she found a safe place to hide. I prayed that she would find someone to help her, and that soon people would be looking for Jack and me.
I continued to attempt to loosen my own ropes, but I only succeeded in making large burns on my wrists and ankles. I had no idea how long it had been since she’d escaped, and I was frantically trying to find a way to follow her, when I heard people yelling again. As they got closer to the van, I began to panic, but willed myself to stay as quiet as I could.
What if they’d already found Aimee? What if they saw her leave and were tracking her down? Trying to get myself under control, I squeezed my eyes shut and closed off from the world again.
The sliding door was thrown open, and men were shouting and throwing things around.
Jack was saying, “God Damn. Calm the fuck down. You’re going to hurt somebody.”
Was he nuts? Hurt somebody? Wasn’t that the point of all this? He must be losing his mind.
I was pulled out of the van and carried into a large warehouse-looking building. The man smelled of cigarettes and alcohol. His grip was tight, and I’d definitely be left with some major bruises.
Jack was pushed into the building, and he stumbled to the floor. The man carrying me threw me on the floor next to him. I pleaded with Jack to help me, but one look into his cold eyes told me that help would not be found there.
He turned away from me and snarled, “What the fuck, man? This wasn’t part of the plan. I was just supposed to be knocked out or some shit.” I noticed he was no longer tied up or gagged.
One of the kidnappers looked vaguely familiar. He was dressed in a very nice suit, and spoke directly to Jack. “That’s how it used to go. I told you never to shit where you eat, but did you listen?” He spoke clearly but I could still hear a Spanish accent.
“Fuck, Javier. I know you were against it, but this girl is prime, grade-A pussy and definitely worth the risk. You’re going to make a fortune off her. I thought I could risk it just this once. I told you on the fucking beach that this was a one of a kind investment.”
He looked at me with a gleam in his eye, and that’s when it hit me. This was the man Jack had the argument with on the beach, only they weren’t arguing about underage drinking but about my fate. If I had only known.
Jack had obviously been in on this from the beginning, stalking me like prey and finessing me into coming to spring break, and I’d fallen for it like the naïve little girl I was.
I lowered my eyes as the man in the suit came over to stand next to me and stroke my hair. “Yes, she is very beautiful and one-hundred-percent pure, no?”
“Hell, I don’t know, but she sure wasn’t putting out for me, so I’d say yes,”Jack replied coldly.
Javier stopped stroking my hair and said, “Well, be that as it may, your foolishness has screwed up the process. You will have to suffer a bit, or the authorities will become suspicious. Also, her little friend escaped. I’m sure she’s on her way to the police as we speak. Do you want her to figure out your part in all of this mess?” I gasped. They hadn’t found her. I hoped Javier was right, and she was sitting in a police station telling them how to find me.
“Hell, no, but that wasn’t my fault!” he yelled. “Your stupid men didn’t tie her up correctly. Blame them!”
Javier picked Jack up by his shirt. “I think our business here is finished. Thank you for the lovely acquisition, but you must be leaving.”
Then he pulled out a gun. I thought he was going to shoot Jack, but instead he proceeded to grab it by the barrel and hit him about five times with the butt. Jack screamed as blood ran down his face. A part of me was glad. He deserved to suffer.
“You fucker! How dare you? Wait until my father hears about how I’ve been treated. We’ve done business with you for years, and this is how it goes down? He will not be pleased.”
Javier turned to me again and said, “Goodbye young Jack. And please do tell your father I said hello.”
As Jack was forced out of the building, he continued to shout, obviously not happy with his treatment. From what I gathered from the conversation, he wasn’t supposed to bring in someone he knew.
How I wished I didn’t know him. If I had only stayed at home and listened to my parents, I wouldn’t be in this situation. No. I couldn’t think about home, or I was going to cry. I needed to push that to the back of my mind.
Javier came over to me with a smug smile on his face. He gave me the creeps. “Now that the little beast is gone, you and I can get to know each other a little. How does that sound, mi niña?” He raised his hand to my face, and I flinched away in fear. My adverse reaction didn’t stop him from running his fingers down my chin as if he were a gentle lover.
I whimpered at his touch and felt my body shaking uncontrollably. Get to know me…Oh, god. He’s going to rape me! ”Please don’t hurt me.”
His fingers stopped on my chin, and he tilted my head toward his face. He looked at me with such an air of reverence, but I could see in the gleam of his eyes how much my fear excited him. “Why would I hurt such a beautiful young lady? In fact, it would be in my best interest to keep you completely unharmed.”
Trying in vain to concentrate on what he was saying, I couldn’t help but ask, “What are you going to do with me?”
He pulled away and reached for a chair that was against the wall. As he sat down in front of me, I was terrified, knowing this was not going to be something I wanted to hear.
“Most of the time whenever the girls ask that question, I never give much of an answer. It seems that knowing what will happen frightens them, and when girls are frightened, they do crazy things that cause them much harm.”
He paused.
“How rude of me. I can see you are trembling. You must be freezing. Let me get you a blanket.” He went and grabbed a dusty old gray tarp. As he pulled it around me, I felt like I was being encased in a body bag. It was dirty, prickly and made my skin itch, but it would keep me warm.
“There you go, niña. We are not all monsters.” When he seemed satisfied with his kindness, he continued his story. “The reason I tell you this is because I see that you are smart. Once I have given you all the options, I kn
ow you will choose wisely. Won’t you, niña?”
I had no clue what he was talking about, but I nodded anyway. If there was a positive option, I would surely try to pick it.
“Good girl. See? I knew you were smart.” He smiled at me. “Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Your little friend Jack has been working for us for many years. His father is a very influential businessman, but he didn’t gather that wealth by merely being good at his job. He is the leader of one of the largest human trafficking rings in the world. He buys and sells people for money. Jack is learning the trade to take over his father’s operation some day, but right now his main job is to bring us beautiful girls.”
I sobbed and shook my head. This wasn’t just a kidnapping. They weren’t going to ask my family for money for my safe return. I was going to be sold and used like an animal.
“I see it all becoming clearer to you.” He sighed and continued. “Jack was supposed to come to the beach areas near the Mexican border and find girls that had wandered off alone and gotten too drunk to notice they were lost. In most cases, the authorities would have little to go on, and the girl would just be reported missing.” Looking at me intently he said, “Now with you, Jack made a serious lapse in judgment.” He leaned forward to caress my hair. “Although I can see the attraction.” He snapped back almost immediately. “But that is beside the point. With you going missing from his hometown, that brings too much focus on his involvement. His father is not pleased, and I’m sure little Jack is going to have a wonderful time explaining his actions.”
Shifting, he put his hands in his pockets and brought out a vial of white liquid and a needle. Panic hit me again.
“No. No! Please. I’ll do what you want. Please don’t give me that.” I was trying to roll away from him, but my arms and legs were tied too tightly.
“Sh. Calm yourself. This is what I wanted to talk to you about,” he said in a very calming voice.
I shut up at once, but I couldn’t keep the tears from flowing.
Mistakes Page 8
