Going Viral

Run

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it was going to break one of my ribs. I took a deep breath, stepping out of the car, closing the door quietly.

I started towards the kid, trying to walk as normal as I could. Is was as if I forgot how to walk, I was stiff. I tried to relax. Adam said from behind me.

"Alright, recording!"

"Wait!" I turned and trotted back over to Adam. "The intro. We got to do an intro."

Adam rolled his eyes. "Alright, recording."

I tried to sound as excited as I possibly could.

"Hey ya'll. It's Alex here! I won't give you my last name cause I know some of you stalkers are out and about. Anyways! Have you ever wondered how easy it might be to kidnap a child? They seem to be all over the place, ready for the picking. So today I have the answer to that very horrible question. Don't worry! No rape or murder here! I'll make sure I'll get the little shit home, safe and sound!"

I paused, turning to make sure the kid didn't hear us. He still leaned against the tree, inspecting something on his hand.

"Did you get it?" I asked turning back to Adam.

Adam said as he looked at the camera, "Yeah, just seeing how it came out, oh shit! The kid is moving!"

I turned to see the kid adjusting his hat again, making his way down the sidewalk, towards us.

"Keep recording!" I told Adam. I turned to walk in his direction. My whole body was shaking, it was hard to stay calm, and relaxed. I took deeper breaths as I walked. Stay calm. I felt sweat starting to develop on my forehead.

He saw me.

He cocked his head as he approached, staring curiously as we made eye contact.

Smart kid.

"Hey!" I moved towards him, still struggling to conceal my shaky voice. God, this has to work. "Hey, little guy." I try and say as neighborly as possible, planting a smile on my face. He stopped, cocked his head again, squinting in the sun as he looked up at me.

"Hi," He said, softly.

"What's your name man," I don't know if that was friendly enough. He just stared. I placed my hands on hips, looking around like I've been here five hundred times before. I'm tall, I'm young, he can't think I'm a bad guy.

"My name? Why?" he asked.

I said, "Cause I like making new friends. You know what? You seem like a really awesome new friend. Am I wrong?"

The kid shook his head, "No, I think I'm awesome."

"See?" I looked back, shouting to Adam, "We got an awesome kid right here!"

The kid couldn't help but chuckle.

Good.

"So, who do I call my new human buddy pal, guy." I asked, trying to make him laugh again.

"William." 

His face didn't budge.

"How old are you William?" I peered quickly behind me to make sure Adam's fat ass was still recording.

This was going easier than I thought.

"Why?" The kid asked.

"Well, uh, me and my fat friend over there wanted to know if you wanted to be in a video of ours?" I pointed to my car, hit with the sudden memory that on my front bumper Adam, only weeks ago, placed a bumper sticker that read "Open up."

There's no way the kid knows what that means.

The kid said, "No, not really." He watched a car rumble by us. 

I took a step forward without thinking.

"Come on, man." I said. "It's a funny movie, for YouTube! You can share it with your friends, if you have any." I tripped over the last couple words. My heart was pounding, I took another step forward.

He took a step back.

"No, not really. I got to be getting home."

He can't be scared. There's nothing to be scared about! I had to get him in the car. I had to.

This is it.

Not tomorrow.

Not next week.

Now.

I wanted my moment, now.

Right fucking now.

"Come on, it's a funny movie," I tried to convince him. He has to sense that I'm not going to harm him. All he needs to get into the car, we do the circle, he gets out and go's on to be the nothing he's bound to become and I can continue to go on being the great thing I've always wanted to be.

A females voice boomed down the street, behind me.

"William! We gotta go! I'm not going to tell you again!"

I turned back to see William's eyes were wide, and I had taken a few more steps.

William bolted, moving to the left of me.

I lost control.

I leaned over, grabbed him by his shirt, he screamed as he fell to the ground.