The ball flew from my left hand and with all the force in my right, I hit it. My hand tingled. I watched the ball fly through the field and into the bushes just by the fence.
"Heidi, go get the volleyball." Amaya said, stamping her foot on the fresh grass.
"I'm not getting that." I said with a blank expression.
RayAnne disappears into the bushes, "Guys, I can't find it," she yells, though she isn't visible through the thick brush.
Everybody sauntered into the bushes, despite their lack of motivation to do so. I pulled my phone from my back pocket, 3:52. My mom will want to know where I am.
At that moment, I felt a warm, soft hand over my flushed face. I tried to scream, but I could barely manage, my throat swelled and I felt a tear streamed down my cheek. I'd hoped someone would appear from the bushes.
My fingernails sank into the man's skin and crimson red appeared underneath them. I heard my phone fall to the ground and I was being pulled away.
"I found it," Andrea yelled, followed by rustling branches.
But it was too late, I had been tossed into the backseat of a silver Linoln town car. The door slammed shut. The seats were a nasty, gray leather. I felt sick as the drivers side door shut aggressively.
My warm skin pressed against the seats. It felt like hours had passed, but I knew it'd only been a few minutes. I stared into the front seat, reddish brown hair blew in the wind coming through the widely open window. Sunglasses rested on top of his head and in the midst of a forehead, a sunken crease. Mr. Pierce. I'd been kidnapped by Mr. Pierce.
My stomach turned in countless ways, I was unsure as to if it was the fact that I'd been kidnapped or by the fact that my mouth was on his grimy, dirty pedophile hands.
"You're sick," I said as I sat up in the seat.
"Shut up," His voice was almost silent.
"No, it's true. You're sick. You're actually disgusting. Don't you have something better to do than touch up little girls and take them to your rat infested creeper camp?," My ears felt hot.
I saw his adams apple move up then back down. "Shut up," he yelled, gripping the steering wheel so right his fingertips turned white.
I tried to speak again, but he'd turned on the radio. The tune of "I'm a Barbie Girl," filled my ears at a volume so loud they began to ring.
My whole body was numb and every sensory detail was starting to slip my mind. It felt helpless now. The feeling of suffocation in that small car was overwhelming. I felt smothered my Mr. Pierce's presence. My eyes felt heavy and I rested my head on the window. The sun's hot waves beat down on my face, I drifted to sleep. A mistake I could not control, but one I could regret.
I felt my limp body being dragged from the car, Mr. Pierce held me bridal style in his masculine arms. My mind was too weak to protest.
My vision was blurred, though I could hear was the countless amount of doors opening and closing behind us. Every room was warm, almost comforting. Until the last one. The room was cold, as if it was made of pure concrete. It was clear that there was a lack of insulation.
My body hit a rough, sheetless mattress. He stared down at me as if I was a pathetic bag of dog feces. His teeth grinded as he glared at me. His narrowing eyes burned holes in mine. He hit me. This middle aged man, hit me. I held my face, I felt my heartbeat within my cheek. I wasn't going to cry. I chuckled once. Then I broke into hysterical laughter. He had the audacity.
Against my better judgement, I stood up. My 5'7 height lacking in comparison to his staggering six feet. Our chests were nearly touching, but not quite. And I spit in his face.
"Bold," he said, wiping his face.
I nodded, but my moment faded when he simply walked out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. Without a care in the world, he just up and left. I was astonished, I thought I could get shock value from him, but I didn't.
I sat at the edge of the rock hard bed for hours, my foot tapping against the concrete floor rapidly. The more time that passed, the more I wanted him to come back. Not because I wanted his company, but because this room was so horribly boring I want to pull my millions of strands of purple hair out one by one until I was bald.
As if I had summoned a demonic force, the door swung ajar, the chain of its lock swinging back and hitting it. A dent formed in the insulated steel door. I stared at that dent for Lord knows how long. I wouldn't make eye contact. Mr. Pierce dropped a plastic plate to the floor by my feet. On it, a sandwich.
"Eat." He said simply.
"I'm not a mangy mutt. I'm a human being," I scoffed, crossing my arms across my chest.
He looked at the plate again. The crease in his largely oversized forehead deepened as he glanced from the sandwich to me and back.
I wasn't going to eat it. Plain as that. He bent over to pick up the plate, and I ran. Out the door and through a long, carpeted hallway. The fabric on my bare feet startles me, I was unsure when I'd lost my shoes. I reached what seemed to be the front door, made of the same material as my mediocre room. I pulled it open, what idiot doesn't lock the door when they've kidnapped someone?
When the door opened, the cold air but my nose. I sniffled, but took a step out the door. It was wet, but in the middle of summer? I was running now, what I now recognized as mud was sticking to my feet, squishing between my toes.
Then I ran into a warm body. It was far to short to be his and farm too warm to be human. Then there were more. I'd guess ten or so. Snorting and animalistic screaming drowned out my thoughts.
Pigs.
I slowly stalked backwards, my back pressed against a rotting wooden fence. The pigs screams sounded desperate, almost rabid. My heart pounded against my ribs as my hands stretched out in front of me. I felt slobber on my calf. It took me a moment to understand that feeling, but soon as the pig released it's teeth from my flesh, I screamed. My own scream echoed throughout my brain and I wasn't quite positive I actually did scream.
Then he grabbed me. I felt his touch on my right forearm, pulling me to him. I next felt his touch on the left side of my waist, holding me closely, protectively. I gasped momentarily. My ear pressed against his chest, listening to his frantic heartbeat. He has a heart? What a surprise.
I felt weak at the knees, and I fainted. My head spun.
"Heidi," Mr. Pierce yelled. I felt the cool mud on the back of my neck. That was it.
I attempted to will my eyes open, and they did, a little more with each blink. When they were open, it was like I could see every ultraviolet ray shining in through the small square window at the top of the room. My lungs felt swollen and everything hurt, but my leg, my leg was wrapped. I touched the clips of the Ace bandage with my delicate fingertips.
I felt weird, I wasn't angry at Mr. Pierce anymore. I didn't feel disgusted at him, I didn't feel alone in this cold room anymore. I felt almost safe. It seemed at the very moment I began unwrapping the bandage around my calf, a warm hand caught mine.
"Don't." He whispered, as if he didn't know how to say it.
"I-" Was he upset?
"Why would you run?" A tear welled in his round blue eyes while he stared emptily at the stone floor.
"You kidnapped me," I paused for a moment. "Justin," My voice silenced into a whisper.
I stared at my hand in his, it felt right. When I looked up, I'd expected to see a nervous man staring sadly at the floor. But, I didn't. My eyes met his, and a tear trickled down his cheek.
"I'm- I'm sorry. That was out of line," I said, pulling my hand from his.
"No." He grabbed my hand once more. "I- I think I like it." He said, flashing a small smile.
My cheeks felt hot. How do I respond to that? Do I respond to that? I wasn't alone.
