The taking
Ana was driving to her boyfriend when the two men kidnapped her at gunpoint. They pretended a gang of unknown men had attacked them on the side of Road 50 near Sacramento. She stopped to help them. This was when one of them covered her mouth with his hand, shoved a pistol between her ribs, and ordered her to move. He was bulky, had a short but thick black beard. His body reeked of hard physical labor and a dislike of soap and water. The hand covering Ana’s mouth smelled of motor oil.
Blood drained from her veins as they began walking toward the wooded area near the road. The other man kept looking at her body, measuring her up. He was lanky and wore a handlebar mustache. Even though she did not want to realize it, Ana knew what this kidnapping was about.
The thin man quickly gagged her with a dirty cloth, which also smelled and tasted of oil. His moves were proficient, it was clear to Ana that this was not their first time. Breathing was difficult, and her eyes kept darting around, trying to find a way out. But she saw none.
‘Move!’ ordered the bearded man, then shoved Ana forward.
She stumbled, but then regained her balance. The big man held her in a firm grip. Ana whimpered loudly, but her captor grabbed her by the throat and turned to her.
‘If you don’t shut up, I will kill you.’ His voice was eerily calm but stern. ‘After all, it doesn’t really matter if you’re dead or alive. If you want to live a bit more, honey, you shut your mouth. Understood?’
The smell of tobacco and advanced tooth decay emanated from the man’s mouth as he spoke. He smiled, and Ana nodded. Her face and eyes radiated desperation, and she felt her whole body trembling. Tears flooded her cheeks.
‘How far is the abandoned factory?’ asked the lanky man.
‘Not far, don’t worry. We’ll be there in no time.’
‘Are you sure there’s nobody there?’ the thin man insisted.
‘Last time I checked, nobody was there,’ the bearded man replied, but he already had a labored breathing. His heart and lungs had a hard time keeping up with the pace. They had to hurry, so the men pressed on.
The sun was already setting, and a thick shadow was spreading over the forested area. They picked up the pace even more. Ana was struggling to keep up, so the big man kept nudging her onward.
Soon, the imposing contour of a ruined old factory appeared through the foliage. The area was littered with garbage, and the air smelled accordingly. A rusted chain-link fence surrounded the factory grounds. The fence, too, was only a remnant. It was full of holes, and in several areas, it had fallen to the weedy ground.
‘Here we are,’ said the bearded man.
‘Hallelujah, brother!’ said his partner. ‘Can’t wait to get a piece of that ass.’
‘Keep quiet!’
They dragged Ana through the rusted fence, then headed toward a gaping hole in one of the factory’s walls. The building appeared to be at least sixty, or maybe seventy, years old.
‘What kind of factory was this?’ asked the thin man, forgetting for a moment about their plans with the woman.
‘Not sure. Some meat processing factory, I think. But I don’t remember. It fits the purpose. We can also dump the body here. Good luck finding her.’
He uttered a slight laugh, and Ana cried out in horror, forgetting all the big man’s warnings.
‘Don’t worry, honey, it will be fun,’ said the lanky man, then uttered an evil, mocking laugh.
Going through the hole, and into the factory, was easy. They had to step up about two feet onto the large concrete floor. The roof had lots of holes, the walls too. Many of the red bricks making up the walls had either been stolen, or they were laying in the thick vegetation all around the building.
The factory floor was even more garbage-ridden. Everything of value had been stolen a long time ago. It was a large open space filled with rubble and the remnants of heavy machinery. The men took Ana to the far end of the open space, then went through an opening which used to be a large industrial door. It was leading to a smaller area with a walk-in freezer, which had a rusty door.
‘All right, party time!’ the thin man shouted, and began unbuckling his belt.
‘Keep quiet, you idiot! Don’t screw this up!’
‘All right, all right! I’m sorry.’
He raised his hands in a placating manner, but he already fixated his eyes on the girl, whose eyes were wide open, looking around in terror. The bearded man continued, ‘We’ve gotten away with all the others. Please, don’t screw it up!’
‘Ok, I won’t. Let’s do this!’
Just as the men wanted to proceed, a dull metallic sound interrupted them. It came from the freezer door.
‘What the hell?’ asked both men at the same time.
Ana tried to scream, but the oily cloth muffled it.
‘Shut up!’ ordered the big man, and put his hand to her mouth, and held her tight.
Another bang came, this one louder. It startled both men, and gave Ana the priceless hope that maybe somebody is there who could help her. The abductors just stared at each other and the door back and forth. The bang came again.
‘Somebody is inside,’ said the bearded man.
‘What are we going to do?’ asked his partner.
‘I don’t know, but if anybody is messing with us, I’m gonna kill them.’
He readied his pistol, which he had put safely behind his belt.
‘Bang one more time, and I swear to God...’
The bang came despite the big man’s threats. He signaled his partner to open the freezer door. In the meantime, he pointed his weapon at the door. Ana watched everything with a racing heart. The thin man just stared at the door, then at his partner.
‘Come on, open the goddamn door!’
‘All right, I’ll do it.’
He moved to the door with hesitating steps. The big man waited while holding Ana in an iron grip with his other hand. Age-old grime covered the door’s latch, but the man grabbed it, nevertheless. He looked back at his partner in crime, who nodded. The handle creaked, then the man pushed open the door. It was not an easy feat. The hinges were tired.
Darkness lay before them as the door opened. A musty smell of death, ammonia, and iron hit their noses, and the figure of a man stood in the doorway. All three of them gasped when they saw him. He looked dead for a long time, but he stood there, staring at them. Ana tried to scream, but the cloth did not let her.
The men just stared at the thing in the doorway and began backing away. The figure shuffled one of his feet and uttered a low growl. Most of his clothing had rotted away, his skin was also partially fallen off. His flesh was already dark with rot. His eyes somehow survived, even though they had gone almost completely white. A long blackened tongue snaked out from his lipless mouth, as if tasting the air all around.
‘What the hell is that?’ the thin man asked while backing away some more.
His partner didn’t reply. The pistol was visibly shaking in his hand. His stare was locked onto the monstrous figure. When the dead man shuffled again towards them, he pulled the trigger. The gunshots were deafening in the small space. Given the close range, they hit their target. The figure got riddled with bullets. It staggered back into the darkness, then a thud sounded as it fell onto the floor.
The bearded man pushed Ana toward the freezer door, and with a forceful move, he shoved her in. He pulled the trigger again, but there were no more bullets.
‘Shit! Let’s close the door!’ he shouted to his partner, and they both grabbed the heavy door and pulled.
Ana uttered a muffled scream and tried to run back before the men closed the door. But the door closed with a bang, and Ana got enveloped in almost complete darkness.
