Prologue
"Why are you doing this?"
"Why me?"
The three mysterious and potentially dangerous figures stood over me as I struggled to free myself from the tight ropes around my sensitive wrists and ankles. One of the boys removed my black sneakers from my feet and tossed them aside within a darker area of the room they had took me in, revealing my white low cut socks. My clothes stripped from my fair skinned body and thrown across the room, leaving only my undergarments and right before they pinned me to a long wooden brown table, where they proceeded to wrap the rough beige rope around my hands and feet.
They had me where they wanted me. Bound and helpless. I knew I should have followed my gut instinct and ran off when I had the chance after I left from work. That uneasy feeling I had when they appeared out of nowhere and tried to gain my trust was no doubt a sign that these charming young guys were up to no good. Unfortunately, my naive curiosity got the better of me this time and I knew, then and there, from the deep mischievous chuckles and grins across all three of their faces that I was in some real big trouble.
"What do you guys want from me!," I cried out of pure fear. My voice would even crack as I sobbed and pleaded them to spare my life.
The boy who was the palest of them all, approached me with a smirk as devious as the devil himself. His blackish-brown hair combed and styled back with a bit of a poof in the front and his dark brown eyes as deep and concentrated as a predator preparing to pounce on his prey. It was definitely more than terrifying as he came closer and sat right next to me on the table. Maintaining his grimly posture while the other two remained to the side, he slowly placed his cold yet surprisingly soft hand on my wet cheek and began wiping the tears away. I flinched as he stroked his firm thumb on my face.
"Just look at you. So scared and fragile in the face of danger. Beyond that horrified expression, I can sense great potential within you.
Don't you agree, mis hermanos?," he said as he turned his head to face his accomplices, who stood still like marble statues.
"Hmm. I couldn't agree more," the short, dark brown haired male to the right answered as he nodded his head in approval.
He seemed to be slightly shorter than the left young male and appeared tanner than the other two even in the very dim, cold room, but he did have a hint of paleness on his skin. His chocolate brown eyes were fixed on me entirely as his grin became hugely visible and wide. It gave me chills down my spine.
"Sí. She even smells quite delicious," the short brown curly haired boy added, licking his upper lip in a very sensual way, with his hazel orbs full of dullness and sudden lust.
"W-Wait. What did he mean by that? What's going on? What's gon-!"
A pale finger cut off my shaky speech. My lips trembled on the tip of his index.
"Now now. There's no need to be so panicky," he cooed me softly before darting his eyes to his immoral friend.
"So, do we get to have a taste of her, Sergio? I'm sure you can't wait to dig in yourself. Her scent is intoxicating"
"That may be so, but sorry Frederick, I'm afraid you won't have this opportunity. In fact, you're still in trouble for the incident with the man down in the ally the night before."
"What? Aw c'mon are you serious compadre? I thought you already understood the situation and passed it off by now."
"What you did was inexcusable! It was very low, even for you."
Their argument heated up over a course of several seconds. They were so focused on each other that it seemed to them like I wasn't here tied up against my will. After hearing what Sergio said about a man in an ally, I began to recall the story I saw on the news the other morning.
I was preparing my light breakfast before heading for school on the bus several minutes later. The television was already turned on, since my father had watched for the weather before taking off in his red Toyota Corolla to go to his job in Downtown Houston. He offered to take me, but I said I would rather ride the bus on my own. He didn't exactly like the idea of me riding that specific school bus. Perhaps it was because some of the passengers who lived in the same neighborhood as us had egged his car last Halloween as a joke.
He was so furious about it, he actually chased after the kids with a stick while wearing his Frankenstein costume. Laughing, the pranksters got away and my dad ended up tripping on a piece of the curb, ripping his pants in the knee area. Honestly, I chuckled when he returned, though he gave a bad glare in my direction.
"Those punks are going to get it. Can't believe I have to wash my car again so soon!," he growled as he stormed off into the house and stayed inside for the rest of the night, placing me in charge of the incoming Trick or Treaters.
I had to give him credit for trying to run them off. He was like a fallen warrior, literally falling to the ground.
The reporter on the news began talking about the police report from the night before. A man was found dead and burned to a crisp in an ally north of Downtown. There wasn't much information that they gave us, but what they did say was that there was evidence of possible foul play surrounding the charcoaled body.
At first, I thought it was sad that someone could suffer and die in such an awful way as being burned alive. My dad always warned me about the city streets. It was filled with unsafe territories and harbored killers and thieves he would say, yet I actually preferred to take the city bus and walk alone to work at a local beauty salon every day after school. It didn't faze me that there was a chance that something unexpected could happen to me. In fact, I always imagined the opposite.
I never predicted that anything could ever happen to me. That was a huge mistake.
Now I can only imagine what kind of involvement these guys really had with that recently deceased man in the city. Did they set him on fire just for the thrill of it? Or was there another reason behind it? Either way, I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to stick around and find out.
While Sergio and Frederick spat at one another over the situation, I noted how Sergio stood up and stepped away from the table. The third member was too busy eyeing the other two with disappointment. I figured then and there that it was my only opportunity.
I wiggled my wrists lightly from side to side, hoping it would loosen up the knot of the rope. I also didn't want them to notice me attempting to escape from their clutches while they were fighting over who did wrong, so I would mainly watch all three of them while I did so. What I noticed about these boys was that they had sort of a Spanish accent. It sounded attractive in certain tones they gave, but now wasn't the time to be the foolish teenage girl that I truly was.
I needed to find a way out of this. I must survive through this nightmare.
As adrenaline started to pump through my veins, I took advantage of my opening, jerking my hands apart, when I suddenly felt the rope slide with my movement. I managed to free my arms, but because they were still in the room with me, I couldn't just sit up whenever I pleased. They needed to leave me alone for me to get to my feet. My wrists were aching from the slight rope burn. I remained in the same position while the boys argued some more, keeping my cool in the process.
"Alright that's enough! Armando, escort Frederick out of the room immediately. I will join you two momentarily," Sergio commanded roughly.
Armando then grabbed the highly upset comrade by his left arm, nodded towards the other with a cold straight face and rushed out through the black painted door. I could see Sergio standing with his back facing me, hardly moving. He remained that way for a whole minute until he slowly brushed his fingers through his dark hair, letting out a heavy sigh of disappointment.
The room fell incredibly silent. The air that surrounded us became cooler than earlier. Goosebumps formed on my light skin as I laid on the table, pondering. What would this guy do next? And how will I be able to escape with him in the room with me? At least, I was sort of relaxed as I was thinking thoroughly about the possibilities, at the same time, keeping my eyes locked on his body language. I just hoped he wasn't scheming something too cruel and unexpected. A sudden chill traveled down my spine, causing me to twitch my body and stretch apart my arms a bit accidentally. I quickly realized what I had done and moved my arms back together, when I felt a strong amount of pressure drop onto my lower stomach. I abruptly let out a lot of air from my lungs, coughing uncontrollably and trying to catch my breath. It was like they dropped a punching bag on top of me.
"I already knew you freed your arms," Sergio said softly as I saw him above me.
His face was only inches away from mine, my eyes grew wide out of shock. His legs were straddled on my body and his weight was surprisingly heavy for a slightly slender/built guy. The pressure around both of my wrists was excruciatingly tight, even tighter than the old ropes they used on me. I arched my back and tilted my head back to find out the reason for it, discovering that he had one of his hands wrapped around them in a single grip. I had underestimated his strength.
"W-When did you-?!," I stuttered shortly.
"While I was dealing with Frederick, I could hear you fidgeting with the rope from behind. The sound was like as if my ears were right next to your wrists, listening to the friction being created. You must've really thought you would get away with it, didn't you mi rosa?"
I remained fearfully silent as he gently grabbed a small strand of my medium length rich brown hair, gliding his fingers under it with such devious admiration. The way he described how he heard me loosen the rope was indeed strange. Sure he was next to me when I did release my arms from it, but how could someone say that they were able to hear the friction very well from where he sat? I was aiming for a sneaky slip away, so it seemed rather impossible for him to have heard me undo the rope. Especially since he was too busy yelling at his friend very loudly that any other sounds were supposed to be blocked out of his head.
He met his dull, seemingly lifeless eyes with mine, as if he was peering into my very scared and helpless soul. A tear rolled down from the corner of my eye to the side of my warm cheek. I had an idea of what was going to happen to me. I was going to die at the hands of this boy.
I closed my eyes and wept, praying hard in my mind, asking for a miracle of some sorts. I didn't want to end my life so soon. I didn't want to go like this. I didn't want to leave my loving father behind. I was sure he would never be able to handle learning about my death after being kidnapped from the streets. He would regret things I wouldn't want him to dwell on. He wouldn't be able to see his little girl grow up to live a long healthy life. I fear that the most.
Something lightly pressed against my skin as I had my eyes shut closed. When I opened them, Sergio had his soft cool lips pressed against the surface of my cheeks, where my tears had fallen. It was just too weird with this guy. He was far from bizarre and I didn't know the answer for it. There was something off about him and his buddies that I had trouble putting my finger from it. The affections were giving of mixed signals.
When he finished kissing my tears away, he smirked in a boyish style. I noticed then that his eyes were different this time. They gave a hint of softness, a gleam of light reflecting off the edge. He appeared innocent for that short amount of time, which threw me off guard, as I began to admire his handsome charm. But then I remembered I was there held hostage and had to fight back for my freedom.
I struggled and squirmed underneath him, hoping he would sooner or later relax his grip on my wrists. Even using all of my strength wasn't enough to faze him. He unbelievably overpowered me and I eventually paused in defeat. It was no use. He had me pinned down using force.
The next thing I thought was that I had to give in.
"Look, whatever you guys plan to do to me, just get it over with. I can't take the suspense any longer!," I spat in his face.
He wiped his face with the back of his free hand and chuckled in his chest. Then one of the strangest things happened. In plain sight, his eyes flashed a brief, bright crimson red and then returned to its original flatness. My heart jumped in my chest. Did that really happen? I figured maybe I was going through paranoia at the moment, as I waited for my kidnapper to make his move. But whatever the truth was, it fired up a whole new sense of terror inside of me.
Sergio proceeded to remove the hair from around my neck, brushing it behind my ear and leaned closer to my body. The feeling of his fit body pressing against mine was surely something. He must've had the idea to rape me, since I was already in my bra and undies. But something more was not right about him. Usually a human body is supposed to be warm against another. Instead, his felt like ice wrapped in a towel.
Nothing was adding up.
With his head right next to mine, he pecked at the surface of my neck twice. I then felt his wet cool tongue glide against my sensitive skin, which caused my body to tense and I accidentally let out a soft moan as he continued a few more times. I didn't want to admit that I was enjoying this, but instinctively, it was hard to resist. He stopped so he could move his lips against my ear. His deep grin was all I felt.
"You will make a fine baby sister," he whispered in my ear.
Startled, I barely opened my mouth just a slight bit to comment, but was halted by the sound of a pop, followed by a sharp intense pain in my neck. I let out a shriek of agony and cried loudly for several minutes. Over a short time, I felt myself weakening, my vision became blurry and unfocused. My breaths were shortened and my eyes started to roll into the back of my head. Everything around me was becoming faint and black. I knew from that point, I was long gone.
