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Ari felt like she had a normal life, one could even say boring. Of course. That her parents had 'divorced' like 4 times in the last 6 years was something else. That she had to take some damn pills for everything she had been through when she was a child, was something else. It had nothing to do with it! Nothing! Or at least she kept telling herself that.
She was already going to be a freshman in high school!! She was just a few months away from turning 14, life was good.
Of course, not counting all the times she had to stay overnight at her aunt's house because of her parents' fights, her constant insecurity, her anxiety, and simply everything she decided not to think about.
This was a common occurrence for her.
Ari was walking down the sidewalk on her way to her Aunt Mary's house. She had gone to her friend Jessica's house with all of her friends to do a project, although in her opinion, they didn't do anything and spent their time playing and eating, doing everything but the project.
The air smelled... well, it smelled like food, she had just passed a taco stand... tacos... she was hungry. Maybe when she got to her Aunt Mary's house, she would ask her if she had made food.
Ari was more focused listening to music, her cell phone in her hand and her headphones in her backpack. Her backpack hung from her right shoulder, her backpack was very heavy in her opinion. Sometimes she wondered if that was why her shoulder was always sore or cracked whenever she moved it too much.
Ari was humming along to the song softly, she had the volume turned up and she wasn't very aware of her surroundings. She tripped a few times, but she was okay.
When Ari got to the street where her aunt's house was, she stopped for a moment when she noticed a white van with tinted windows, which was suspiciously parked in front of a house that was very clearly abandoned.
Ari felt a feeling of unease, it was almost an unwritten law that when you saw a white van, you weren't supposed to go near it! Especially in Mexico, and in a neighborhood as dangerous as this one.
She took a deep breath, cautiously removing her headphones and holding them in her hand. She had no pockets in her school uniform. She took a deep breath, and spoke to herself out loud (yes, she did that a lot)
"It's just another car... besides, who would want to kidnap you? Don't overthink it." She sighed and walked faster towards her aunt's house.
A soft noise, the opening of a door startled her horribly. She really didn't want to look back but she turned to look at the van, a man in black clothes and a mask was hastily exiting the van.
"Hey! Girl!" The man called out for her, his tone anything but friendly.
Ari panicked, obviously, and quickly started running towards her Aunt Mary's house. It was so close, she felt her heavy backpack hit her back, but the adrenaline was strong.
She barely made it to the corner when she felt a strong arm grab her from behind. She gasped and screamed, what else could she do? The area was desolate.
The man easily lifted Ari off the ground, covering her mouth as she cried and screamed, which was now muffled. Although she did hold on to her cell phone and headphones for dear life.
The man who had lifted Ari, snatched the items from her hands and very easily tied her hands and feet with a rope. The man threw Ari hard onto the dirty floor of the van, and then closed the door.
Ari was whimpering and crying very quietly, she was terrified. Her hands were shaking horribly, and it was hard to breathe. She was praying that this was just a bad dream and that she would wake up in her bed right now. At home with her family. Her Aunt Mary would be worried because she wasn't home yet, and would be texting her on her cell phone.
"Don't make this hard, kid. Shut the fuck up." A man, who Ari assumed was the one who picked her up off the ground, spoke as he closed the door behind him. Ari closed her eyes, trying to control her breathing and her tears. She buried her face in her hands, hyperventilating.
The voices of about 3 men in the front of the car could be heard faintly, she only heard soft murmurs between them, with the occasional grunt or sigh, but Ari wasn't really focused on that.
The air wasn't enough, the air wasn't enough, the air wasn't enough, the air-
The vehicle swerved, and Ari rolled across the metal floor of the van. Her head hit the side wall, eliciting a groan of pain from her. She cried a little louder, she was scared, she wanted her mom.
Suddenly, the door separating the driver's cab from the back opened.
A tall, scary looking man with a blank stare stared at her in annoyance. Ari named him Man 1, because he was taller. Man 2 was the one who had picked her up, and Man 3 was the one driving.
"Are you going to calm down or not?" Man 1 snapped at Ari.
Ari didn't respond, looking down between cries she tried to keep quiet her sobs.
"Leave her alone, man. She's just a kid." Man 3 (she assumed) spoke from behind the wheel.
"We could have picked someone else for this, was there a need for a kid?" Ari heard Man 2 sigh, but he didn't sound sad or regretful, he sounded more annoyed.
"Let's get this over with," Man 3 said, pulling out a metal pipe that Ari unfortunately recognized too late.
"No- no please let me go— I won't tell anyone—!" Ari pleaded in vain.
Man 3 quickly bent down and without hestitation lifted the pipe. She tried to move, she really tried, but the ropes on her feet wouldn't let her.
The thud was sharp, and loud. The world spun for a moment, but then everything went black. It was like everyone had suddenly turned off the lights. So this felt like passing out? She'd never experienced it, nor did she ever wanted to, but here she was.
This... wasn't a common ocurrence.