35. Kali
35
KALI
T hey kidnapped us. I couldn’t believe I was freaking being kidnapped!
We were in the dark and I couldn’t see much inside. A seat or something was blocking from where we were and where they were, but I felt around and found Aly’s hands. I was thinking either adrenaline was going hard in my body, or the booze were kicking in because I wasn’t scared. No shock either. It was just, okay. This is the situation. Now, let’s get out of this situation.
So I was trying to do that, by pulling on Aly to roll with me to the door.
There was no one else back here. I didn’t know of a vehicle that would keep a door locked from the outside in, except cop cars but no way was this that. There were three guys in the front, and this was a big van. They had the windows rolled down in the front, which was either ingenious on their part so we couldn’t identify their voices, overhear them, or it was stupid.
I was hoping it was the stupid part because that meant they couldn’t hear us either. Or hear us rolling around.
Every time I tried to make a sound, I ended up eating fabric, from whatever they’d stuffed in my mouth. I couldn’t see, but I was assuming they’d done the same to Aly.
Hence, why I was trying to tug her for the door.
She wasn’t budging. So, ugh. I moved over to the other side of her, put my shoulder into her side, and began pushing her for the door. She moaned, struggling around. I groaned, deep in my throat until suddenly, she went where I was pushing her. Now this was the hard part. My hands were tied so when she got to the door, I sat up and leaned in so she could see me. It was so dark, but I knew this road. We’d traveled it with the bikes so I knew a light post was coming up. I waited until one flashed over the van and as it did, I motioned to the door with my head.
Aly’s eyes got big, but the light was gone and we waited until another post passed over us.
I nodded. She nodded, and I began to sit up, turning around and reaching for the door with my hands.
This would be hella uncomfortable, but no way was I waiting around here for wherever they’d take us. That was Staying Alive 101. Don’t go with your kidnappers. Aly must’ve sensed my nerves, because she moved in, leaned her head to my shoulder and let it rest there.
That felt nice, but okay. Oh man.
I was so nervous. Another post went over us, Aly gave me a nod, and I jerked mine up and down but waited until it was dark again before opening the door.
It did–hell yes! But I was falling and oomph. I landed hard on my wrist. I was pretty sure it was broken or strained, and then I heard Aly fall just a little after I hit the pavement. I groaned, hoping against hope that they wouldn’t know that door had opened. It’d been dark when they had the door open when they put us inside so I didn’t think it would kick the light on again. I looked, but I didn’t see their lights on at all. They weren’t braking.
They kept going.
But then I needed to get to my feet, and I felt liquid going down my arms. Pain lit up the entire right side of my body. I couldn't focus on that. I got up, struggling, my head was pounding and made my way over to where Aly was struggling to sit up.
I turned around, grabbed her arm and tried to help her up.
It took a little bit. Some struggling. She almost fell twice, but once she got up, and was steady, I looked around.
I didn’t know this town or where we were. I just remembered driving on the road, but we were surrounded by trees.
Aly made a moaning sound, tugging on me to follow her.
One side went south. The other side was north, and up a hill. Manny’s was behind us and on the south side of the road. That’s where Aly was tugging me, but I stopped her. Those guys would come back and they’d guess where we would go. I shook my head, and pulled her the other way. We’d go up, north and hope to find someone who had a phone and would be willing to help us. I didn’t think those guys would think to go up the hill for us.
I had no idea if it was best friend telepathy or not, but she went with me, and as soon as she did, I felt a burst of energy go through me. I tore out of there. There was no way in hell I’d be here when those guys came back, and they would. That was a given.
We tore up through the woods, climbing up until we were a safe enough distance from the road.
Aly pulled on my shirt, stopping me, and then went to her knees. I felt her teeth trying to cut through whatever they’d used to tie my hands together. It might’ve been tape because when she started pulling on it, it was peeling off my skin. I gritted my teeth until she made enough headway before I could move my wrists around, pulling the rest off myself. As soon as I did, I turned her around and was pulling at her wrists.
She moved around, some moans leaving her bound mouth.
Finally! I tore it free and then I was pulling off the tape around my whole entire head. Assholes.
I swallowed a cry as I pulled it free, feeling my hair getting caught up with it too. But then I spat out whatever was in my mouth, sweeping everything up and stuffing it into my pockets because you bet your ass I wanted police to grab some evidence off of them against these dicks.
“They’re going to be coming back. We have to keep moving.”
God. It hurt my ribs to talk. My voice felt funny too. It sounded funny.
I felt funny.
I couldn’t feel my feet.
Or my one shoulder.
I couldn’t think about that. None of it.
“Who were those guys?”
“I have no clue, but we have to go.” I grabbed for her shirt and began moving forward. “Come on.”
Aly let me take the lead. Her and Harper weren’t the tough sorts like I was. I was rough and tumble, needed to be growing up with my sister, but we spent a good amount of time out in the woods and around the lake. I figured we had a while before Aly’s shock would really set in. Mine too, but I’d bear through mine. Been through worse shit than this, or, well… no. I’d never been kidnapped so no. This was the worst I’d been through, but spending time in Chicago where my dad worked and being biracial, yeah. There’d been some scary times there too. Nothing in Friendly. Thought the whole place was scared of getting on the bad side of Ruby and Claudia, which had me feeling a certain way about my mother and sister now that I was thinking on it.
What was I doing? I didn’t have time to suss this out, but that was me thinking. Keeping my brain busy so I didn’t have to focus on those guys coming back and finding us.
I kept moving forward. My plan had been to go up north, get on a hill over that road and then follow it down back to Manny’s. Or wait until we heard Harley engines roaring through the street and sprint as fast as I could down there to flag down Shane. So I wanted to be away from the road enough that if those guys came back, we could hide easily, but not too far where I’d miss the road if I heard Shane.
Did that make sense?
It made sense in my head.
…I think the shock was starting to set in.
We kept going. Branches tore at us.
I probably had a nest in my hair, but I kept going. Had to. Needed to.
Then I got to a stage where my head was fuzzy, and I stopped running.
I was getting confused. What was going on again?
I looked around.
I wasn’t alone, but I couldn’t see anyone.
Aly! Aly had been with me, but she wasn’t anymore.
I started to take a step back, but I came down on a log and my ankle went one way. My body went the other way.
Crack!
Oh, no. That didn’t sound good.
But I was down, and I lay there a minute. If I could’ve seen anything, I knew I would’ve witnessed birds flying around my head.
Crash.
Snap.
“Kali!”
I sat up, my head all woozy. That was Aly. She sounded so scared.
She saw me, just as we both saw headlights peaking over a hill.
A hill? I thought we’d gone up to the top of the hill?
I must’ve got that wrong.
I think I must’ve gotten a lot wrong.
Where was Shane?
“Kali!” Aly fell to her knees beside me. I heard her sniffling and she was touching my leg. “Oh no. What’d you do?”
I reached forward, grabbing her hand, and I fell back. I couldn’t hold myself anymore. Maybe those headlights wouldn't see us? We weren’t on the road. They should skip over us, easy-peasy.
“I fell down.”
She settled next to me, a heavy dense thud so I knew she landed hard on her ass. I doubted she felt it. She was probably in shock like me, and she leaned into me. “I’m pretty sure we’d only been running for a few minutes, but it feels like hours.”
I grunted. It did.
The shock was wearing off, and I was starting to feel the pain.
I hissed, knowing not to move my foot, but damn. I wanted to move. Had to move, but also couldn’t move at the same time. What a situation we’d found ourselves in. I was hoping it was a strain and not a sprain.
“I’m sorry.”
“About what?” She turned my way.
I shook my head. “I don’t know, but I’m figuring this was because of me. Chances are high, considering Shane. You know.”
“Oh.” She settled even more into my side and arm. Her head rested to my shoulder. “Silver lining?”
I cracked a grin, which also hurt, but I had to play along. This was another thing we did.
I suggested, “Silver lining, I bet Justin never left.”
She barked out a laugh before choking on it, a moaning sound coming out of her throat at the same time. “Jesus. Everything hurts.”
I moved my shoulder a little, lightly jostling her. “Silver lining? Your turn.”
“Right. Um, what Brandon worried would happen did happen so it already happened. Statistics wise, chances are low of it happening again.”
I knew where she was going with that. “See. You can use that logic against him when he’ll argue about you and me being friends.” But my turn. “Silver lining… you can see what kind of guy Brandon is when they find us.”
“That’s true.” She was moving her foot around. I didn’t know why. She whimpered on a hiss of pain. “I really do like him.”
“I gathered. You said I couldn’t give you babies.”
She snorted. “I mean, you could. ’Cause of science, you could give me babies, but you know what I meant.”
“That means you really like him.”
“I do. I didn’t expect it. Never expect it anymore, honestly. Not anymore. I gave up. I thought Scott was my best shot at a family, but knowing how his family was, I had no hope. I was relieved when Harper showed me that image of him kissing that girl back home.”
“Slut.”
She laughed. “I know you’re meaning him, not her.”
“Of course.”
“Thanks, Kali.”
I’d forgotten all about the headlights, but remembering, I lifted my head and I couldn’t see any light anymore. They must’ve gone on. I didn’t even know where the road was because where those lights were didn’t make sense to me. I thought the road was to our side, but now that I was analyzing that, I didn’t see any light posts either.
“I’m pretty sure I got us lost.”
“Let’s make it through the night, and when the sun comes up, we can get our bearings.”
That was a good plan. “I can’t sleep. I might be concussed.”
“Then you can’t sleep.”
“Okay.”
A minute later, Aly was sleeping.
I struggled, but she had settled even more into me, lying by me. She was warm. I moved in, trying to get as close as I could because it was still cold out.
I’d stay awake.
I could do it.
I’d have to do it.
Think of Shane.
Think of Harper. Justin.
Connor.
Claudia.
My mom.
My dad–oh man. They smashed my phone.
I was really screwed.
But…