The moon shone bright in the night sky, pitch black and it was very cloudy out. The cold of the night kept me shivering as my walk home was a rather long one. My arms were folded on my chest as I attempted to keep warm. I still had a lot of blocks to walk. The street was dark and silent. Only the sound of dogs barking had filled my ears. I looked back, no one. My lips were parched. My nose was runny. The wind was howling. My ears were burning and had turned a bright red.
A truck drove by with some Latinos inside. I would’ve estimated about 5 of them. Then the tail lights came on and the white lights had shown. They were in reverse and they backed the truck up until they were right by me.
“Hey chicka, what you walking out in the cold for? Do you need a ride somewhere miss? We have a little surprise for you.” They all laughed. It was some kind of sick joke. Then they drove by and made a right turn at the end of the street. My fingers were turning red and they felt numb. I couldn’t move them. I crossed the street and another truck rolled up to me; it was the same truck.
“Look missy, we were being nice and said that we would offer you a ride. So come on and get inside Hun.”
I kept walking trying to avoid eye contact with them as if they weren’t even there. As if it was just a vivid imagination of one possible scenario of what could happen. But the only problem was that it wasn’t a scenario. I heard the truck come to an abrupt stop. I heard the doors open, but I didn’t hear them shut close. I looked back and the 5 burley men came walking my way. They all had this look on their faces as if in some way I had disappointed them.
“Hey, you lady, stop there.” They yelled towards me. “Yo, we told you to stop.” I started to walk faster hoping that nothing terrible would become of this. Soon a heard the words that had changed everything, “Run. Get her.” I was frightened. I felt a tug on one of my arms. A dry hand, dirty and rusty. I tried to wiggle myself loose from his tightening grip and attempted to run, but his hand gripped tighter by the second. I started yelling for help and as soon as I did, the man put his hand over my mouth to keep me quiet. I bit one of his fingers and he let loose and I dropped all of my things and I ran. I continued my cry out for help. The other Latinos started running after me. They were gaining on me. I looked back and the next thing I knew I felt a struck against my head.
I don’t know how long it has been, but later I woke up in a house. I was tied to a chair, duct tape covered my mouth, and instantly I wailed and as little as it came out, muffled for help. Thoughts and questions ran through my worried mind. Questions like, “Where are the men now?” “How long will I be here for?” “How am I going to escape?” Of course that is, if I escape.
I scooted the chair close to a nearby window. I looked outside and saw the sun shinning bright above me, but no houses surrounded me. Nothing but trees, grass, and a dirt road. I didn’t know what was going to happen to me next. I wanted to get out of there as quick as I could but that I didn’t know how to. My hands were tied tightly behind the chair. My feet tied to the front legs of the chair.
I heard talking from outside and feared they had returned. The door burst open and a tall man stood in the doorway. He walked towards me and untied me. “Don’t think about making any sudden moves of escape because you will regret it,” he ripped the duct tape from my mouth and the burning sting held a great deal of pain.
Once he untied me, he grabbed the back of my neck and threw me onto a couch with the cushions torn up. He reached into his inside coat pocket and took out a gun and pointed it at my head. At this moment I didn’t know what to do but close my eyes and prepare for the first day of the last day of my life.
“Take off your shoes,” he demanded.
“Please let me go. If you let me go I’ll go straight home. I promise not to tell anyone,” but that seemed to be a risk that he was not willing to take.
I slowly took off my shoes. Then I noticed that I could get out of here this very moment. I could take the gun out of his possession and save myself. Several thoughts had come to my head. “Should I tackle him for a chance at getting the gun and risk getting shot at, or should I do as he says?” Either way I knew I could end up dying this day. Once this day ended, I knew I would end up being murdered later on. So I had to go for it. This was the chance I had at saving myself.
My shoes were off and this was my one chance. I was going for it. I leaped forward and tackled him to the ground. I reached for the gun and gripped it as tightly. The gun still pointed at me. I tried to turn it so that it was pointing at him. His strength was no match compared to my weak body. I punched him in a place no man likes to be hit. His grip loosened. I took the gun from him. I stood up as quickly as I could and took aim and fired a bullet twice. He laid there unmoving, blood covering the floor. I dropped the gun and slipped my shoes on and ran out the door, I ran till I reached the end of the dirt road and soon the highway. I saw a blue car approaching. I had to get out of here, not knowing for sure whether or not he was dead or just unconscious. The car stopped and he saw tears running down my face and told me to get in. I told him what happened. He said it was important for me to be taken to a police station.
Once I arrived, I later went to the hospital to be checked out by the officers’ request. This day will linger in my mind. Bad things in life happen, but I know I was fortunate to be alive. Everything could’ve gone terribly wrong that day. People say that I was courageous for what I did. I had many people drop me off gifts at my front door. I knew this memory would never leave me. I’m one of those people who can say they shouldn’t be alive.