THREE-- THE KIDNAP

I didn't like compounding her stress. Sometimes I feel bad for letting her cook for me, or take me to school. But what can I do when I don't like the bus? Yes, I could catch the bus everyday to school, to save my mom some stress, right? I wish I could, but I didn't like the bus. Or maybe I liked the bus but disliked the people in it. Especially Big Joe. Big Joe's a classmate of mine. They called him 'Big Joe because he was tall, and his handwriting was huge. He was not physically big, but he was really tall. He was in fact the tallest in my class. 

I disliked Big Joe because he picked on me with every chance he got. He mocked my body hair and my size. He called me 'fat', 'rich and ugly', and 'clumsy'.

He was right. I was fat and clumsy. Sometimes my steps get awkward when I walk, and it was because I was nervous and frightened by the people around me. About me being ugly, I'm not sure. Everyone I get close to, calls me pretty. He is the only one, (apart from the monster who beat my mom everyday) who thinks I'm ugly. Even till now. Even now that I'm grown up. Maybe I got uglier because of the scars. Maybe he's right after all. I'll never know.

I'll tell you about the scars, but that'll be later.

I cried every morning when I was still catching the bus because of Big Joe's mean comments. I tried to change it though, by  clutching my backpack on my chest and hiding myself under the seats before he could get in. Then I'd tell every other pupils on the bus not to expose my presence when Big Joe got in. 

 I'd remain silent until we got to school. It worked once. Only once. The second time I tried it, he found me out but pretended that he didn't know I was on the bus with others. So he specifically asked to be placed in my seat

 Then he sat on my large body, which was bent under the seat, amidst stifled giggles. It was so painful because he rested all his weight on my head.  It was my loud yells that prompted the driver to attend to me, and he forced him to get up. He was that mean. I didn't understand how a child that young could be that mean--he was only nine. The driver reported him to my class teacher and he was punished, but as soon as he was released, he resumed bullying me. 

Big Joe was not the only bully I had, but he was the biggest. 

Apart from the fact that he was a bully, I feared him. Not fear as in respect or honour but I was scared of relating with him. Not that I felt he would beat me up or anything but because of his personality. Joe  had a special power. How did I know? One afternoon during recess, I wanted to use the bathroom. So I went to the girls', but unfortunately, it was filled up with girls and there was no space at all. So I went back to class, struggling to hold my pee. After a while I returned to the bathroom but I found out that it was empty but locked. Goodness Gracious. I almost cried. I decided to use the boys' since it was free, and open, and equally neat. So I went in, and while I was peeing at the corner, I saw someone in the other seat beside me, looking strange. I saw something like fire in his hands and his teeth changed into a wolverine-like teeth,with sharp claws as nails, and he kept growling and whimpering quietly. I was so scared and tried to run out. I at first thought it was a vampire but he suddenly pulled me back. The speed at which he pulled me back was frightening. He said, "Don't be scared, it's me, Joe" 

He made me promise not to tell anyone, and then after calming me down, he let me leave. Actually, when he touched me on my shoulder, an unexplainable calmness fell upon me. 

On another day, an incident happened that made me speak up to mom about Big Joe. It was 30 minutes after school and I was still waiting for Mom to pick me up. I was impatient and wondered what was delaying mom.

 Maybe she had one or two extra dresses to sow at the store and lost track of time. Whatever it was, it worried me and I was desperate to go home and lay my head on my bed because I was really tired. No,bathe first. It was sports day in our school that day, and I had played football and relay race with a group of girls and so, my school uniform was really dirty and I was tired. What bothered me the most was that I was really smelly and needed to have a bath urgently.

I hid under my seat and looked outside. Some pupils were still around, and about three teachers were lurking around the premises. My eyes were watching the gate expecting to see a figure of my lovely mom. Oh! How I longed for her that day. But it was Big Joe I saw. He was coming into the compound through the gate and I hurriedly put my head down under my seat again but unfortunately he had seen me. I almost swore. 

"What kind of problem is this now? I thought he had gone home already? Did he forget something?" I thought

Just then, he walked into our class and stared at me for a while, smiled sheepishly, grabbed a lunch box from the shelf and left. I was shocked. 

"Did he just leave without saying anything to me?" I wondered why. Or was he simply tired of bullying me? I'd be glad if he ever got tired. 

I didn't think too much of it until twenty minutes later that I was still waiting for Mom. I went up to one of the teachers and complained to him. He called her cellphone but it wasn't ringing. 

I was worried

 So I just waited outside the gate because they needed to lock the school gate. 

"I'll go get you a cab" That's what Uncle Robinson said and he left me after locking the gate. Those six words that put me in trouble.

Barely three minutes later, a car stopped by, right before me and this was how the conversation went

"Hello, are you Ariana?" It was a young man. About twenty four years. With finely cut hair and tempting smile.

I didn't even hesitate to reply. I wondered what he wanted.

"Someone called this cab for you" he said. "Get in quickly. I am not meant to park here"

I thought, maybe it was Uncle Robinson that sent the cab according to his promise. It definitely can't be mom

 Mom would never send a stranger to pick me up. I'm very sure she wouldn't even send a friend.  Whether it was being extra-protective or she just loved doing it, without being helped, I might never know which.

I got in quickly and the car zoomed off. It was a new Benz, posh and airy. With loud music blaring from the speaker. If I didn't control myself, I'd have fallen asleep in a couple of minutes

The driver-the young man was too quiet. So I asked him, "Did Uncle Robinson ask you to pick me?" 

This was what I should have asked, before entering the car. But it all happened too quickly. Too quick to think first.

"What?" He said turning to me, still grabbing the steering tight.

"Did Uncle Robinson send you to pick me?" I asked again.

"Is that your teacher's name?" He asked. Somehow his voice gave off a calm aura.

"Yes, he didn't tell you?"

"No, he just asked to pick a Ariana?" Then, he accelerated the car. Uncle Robinson couldn't be that dumb. Something was definitely off. But I was too tired to think. I was just a little girl. I was even already sleeping. 'Maybe Uncle Robinson was dumb only today', I thought. 'Maybe it is even his personal driver' I concluded yet uncertain

"Can you turn the music off?" I asked, because he might be playing a trick on me. It was working, so I had to be smart.

"Why? I'll reduce the volume instead" and so he reduced the volume. 

"Thank you" 

"You live in Kangaroo Estate, right?"

"Yes yes" i replied.

He was actually going on the way to my house, so I kinda believed him. Not until he turned towards a wrong bend.

"Sir, that's a wrong bend!" I yelled but he accelerated and ignored me.

"Sir...

"Shut up, are you trying to teach me my job?" He barked and shot me a deathful glare.

I was rooted to the spot. What is happening? I asked myself. I started to cry when he went further down the wrong road and there started to be fewer persons and more trees. 

"Please sir. Take me home, my mom would be so worried. Please" I pleaded. 

"I'm not going to hurt you" he said calmly. "I'm not about doing that to a pretty girl like you"

"Take me home or I'm going to scream" i cried some more. He stared at me in a surprised way. That was probably because he didn't see tears in my eyes. Maybe he thought I was only trying to be stubborn.

"No one will hear you" he said calmly but with a defiant tone. It only made me feel worse that it was really true. 

 There was hardly any human on that street.

 After pleading for the umpteenth time, I just gave up and resorted to crying instead. 

He finally stopped in front of a garage, parked and carefully came to my side, and carried me in his arms. I was quiet at that moment.

"He's going to treat you well" he said carrying me into a quiet house. 

He? Treat me well? 

There, a taller and older man welcomed him and took me from his hands.

He looked me over and touched my tummy, hair, face, thighs and bottom. I shivered under his touch. Then he asked me to follow a tall figure into a room. The figure was clad in oversized black cloak that hugged its waist and face tightly, I couldn't see any of the body parts. I didn't know its gender even.  He held me with the tip of his finger into a cold, dark underground room. It was then I realized that that house was really old. It looked eerie too. 

The room had skulls and wolves and amulets everywhere, and it had no window. The wolves looked real. For a floor, there was a tunnel that turned and turned while you walk on it so that it made you stagger and want to fall. There was a tree in the middle of the tunnel(the floor)

The tree's roots sank deep down into the old tunnel which when triggered, made a sound that sent shivers down your spine.  Without thinking twice, I let out a yelp. 

"Shut up" he said defiantly.

My hands flew to my head as I beheld the skulls around me.

"I said Keep quiet" 

And I immediately was quiet, not because he asked me to, but because this voice was familiar, and because I saw something on its wrist, very tiny mark of a wolf's head but my eyes microscopically viewed it 

He grabbed a tool from nowhere with his left hand. (I didn't see him touch anywhere) and a rope and started to tie me on that tree. I let him because I didn't want him to hurt me. I heard wolves growling and whimpering around me but I didn't see any. It seemed like a soundtrack of a pack of wolves was playing somewhere, but no, this sounded real and very close. 

I shook with terror and whimpered.

"Be quiet" he commanded again. "Noise doesn't live here" 

Now the voice grew more familiar. He was even using his left hand to make a sign of "be quiet". 

Could it be him?

"Sword!" I heard the older man from the living room call. They talked so silently yet so loudly. 

"Yay" he answered and left the room, with me halfway tied to the strange tree. Just then, another figure came over. I know it is another one because he was called "Karl" and not "Sword".

While he was tying me in the room, I listened quite carefully and heard the two men's conversation in the living room. I also listened to his breath behind my neck. That was also familiar. But I focused on the two men's whispers more:

"She's pretty and big enough, but she's too young" the older and taller man said to the young man who drove me. 

"Alpha Martinez likes them young" he replied

"Not this young. She can't be more than nine" 

"She's actually seven, but I still think she's not too young. Look, she got a fat booty" the young man said. I was so shocked at their words. So I just hugged myself in a corner and sobbed hoping the older man wins the argument. Only God knew how he got all that information about me

"I told you I need them eleven and up. At least, let them grow breasts" the older man argued. They were whispering but I could hear clearly. Probably because everywhere was quiet. The graveyard-kind-of-quiet.

"Then, hold this one until she turns eleven. It took me lots of brains to get her! Take her to the Alpha and pay me!"  the young man slightly raised his voice. 

"No you have to take her back. We don't want her" 

"Why are you deciding for Alpha Martinez?" 

"What? He's my boss, remember?" 

They argued further until their voices became lower than before. Eventually, someone came back into the room I was kept in. It was the older man. He carried me and rubbed my hair. I just watched him do everything he did. I felt like if I shouted or proved stubborn, he'd go back to supporting the other man and keep me.

"Poor little child. Come here" then he took me outside and drove me to the end of the quiet road, and then asked me to get out. I didn't question him so he wouldn't change his mind. Then I ran, as fast as my legs could carry me. I ran without watching the busy road. 

I didn't know how I got home but when I finally did, I ran into my room and yelled and threw a fit. I wished I could let some tears out that moment. I needed mom. I needed to tell her something. But Cameron was the only one I met at home. 

Cameron, who would never even talk to me. But I was so desperate to hug someone and let them assure me I'm actually home and not dreaming. The experience had been really traumatic for me. What was even more traumatic was what happened in the little room I was placed in. With the tall unknown figure. I needed to tell someone.

 Where was mom?