ARI
—No, from you, Amber. You're in danger.
I looked outside again and again, praying that no one was there. I felt scared, while Ámbar didn't seem to understand... or rather, she wondered why anyone would want to hurt her . And I felt so guilty... such an idiot for not having done something sooner.
—Ari, we have to go, —said Jeff.
I nodded and took Ámbar's arm, who looked at me terrified.
"Why? Who wants to kidnap me?" he asked.
I hugged her. She froze, unused to my physical contact. Whenever she tried to hug me, she didn't feel the same way, because I usually pulled away... although this time, I tried to change, to get used to it. Still, bewilderment remained on her face.
"The detective will explain it to us. I don't understand either," I replied, looking at Jeff. "Did you arrive by car?"
—Yes, I parked it on a street, —he replied.
I cautiously looked outside again.
"There's no one here. We have to leave," I said firmly.
Amber nodded, taking a deep breath, struggling to stay calm.
"I'll be right behind you," Jeff replied.
Ámbar and I left first. We ran across the street. I looked back, and Jeff was coming, just as he'd promised. We hurried along the sidewalk. I felt my heart pounding, a tightness in my chest, an inevitable feeling: something was going to happen... and what terrified me most, what would tear at my soul, was having my friend taken away from me.
The sound was so loud that I immediately turned around, seeing a black armored SUV pulling out of the street and turning in our direction. I looked at Ámbar; a chill ran through me. For a second, I was scared when Jeff stood still, frozen, but he quickly reacted and ran toward us. He pulled out his keys with trembling hands, pressed the remote, and the car's beeping sound resonated in my ears like a lifeline.
Wasting no time, I opened the door and we jumped in. Jeff threw himself behind the wheel, started the engine, and locked the doors with a loud click.
"Where are we going? To your apartment?" he asked, almost stuttering.
"Let's just go!" Amber shouted, so scared she could barely breathe. Her eyes were fixed on the truck that was getting closer and closer.
Jeff slammed his foot on the gas. He swerved to the right, dodging cars that slammed on their brakes and blared their horns. I looked back, my heart pounding. They were still there, and getting closer.
"Speed up!" I yelled desperately.
The world around us seemed to spin, buildings passing by like blurry shadows. I looked at Ámbar; tears were streaming down her face. She clung to me, resting her head on my shoulder, trembling, while I tried to calm her with clumsy caresses.
Jeff, jaw clenched, glanced quickly in the rearview mirror. His breathing was labored, just like ours.
I felt like everything was repeating itself… memories returned like relentless shadows, but I forced myself to stay grounded.
Dad…
A chill ran through my body. I saw Jeff screaming in despair, but I couldn't hear him. Everything was silent, as if the world had been suddenly shut off. Until, suddenly, his voice exploded in my ears:
—Bow your heads!
I turned around and saw him: a man hanging half his body out the window of the black van, pointing straight at us.
Without thinking, I grabbed Ámbar by the shoulders and pulled her down with me. We ducked down just as the noise exploded around us. The roar was so loud it hurt my ears, like needles were piercing them.
The windshield shattered into a thousand pieces. Glass flew inward, bouncing off our arms and legs, as Jeff struggled to control the steering wheel, his face twisted.
The sound of the explosions was still vibrating in my head, and for a moment I felt like fear was going to take my breath away.
Jeff gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. The car lurched as another bullet hit the hood, and I felt my heart slam against my chest, ready to shatter.
"Hold on!" Jeff shouted in a broken voice.
He swerved sharply to the left, narrowly missing a taxi that slammed on its brakes. The tires squealed against the pavement and the car almost flipped over, but he managed to right it.
The air smelled of gunpowder and burnt glass, and engine smoke was beginning to creep in. Clinging to Ámbar, I could barely think; her body trembled in my arms, and her sobs mingled with the deafening noise of the chase.
The black pickup truck followed behind, getting closer and closer.
Jeff veered into a narrow alley, the car scraped against the wall, and a side mirror flew off. I felt the sharp impact, as if the impact had split us in half.
"We're not going to last long!" Jeff said, staring into the rearview mirror.
Another burst of gunfire. The rear window shattered, and fragments rained down on us. I closed my eyes for a second, thinking maybe it was the end… but Jeff made an unexpected turn onto the main avenue. Cars were honking, people were screaming, and some were running at the sight.
The black van wouldn't stop.
The car was barely holding on. The engine was smoking, and Jeff struggled with the steering wheel, but the black pickup truck was still behind, like a shadow impossible to shake. One last sharp turn, a slam of brakes, and suddenly the car stopped with a metallic crash against a pole.
The impact threw me forward. I felt the air go out of my lungs. Amber screamed at the top of her lungs, and Jeff slammed the steering wheel helplessly.
"Run!" he managed to tell us.
I didn't think. I opened the door as best I could and pulled Ámbar out. We staggered out into the street, glass still falling from our clothes. People passing by ran in terror, screaming, bumping into each other, while car alarms mingled with the still-resonant noise.
Everything was chaos. People fleeing in all directions, others seeking shelter, and desperate voices pleading for help.
We ran. We ran as if the ground was going to give out… but it was no use.
The black pickup truck screeched to a halt right in front of us, blocking our path. The doors swung open violently, and several hooded men, armed, jumped out. Fear paralyzed me. I clutched Ámbar to my chest, trying to cover her, but within seconds, we were surrounded.
"No! Let her go!" I screamed desperately, as one of them tore Ámbar from my arms.
Jeff tried to catch up to us, but he was hit and fell limp to the pavement.
The crowd was screaming for help, some were filming with their cell phones, others were just running without looking back. No one could stop them. No one could save us. They pushed me so hard I almost fell to my knees. I tried to resist, screaming with all my might, but they held my arm firmly.
"Let me go!" I screamed desperately, seeing Ámbar struggling too.
It was no use. They dragged us toward the van without giving us a chance to escape. The noise outside was deafening: people running, others calling for help, cries, distant sirens. It was chaos, but no one could stop them.
In an instant, Ámbar was shoved into the vehicle. I tried to turn around, but another hand forced me in without looking at those in the truck. I fell next to her, hitting the cold, hard seat.
"No! Ari!" I heard her trembling voice, clinging to me with her eyes full of fear.
The door slammed shut. Everything outside fell silent, replaced by the roar of the engine. Jeff was left behind, and the crowd was still screaming.
Now they hadn't just taken her...
"Don't try to get up if you don't want a bullet in your head, you don't want to get your hair covered in blood," a male voice told me, making me shudder, and then he started laughing.
"Are you Ari?" he asked in my ear, while I remained face down, not daring to look.
Suddenly, he yanked me up, pulling my hair to make me feel close. Then he yanked me again, this time to force me to look into his eyes.
"Yes... you are," he said, and smiled at me, although I couldn't contain my disgusted face.
—I wonder why I let you live so long… but now that I see you, I understand.
I saw his face, his features, but I didn't recognize him. He didn't look like someone from Mexico, although he did look Latin American.
"Don't you talk?" she asked me, while I looked at Ámbar, who was crying.
"It's a shame you're destined to suffer... and all because of him..." she whispered.
He caressed my cheek, gently touching my face. I wanted to walk away; I felt disgusted. I looked at the man driving, but his gaze remained fixed on the road, unfazed by anything.
I felt his hand slide down my neck. I wanted to scream, but the shock paralyzed me. Then, a young man, sitting in the passenger seat, turned toward us.
"Remember what the boss said. Besides, she belongs to someone else. Don't start fights again about touching something that isn't yours," he said firmly.
The boy who had me immobilized exhaled and, with a curt gesture, pushed me along with Ámbar, finally releasing me.
"I don't understand why you keep comparing me to him. I don't do what he does," she said, addressing us as if trying to convince us. Ámbar hid behind me while my body continued to tremble.
"I don't kill them like he does," he added, seeming to enjoy our fear. "In fact, I keep them alive in a way I can't explain, but I like those feelings... for example, you, as you are now."
The sun was setting; it was about to become night. I felt Ámbar have her cell phone in her pants pocket. I closed my eyes to look at her.
We only had one chance to call for help, but if it rang during a call… we were done for.
"We're almost there," one of the hooded figures said in a cold voice, without even looking at us.
My instinct told me there would be nothing good at the end of this road. The air was thick, heavy, as if sensing danger.
As we stopped, the door swung open. The wind crashed against us, and for a moment I could see beyond: a wide, shadowy field, with shadows moving in the distance. Something about the way the hooded figures moved, the tension in their bodies, made me understand that they didn't care in the slightest about our lives.
"Get down," one of them ordered, and they roughly shoved us to the ground.
My eyes searched for some landmark, something that might give me a clue as to where we were, but everything I saw sent a chill down my spine. The atmosphere was silent except for our labored breathing and the crunch of our boots on the damp earth.
A shudder ran through my body. Amber was crying silently, resting her head against my shoulder.
The air grew even thicker. Every second that passed, I felt my fear multiply. Ámbar snuggled closer to me, and I could feel her shaky breath on my shoulder.
They forced us to stand motionless. In front of us, the shadows moved with a slowness that seemed calculated, and a strange chill ran down my spine. I couldn't see clearly what was happening; I had the feeling that something would happen.
"Look at each other," the man who tried to touch me a few moments ago said again. While the others just stared at him, the adult man smiled as if he were proud, while the young man looked at him seriously and then looked at me.
Save us, please save us.
My mind whirled, trying to understand, searching for any way out, any chance to escape. But the open terrain, the shadows, and the constant vigilance of the men reminded us that we were trapped.
The silence became deafening. Every breath, every small movement of ours, seemed to be amplified in the space around us. Ámbar sobbed silently, and I tried to contain my own tremors as I felt every fiber of my body screaming to escape.
One step too sharp, one wrong move… and we knew everything could change in an instant. The fear wasn't just about what we would see, but about what we could do.
I felt the world around us narrow, the dim light becoming a kind of curtain hiding the unknown. And then, as I tried to breathe calmly, I realized we were about to witness something we'd never forget.
"Okay, now you just need to answer one thing," he said, as the man approached me and I backed away in defensive instinct.
"Don't do that..."
I approached him, smoothed my hair behind my shoulders, and closed my eyes for a moment. Then I looked at Ámbar, who seemed to be holding back from doing anything.
"Who deserves to go with us and who doesn't?" he asked, and I opened my eyes. He was deliberately making us choose.
"I'll go, let her go," I said quickly. He started laughing and looked at the grown man as if he'd already expected that answer.
"I can see why you're his amulet... I even think you'll be the first one left alive after all the others," he told me. I clenched my fists, holding back my fear, and looked down.
"Don't do it, Ari... don't do it. You've been through so much," Amber told me between sobs. She tried to get closer, but they pushed her away.
"Do you know the difference between your friend and other women?" she asked me directly, while covering my face in helplessness. "That she will suffer when she dies."
His laughter echoed, and I took my hands away, scared. I ran to Ámbar to hug her and get away from him; we fell to the ground, covered in dirt. He pulled out his gun to aim at us; he knew we had nowhere to go.
"Please leave her! I'm begging you!" I screamed, as Ámbar clung to me with all her strength. "Don't take her!"
"But if we're not leaving yet, I have to do something first... the sooner the better." His laughter echoed again. I felt Ámbar place her cell phone in my pants pocket. I worried he'd notice, but he didn't say anything.
Amber stood up, and I was shocked. I quickly shook my head when I saw her wipe her tears and look at him, trembling, surrendering to him.
I jumped up, and the grown man grabbed me when he saw me trying to push her away.
I watched as he lowered his gun and put it away, but the moment of tranquility didn't last. He pulled out a small object and, without even thinking, held it toward Ámbar. She placed her hand on her stomach and looked at me as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"No!" I screamed so loudly that all three men looked at me. I struggled with the man to no avail; he wouldn't take his eyes off me. I needed help. Please, God, don't let anything happen to him.
He put the knife down after wiping it with his hands and beckoned the young man to come closer. I ran to Ámbar, crying inconsolably, as I turned to the person responsible for the situation.
"Take her, Victor," she signaled to the young man to come to me. I tried to defend her, but her arms immediately pinned me down and pulled me away from her.
"Look, it's simple: let Ian go," he said coldly. "Well, the detective and his team," he added, in a mocking tone.
I saw Ámbar approach again, trying to cover herself with her hands. The ground around her was beginning to turn dirty with the blood that was beginning to ooze, showing the danger she was in.
"If you only thought, you wouldn't be here. Do you understand?" he said, then lifted Ámbar so that she had to support herself as best she could. Then he took his hands off her. She was weak; she needed help now, or she wouldn't recover.
Then he stared at me, smiling again with that blood-curdling expression.
He turned back to Ámbar. I gasped, thinking something terrible had happened. I thought about the knife again, but what had happened wasn't anything I had imagined, and my face transformed into one of utter fear when I saw that what I had inserted into her stomach were his hands. Ámbar coughed weakly, and he gently touched her face to lift her up. Their gazes met; she struggled to remain steady while he smiled, enjoying the situation.
Then he stepped away from her, and Amber fell to her knees, trembling. I couldn't take my eyes off his hands, stained and seemingly uncaring, and I felt a dizziness that almost made me vomit.
He approached me. He took my face and, with his hands, traced something on my cheeks. He ran his hands over my mouth and then through my hair. I cried inconsolably, trapped in a horrible feeling, a fear that burned me from within, while I looked at Ámbar, trying to stay conscious. Every second felt eternal, and the terror of what surrounded us made me feel like we were going to break completely.
I tasted it in my mouth and I arched up, unable to stop myself.
I looked up and he was kneeling, watching me with that cold smile.
"I'll see you soon, Ari," he said, then stood up, leaving me lying on the floor.
Just when I thought they'd leave and I could run after Amber, they grabbed her again. Before putting her in the truck, he said coldly:
—Call the nurse to treat her.
I watched as they carried her unconscious and put her back in the vehicle. I ran desperately toward the truck, but they quickly got in and drove off, leaving me alone in the middle of the desolate terrain.
The wind whipped against my face, mixing with the tears I couldn't hold back. My heart pounded, and fear surrounded me like an invisible wall. Every second seemed eternal as I watched them disappear into the distance, taking Ámbar with me, trapped in my chest, helpless, with no one to turn to.
The silence that remained around me was deafening. Every shadow, every distant noise, made the terror sink deeper into me. I knew the worst was yet to come, and that what was to come was beyond any fear I had ever felt before.
I looked around, spinning around desperately, and pressed my head hard.
When I lowered my hands, they were covered in blood. A chill ran through my body. I couldn't... I couldn't accept what was happening.