We entered the little shop, and I was surprise nobody was there. True, it was a school after noon, but from what I remembered, it was always packed. We walked straight to the counter, asking the woman who was sitting there when was the next game.
“It’s starting in fifteen minutes. They just got in,” she explained.
“But we can pay now for the next one, right?” Cole asked, smiling sweetly to the woman. Her name tag said Rachel.
“Yes, of course.” Cole handed her a bunch of bills, enough to pay for the four of us.
“You don’t have too, I’ll pay for myself,” I argued, my hand meeting his half way to stop him.
“No need for this Alicia, you don’t think I’m poor, do you?” He said, laughing and pulling his hand away from me, giving the money to the woman said, Rachel.
“You should just enjoy it while you can, not every guy is willing to do such things for his friends,” she said, winking at me and Rose.
“Thanks,” we said together. “But I’m gonna pay you back,” Rose argued.
“A hug would be more than enough,” he replied and I knew by his tone that he was beginning to feel annoyed. Rose must have felt it too, because she didn’t say anything further.
“So, what would be your names?” Rachel asked. I gave my name, Minnie. And Rose took the matching name, like it used to be. After that, we left the guys to choose their names and we got to the arcade to pass the time. I took out a quarter from my wallet, showing it to my friend. Rose’s face brightened up, and she walked to the air hockey table. Good, we had the same idea. We played a game before the guys were beside us again. We played a couple of times, and then before we knew, a bunch of kids and teenagers where filling the room that had been empty a few seconds earlier.
“This is what I remember,” I said, smiling at Rose. She smiled back, but something in her eyes was off. She knew now why I didn’t want to go, earlier today. I could see her regretting to have pushed us to go, but I nodded, letting her know it was okay.
We used to go here every month. It was the best hang out place in the world to us, and we even had little hiding places in the play area. It was the last thing I remember doing with the guys, before they ditched me. The last weekend before the first day of school in their new grown up school, they had said. According to Ben, we had to celebrate, and the best way was to go to the laser quest. So we had hitch a ride from Devin’s parents, all of us squished in the back seat, but nobody seemed to mind. Rose hadn’t been with us that day because I hadn’t been that much her friend at that time, but she knew the story.
The rest was a little bit blurry. We had played for hours, like we always did. And then we stopped and hanged out in the arcade. Then the guys wanted to leave and go someplace else, where they could be free of adult’s supervision. I had tried to keep them there, blocking the way and make them see the light. Our dad was going to be there soon to come pick us all up, and then we could have fun in our garage. There no one will be hurt, and there would be no problem, but they hadn’t listened to me. Then they had tried to push me off, saying that I should get new friends, some that where more like me. I hadn’t really understood that, because at that moment, they were all I wanted for friends, and I thought they cared for me too. But it was the snappy comment Liam had said that had done the trick.
“Get lost Alicia. You’re not cool enough to hang with us anymore,” laughter had erupted all around me, and I hadn’t had the courage to stand up for myself. My head down, tears streaming down each side, I hadn’t seen them leave. I had stayed like that, in a little ball, on the steps, just outside the front door. My dad had arrived ten minutes later, and came running to me, asking where were the guys.
“I don’t know dad,” were my exact words. I remembered that my voice had been thick with the tears that were still running down my cheeks. He picked me up in his arms and ran to the car, engine still running. It took almost an hour to find my brother and his friends, but when we did, it wasn’t pretty. Ben knew only by one look that he was in trouble, and some big one. Therefore the ride back had been pretty calm, no one said a word. We dropped everyone out, and when we finally arrived home, it was late.
“Benjamin, could I talk to you for a second?” My brother had stopped dead in his tracks, knowing something was about to happen. I had stayed at the to of the stairs when they all thought I was upstairs in my room, getting ready to go to bed. And I had left after a few minutes, my eyes stinging with fresh new tears. Dad had obviously thought that they had left me when I was in the bathroom or something innocent like that, and Ben hadn’t said anything to hint he was wrong.
“The yellow game is about to begin! Please head for the command room to your left.” The voice that was screeching from the ceiling made me jump. Every muscle in my body was tense with the memory of a day I didn’t want to remember. Not here, not now.
“You look pensive today,” Aiden said, talking my arm and pulling me to the controlling room, where the woman’s voice just asked us to go. He must’ve seen that I wasn’t all there, and that I wasn’t going to move.
I didn’t answer; I knew that he was right. I was thinking way too much today. And I had my lot of it for a day… or two. Fortunately, I didn’t have quiet the time to think of the day, or anything that is, when we came into the room. A bunch of kids were listening to a guy, talking in the front. He explained all the rules, which I already knew, and made us swear that we would do as the rules said. And then it was time. The door opened to another room, this time a lot bigger. There were guns and jackets that hung on the walls all around us. Rose pulled my hand and I followed her to two guns. I removed one of them of its hook and put it in my hand. Rose was doing the same, a smile spread on her lips. When she turned around, I could see the excitement in her eyes. It had been awhile since we had the chance to do things we use to do when we were kids, and not be judged. Cole and Aiden looked excited too, grinning at each other like kids in a candy store.
The game started not long after, the beeping sound coming out the ceiling indicating that we had two minutes to run and hide while we still could. The beeping stopped, making place for the gasped, the calls of voices, and the vibrations of footsteps on the floor… so many memories in that little space. Good ones. Bad ones. I didn’t know where to run, it had been such a long time since I even passed by this place. I used to ask my parents to make detours so I wouldn’t have to face them.
Someone took my hand, pulling me up a ramp and on the left. I didn’t have time to look up, not before I was tucked in a dark corner, a back facing me. It was a man’s back, I could see by the set of the broad shoulders. I pointed my laser gun to him and shot. It was only a few seconds later that I realized he didn’t have a jacket with the sensors, the ones that everyone had to put on to play… I opened my mouth to say something, but at the same moment, He turned around and took my hand once again to pull me toward someplace else. His face wasn’t anything I recognized, I doubted that I ever seen him in my life. My heart was pounding hard in my chest, my hands sweating with fear, but the man still didn’t let go of it. He continued to pull me away from everyone, close to the exit door.
He turned sharply, hiding between two little walls and tugged me against his chest. I hadn’t realize what that was all about until Cole and Aiden passed right by us, not noticing two huddle figures hiding in the darkness. I was about to scream to make them look at me but the man put a rough hand on my mouth, making it impossible for me to make a sound. A whimper barely escaped my muffled mouth, tears streaming down my face and I could feel sweat pouring down my back. I was scared to death and I couldn’t do anything… Think straight Alicia. There must be something I could do to make him stop doing whatever he was doing. Screaming wasn't a good way to go, as I saw, and I couldn’t try to defend myself. Not against this guy. He was too built, too strong for me to take him all by myself… And now Aiden and Cole had disappeared in the numerous hiding places, oblivious to what had been happening just beside them.
“I’ll release you if you don’t scream,” The man’s voice said in my ear. It was deep and severe. I nodded quickly, eager to make disappear the hand that was in front of my mouth. Good to his promise, his hand went away and he pushed me, hands to my back to make me keep up his pace. He was running behind me, making his way to the sign that said EMERGENCY EXIT.
My brain made a decision meanwhile, opening my mouth without even me noticing and letting a scream escape my mouth. The man stopped, and passed me, giving me a look. He continued to run, this time pulling me along, him in front and me struggling to keep up. I waited for someone to pop up and help me, but nobody ever came. I realized a little bit late that nobody had heard me, the screams of players and the sounds of laughter too usual for this kind of place. By the time I had though, it was too late and the man was guiding me to the other side of the door. It lead outside, to the side of the building. I didn’t recognize the place, no parking lot close, just more buildings and a parked car with tainted windows.
“Get in the car quick,” he said. His hands were digging in my arms, making them ache and I had to bit my lip to prevent from screaming. It wouldn’t do anything, not now that I didn’t know where I was and that there was nobody to help me. He opened the door to the back of the car and I saw a shadow of someone in the driver seat.
“Let me go!” I said, twisting my arm to get free. The man in the driver’s seat turned around, another one that I didn’t know. What I did only contribute to make the guy who was holding me even more mad. He took my neck in his hand and pushed me inside, slamming the door right at the moment when I was about to get out again. I cried in frustration and screamed some more. The driver only exhale. His eyes met mine in the mirror.
“What do you want?” I asked as the first man got in the car and the other one started driving fast. They didn’t answer my question, instead, the driver swore softly under his breath, his eyes focus on something behind us. I turned around seeing Cole and Aiden running out the building and trying to catch up with the car.
“Fast, we need to get them real fast, if you want them alive…” The man in the passenger seat said to the driver.
“I know, I know. I’m trying,” he answered, still looking in the mirror to make sure we weren’t followed. I turned to the back window once again, seeing Aiden shook uncontrollably and Cole was just starring straight at me. My hand caught the door handle, pulling and pushing it in every possible way to open it. It didn’t work.
“Can you please stop this, we’re not going to hurt you, I promise,” the man in the passenger seat said, turning around to see my face. He looked young, maybe in his twenties, and his hair was black and kind of shaggy. He had brown piercing eyes that were currently analyzing me.
“Then answer my questions. ‘Cause when a man pulls you out of a game and kidnaps you, you normally think he’s going to hurt you…” I said, my voice harsh. The driver laughed, the only sound in the silent car. He decided not to answer.
We were driving fast through the back roads. So fast, I was barely able to look at something before it disappeared behind us. And then the car stopped suddenly just before another guy who was standing on the side of a building. I couldn’t make out his features because it was too dark with the tinted windows. He ran to the car, threw open the door beside me and pushed against me to have space to sit. And then I saw him. Liam. He was sitting right next to me. It took me a moment to realize that he was waiting for me to push to the other side so he could have more space.
“You better explain it to her, she’s a little bit difficult,” the driver said, smiling in the rear-view mirror to us. I frowned at him.
“They’re just around the corner, I had to leave them,” Liam said.“Thanks Oliver, I appreciate it. And Nate…” He continued to say, but the man in the passenger seat interrupted him.
“Don’t mention it. We just have some explaining to do…” Liam laughed and turned to me, taking my hand in his.
“I can’t explain right now, we just have to pick them up, and then I can answer all of your questions,” Liam said, his eyes locking with mine.
“Who else? I saw Aiden and Cole…” I didn’t get the chance to say anything else before the car stopped again abruptly and Liam’s door opened to let Rose go in. Liam scooted beside me and then lifted me up to make me sit on his lap while another guy went in. My brother.
“They’re close, I can hear them, hurry up,” Liam said, his voice incredibly calm for a time like this. Ben didn’t even get the time to shut the door before the car was speeding away once again.
“Can somebody please explain? Ben doesn’t want to say anything and I’m starting to get pissed off,” Rose said, looking at me and then at Liam.
“I said a hundred times that I didn’t have anything to do with this. Liam…?” My brother didn’t finish his sentence, choosing to let Liam deal with all this.
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I'm really excited and I can't wait to read more!! 