You're my Safe Haven

Chapter 1- Traumatizing Friday

This is how I almost got abducted and r***d.

It was a typical Friday afternoon at Greenfield University. Most of the students leave school at 5 pm because they are all excited about hanging out with their friends and staying up late because there are no classes the next day. Everyone seems to have a decent social life except for a boring bookworm like me who doesn’t have good social skills to find friends I could hang out with. Well, it was not that bad at all. Truth is, I was not into social gatherings. I enjoy my solitude.

It’s supposed to be a typical day for a sophomore like me, just like it is for other students, but for some unexplainable reason, I have been feeling uneasy since this morning. It felt like someone was watching me. I tried to preoccupy my thoughts with things I read in the books, but something just isn’t right.

I stood up because I had just finished reading a book about astronomy. It was my last book for the day. The room has a deafening silence. As usual, I was the only student left in the library with the sleeping librarian.

I walked toward the aisle of books with the science category when someone pulled my right arm with a strong force. Before I knew it, one hand of his was covering my mouth and the other held my hands behind my back. I instantly recognized it was a man because of his masculine smell. It was a mixture of sweat and mint perfume. I can hear him breathing slowly.

I was screaming but to no avail, nothing was heard with his hand still covering my mouth. I was so scared. I started to panic. I was sweating but my whole body was icy cold. I’m feeling a bit hopeless because the chances of having someone in the area to help me is very slim considering that the majority of the students have left the campus and the librarian seems to be having a good dream while sleeping.

He dragged me to the end of the aisle. A few seconds later, we were at the farthest corner of the library. I noticed that the whole window frame was removed. My eyes widened as I saw two guys outside seemingly ready to catch me. They are both wearing shades and a facemask that made me unable to see their whole faces. One of them was wearing a black shirt. He is holding a pre-cut duct tape about three and a half inches in length. The other one was wearing a blue shirt. He is holding a red scissor and a nylon string that measures almost a meter. At that time, all the worst things that could happen had entered my mind.

The one in black stretched his hand through the window and put the duct tape on my mouth, as the guy slowly removed his hand. The one in blue handed the string to the man holding me and quickly tied my hands, keeping it behind my back. They lifted me and took me outside the library through the window.

I am disgusted with their hands touching my body. I feel my heart is going to explode. I tried to run but they were too strong. For a second, I came to my senses and realized that I was in the most secluded space on the campus. It was an abandoned garden at the back of the library. It was surrounded by unfinished brick walls.

I looked back as I landed on the ground and saw that the guy who captured me was wearing a green shirt. I was glaring at him while I was struggling to get off their hands.

“Finally, our plan has materialized” said the one in the green shirt.

He came near me, grabbed my neck and smelled strands of my hair.

The little butterfly tattoo on the left side of his neck caught my attention. The design is absurd because the left wing of the butterfly is broken.

“You smell nice, for sure you taste great” he whispered in my ear.

That sent chills to my spine. Now I have an idea what they are going to do with me.

“They will r**e me” I said to myself in my head. I don’t want to believe my own thoughts. It is the last thing I want to think of but, in this situation, I know it is very likely to happen.

I was still panicking and gasping for air and what he did next scared the s**t out of me. He positioned both his hands on my waist then lifted them to my chest. He unbuttoned my uniform, making my white colored bra quite visible. He bent down and kissed my neck.

I started to cry. My eyes were pleading for him to stop.

The guy in black suddenly interrupted and tapped his hand.

“This is not yet the right time and place for that”, he said.

“Okay, I’ll take you to heaven later baby. You're prettier in close-up, by the way”, he whispered in my ear in a demonic tone.

I cringed upon hearing the words he uttered.

They started to drag me to the van on the opposite side. I was waiting for God to help me in this situation.

Suddenly, a man jumped over the high wall on the right side. The three guys halted and seemed a bit stunned.

I instantly noticed that the guy who jumped was wearing our school uniform. That time, I didn’t care who he was. I just want him to help me. It was already sunset, and without enough light, I couldn’t see his face clearly.

When he came closer, I finally recognized him. He is Liam. The most popular guy on our campus. Not only is he the main vocalist of the school band, but he is the student model on our school’s website. He’s about six feet in height. I must say he has a masculine build. As per his looks, I really can’t describe him as of the moment because I don’t really look closely at his facial features.

“What are you trying to do with this innocent girl?”, Liam asked calmly.

“Don’t get yourself involved. This is none of your business” said the one in the green shirt.

“Okay, I bet I had better get going.” Liam said with an emotionless tone and started to walk past us.

My little hope was shattered to pieces. “Did he just abandon a person in need?” I said in my head.

The three guys forcefully boarded me to the van when suddenly a big rock hit the head of the one in black.

It was Liam, he didn’t abandon me. He came back. My eyes lit up as I saw a ray of hope.

After a few seconds, blood was streaming down the man’s face. Before facing Liam, they locked me up inside the van.

The one in black pushed Liam against the wall. They seemed to be arguing before they threw punches at each other.

I can only see them fighting through the heavily tinted window. Liam was fighting with all his might but it’s hard to win in a three versus one fight.

The driver of the van, who seemed to lose his patience, rolled his window down and shouted, “I’ll go first. Go to the hide out after cleaning the mess.”

He then ignited the start button and the vehicle started moving. I was focused on trying to open the door lock with my tied hand when he impulsively hit the brakes. I was tossed and my body clashed with the seat in front of me. My arms and head got hurt but I still tried to get up and see what was happening.

I saw a white pick-up car blocking the road. There are two guys in front and two guys in the cargo bed. They went down the vehicle with each of them holding a baseball bat. The driver tried to maneuver but the guy who drove the truck threw his baseball bat into the windshield, hitting the glass in the front passenger seat. The driver, not being able to see clearly, bumped one of the walls. The driver lost consciousness.

Someone shouted, “move to the other side of the van.”

I panicked and moved to the left side and then I heard a loud crashing sound. Someone broke the window near me and opened the door.

My body froze. I couldn’t think clearly. I’ve come to my limit. I cannot process the situation anymore. I’ve always lived a serene life and this situation has scared me to death.

Liam went inside the van, he held me with his arm. And for a moment, I felt safe. My knees stopped shaking. My throbbing heart slowly calmed down. He looked like a superhero in my sight rescuing me, a damsel in distress. But my mind is still preoccupied with all the violence I witnessed. I can see his mouth moving as if he is saying something, but I can’t seem to hear any of it.

In my peripheral view, I saw the driver pat his head. He seemed to be regaining his consciousness. He then acted to get the vehicle moving.

“We need to jump” Liam said.

Liam, with his bleeding hand, carried me as he jumped out of the van. We fell on the dusty ground.

The van continued moving. I saw that the three guys who captured me ran and went inside the van and drove away. It seemed that they were beaten up by the guys from the pick-up truck.

I was dumbfounded. I was still lying in Liam’s arms when I heard him groan in pain. It seemed like an arm of his broke when we fell.

“Liam, are you okay? I’ll call an ambulance” said the guy wearing a baseball team jacket.

“I think my arm is just a little broken, Gavin, nothing serious. I guess it just needs a band-aid”, Liam said while grinning.

I can’t believe he still managed to tell a joke in this situation.

He then turned his gaze to me and said, “your leg is bleeding, are you okay?”

I guess I became numbed and didn’t notice that a broken glass hit my leg.

I touched the blood with my hand and stared at it. Finally being able to process all that happened, I suddenly felt nauseous, and everything turned black.