Have you ever had that moment in your life where you thought you were in great danger? When you witnessed something terrible happening right before your eyes, and you were powerless to stop it?
I felt it right then.
The feeling of helplessness and fear.
Every fiber inside of me was screaming, ‘Run. Run!’
However, I couldn’t. My feet were glued to the ground, and my heart was racing from shock and anxiety. I had no fight or flight response; I simply froze.
Even though I knew the most logical thing to do was run away, to run back towards the bar as fast as I could and wait for Madison, I couldn’t.
I just kept staring at the knife in the man’s hand, and the sound of muffled sobs coming from the poor woman.
I was terrified. They were right in front of my eyes, and it was only a matter of time before they noticed I was there.
I wanted to run. I wanted to so badly, but I couldn’t just leave the poor woman there!
‘Move, Julia,’ I told myself, feeling my fingers tremble from anxiety. ‘Move. Move, damn it!’
However, no matter how much I urged myself to move, to run away as far as I could, my body didn’t listen to me. Instead, I could only manage to take a shaky step backwards, and even then it felt like I was moving in slow motion. It was like every fiber of my body froze along with the blood running through my veins.
Wait. My phone!
‘I need to call for help!’
But first, I needed to hide. If they ever drove off in that van, I also needed to see the license plate. That way, I would be able to tell 911 all the details that would help them catch these guys.
But I was only an average girl. I had no idea how to be sneaky!
How in the world did I ever get involved in such a terrifying situation like this?!
‘Calm down… You can do this, Julia,’ I thought to myself quickly, swallowing heavily as I felt beads of sweat roll down the side of my face. ‘Just be quiet. Don’t make a sound.’
Very slowly, I backed away, planning to keep enough distance between us before making a run for the nearest corner to hide.
However, as I moved away step by step, my shadow on the ground cast by the lampposts also moved towards them, causing one of the men on the road to notice.
By the time I had taken two steps back, a man with shaggy hair and small, beady eyes turned to me, his expression forming surprise, and then realization.
“Someone’s here!” he yelled to his other companions, who then turned my way.
The woman in their grip turned to me with pleading eyes.
I knew then that I would never forget that look in my entire life.
I was frozen in place once again, and I could feel myself breaking into cold sweat. My mind went blank, and my stomach felt like it dropped right down on the ground.
“We can’t have a witness here!” one of them barked out. “Get her! And make sure she doesn’t talk!”
“She’s gonna call the police if one of you doesn’t make a fucking move!” someone yelled. “Hurry up! She saw our faces!”
At that moment, my flight response was triggered.
I turned on my heel and ran as fast as I could.
I could hear startled, indignant cries from behind before large footsteps followed, drowning my eardrums with their incessant noise. I reflexively let out a yelp as I quickened my pace, desperate to reach the bar.
However, on the way, I found myself tripping over something on the road, causing me to fall forward heavily towards the ground.
“Ow!” I cried out, feeling pain shoot out from my elbows.
My heart stopped. I could feel the footsteps coming closer and closer. Adrenaline pumped into my veins as I struggled to get up, but the pain in my elbows made me gasp aloud.
A sudden realization formed in my head amidst the panic.
It was over.
I was going to get caught.
What were they going to do to me?
Were they going to kidnap me and force me into the van too, just like that poor woman?
Or were they going to kill me for being a witness to their kidnapping and threats?
Either way, I was in deep trouble.
When the footsteps approached, I couldn’t bring myself to stand properly. Instead, I turned my head, dreading what I might see.
Suddenly, I heard rapid footsteps approaching from the opposite direction.
And then, before I knew it, a figure slammed into the man who was about to reach out towards me, causing the guy to stagger backwards from the force of the impact.
Shocked, I watched as a stranger stood protectively before me. It was dark, and the lampposts only illuminated the side of his figure, but I could recognize that black trench coat, jeans, and white sneakers.
The man at the bar.
The man who only came during the weekends.
I watched, stunned, as the stranger rushed towards the approaching two men. The men came at him with knives in their hands, and the sight of the weapons made my heart drop to my stomach.
“Watch out!” I yelled, unable to help myself.
The stranger didn’t turn around at the sound of my voice, but he managed to skillfully dodge the knife blows one by one.
He was fast!
He punched a man who lost his balance, and then kicked one who was rushing towards him.
The entire time, I was struggling to get up. When I could finally stand up properly, I suddenly felt a hand grab my wrist, seizing it firmly.
Startled, I looked up to see the stranger gazing at me deeply, as though trying to convey something through his eyes.
I understood immediately.
“Run!” he exclaimed, and I wasted no time doing so.
The two of us sprinted away from the scene, with my heart hammering in my chest the entire time.