Three monthas after I turned 16, in 2005
I got my first car: a 99 Toyota Camry
On a warm Saturday night
when my friend Alex invited me over one of his friend's big parties
I knew I wouldn't be in a condition to drive the Camry home afterward.
So we carpooled with Alex's girlfriend, Rihanna.
We lived in the country side of Virginia,
meaning less big parties.
Meaning when there was a big party it was a huge deal
and everyone would go.
We lived about 5 to 10 minutes away from this kid's house.
I knew where he lived as I was acquainted with him
but not exactly friends.
The whole ride there we took the same two-lane highway type road through the woods
and this kid's house was actually on this road further down.
At certain points on this road there were a few houses on either side
and then it would just go back to being a long empty highway again.
The house was tiny, like a lot of houses around the area,
but the party was hold outside anyways
since his closest neighbors were relatively far away
and noise wasn't an issue.
I'll skip most of the party up until the point that Rihanna,
who is supposed to be our designated driver,
had to suddenly leave for a small family emergency.
Alex said it was fine, and that we'd find a ride home.
Well, fast forward another few hours and another few drinks,
and I could barely even walk straight.
I checked my watch and it was like 2 in the morning.
I figured it was time to go.
I started looking for Alex, but I couldn't find him anywhere.
In fact, it seemed like everybody I knew had already left.
I could barely even think straight, but I was still furious
at the fact that Alex could have actually left without me.
I asked to use the party host's phone
and dialed Alex's home number
After two tries I gave up and then realize I shouldn't wake his family up.
So, literally not knowing what else to do,
I dizzily steped out on to the road and begin walking back home.
I knew this walk would take anywhere from half an hour to an hour in my condition.
Maybe after 15 minutes of walking down the road
the slight shine of car headlights on the road was fading in from behind me.
Jumping for joy inside
I lifted up my arm and stucked out my thumb.
As the car neared, it slowed down and came to a stop right next to me.
The man driving the 98 Ford Explore rolled down the window
and asked: "Where you headed?"
I told him my house was just down the road
and beyond a right turn,
probably slurring my word beyond comprehension.
He chuckled and told me to hop in.
I thanked him and joyously hoped into the truck.
I was exhausted
and I remember completely disregarding things the guy was asking me
because I was so close to just passing out.
And that's what happened.
The memories of being in that truck turned to a fog
as I am sure I passed out.
The next thing I remember
I woke up still in the moving truck.
The guy looked at me ang laughed,
but didn't say anything.
I looked around and realized
the road we were on wasn't familiar.
I nervously asked:
"Uh... where are we going?"
He then said:
"So what were you doing out this late anyway?"
As the man answered my very straightforward question
with another irrelevant question,
the sobering reality of the situation hit me.
"Uh... you ca- you can let me out anywhere"
I told the man.
The man responded with a firm "no"
I felt like throwing up as he said that
No, like, I really actually felt like I was going to throw up.
I started to gag as I felt more and more nauseous by the second.
The man took his eyes of the road to look at me
and that's when I thought of the perfect distraction
I turned in his direction as I continued to gag
and he started to kind of lean away and slow down the car.
Thankfully I drink as much as I did
because I finally threw up, and made a point of doing it all over the man's lap.
The man yelled in frustration and stoped the car
and that's when I took it upon my self to run for my life into the woods
and duck behind a few bushes.
The man came following into the woods with a flashlight
and on two separate occasions he shine the light straight over me without noticing
Eventually, I heard his footsteps walk even further into the woods past me
That was when I ran back to his truck,
but unfortunately, he was smart enough to lock it.
By some miracle, I saw another car approaching in the distance
and I ran out into the middle of the street, waving my arms like a lunatic.
The car tried to avoid me,
but I wouldn't let it.
They were forced to stop
and I yelled at the to help me before they came back.
Once I told them I was kidnapped by the man who was driving that Ford Explore
the driver agreed to give me a lift,
not to the police station or anything, but to my house.
I made it back safely where I couldn't thank the driver enough
I immediately woke up my parents and told them.
My dad wanted to know if I got his tag number.
And then I felt like punching myself in the face.
I failed to get the simplest information from the guy
that would have allowed me to actually properly report him.
All I knew was that he drove a faded blue, 99 Ford Explorer
I made sure to give Alex a piece of my mind,
and part of me always held a grudge against him ever since,
just for abandoning me at a party without telling me.
I haven't seen him in four years now, however,
and this was actually the first time I even thought about this incident for almost a year now.
As time goes on,
even the worst of memories may start to fade.
But after writing this to share with the internet
it's once again fresh in my mind.