Captured In Cancun

Escape

Nira had gone through several stages of emotion since she'd been abducted. Fear was the first of course. The shock of her room door exploding from its' hinges and being dragged kicking and screaming from the hotel. She couldn't understand how no one had noticed. Nira was thrown into the back of a waiting van. Nira had nothing with her other than the shirt and underwear she'd worn to bed.

She'd come to Mexico with friends after graduation, an all-expenses-paid by their parents. Now Nira was alone. Anger was next along with a desire to make as much noise as possible, which wasn't much. The van had clearly been prepared for the purpose of kidnapping. The walls were padded as well as the floor. Any turn the van made, Nira had to brace herself as much as possible or allow herself to be thrown around.

Nira wasn't sure how many days ago that had been. She could only remember the first two days after being taken. The first, a fearful lonesome night on the floor of a cell. The second an introduction to the dorm of other captured girls. After that, Nira had been drugged and lost all concept of time. Her captors were clearly experienced in their trade. Nira had done things in the short amount of time she'd been a prisoner she'd never thought would be possible. Things she'd been grateful to have the drugs to numb herself to.

The concept of being rescued had disappeared quickly for Nira. She's stopped worrying about the types of things she'd be made to do, finding that not knowing and accepting the high was better than the anxiety. Nira wasn't going to stay a victim. She wasn't built that way. Not worrying didn't mean broken, it just meant Nira accepted that she couldn't change her situation right now. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but she knew she'd find a way to get free.
Today, she'd been placed in the free use room. When collected by her handler, Nira was offered cocaine or a syringe. She couldn't speak Spanish and pointed at the syringe. What Nira assumed was heroin, was better at helping with the task of not thinking about what was happening. She was given enough to be zombified and bound naked to a bent over a cushioned bench. Free use implied just that. A room where men paid to do whatever they wished sexually to a body. She'd be there all day.

Nira saw one of the friends she'd come to Cancun with, Claudia, once. Their conversation was brief and earned Nira a vicious smack. She hadn't seen her friend again. Nira always thought of what had happened to them once her day was over and she was taken back to the dorms. She didn't know why. Nira was allowed to shower since her room had seen a lot of use today. The bathroom didn't have walls so the ever-present guard could watch her every move. There was a large chunk of industrial soap on the floor and a hose hanging from a pipe in the ceiling was called the shower.

Back in the dorms, Nira sat on the cot that had been assigned to her. Anywhere you had a group of people gathered for an extended period of time, there would be gossip. Nira listened just to keep some sanity. So far, the only thing interesting Nira had heard was that sometimes kidnappers like these get their operations raided. Considering there was a young woman who'd been here over a year didn't offer much hope. If Nira wanted to escape, she had to do it herself.
Opportunity had a weird way of showing itself. Her handler came to collect Nira in the middle of the night, covering her mouth to keep her from screaming. Nira felt herself pulled from the cot but instinct was telling her not to resist. Nira and her handler moved through the building quickly, making as little noise as possible. She hadn't been in whatever section they passed through, at least as far as Nira could remember. The man directed her roughly pulling Nira by the arm as they walked.

The air was surprisingly cold and as they walked out, Nira shivered. All she had on was a tattered t-shirt and a pair of shorts that were just as ragged. Ahead of them, she could see the headlights of a dark sedan. Nira couldn't imagine what was happening, but that had been the case since she'd been taken. Nira figured if she hadn't died yet she was making the best of things. The car door was opened as they approached and the man pushed Nira ahead of him.

"Get in." He told her, "Now!".

Nira did as she was told noticing that the leather of the sedan was the nicest thing she'd seen or felt in weeks. Her handler hadn't gotten in, and Nira noticed that the sedan was over-sized with enough room to fit at least six people. It was laid out more like a limo, with a bench Nira was sitting in and two chairs facing her. Voices were muffled outside but Nira couldn't make out any words.

A few minutes passed, and someone Nira didn't recognize got into the car. He sat in one of the chairs in front of Nira but didn't wear a mask. He stared at her as the car began to move. The man wasn't ugly and had an exotic face. Clearly not American but his there wasn't much of an accent when he finally spoke.

"I understand your name is Nira."

She understood it to be more of a question. His voice made Nira's skin crawl. Nira nodded as a reply.  "You can speak. You're not in the care of those men anymore. If I ask you something, answer." It was said with the certainty of someone who was used to having his directions followed.

"Yes, my name is Nira." She said when the man had finished.

He reached into a cabinet tucked into the door, pulled out two crystal glasses, and a bottle of what was clearly an expensive liquor. He poured some into the glasses as he spoke again, "You made an impression on some of my guests." He smiled and it revolted Nira. She hoped the feeling wasn't obviously shown in her expression.

"For this reason, you've 'graduated', so to speak. The clientele will be a little less rough than you've grown accustomed to but I don't that will be a problem for you."

The man finished and Nira was disgusted, but still took the crystal glass when he offered it to her. She wondered if this is what happened to Claudia.

"You can call me Stefan," he continued, "You'll also find yourself with a few more freedoms and some level of self-reliance if you behave yourself. If not, well, it's so unpleasant to think about let's just make sure you stay well behaved." Stefan let his words hang in the air a few moments before he raised his glass to Nira, "Salute".

Nira raised the glass in her hand and returned the phrase almost like a reflex. The burn of the alcohol was rough but it was warming her up. Feeling a little bold, Nira asked, "May I have some more please?". She kept her tone timid. It was easy to sound scared because she was. "I'm just cold," Nira added.

"Of course you are," Stefan said as if just noticing what Nira had on. It was like she wasn't even a person. He obviously didn't think one way or another about her, which made Stefan creepier to Nira. He found a jacket in another compartment and handed it to Nira. "Help yourself." He said pointing to the bottle.

As Nira grabbed the bottle and poured another drink for herself, the car came to a stop at a traffic light. A few things occurred to Nira as she looked through the semi-tinted windows. There was a sidewalk directly in front of her. There was a sign on the sidewalk right at eye level. It was in Spanish, but Nira could make out the words U.S. Embassy and a big white arrow pointing down the cross street. She felt warmer in the coat and the second drink was helping a ton. As Nira thought about pouring the third drink she noticed something else. The door was unlocked.
Nira didn't bother pouring, instead, she tilted her head back with the bottle and took a healthy chug. Stefan didn't know what hit him. Nira had thrown the bottle across the car directly into his face.

Nira was several blocks down the road before Stefan was coherent enough to chase her.