Tony woke up. He'd heard something – a footstep in the hall outside. Had he been dreaming? No, he heard it again: a scuffle – someone trying to walk quietly – right outside his bedroom. He heard the latch turn and then the squeak of his door opening. "Mom? That you?" he asked.
Then there was a sudden stomping and a rush of movement. Tony felt himself grabbed and a pillowcase was thrown over his head.
Tony was a nerd, but he wasn't a wimp. His father had made him take youth Tae Kwon Do as a kid. So when he kicked out his legs in alarm, it wasn't in panic. It was heel-first, and hard.
He heard a grunt as his kick slammed into someone's stomach. And then he felt the pain of reprisal – fists pummeling his solar plexus.
Tony gasped in pain but he didn't give up. He swung both his arms, crooked, elbow-first.
One of his elbows whiffed completely, but the other one crunched into something that yielded. He felt a gush of warm liquid: blood.
Then his hands were grabbed and restrained. The breath had already been knocked out of him. Tony was gasping for air but he hadn't given up. He was still struggling and twisting. His sheets tangled around his legs as his arms were forced behind his back. He felt the painful bite of metal and heard the ratchet of handcuffs. Then his arms were lifted and he felt a searing pain in his shoulders. He had to struggle to his feet to relieve the pressure.
His abductors pushed him, stumbling, down the stairs. He felt the wet grass of his lawn under his feet. "Mom?" he called out, "Mom?"
Another series of fists slammed into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him once more. He was pushed onto a hard metal surface. Then the pillowcase was yanked off his head.
He was in the back of a van. The walls of the van were covered in foam. A white man in a short-sleeved button down and a clip-on tie was staring at Tony. The man's nose and shirt were covered with blood. Tony noticed with satisfaction that he'd broken the man's nose. "Scream all you want," the man said. "no one's gonna hear you." The man stepped outside and slammed the van doors shut.
Tony kicked the floor of the van and screamed. "Help! Help!" but he knew the man was right – the soundproof foam meant no one would hear him.