At the stroke of midnight, a bone curling howl erupted and pierced through the dense darkness. At the same time, a long black van slowly pulled up at the Jones' residence. A couple of men in dark tuxedos burst out from the back and ran up to the porch.
"Open up!" They demanded as they banged aggressively on the door.
Inside cuddled up on the floor, was a middle-aged woman crouched on a carpet with her two young children. Their bodies convulsed as sweat dripped down their cheeks. Their pupils stared in trepidation at the closed living room door. They whimpered and looked up at their mother with worrisome eyes.
"Shh my babies, just keep quiet and they'll soon be gone," The woman assured them.
One was a young girl, around the age of five, with curly locks that were golden as the sun's rays and eyes that reflected the deep blue of the sea. The other was a boy who was seven with chocolate brown hair that matched his eyes.
"Open up! We know you're in there!" They shouted again.
The children continued shaking as they clung onto their mother tight for safety. The woman's heart began to race against her chest. Her cheeks flushed as her breathing quickened to the sound of their aggressive voices and their intrusive thumping footsteps.
She knew why they were here; To collect her late husband's debt that he failed to pay before he passed away. She promised to pay the remaining sum but only needed a couple more weeks.
Unfortunately, their time has run out.
Suddenly, the sound of the door as it hit the floor resounded through the living room like seismic waves. They had forced it open and rushed through the house.
The family was still cradled as the children held onto their mother even tighter. Their eyes stung due to the upbuilding tears and the disgusting taste of nausea deeper into their mouths.
"Mom... are we going to die?" The little boy asked.
The woman looked sorrowfully down at her little kids. A lump sat painfully in her throat, making it tighter as she failed to come up with an answer. She wanted to tell them everything will be alright but right now, that hope seemed very unlikely.
The slamming of the living room door interrupted her thoughts and they were suddenly surrounded with guns pointed at them.
The girl let out an ear-piercing scream as she quickly crawled behind her mom.
"Do you have the money?" One of them asked, coming forward.
"Not yet... but please I just need more time!"
"We've given you plenty of time."
"Just one more week and I'll have the money but please! Don't harm the kids..." She pleaded in desperation. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she grew more afraid of them.
"It's too late Ma'am, you belong to us now."
The men surrounded them. The girl and boy tried to hide behind their mother but they were ripped apart like
"No! Stop!" The woman screamed.
She tried to fight them off but they dragged them across the dusty floor and all the way outside. They got thrown at the back of the truck like a sack of potatoes.
However, they missed someone out.
Up the stairs, hidden within their bedroom walls, was a girl in her early twenties. Her tightly curled cinnamon hair covered her fair-skinned face as she was under her bed covers, having being woken up by all the noise.
Her breathing was shallow and her cheeks and hands were burning up due to nervousness. She was also aware of her father's debt and the toll it had on her family. They have been given several warnings and her mother tried her hardest to pay it back but the Mafia had no patience.
And now came the painful price.
She felt her heart stop as she heard someone say: "Search everywhere, make sure nobody is still in the house."
She felt their footsteps running around the perimeter of every room.
If she was going to try and escape, she had to act fast.
Mariana quickly got out and pulled out a big backpack from under her bed. She ran to her white painted cupboards and got out a couple of supplies.
She could feel and hear the rapid beating of her heart as the footsteps got more clearer. She had a bitter taste in her mouth as saliva began accumulating and a sudden urge to vomit was present.
However, Mariana tried to maintain herself as she zipped her maroon puffer coat on and slid open her window.
She took one last look at her bedroom. All memories shared here were going to be forgotten in a couple of years.
She was truly going to miss this place. The family movie nights, all the jokes they shared at the dinner table, and every country they'd go to during the summer as a vacation.
Even though it was only six months ago, the heartache was still there. Watching her father go down into the grave was too much to bear, too much for her young heart to comprehend.
"Let's search this one!"
Mariana was pulled out of her reverie as she heard footsteps rapidly approaching her bedroom. She took one last look and muttered "goodbye" before jumping out.
She hit the ground with a thump but didn't injure herself too much. After she got up, then made a run for safety.
She was running as fast as her legs could take her. The night was pitch black with the bright moon rising far above. Tears were streaming out as the wind fought against her.
She really needed to get away.
When she thought she was safe, she suddenly bumped into someone, causing her to fall backward.
The mysterious person turned around and it was one of them...
The man looked down at her and he recognized her face from her family pictures.
"I found the girl," He spoke into a walkie talkie with a smirk.
Mariana grew cold and she found herself unable to move.
"You're coming with me," He bent down to grab her but she bit down on his hand.
"Ow! Oh, your gonna pay for that!" He screeched and sent a burning slap across her face.
Mariana winced in pain as she held her tingling cheeks. Her eyes began to water again as she looked up at the man. He let out a grunt and grabbed her legs. He started to drag her across the road back to the van.
Mariana was thrown inside like a piece of trash next to her family.
"Oh Mariana..." the mother said and pulled her daughter into a hug.
Her siblings also hugged her as they began sharing tears in unison.
"What's going to happen to us mom?" The boy asked.
"I don't know..." Was the mother's reply.
"Don't worry mom," Mariana said, squeezing her hand. "We'll get through it."
"Thanks, honey," the mother said with a weak smile.
The van drove into the dark abyss of an desolated road. The wind howled lowly, picking the leaves off the trees and carrying them away. They were free unlike Mariana who was trapped inside with her heart trembling.
The van finally arrived at their destination. The Jones family braced themselves as they could see the van entering a warehouse.
The mother cuddled all her children close, as long as they stick together they will be fine which is what she thought.
When the doors finally opened, they were pulled out and thrown onto the ground. Guns were pointed at them as they faced the Don himself.
Xavier Giovanni.
He smiled viciously at them as he stepped down from his throne.
"Sweet Daisy, how are you?" He said, caressing the mother's cheek.
She scowled and spat on his hand. Xavier growled and slapped her face.
"How dare you disrespect me!" He bellowed out.
One of the men came out and wiped his hand clean for him.
"I would never respect you, Xavier! Not after all you have done terrorizing this family!"
"Now now, that's no way to speak to your big brother is it darling?"
"I disowned you as a brother years ago!"
Xavier just let out a chuckle as he circled his sister's family.
"Long times since I've seen my nieces and nephews," He said before stopping before Mariana.
"This must be Mariana, she's a beauty."
"Don't you dare touch her!" Daisy screamed.
"She may be of good use to me," Xavier said in complete ignorance to his sister.
Mariana showed no signs of fear on her face, but she could certainly feel it inside.
"Take her away," Xavier said, pointing to Mariana.
"No!" Daisy protested.
The men grabbed hold of Mariana and began dragging her away.
"Xavier you're sick! You're truly sick!" Daisy spat in her brother's face and tried to grab him but she was held back by the other men.
"Take them somewhere until I know what to do with them."
The men took Daisy and her two kids to another room while Mariana was being dragged into another...
Neither of them knew that was the last time they were ever going to see each other.
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