A gentle breeze blew specks of snow around in the air, carefully decorating the landscape. The frigid cold provided a stark contrast to the many warmly lit homes in the city neighborhoods. Inside, families were making final preparations for the Christmas season. With only two weeks until the beloved holiday, most had already purchased gifts, decorated trees, and put out lawn ornaments. School was out, and the children were enjoying snowball fights, making snowmen, and drinking hot chocolate by a fire.
Sixteen year-old Mark Wright only wished he could be as happy during this time of the season. He was an only child, which certainly had benefits - not the least of them being the attention from his mother and father. Both he and his parents loved each other dearly, even if they didn’t always agree on matters. His parents had always tried to make the holidays special for him. Both would take extra time off work, and often the three would travel to see family in other states.
This year would not be like that. Not even close.
“You doing alright, Mark?” his mother asked.
“Of course,” he replied with a weak smile, “it’s just that I thought we were going to see Grandma and Grandpa Wright this Christmas. We haven’t seen them in two years!”
Mark’s mother hugged him, “I know, and we both wanted to see them too, but we really need to attend this conference. The whole company is restructuring, and they need the leadership there to represent them. I don’t like that it’s going on during Christmas, but you know that means it’s going to be important.”
Just then, Mark’s father came down the stairs with two sets of luggage. “Look at it this way: you get the whole house to yourself!” he quipped.
“It doesn’t mean much when you’re stuck alone.” Mark thought beneath a fake smile.
Both parents packed everything they needed into their car, gave goodbye hugs, and left. Mark watched the two drive off as the closing garage door slowly cut off his view of the outside world.
Mark walked to his room and sat on the couch. It was a whole three weeks off, and his parents were going to miss the first two of it with him!
Not to mention Christmas was only a little over a week away…
He didn’t want to make any long drives to see family, especially with the dangerous weather ahead. His friends were off on trips, most visiting their own extended family, while some flew to the south to escape the cold.
The snow began to slow as the sun set over the horizon. Mark sighed, listening to the near silence in the house. Two weeks of this…it would be difficult.
He shook his head. He needed to get out and do something, to clear his head. Thankfully, though it was certainly cold outside, it was not so much that Mark couldn’t partake in a favorite hobby of his: running.
He knew what to expect: His mind running free as the music kept him going, the wind blowing on his face, the constant rhythm of his feet against the track, the thrill of the speed - all would work in tandem to create a sensation unlike any other. Certainly it would be the boost he needed to make the best of an unfortunate turn of events.
Mark left his home and walked a small distance to the local community park. It was encircled by an asphalt running track, and in the center was a large roofed building with floodlights on the sides. One half of the park was made up of a large, grassy field, while the other half consisted of a play area with slides, monkey bars, swings, and other various playground equipment.
He switched his watch to the stopwatch setting and got ready at the starting line. His mind shifted to his current goal. He’d been going easy the last few days to save up his energy for the last run of the week. He would do this monthly, choosing one week that he’d ease up on Monday through Friday, then finally give it his all on Saturday. Sundays were a rest day, and often well-earned.
Despite the earlier drizzle of snow, it was clear that snowplows had come through recently, leaving a clean black path with a soft, white border. The environment around Mark was just right. He felt good about this time; he was finally going to set a new personal record. He closed his eyes for a moment and steadied his breath. He pulled out his phone and selected his running playlist. The music began and he was off!
With the music thumping in his ears, Mark gave it everything he had. The cold air nipped at his skin. His legs protested the workout. Neither of these mattered. The goal was in sight; that mattered. Soon, he’d passed the first lap, then the second, then the third! With the fourth and final lap near an end, he gave one last push, one final effort, and used all his strength to run as fast as he could.
The end was soon in sight. Time seemed to slow as Mark looked down at the watch. He knew he needed to go as fast as possible these last few seconds. Pushing past normal exertion, he gave everything he had. His vigorous run finally came to a stop as he crossed the finish line, a small chime sounding as he stopped the stopwatch.
Mark grabbed his knees for support. Between the cold air and intense exercise, it was painful to breathe, but it was all worth it. Mark checked his stopwatch and was relieved to see that there was, indeed, a new record for his shortest time: 16 minutes and 31 seconds across 3 miles! With his breathing and heart rate slowly returning to a normal pace, he got ready to leave for home.
The walk took him along a few normally busy intersections. What was ordinarily a bustling area was almost vacant. A few were still driving around, presumably picking up gifts or just passing through, but most were at home with their families. That was the pattern, especially during night time of that season.
Ordinarily, Mark would have found the quiet to be relaxing. This time, however, it only served to further remind him of his current situation. He remembered his parents, and how good they were to him. He remembered the times he'd spent with friends and family alike prior to now.
They were warm memories, providing a contrast to the cool, silent air.
His attention was suddenly caught by the sound of something being forcefully thrown into the bed of a truck, alongside a quiet cry of pain. He froze, the daze he’d been walking in broken. The sound came from directly in front of him. Thinking quickly, Mark crouched behind a building on his left, peeking an eye out from the alleyway to see what was going on.
There were three men surrounding a white truck. The bed was open, and one of the men appeared to be aiming a gun inside. He whispered something then returned his attention to his presumed partners in crime. All three walked off to the left, obscured by the building Mark hid behind. There was a sound of a door slamming shut, and then...silence.
Silence, except for the faint sound of muffled cries of fear.
Mark was terrified. Was he witnessing a kidnapping? What should he do? His mind swam. He could try calling the police, but there’s no way they’d arrive in time. Plus, what if the men came out and heard him? He was tempted to take a picture of the license plate. That way, the police could track them down, but what if they ditched the car? What if it was stolen? His options seemed minimal.
Regardless of the risk, however, he wasn’t going to just wait there and watch. Pushing aside his more fearful (and rational) side, he decided to try getting the person out of the bed of the truck. It was parked between street lamps in an area covered in darkness, which would hopefully hide him at least a little.
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Mark crept closer to the truck. The sounds of muffled cries rang out again, reminding him of his goal. His mind countered by reminding him that he didn’t even know how much time he had before the men returned; clearly the better option was to run. He shook off the fear as he got directly behind the truck. He slowly stood up and glanced inside the bed.
He couldn’t believe what he saw.