By: Hailee Dine
It was a perfect, warm, summer night and I was walking with my friend, Abbie, to an ice cream truck.
“Kristen, look! They have cones for ninety-nine cents!” I clench my money in my fist. “I don’t know Abbie...That sounds sketchy. And just look at the place! It looks abandoned.”
“Please? I have a sweet tooth and I can’t walk any further! I’ll make it quick!”
“Fine. But I'm not ordering.” I hand Abbie some money for a cone.
“Thanks girl! You're the best!”
Me and Abbie walked up to the creepy ice cream van and knocked on the metal window that was closed. I heard slight clunking and breathing from inside the van, and just hearing that sent shivers down my spine.
“Abbie, did you hear that?”
“No…? What was it?”
“I-I don’t know…”
Suddenly, the metal window opened. I jump at the screeching of the metal while the man opens it.
“What would you like?” The man said to me and Abbie. He was wearing a ripped apron, with red stains on it, and his hair looked like it wasn’t brushed in three years.
“U-uh…we’ll just take a vanilla cone please,” I say with caution.
“Okay. Coming right up,” he smirked.
I felt really uncomfortable. I knew it was a bad idea to go to this broken down, old, ice cream van.
A couple minutes later, he finally came out with our ice cream cone. It was half-melted and almost looked like it was expired.
“Let me try it first, just to make sure.”
“Okay, Here you go!”
“Thanks.” Abbie hands me the ice cream cone, and I lick it a couple of times. But suddenly, I feel dizzy. It was like he put something in the ice cream. My feet feel heavy and I can't keep my balance. I try to keep my eyes open, but I faint. I slightly hear Abbie’s voice calling, “Kristen! Oh my god! Are you okay?” That was all I heard until I completely blacked out.
I wake up in some type of van, and I hear Abbie crying. I opened my eyes fully and Abbie’s hands were tied.
“Abbie…where are we?” My voice is shaky. I don’t know where we are and I haven’t heard Abbie cry since we watched Titanic when we were twelve.
“T-That man..he kidnapped us..” She sniffled.
“We need to get out of here. Abbie, what’s that thing next to you?”
“It’s a crowbar. I can't pick it up though, My hands are tied.”
I scoot over there and grab the crowbar. I clasp it to the back doors of the van, and yank the doors open. The van stops, and me and Abbie both know that he heard the metal clank together.
“Quick! Abbie Run!”
Abbie hops out of the van and starts running for her dear life. I haven’t seen her run that fast before. But me on the other hand, I have to find a way out by myself now. I hear his boots stomping on the asphalt of the road, and that's when I know I have to run.
I leaped out of the truck and ran as fast as I could. The old man tried to grab me, but I dodged his grasp. I try to run to Abbie, but she isn't going to look back anytime soon.
“FOOLS!! ALL OF YOU!” The man screamed when he was walking back to the driver's seat. He didn't try to turn around and get us again, he just drove into an alleyway and sat there.
“Abbie! Abbie!! He’s gone, wait for me!” My legs feel like jello from all that running. I could almost pass out a second time.
“Kristen!” Abbie looked back. “You're safe! Thank goodness!” She hugged me tightly and I hugged back.
“Yes, I'm okay.” I say while smiling.
“That was the scariest moment of my whole life. I will never eat ice cream again.”
“Haha. We all know that you will.” We laugh.
“Say, Kirsten, How far is your house? I was awake the whole time while I was in that van and we were driving for a long time.”
“I don’t know...this place is nowhere. I remember there was a hotel about 2 miles from here. Let’s just go there and stay the night.”
“Sounds good.”
I walk with Abby to the hotel and we book a room. The next morning, We call an uber to our hometown. When we get back to my house, I look out the window. What I saw shocked me.
The van was back.