I Escaped My Kidnapper!
我逃脫了綁匪的魔掌!
My town in Florida is straight out of the movies—smiling people taking strolls[漫步] and little kids riding bikes. So sweet! Every morning, I’d walk the mile on the sidewalk along a main road from my house to my high school. The walk scared me at first because I had to leave while it was still dark, before the sun was fully up, and I passed an empty parking lot[停車場]. But after a few week I relaxed and that creeped-out[奇怪的，不好的] feeling went away.
我生活在佛羅里達的一個小鎮，那里活脫脫就是一幅電影風情畫——面帶笑容的人們在鎮上閑逛，小孩子在騎單車。太溫馨了!每天早上從家到中學的途中，我都要經過大路上那條人行道。一開始走這段路時我有點怕，因為天還沒亮我就要出門，而且還要經過一個空停車場。但幾周后我開始放松下來，不適感也消失了。
Grabbed!
被抓住!
Then one day last spring, I was walking by the parking lot with my iPod on, when suddenly my headphones were knocked off my head and a man threw his arm around my neck! It happened fast. I heard a deep, scary voice say, “Just be quiet,” in my ear.
去年春天的某日，我一邊聽著iPod一邊走過停車場。突然，我的耳機被人從頭上摘掉，一個男人用胳膊勒住我的脖子!事情發生得很快。我聽見一個低沉而可怕的聲音在我耳邊說：“別出聲。”
I was being attacked, and this man’s arm was closing tightly on my neck! I wasn’t about to be quiet. I started yelling my head off and trying to pull his arm away from me, but he squeezed[擠壓，握緊] tighter! He was behind me, but when I was able to turn a little, I saw that he had his T-shirt pulled up over half his face. The struggle seemed like an eternity[永遠]—he was forcing me to walk toward the back of an auto repair shop and he just kept saying, “Be quiet.”
我被襲擊了，而且那個人的手臂正緊緊地勒住我的脖子!我沒打算不做聲。我開始聲嘶力竭地叫起來，并試著將他的手臂從身上拉開，可是他勒得更緊了!雖然他在我身后，但在我能夠稍微轉身時，我看見他是將T恤衫拉起遮住半張臉。我的掙扎仿佛一直沒有盡頭——他強迫我走向一間汽車修理店后面，并不停地說：“別出聲。”
Cars drove by and we passed two guys at a bus stop across the street, yet no one helped. My mind was frozen with fear. For a few second I couldn’t even see! But then I heard my great-grandmother’s voice in my head. She was talking in her gentle way, saying, “Come on now, I know you’re stronger than that!” She was the rock in our family until she passed away four years ago.
汽車從我們身邊駛過，過馬路時我們還從車站里的兩個人面前經過，但沒有人幫忙。我嚇得不知所措。有那么幾秒，我甚至什么都看不見了!然后我在腦中聽見曾祖母的聲音。她用那溫柔的聲音說道：“來吧，我知道你可以更堅強!”直到四年前曾祖母去世以前，她一直是我們家的堅石。
I snapped back[迅速跳回] to reality and adrenaline[腎上腺素] kicked in[開始生效]. I didn’t know what this man wanted to do—kidnap, rape, or rob[搶奪] me, or maybe all three—but I had to get out of the situation alive. I started coaching myself in my head, okay—you need to get calm and figure out what to do.
我猛地回到現實，腎上腺素開始起效。我不知道這個男人想干什么——綁架、強暴還是打劫，或者三樣都是——但我必須活著逃出去。我開始對自己說，好吧——你需要冷靜下來，想出對策。
Survival Instinct[本能]
求生本能
I’ve never had any self-defense[自衛] training, but I went for it—I pulled his arm off my neck with all my might[力量] and let out a loud scream as I kicked my leg back into his shin[脛骨]! He let go of me and I took off running. When I looked back to see if he was chasing me, he was running the opposite way. At the same time, he looked back at me too, and I saw him clearly—he was short with puffy[脹大的] cheeks and small eyes. Then I turned again and ran like crazy until I got to a nearby drugstore.
我從沒參加過自衛訓練，但決定放手一試——我用盡全身力氣把他的手臂從我脖子上拉開，然后一腳踢向他的脛骨，并發出一聲尖叫!他放開了我，我脫身跑開。我回頭想看看他有沒有追過來，他已經向另一個方向逃跑了。這時候，他也回頭看了看我，我清楚地看見他的模樣——他身材矮小，臉胖眼小。而后我再次轉頭，死命地跑，直到來到附近的一間藥房才停下來。
My hands were shaking and I couldn’t calm down. I asked the girl at the counter for the phone and I called my mom. I was so scared I could hardly talk. She kept me on the phone with her while she drove to the store to meet me. “You have to calm down,” she pleaded[懇求]. She arrived five minutes later and I was finally able to explain what happened through sobs[哭泣]. “I’m calling the police!” my mom exclaimed.
我的手在顫抖，冷靜不下來。我向柜臺的女孩借用電話打給媽媽。我害怕得幾乎說不出話。她一直保持和我通話，同時開車到藥房找我。“你一定要冷靜下來，”她勸我說。媽媽五分鐘后到達，我終于能夠哭著解釋發生的事情。“我要報警!”媽媽大聲說道。
When we got home, two officers were waiting for us. While one cop[警官] took down my story, the other went looking for the guy. I was heartbroken when he returned and said, “We don’t see him.”
我們回到家時，兩名警員在等我們。一名警察在錄口供的同時，另一名則出去找那個男人。他回來說：“我們沒看見他。”我真是傷心透了。
Inner Strength
內在的力量
I stayed home for a few days after the incident. School officials warned students that someone was assaulted[襲擊] and they gave everyone the guy’s description. At first no one knew that it was me who’d been attacked, but as people found out, they asked me tons of questions. I cried every time I had to relive the story, so my close friends formed a protective bubble around me to keep people away.
這件事發生后幾天，我一直呆在家里。學校職員警告學生說有人遇襲，并向所有人描述了他的樣子。剛開始沒有人知道是我遇襲，但人們發現后問了我一大堆問題。每當被迫再次去面對這件事，我都會忍不住哭。于是好友們在我身邊建成了“防護罩”，讓我遠離他們。
At first the attack made me afraid to do anything. I made friends come to my house. Things slowly got better, but I still don’t like anyone to get near my neck.
起初，這次遇襲令我害怕做任何事情。我讓朋友到家里來。情況慢慢好轉，但我仍然不喜歡任何人碰我的脖子。
The fear isn’t totally gone—after all, the guy is still out there somewhere—but I have a new appreciation for my own strength. I never expected to be able to fight off an attacker; I’m stronger than I realized. Now I know to always listen to my instincts[本能], and everyone else should too. If something seems unsafe or makes you nervou stay away. I’ve learned the hard way that you never know what’s going to happen, but you need to be prepared no matter what.
恐懼還沒有完全散去——畢竟那個人依然逍遙法外——但我對自己的力量有了新的認識。我從未想過可以擊退襲擊者;我比自己意識到的要堅強。現在我知道要聆聽自己的本能，每個人都應該這樣。如果什么東西看起來不安全或令你緊張，遠離它們。我吃過一番苦頭才明白了這個道理——你永遠不知道接下來會發生什么事情，但無論如何你都必須做好準備。
