Chapter One: Taken
The room was dimly lit; only one tiny lamp illuminated the scene, sitting lonely in the corner of the dark walls.
But the dismal lighting had little effect on the mood of its occupants; it was abuzz with a cheerful, carefree
conversation.
“And so, I said, ‘No flipping way!’, and he just walked away!” Katie was saying, gesturing dramatically with her
hands. Rachel leaned over her large pillow and gave Katie the rare high-five. The rest just clapped.
“Way to sock it to the jerk, Kate!” Courtney smiled, “That means you’re fully single now, eh?”
“Yepperoonies,” she sighed. It has been a while since Ryan moved away; since then, she had dated a boy who turned
out to be a total psycho-nut. She had just dumped him this morning in front of the entire math class, leaving a strong
impression on the students.
“At least yours just walked away!” Courtney said, “Chris wouldn’t let up! At least he’s over at Oak Glen…:
“Come on, guys,” Kacie sighed, glancing up from the Phoenix Wright fanbook that Katie let her borrow. “If you’re
gonna talk boys, make them pixilated, like Kristoph!”
She glances sideways at the picture ironed onto her tote bag, courtesy of a good printer and some iron-on paper
she found at the Dollar Tree.
“Well, does anybody feel up to some RP-ing?” Katie grinned mischievously, crossing her legs and undoing her hair from
its high ponytail.
“Sure!” Rachel said, returning the smirk.
“No, BAD Katie!” Courtney said, “No Mimi Marquez impressions, m’kay?”
“Deal,” Katie groaned, finally untangling the rubber band from her hair.
Suddenly, an eerie silence fell about the room. Katie looked to Kacie, who looked to Rachel, who looked to Courtney,
who looked back to Katie. All four were thinking the same thing: “We’re being watched.”
….
CRASH!
Like a crash of thunder, the window of the bedroom burst open with an echoing blast, sending debris flying throughout
the room. The girls had no time to rise to their feet: Dark figures were emerging from the dust.
“KATIE!” Kacie screamed as a blonde man grabbed her arms and forced her to the window, shoving her out of sight. Katie
took a step toward the vanishing girl, but a hand enclosed her forearm. Freezing on the spot, she saw the glint of what
seemed to be a metal scythe at her neck, shining in the now visible moonlight.
“Hmm. I think I like this one,” a voice growled in her ear, and almost smoothly, he swept her out the opening.
Meanwhile, Courtney was trying to reach the door on the other side of the room. Before she could undo the lock,
however, a man far taller than her with black hair grabbed her around the waist and began dragging her toward the still
open window. She tried to scream to get somebody’s attention, but the man merely covered her lips with his gloved hand
just as she opened her mouth.
“Shh,” he purred in her ear, and swiftly carried her from the room.
Rachel, however, had the fastest reaction to the invasion; pulling herself up, she dashed at top speed into Katie’s
closet and swung the door shut behind her. Slinking down to the floor, she covered herself up with a couple coats that
had fallen off the hangars.
“Well, boss,” she heard a muffled voice say, “I think we got them all,”
“Good,” another voice answered, “We’ll return imme-,”
“Wait,” a dark voice suddenly boomed out; Rachel shivered at his tone.
All fell silent outside. The man continued.
“I believe…I sense another.”
She heard footsteps approaching her hiding place. Frantically, she searched around for something bigger to cover her,
as her hair was slightly visible through the coats. But it was in vain; she settled for her cover and ducked her head
deep down just as the closet door creaked open.
A pause.
With a fluid jerk, the man with the deep voice ripped off the leather jacket and revealed the girl beneath it.
Rachel saw that he was no ordinary man, but a sort of creature; he almost resembled an overgrown Venus fly-trap. She
would have laughed, but was interrupted by-
“OW!” she shrieked, “OW! OW! OW!” The man had seized a hold of her hair and began dragging her across the carpet. With
her still screaming, he swung himself out the window.
“Well, I guess that’s it,” said a man with orange hair. With that, the other cloaked people swept from the room the way
they came, leaving a heap of a mess behind them.
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