It's a Long Way Down

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Kidnapped

2 months later

The tour had been over for about a month now. Everyone was happy back at the church. Ember and Sodo were enjoying their time with Dew, giving Rain and Sunshine much-needed breaks when they needed it. Aeris was back to getting guitar lessons from Aether. Even Swiss and Mountain were having an easier time with the kits.

Mountain was off training Lang how to harness her power while Swiss was taking Shadow out for a fun day outside of the church. He was walking around the town with Shadow showing him all the cool toy stores, telling him to get one toy from each place. Of course, to keep the kit modest, he placed a 10-dollar limit on the toy. He had the biggest smile on his face as he watched Shadow running around the store, trying to find the one toy he wanted out of it. Little did he know, he was being watched.

"That's the one?"

"That's him."

"How are we gonna get him? He looks strong?"

"Check out how he looks at the kid. Dude probably thinks that kid's his world. Threaten the kid."

"I thought ghouls were very territorial and dangerous."

"Shh, they're coming out."

Shadow ran out of the store, holding a small plushie as he said, "Look, he's so fluffy!"

"What are you gonna name him?" Swiss asked as he walked next to Shadow. Shadow thought for a moment before looking at the small cat plushie. He said, "I'm gonna name him after Aeris. Look at his eyes, he looks just like him."

"That's sweet, babyboy," Swiss said. They had finished their walk around town and were now walking through the woods to go back to the church. Shadow had 4 new plushies, all of them piled in his hands. No matter how many times Swiss offered to help carry them, he refused, saying he could carry them. Swiss suddenly stopped walking, hearing footsteps behind them. Shadow kept walking, not noticing Swiss had stopped. Swiss then called out, "Shadow, get back-"

He was cut off by Shadow being grabbed, making him drop all of his plushies. Swiss gave him a look to make sure he knew not to use his abilities. Swiss looked around, his eyes glowing a faint purple, ready to attack as they got surrounded. One of the men stepped forward and said, "Look, ghoul, we will make this easy for you. You come with us, we won't hurt the kid. You attack us, you make one move, you even look at us wrong, we will kill the kid. Understand?"

"What do you want?" Swiss asked him, the purple still glowing in his eyes. The guy sighed, "You don't seem to understand our rules. Damon?"

The man holding Shadow pulled out a blade, putting it to Shadow's throat, making Swiss call out, "Wait!"

His heart was racing. He didn't know if these guys were bluffing about hurting Shadow. He didn't want to risk it. He said, "You just want me to go with you?"

The purple faded from his eyes as his chest rose and fell in anxiety. The man in front nodded, "Yes. We want you to come with us. But we don't want to be hurt on the way either. I'll make it known we know where your church is. You hurt any of us, I'll send a group to go kill the kid."

"Why are you doing this? Who are you?" Swiss asked, his eyes flickering over the people who surrounded him. The man spoke, "We are from the church of Christ. We know about your little 'holy war'. From our understanding, you're the last one standing. Am I correct?"

Swiss continued to pant. He didn't want to put Mountain or anyone else in danger. He simply nodded saying, "Yeah, I'm the last one."

He threw a look at Shadow, making sure the kit wouldn't talk. His focus went back onto the man in front of him saying, "I'll go with you, just put him down. He's just a kid. He has nothing to do with any of this."