Once Bitten

Family Reunion

I’m tied up and thrown into the corner next to Jack. I feel my heart beating louder than ever- am I that nervous? Yes, I am. I glance to Jack and see he’s been punched, a swollen bruise on his cheek. It seems the masked men in front of us have gotten a good swing at everyone, except for Amy and Lee. James, Luther, and Willis look the worst. Hannah and Mary have obviously been crying.

           

The men in front of us are armed well- each are holding a gun, and with knives in their belt loops. They’re each masked oddly- one wears a mask that looks like a bronze fox, one wears a gold wolf, and the last wears an bronze antelope, complete with horns. They talk fast, I can’t even make out one word. Finally, the one with the fox mask grabs my arm, and pulls me up. I grunt, and glare at him.

“Nice mask, foxy. Did your dear mother make it for you?” I can’t help but hiss. He punches me in my stomach, and I groan.

“What’re we gonna do with them?” Antelope face asks.

“We have their supplies. Who knows how they got the train to stop and go at will. But we can bring them back to camp and have the boss look at them. One of them must be a technical genius, since those trains were never meant to stop.” Wolf mumbles. Fox nods, and grabs Jack’s arm, hoisting him up next to me. The other two grab Willis, Luther, James, and Mary. They load us in the back of a truck, in a small, tight trailer that was once used to carry horses and cattle. Hannah, Amy, and Lee are soon loaded after us, and off they drive.

“What are we going to do?” Mary sobs, head in her hands. Luther paces the tight space, Willis has his arms around Hannah, Amy and Lee are huddled in a corner, and James is cursing about cigarettes. I glance at Jack, who I find staring out the small strip of a window. I go to him, and widen my eyes. It’s huge.

A giant fort, with trees and vines and bridges, is coming closer. We pass people with similar animal masks, the men strong built, and the woman tough looking. The colossal trees tower over the walls, and are carved in to lead into rooms, with light shining out. Everyone looks well-fed, and with pretty impressive weapons. I land my eyes on a pretty machete laying with other weapons across a table, and find myself missing my own. We pull into a dark room, and are pulled out. A strong man pins me against a wall, and glares at me up and down. Candles are slowly being lit, revealing us to be in a large room, with a fur carpet, and huge wooden doors. A fur rug separates another room from us, but it must be unoccupied since it’s still dark.

I hear a sudden cry, and turn to find Amy being torn from her teddy bear. A man is pulling her away, growling cruelly as Amy cries, which leads Lee to crying. Jack thrashes around, but the person holding him down is too strong. Same with Luther.

I finally kick the man in front of me, and run to Amy. I punch the man grabbing her in the face, and take back the bear. Amy grabs my leg, shaking and crying. I can’t protect her for long though. I’m ripped from her, and thrown to the ground. Someone lifts a blade over me, and I grit my teeth. Heh. At least I’ll die noble.

“Enough.” A deep voice growls suddenly. I glare up and see another man, this one more muscular than any other, and with wild brown hair. His face is covered with a silver lion, teeth bared. He unmasks himself, and looks at his men. “Have we reduced ourselves to beating a helpless young girl? If we are going to fight, let us give our enemy a chance. Stand, girl. Come to me.”

I’m picked up yet again, and am allowed on my feet. I stand my ground, and the man comes to me. The room is so silent you could hear the people outside clinking weapons. The man easily towers over me- perhaps over six and a half feet tall. He looks down at me, I can feel his eyes staring into the top of my head. I finally look up, and we both gasp. I stagger back, and he does the same. Because we both have the same reason to be in shock. A sort of… chilling, but exciting feeling runs down my back. I know those eyes… Those are my eyes. And that’s my hair. We both open our mouths and speak at the same time.

“…Dad?”

“Ash?”