Abducted - Escape From Kraile

Chapter 1

Bang!

I sat up in bed, disoriented. At first I thought it was just the wind and rain from the storm, but then I heard Comet. He was standing at the window on his hind legs, a low rumbling growl coming from deep in his throat. He rarely barked, so I knew something was up.

"What is it, boy?"

I started to reach for the lamp, then stopped.

If he was growling at prowlers, I wouldn't want them to know anyone was awake. So I left the light off, rubbed the sleep from my eyes, and slipped quietly out of bed. Then I tiptoed across the room and put a hand on Comet's back to calm him. Slowly, I stroked his wiry fur. He stopped growling, but continued to stare, his body rigid and alert.

"It's okay," I whispered.

But as my gaze followed his, my pulse quickened. In the country, it would normally be pitch-black on a moonless, stormy night. But it wasn't — at least not around the barn. A strange red light seeped through the cracks of the wooden walls, casting eerie shadows in all directions.

Was it a fire? That would certainly explain the reddish glow and Comet's behavior. I shook my head. No, that couldn't be it. There were no visible flames or smoke. And besides, the light wasn't quite right. It looked more like a flashlight beam than the flickering flames of a fire.

Bang!

The loud noise made me jump, and then a movement caught my eye. It was the barn doors, flapping back and forth in the gusting wind. At least I knew what had woken me. But that didn't explain everything. I mean, Grandpa not latching the doors was entirely possible, but the red glow... that worried me.

I grabbed my raincoat and headed downstairs, switching the light on as I entered the kitchen. I would go check it out, but if someone was in the barn, maybe seeing the house lit up would make them think there were reinforcements inside. Not that it really mattered. I wasn't planning on being seen. I was just going to sneak out, make sure the cows hadn't wandered off, and figure out where the light was coming from. Easy peasy.

In hindsight, maybe I should've been more cautious. But we didn't get much crime in the country, so I wasn't overly worried. What passed for high crime in my neck of the woods usually consisted of cow-tipping and tractor racing. Farm kids would do just about anything for amusement. And at the moment, I suspected a couple of them might be in the barn. Then again, Grandpa had caught a hobo out there once. The guy turned out to be harmless, just looking for a warm place to sleep, but you could never be too careful.

We kept an emergency flashlight on a shelf by the door, so I checked to make sure the battery was good. Then I stood there, pondering whether or not to wake Grandpa. But ultimately, I decided against it. No use getting him all riled up and agitated over nothing. Besides, the last thing I needed was for him to get out in the damp weather and catch his death of pneumonia. Old people were magnets for that stuff.

I pulled on my rubber boots and pushed away the negative thoughts clawing at my mind. Jumping to conclusions would only make matters worse. The storm had simply blown the doors loose... that's all. As far as the strange glow, I knew there had to be a perfectly good explanation for it. Nothing to be alarmed about.

A soft whine at my feet interrupted my thoughts. It was Comet. He wanted to go with me, and I briefly mulled it over. But if the cows had gotten out, which was entirely possible, I didn't want to be chasing them down and dealing with him. Plus, even if I didn't end up having to round up cows in my pajamas, it was still messy out. And taking Comet would mean I'd have to clean him up before he could come back inside.