Taken By Them

Trial

"Corinna Gracen, you have been called to stand." I stand up and smooth out my dress, one of the dresses Donte bought as a choice to wear for my parents' funeral. I follow the guard through a few doorways until I am in the court room. I spot Adrian , sitting in a chair next to David, behind a little barrier thing. All eyes turn to me. Adrian watches the guard guide me toward the stand. I don't sit in the chair immediately and watch as a man approaches me.

"Do you solemnly swear that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, under pains and penalties of perjury?" His voice remains monotone the whole time.

"I do." I reply with false confidence and he nods, going back to where he was seated. I sit down and scoot the chair forward some so I am closer to the stand. I spotted him as soon as I walked in. How could I not? That bright orange makes him stick out horribly. I can feel his eyes on me. I glimpse a look at Holden. He is wearing a bright orange prison uniform and his hair looks like he hasn't brushed it in a while. He looks tired yet pissed as he stares straight at me. I stare back at him a little too long that I don't even hear what the Judge asked me.

"Miss Gracen?" I look away from Holden and to the Judge.

"Yes?" She gives me a look of pity as I murmur starts up in the jury. There is no audience for these trials because they didn't think that it was a smart idea.

"How have you been lately?" She asks again.

"I'm... fine, thank you." I reply quietly. She shows a small smile and nods. A lady in a pantsuit, sitting at the opposite of Holden's table, stands up and approaches me.

"Miss Gracen, Corinna, if I may? Were you home the night Holden Clarkson, and his fellow gang members, broke into your home?" She asks simply.

"Yes, I was." I reply and she nods.

"Where were you at the time?" She continues.

"Asleep, in my bedroom." I reply again and she nods again.

"So when did you become aware that there were intruders in your home?" She pauses and waits for my answer.

"Something woke me up and then there were footsteps on the stairs. I... uh... went to my door and opened it a bit to see into the hall. I saw two people, two men, um... with guns standing outside my parent's door..." I start losing my confidence as I realize she is going to make me recount the entire night, second by second.

"And who were those two men? Do you know?" I think a little bit.

"No, they were all wearing masks." I reply.

"What happened while you were looking into the hall?" I bit my lip and look down, taking a deep breath.

"My mom... she was begging, I could hear her, and then there were gunshots..." Holden looks down toward his lap, where his hands are resting in handcuffs. "I heard her crying before... before more gunshots went off... and she went silent..." I struggle to hold back tears. "They had killed my mom and my dad." The prosecutor nods sadly, looking at me sympathetically.

"You then called 9-1-1... correct?" She asks.

"Yes, correct." I reply and wipe away a tear that has fallen from my eye.

"Do you need a minute, Corinna?"? She goes over to the little barrier and retrieves a tissue from Adrian.

"No, I can continue." I reply and she comes back over, handing me the tissue. I wipe my tears, careful to not mess up the very light make-up I am wearing. She watches me with a sad face for a while before going to her table and opening a file, pulling out a piece of paper.

"Now, if we can take a look at the first piece of evidence to corroborate Miss Gracen's story." On a flat screen monitor off to the other side of the Judge a scanned copy of a cell phone record, pops up. She walks to it and gestures to one of the entries as it zooms in some. The Judge picks up her own copy of the record.

"This is an outgoing call from Miss Gracen's phone to the police. It is just under four minutes long. Now, what you're about to hear is the actual recorded call from that night." She pushes play and sound starts to play from the TV's speakers.

"9-1-1 operator, what's your emergency?" The familiar voice plays. I notice the Judge pick up a different piece of paper and I can tell it's the call's transcript.

"T-There's someone in my house... They have guns. They killed my parent..." My voice comes from the audio along with a sob.

"Where are you?" The operators tone changes a little.

"4-4-8..." A sob, "1... Grove Street..." My voice cries slightly into the phone.

"What is your name? How old are you?" She asks.

"Corinna Lucinda Gracen. 18." There is some shuffling in the background, my closet door sliding open.

"Don't hang up. Help is on the way."

"Please hurry. Their outside my door!" My voice whispers and I get chills as I relive the moment.

"Do you recognize the people? Can you describe their appearance?" She asks and there is a short pause.

"N-No... They're men... Tall-" There is a loud sound in the background.

"Where's she?" You can barely hear in the background.

"Hiding, probably. Find her! Boss will want to see her before we kill her." I glance at Holden and see his eyes closed as he listens.

"Corinna, Are you still there?" The woman asks concerned. There is silence from my side of the line."Hold on, Officers are almost there." You can kind of hear my panicked breathing from the audio. I hear my closet doors clatter open and a couple seconds I hear the phone hit the floor and a struggle.

"No! Stop! Please!" I flinch as my scream comes from the audio.

"Corinna! Are you still there!?" The extremely worried voice of the operator comes from the TV.

"She called the cops. Make this fast." A voice says loud enough to be picked up by the phone. There is a silent pause in the audio clip and in the whole court room.

"Please, don't kill me..." My voice begs. "Please." My voice begs again barely audible this time. There is another long pause and I swear I can feel the barrel of the gun against my forehead again. "Please..." I barely hear this plea.

"Stop." Holden's voice speaks up for the first time. "Take her with us." His voice comes from the TV commandingly. There is quiet shuffling.

"Walk." A different voice comes from the audio and then there is silence. The audio goes away and the prosecutor turns and glances at Holden before coming back over to my side of the court room.

"Corinna, during the duration of your time with Holden, did he ever abuse you?" I barely have to think.

"No, never." I reply and Holden stares at me.

"Did he ever threaten you?"

"Yes." I reply shortly and Holden bites the side of his cheek, guilty.

"Now, Corinna, Adrian Clines informed me that you were drugged under the watch of The Devils." I look at Adrian to see him shift slightly. "He entrusted me with footage from a stoplight." Someone puts a CD into a DVD player and pushes play. I lean forward and watch the screen, not sure what is going to play. Holden seems interested in this too, shifting in his wooden chair. The video pops up showing a street and a part of an intersection. There is no movement or anything for about ten seconds or so before a familiar black sports car pulls to a stop on the side of the road. Donte is in the driver's seat and I am climbing over the middle console. I climb into Donte's and I see his lips moving in the video as he says something. I lean down and we start kissing. My cheeks heat up fast as I start remembering that happening. Holden stares, gritting his teeth as Donte and I kiss a little longer before I drop back into the passenger's seat. Donte doesn't move for a second before starting the car again and pulling away from the curb and driving out to view. The video stops and shuts off. Holden turns in his seat and stares at me. The prosecutor turns and looks at me.

"Corinna, do you remember this?" She asks and I slowly nod. "Were you under the influence of drugs at this time?" She continues.

"Yes." I reply and she nods.

"Then please, tell us who was the person who administered the drugs in the first place?" I narrow my eyes at her a little. How would she know to ask that? I glance at Adrian. Donte could have told him and he could have told her.

"It was Holden." I reply and she nods, satisfied.

"A few days after that, the FBI was able to rescue you and then sometime after that you were kidnapped again, correct?" I nod and she continues, "Who was it that took you from the back alley of that hotel?"

"It was Holden and Axel..."


I sit through a trial for everyone besides Graysen and answer all the questions the prosecutor asks me. I'm exhausted and tired from reliving the time spent with all of them. I put my hands under the water and splash my face with some cold water. I turn off the water and go to the paper towel dispenser and pat my face dry. I look at myself in the large mirror before exiting the restroom. Adrian leans away from the wall and drapes his suit jacket, which he had folded in his arms, around my shoulders. He leads me down the hall.

"You okay?" He asks lightly as I pull the jacket closer around me.

"Yeah... That was just... more exhausting than I thought it was going to be." He nods and we turn a corner, going toward the exit. Adrian pulls me a little closer as he opens the door for me and I see why his protective side just came out. Dozens of people turn as soon as the door opens and they immediately attack us. Adrian wraps his arm protectively around me and leads me quickly through the mass of people. People shout questions at me and Adrian guides me toward his car, reflecting their questions politely. He opens his car door and I quickly get in, he shuts the door and quickly goes around the car as people continue to say my name, trying to get me to answer questions. Adrian pulls away from the curb and I curl up in my seat, holding Adrian's jacket around me tightly. I drift asleep.