The Ransom [ON HOLD]

Chapter 3

We got there in about 15 minutes but saw that our parents weren't there.

My brother turned to me, confused. “Where d’ya think they went?” I shrugged my shoulders honestly not knowing.

“I dunno. They prolly went to look for food or a job for mom. Don't worry, they'll be back, kid,” I said trying to reassure him, though I don't think it helped much. I then got an idea that might calm him down. I took the food out of my pocket and put it in the bag that I had brought with us when we moved. He followed what I did but put the food in his bag instead.

I turned and started walking back out of the alley hoping he would follow. I turned my head to look at him and saw he was following me. He jogged the short distance to me and we walked side by side for a couple minutes.

As we turned into an alley I saw a sudden, jerky movement. I stopped and looked farther down the dark alley but couldn't really make out anything or anyone. Finn seemed to have noticed too because he was staring where I was. I didn't see anything so I continued walking, pulling Finn with me. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going until he stopped dead in his tracks. I looked up and saw a tall man in front of us.

I grabbed ahold of Finn's hand and turned back to where we came from but didn't go any further. There was another man at that end of the alley too.

My heart started racing as Finn’s grip tightened around my hand. They both started walking towards us but there was nowhere for Finn and me to run.

The two men were soon on either side of us. One of them had a strong, menacing look to him and the other looked completely scary.

“So, what are a pretty girl and a little boy doing in a dark alley like this?” The strong looking one asked. I didn't say anything, I just glared at him in the eyes. I subtly glanced at the buildings around us trying to find an escape, but didn’t see anything. I looked back at the two men and the one who spoke seemed angry.

“I asked you a question. Now answer it. What are you doing in an alley like this?” he said more sternly. I took a step back from his rude tone and Finn gripped my hand even tighter. I kept my face straight as I tried to come up with a plan to get out of there.

“We were just leaving to go home,” I said. I try to push past them but the scary one blocked me. He stared me down and I felt like shrinking to get away from his glare. Then he swiftly grabbed Finn’s arm and pulled him away from me. We both screamed, Finn sounding scared while I was angry.