Secrets Within

Chapter 7 ~Kidnapped~

It had been a few days, and attention had slowly been leaving me, which I was fine with.
Martin and Lily would send out a few kids every day in attempt to find or steal food.
I hadn't been sent out yet. Lily had told me she thought I was too new, and should just leave it to the older, more experianced kids.
I also wondered if it had something to do with me getting caught, but I shrugged off the idea and went back to do my own thing.

~~~~~~~

A few months later, I was still with them, but lately, Martin and Lily have been telling me and other kids to stay inside most of the day, and if we go outside, we have to stay close and out of view from the streets and other people.
I'm not sure why, but the other kids seem to have an idea, but won't tell me. I just don't know what's going on.

~~~~~~

We had survived through two winters, and eight other kids had joined us over that amount of time. They were all around my age. 13. Only  one or two were somewhat older.

Some evening during the spring I went out with a girl named Scarlet and we walked around, talking. She had bright blue eyes and soft, blonde hair.
I don't exactly know why, but we got on the subject of birthdays, and she told me hers was next week. She asked me for mine. I told her it was in the late summer, just before the leaves turned color.
Suddenly she asked what I wanted, and I was silent.
"Don't tell me you don't want anything!" Scarlet scolded me, her blue eyes suddenly wide.
"I- um. I guess i'd like new clothes... Or.. Anything I guess," I stuttered, just making something up on the spot.
Scarlet rolled her eyes at me. "Well I want a birthday cake. A big fancy one."
"Cool." I replied lamely.

We were walking down a quieter street. We'd pass people every few seconds, but I had noticed someone with a fedora had been behind us for a few blocks. Was he just going in the same direction, or following us?

"Scarlet?" I said quietly, she was still going on about birthdays and how rich kids got cake and lots of presents and parties.
"Scarlet." I tried again.
"What?" She asked, her voice too loud for my liking.
I put a finger to my lips, to give a quick and silent singal to lower her voice. She gave me a confused look and I darted my eyes in a pointing gesture over my shoulder. "He's been following us for a while." I whispered.
She gazed over her shoulder for a long few seconds before slowly bringing her bright blue optics back to my own. "Run? "She mouthed and I gave a small nod.
"Count of three." I said softly.
"One.... Three!" I hissed, and we sprinted down the sidewalk. A few people yelled at us, but we paid no heed and dodged in, out, and around crowds of people in attempt to throw off the figure that had been following us. Scarlet was a few feet behind me as we ran.

I risked a glance over my shoulder and saw the man in pursuit.  "Faster!" I squeaked to Scarlet, and after widening her eyes in fear, she ran harder. Our bare, dirty feet pounded on the cement, but it didn't hurt me, or even slow my whirlwind of running legs. 
Suddenly I took a sharp left into the road, a car spitting black, fowel air into my face. I wrinkled my nose, but kept running. Cars honked, but we didn't get hit luckily.

I took another left so we were going the way we came, and saw that the man was still trying to get across, and many more people were honking at him as he dodged around cars and swore.

"Hurry,"  I panted, suddenly angered at myself for slowing down and my legs beginning to hurt.
"T-Trying." Scarlet replied in a huff. I led us down an alleyway and then down another sidewalk.
By now we were walkign again, and constantly watching our backs.

He could pop out any moment. We knew that.
"What's that?" Scarlet suddenly asked me, and I turned to see a sleek, black car pull up beside us and three men in matching outfits with fedoras got out and jogged toward us.

Scarlet screamed, but I bit down on my tongue. We couldn't go forward or backward, and going either way wouldn't be smart at all. I planned to save my energy. Hopefully Scarlet had the same idea.

Suddenly someone grabbed Scarlet and pulled her arms behind her back, and the same thing happened to me in another heartbeat. I instantly went in to freak-out mode and kicked out, trying ot wrestle my way out of his grip. He just held onto my arms harder, my struggles not seeming to have much of an affect on the grown man. Scarlet was red in the face and looked about to cry. I however, was fuming.

"Let go you block-head!" I screamed, hoping someone would tell these guys to get away. No one did though, and quite a few passed. Some didn't even look at the scene.

I gazed over to Scarlet slowly, having an idea but not wanting her to be scared of me. I was planning to shapeshift, but my animals were small. Even the tiger. I had gotten a new form, but it had only been a chinchilla. Though awesome, not very useful.

I could shift into a cat or something and easily sprint away, but I'd be leaving Scarlet. I couldn't do that, but I couldn't see any other idea that would save both of us. I sighed, and wet my lips nervously. The men were now dragging us toward their car and soon shoved us in the back seat like we were criminals and this was a police car.

Scarlet was whimpering and shaking. She clutched onto me like I could protect her. I really couldn't. Because really, what were the odds of a 13 year old escaping grown men, and saving her friend?  That didn't even happen in the books, or movies... I think. 

The men got into the car and locked the doors, to my dismay.  Then they sped off down the road with Scarlet and I in the back, with no way to escape or save each other.