Sticks and Stones

Rope Net

Eli dropped to the ground with a shriek and the stranger began dragging the net with her inside. She still struggled to get out, "Hey! Let me go!"

The voice that drove her fear insane like nothing else roared at her, "Don't tell me what to do! I do what I want, when I want to. So just shut up!"

She kicked at the net in a huff, "You can't talk to me like that!"

He ignored her and continued to drag her along the ground roughly. She kicked and attempted to stop him from dragging her, cutting up her hands and arms on rocks and twigs in the process.

He snatched down his hood and stopped dragging her. His hair was a burnt orange, she noticed he was wearing gloves that had the fingers cut off. He strung her up in a tree beside a small camp with a little fire pit in the center.

She shifted and looked at him, "You can't just hold me up here like this. It's inhumane!"

He finally turned to face her, he had a light skin tone and pale green eyes. He pulled something out of his mouth, "Yeah, sure thing. I want you to hand me your bag... Then hand me the knife in your boot." His voice sounded harsh but not really scary like it had been before as he reached in the net and confiscated her things.

She fought against the net, "You can't do this."

"Yeah? Then stop me." He sat down and started up a fire.

"I'll scream."

"Go ahead. Maybe it will scare off anything that could kill me." He relaxed and watched her struggle with a wry smile.

"Sadistic pig!"

"Because you know me."

"Satanist spawn."

"Please, I'm sure you're no angel yourself." She crossed her arms in a huff and slumped down, wincing through the process.

"How long are you planning to keep me..."

"Till you get down, or till my friend shows up. I could care less if you stayed or went though." He looked like he could fall asleep where he was. He was certainly relaxed enough to do so.

"So what's your name..." Eli just noticed the snow now blanketing the area. It must've started while he was dragging her around.

"What's it to you..." He sounded upset at first. But then his voice softened, "It's Kaleb... But people call me Kale. It's... Easier, shorter, ya know..." He sounded less harsh, "What about you Angel?" He chuckled at his own joke.

But Eli rolled her eyes, "Elizabeth... But I go by Eli for the same reason you go by Kale." She pulled a piece of a twig from her arm and dropped it.

He shrugged, "I like Angel. It suits you Eli."

"Don't. I'll have you're head." She sounded serious.

"You're hung up in my net trap in my camp. That sounds totally reasonable." Kale smirked and he relaxed keeping an eye on her as she hung there all in a huff.

With the approaching sound of footsteps Eli stiffened but Kale remained calm. She still didn't move. The person approaching was strong, and his face was hidden under a hood, "Hey Kale... Who'd have thought it would start snowing, right?" The person noticed Eli, "Kale... Why do you have a girl hanging from a tree in one of your nets, huh?"

Kale glanced between them, "Oh yeah. Brice, meet Eli."

The guy called Brice flipped down his hood. He was dressed the same as Kale. But he had a darker skin tone than Eli or Kale. He had blonde hair and dark green eyes that were almost, and could be mistaken for blue. He looked at her, "Kale, this doesn't look good and you know it."