[Chapter 12: Takers]

     Gun in my hand, I look up at the sky, "If we're going to go, we need to go now. If we wait until it's dark, we'd have to use flashlights, or stumble around. They'd be able to see the lights, and let's face it: We wouldn't stand a chance stumbling around in the dark."


     Jaeger and Warren exchange surprised looks.

     "I'm not stupid," I furrow my eyebrows.


     It was like this when Olivia and I left. We couldn't use the flashlights, or they would have caught us. Stumbling around would have been useless.

     After walking to the trunk of the car, I grab a thin-but-sharp knife. I place it in my right thigh pocket.

     I'm stronger than they think, I know I am. I can fight.


     Confidence surges through my veins and I'm ready to go.



     "Do you think you can do this?" Jaeger's hands are cupping my face, worry written in his expression.

     I exhale sharply and nod. "I hope so," I whisper.

     I glance around, noticing that there's not a building in sight. Nothing but dark trees and vegetation obscure my view. Where could they possibly be?

     Look.


     Look where? Around? Yeah, all I see are trees.


     Focus. Look at the willow tree to your left. Put all your attention on that one tree. 

     In my head I scoff, but I do it anyway.

     The old willow looks so lonely, all by itself. Its branches sway in a small breeze that travels to ruffle my hair. The branches move violently as a stronger wind unsettles it, allowing me to see the gnarly bark covering itself.

     The violent wind reaches me, and my hair whips around, causing me to clench my eyelids tightly.

     Just as soon as it came, the wind stops, and everything is deafeningly silent.

     Jaeger and Warren shift uneasily, snapping twigs and crunching leaves under their boots. The sounds sound foreign, like they're not supposed to be occurring in this forest; I don't like it.

     My eyes dart from Jaeger's worried face back to the willow tree, pinning themselves on a glowing red object in the tree's wrangled bark. It looks as though the tree doesn't like the crunching and snapping noises, either.

     "Guys..."  I whisper, backing up so we're all grouped together. "There's so such thing as an enchanted tree, is there?"

     Just then a deep groan comes from the forest, and hundreds of birds leave the tree tops, screeching. Too many sounds fill my ears at the same time; the rush of wings, screeching from the birds, snapping sticks, and more groaning.

     "Guys?" I spin around; they aren't anywhere to be found.

     Yelling wouldn't be a very smart idea considering I don't have a damn clue what the hell is going on. Crying wouldn't help anything, and standing here would probably only get me killed.

     As soon as the ground starts shaking, my feet are moving. I don't know where I'm going, but I know I have to get anywhere away from that tree.

     Tree branches are scraping my face and arms, and hurdling over giant logs seems as easy as stepping over a crack in the sidewalk. My boots slide on moss, slosh in puddles, and have probably crushed a mouse or two.

     There, that collapsed tree. 

     My darting eyes find the one the voice is talking about; a fallen tree about 150 feet to my right. My body shifts to head in that direction, but my feet completely stop when my eyes notice the ground; it's moving.


     Something catches my foot and drags me to the ground, retching me ankle in the process. I hit the ground hard, and the wind is knocked out of me.


     Gasping for air, I turn onto my back to look up at my attacker. My heart stops at the sight of Tate.

     And he took me. Just like they took Olivia.

Jaeger's POV


     Gasping behind a rotten log, I come up with a plan, "Okay, Warren, you take its left flank. Rue, you--"


     I swivel my head around. No Rue.


     "Rue?" I pop up over the log, scanning the wilderness. Still no Rue.


     "Warren!" I bark. "Where'd she go?"


     He throws his arms up, "Hell if I know!"


     Another growl ripples through the forest; Warren and I tense.


     Marcus was after her. He was playing his mind games, I could feel it. His games leave a sour after-taste in the back of my mouth, and I'm sure Warren is having the same problem.


     Nothing was going on in the forest that we could see, but to Rue; who knows what she was seeing/feeling/hearing? For all I know, she could be thinking that the trees were on fire, and her lungs could be burning from the non-existent smoke.

    
     We need to find her. Before Marcus gets her.

 
      "Warren..." I look up at him, worry written all over me.


      He nods.


      "We need to find her. Now."



Rue's POV


     A loud clanging noise jolts me to consciousness. My nose wrinkles as foul, rotting smells fill my nostrils. It takes a couple seconds for my eyes to adjust, and I realize I'm staring at the ground. Duct tape over my mouth prevents me from screaming.

     
     Strong arms are wrapped around my stomach, which would explain why I'm facing the ground. My feet helplessly drag across the dirty cement floor.


     Looking around discreetly, I see that I'm being carried down a damp, dark, and dirty cement corridor. Moss, or mold--I don't know which--covers the walls and floor, giving them a slimy appearance.


     I groan weekly as the strong arms adjust on my stomach, twisting my skin in the process. I try to struggle, but I find I can't move. At all.


     Panic in my stomach escalates, and my legs beg for a chance to kick. Defeat settles in as I realize it's no use.


     Another loud clang rockets my eardrums, announcing that a metal door is now open. My boots run over something, as we enter the cell.


     He's going to sit you down. On the count of three, I want you to punch him in the throat, kick his knee, and knee him in the face.


     I can't move. How can you expect me to do all that?


     You can do it. Just try, Rue.


     Fine.


     Just as the voice said, the man sits me down in a stiff chair. He picks my face up, but I can't see anything in the dark. How can he see?


     One...


     The man gets up to turn on the light bulb.


     Two...


     His arm quickly reaches up to pull the string.


     Three. Go.


     I'm up and moving, and my fist connects with his throat just after the light turns on. He stumbles back, clutching his throat.


     Tate's eyes are in a panic.


     Now his knee. Go!


     But I can't move. I'm glued to the spot, watching Tate choke on nothing. The more he gasps for air, the less he starts looking like himself. His chestnut hair falls out, and the short hair left turns black. Stubble pops up on his now-scarred chin.

   
     Rue! Now!


     I move quickly, dodging his weak attempts to fend me off. I viciously attack his left knee with my right foot, and I wince at the audible crack! it sends out. He falls to the cement, landing on his good knee.

 
     I grab his head, look into those cold blue eyes, and shove his nose into my knee. His body falls backwards into the wall, and he slowly slides down the grime.


     Running out of the cell, I pause at the T-section.


     Turn Left.


     Obeying, I turn on my heel sharply to the left, running at about a 75%. Full out sprinting would be stupid, especially if I fell, or ran into another man.


      My boots slosh in the standing water, and my footsteps echo down the corridor.


     Slow down; turn right into the next cell. Someone's coming.


     I slow down, but I can't see anything.


     Turn now.


     I roughly turn right and almost trip over the doorway. Slamming myself against the wall, I gasp.


     Stop breathing.


     Are you kidding?!


     No.


     Squeezing my eyes shut, I hold my breath. My lungs scream in protest, but I don't give in. My head gets light, and I feel like passing out until I hear their footsteps.


     "Do you think we should check up on Marcus?" I can tell it's Micah; his worried tone, but his smooth voice.


     "No. Knowing him, he's probably having his way with her. C'mon, Micah, he's your brother," this voice belongs to a girl. She sounds like a smartass.


     "True."


     Their footsteps stop in front of my cell. How can they see in the pitch black?


     "Shh," the girl quiets. "Do you hear that?"


     My heartbeat gets close to completely stopping, and my lungs feel numb. I feel like I'm drowning again.


     "What--"


     A rippling scream from Marcus cuts Micah off, and both of them take off sprinting to Marcus' cell.


     Go, now.


     I trip over the doorway this time, gasping. Falling into a nasty puddle of grime, I scramble to continue running. Tears travel down my face as I run.


     What the hell is going on? Where am I? Where are Jaeger and Warren? Where's Olivia?


     Rue! Behind you!


     I dont have any time to react before I'm roughly tackled to the ground from behind. I brace myself this time so the wind isn't knocked out of me. My face scrapes across the cement, and stops in a puddle of nasty. By now I'm bawling, choking on sobs.


     "Shh," Marcus' voice coos in my ear. His breath is hot and sticky, "Stop struggling before anything else happens to that pretty little face of yours."


     I go limp, mostly because this guy weighs about two hundred pounds more than me, and my chest is starting to hurt from the pressure. How the hell is he here right now? I clearly broke his knee and smashed his nose in!


     He roughly picks me up, and pushes me forward. "Go."


     I refuse to move.


     Marcus shoves me, and I fall to the ground.


     "Now I'm definitely not moving," I state and stay there on the ground.


     He sighs and leans down, "I'm going to kick you if you don't get up."


     "Go ahead," I say with a smile.


     He bring his leg back to kick, and just before his leg kicks me, I swing my own leg out and swipe his standing ankle. He crumples to the floor, and I'm running.


     A low growl like the one I'd heard in the woods comes from Marcus, and a leathery-snapping sound echoes through the corrider. A rush of beating wings sounds behind me, and I push myself faster.


     It's when the claws dig into my flesh that I scream.