The Time Mage

Chapter 2: The Attack

"Run?" I repeated, almost whispering the word. "What do you mean 'run'? Where are we supposed to go?"

"We're not sure, but we know you can't stay here. Emmaline, that group of people that watched our house... we think they're going to come and try to take you away."

"Take me? You mean like kidnap me?"

Me parents looked at each other once again. My mom's eyes were filled with worry, which fell in the form of tears down her cheeks. My dad's chin was scrunched as he clenched his jaw, clearly trying to stay calm and act as though he had everything under control. But he was as clueless as I was. 

"Possibly. We aren't sure. They might not take you anywhere. All we know is that the letter the woman wrote the night you were brought to us emphasized the importance of keeping that ring safe." He pointed at the opal ring that hugged my right index finger. "We think there's a chance that they want that ring."

"Then let's give it to them," I said, moving to remove the ring from my finger, but before I could grasp it, my dad rested his hand on top of mine. 

"Emmaline, leave it on. We aren't certain that's what they want. We can't risk trying to make a deal with these men."

"Besides," said my mom as she wiped her nose and eyes with a stray napkin that had been left on the kitchen table, "if they want the ring this badly, then it must have some sort of significance. We kept it safe for almost seventeen years in order to give it to you. You shouldn't be so quick to give it up."

A part of me agreed with my mom, but I just wanted life to stay the way it had been. I didn't want to move or leave my friends, and I certainly didn't want to be kidnapped by a group of strange men. I let out a huge yawn. In five hours school would start. My teachers would be expecting me in class, my friends would be saving me a seat in the cafeteria, and my field hockey coach would be waiting on me to lead warmups at practice. I wondered how they would react when they noticed I hadn't shown up. Then it hit me that I may never go back to school again. Would my life ever go back to normal after this?

"Emmaline, we're going to leave first thing tomorrow. We can eat breakfast first, but your father would like to be on the road before lunch. You need to pack everything you can since we're not sure how long we're going to be gone, but first, try to get some more sleep. It's going to be a long day."

I nodded my head to tell her that I understood, but deep down I couldn't grasp what was going on. I stood and walked out of the kitchen. When I opened the door to my bedroom, I felt my stomach drop. I jumped onto my bed, put my face into my pillow, and started to cry. I didn't want to leave. I wanted to go to school and hangout with my friends. I wanted to go to practice and prepare for the big game against our rival. I wanted to go back to yesterday, when everything felt normal and I was clueless about the truth. As I laid there, my breathing eventually slowed and my mind was silenced by sleep. 

*   *   *

It was dark. I was sitting in an empty room. There was no door, but there was a single window in the center of the wall in front of me. I couldn't see anything through the window, so I started moving closer to it. I continued moving closer until my face was pressed against the cold, hard glass. For a moment, it seemed as though I was staring into a dark hole. Then, all of a sudden, I saw movement. There were figures in the darkness, and they were coming towards me. 

I knew I needed to get away from the window and try to hide in the shadows, but something kept me glued to that spot. It was as though my feet had disappeared and been replaced by cement blocks. I wasn't able to move.