Taken

Chapter 6 (Part 2)

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My eyes blinked open to a burned-out fire pit. The ashen remains and stone that had produced flames that were no longer burning were bathed in the moonlight while silence surrounded me.

A groan escaped my lips as I tried to push past the grogginess clouding my head as I lay on my side where I had fallen. They hadn't appeared to have moved or touched me, but I still did a quick assessment of my body to make sure they hadn't taken liberties with it while I was unconscious. Everything felt as it should have. Except for my side. The pain seemed to have grown worse from landing on the dirt, rocks, and sticks beneath me. Though I was sure the dying patches of grass wouldn't have been much of an improvement, it still would have been better than being stabbed by twigs.

Placing a hand on the ground, I struggled to push myself up on shaking arms that were still affected by whatever they had laced my water with. It had my head and mouth feeling like they were stuffed with cotton. Not to mention, I seemed to feel more exhausted than I was before I passed out.

My jaw clenched as more pain seared through my torso with each of my movements. I would need to deal with the wound on my side better to make sure it didn't get infected. If it already hadn't.

"Argh!"

My muscles tensed as my head snapped up at the yell that echoed through the clearing. It was followed by a scream and thump before silence rang out.

It was too silent. All I could hear was my own breathing.

I took thin and measured breaths to keep from drawing attention as my eyes scanned the area around me. It turned into a deep shuddering inhale laced with relief when I found myself alone. The men who had snatched me off the street and dragged me here in what felt like a fever dream were nowhere in sight.

A fever dream. That's what this must be. Maybe the wound at my side had become infected and I was just hallucinating all of this.

But the pain, the rough ground, the rustling sounds, and the crisp air felt too sharp to be anything but real. Especially with the adrenaline coursing through my veins and chasing away some of the fog in my brain.

Rough bark dug into my palm as I used the tree to push myself to my feet, flinching when another yell sounded in the distance. This time, another sound accompanied it. A loud and inhumane cry that had my eyes locking on the trees where it had sounded from.

"Calvin!"

My head jerked to the side, following the desperate cry that sounded like Emerson.

Something was wrong.

My palms grew slick with sweat as my mind ran through the options before me. I was alone, this was the moment I had been waiting for. This was my chance, but...

Another animalistic cry sounded from the darkness of the trees.

I had no idea what was out there making those terrifying noises.

I swallowed hard as I looked towards the sky, my heart racing with my mind. It was going to be daylight soon. The... creatures making those noises would hide in the shadows when it came, waiting for the dark to come out again if I had heard correctly earlier. But the five men who had abducted me? They would drag me away to some castle to their so-called king.

If they made it back out of the trees, that was.

I couldn't wait around to see if they did.

I backed away from the section of the trees that the noises were sounding from, watching the darkness for any movements that would indicate their return. When I reached the end of the log, I looked over my shoulder to the trees at the opposite end of the clearing. Keeping my attention focused in the direction of the noises that seemed to be growing louder, I skirted around the lake to the opposite side.