get out of here.”
“We need to take her, Ashby. She can help us find Sam.”
Huh? Sam?
“We’re also trying to find her,” Bernard said. “Ashby, we should go together. We need to talk. You must know—”
Ashby nodded. “I know, Uncle. I know what she did. Let’s get out of here.”
Brooke’s captors exchanged knowing glances and, for some reason, she felt an ice cube descend down her spine. They all clasped hands in a hurry and stepped into a tight circle, pressing Brooke in the middle.
“Help, please!” she yelled, trying to break out of the tight mass of bodies that surrounded her.
“Leave the girl alone,” a fireman ordered, running in their direction. Through a crack between Ashby and Perry’s shoulders Brooke saw a police car pull up behind the fire truck.
She breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way these freaks could hurt her now. What were they going to do? Squeeze her to death?
“Drink this.” Perry grabbed her face with one hand and squeezed her cheeks hard.
Brooke cried out in pain and, as she opened her mouth, Perry poured something in.
“What the hell was that? Oh, God! Poison!” She sputtered and gagged at the foul stuff.
Jedi Master said a bunch of weird words in a quick stream. Everything around her went squirrely. Her vision and hearing didn’t seem to function properly. All of her senses, for that matter, felt . . . degraded. Panic set in. She yelled louder. The fireman was nearly there. Just two more steps, and he would reach her.
Brooke pushed with all her might, extending a hand toward the fireman. In that second, the circle of bodies loosened, letting her through. Brooke broke out, expecting to run into the fireman’s arms, instead, she staggered through empty space.
She staggered, her nervous system firing like crazy. Her senses seemed to snap back to normal, although her brain must have been bumped because the fireman was gone, disappeared into thin air. Turning in circles, bewildered, Brooke realized her front yard was also gone. It wasn’t even night time anymore. The sun shone in the sky, revealing a picturesque setting, a place that Brooke would have expected to find in a vacation brochure.
What in freakin’ hell? Where am I? Where the hell am I?
She turned and looked straight at her kidnappers. “Where have you taken me?!” she demanded. More importantly, how? Only she didn’t ask that because if they couldn’t see what she was seeing, that would mean she’d gone certifiable .
“Calm down,” Perry said, hands up in a placating manner.
She took two steps backward and looked for an escape. “Stay away from me. Stay away.” Her voice was shrill, laced with panic.
“Listen—”
“No. Keep away, keep away, keep away.” She was shaking her head, completely beside herself.
“Brooke!” Perry yelled her name in a stern reproach that jolted her and made her heart stop.
Huh? He knows my name? How?!
“We need you to calm down. You have to tell us where we can find Sam!”
Brooke felt her world spiraling down. So this was about Sam. It was no random attack.
This was way worse.
Brooke let out a scream that would have earned her a role in any B-rated horror flick and directed it straight at Perry.
He exhaled and looked at the blue sky as if begging for patience. “You asked for it,” he said, his green eyes showing a combination of regret and rueful satisfaction.
Next, he waved a hand in front of her face and everything went black. An instant later, her knees gave out. Perry rushed forward and caught her in his arms as sleep slithered quietly into her veins.
Chapter 12 - Greg
“Quick!” Greg pulled their bug-out bags out of the closet, both with sleeping bags laced at the bottom. They were backpacks filled with everything they would need for an emergency escape just like this one. Sam took the smaller backpack and walked out of his bedroom. He followed, carrying the larger one and giving the room one last inspection to make sure there
“We need to take her, Ashby. She can help us find Sam.”
Huh? Sam?
“We’re also trying to find her,” Bernard said. “Ashby, we should go together. We need to talk. You must know—”
Ashby nodded. “I know, Uncle. I know what she did. Let’s get out of here.”
Brooke’s captors exchanged knowing glances and, for some reason, she felt an ice cube descend down her spine. They all clasped hands in a hurry and stepped into a tight circle, pressing Brooke in the middle.
“Help, please!” she yelled, trying to break out of the tight mass of bodies that surrounded her.
“Leave the girl alone,” a fireman ordered, running in their direction. Through a crack between Ashby and Perry’s shoulders Brooke saw a police car pull up behind the fire truck.
She breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way these freaks could hurt her now. What were they going to do? Squeeze her to death?
“Drink this.” Perry grabbed her face with one hand and squeezed her cheeks hard.
Brooke cried out in pain and, as she opened her mouth, Perry poured something in.
“What the hell was that? Oh, God! Poison!” She sputtered and gagged at the foul stuff.
Jedi Master said a bunch of weird words in a quick stream. Everything around her went squirrely. Her vision and hearing didn’t seem to function properly. All of her senses, for that matter, felt . . . degraded. Panic set in. She yelled louder. The fireman was nearly there. Just two more steps, and he would reach her.
Brooke pushed with all her might, extending a hand toward the fireman. In that second, the circle of bodies loosened, letting her through. Brooke broke out, expecting to run into the fireman’s arms, instead, she staggered through empty space.
She staggered, her nervous system firing like crazy. Her senses seemed to snap back to normal, although her brain must have been bumped because the fireman was gone, disappeared into thin air. Turning in circles, bewildered, Brooke realized her front yard was also gone. It wasn’t even night time anymore. The sun shone in the sky, revealing a picturesque setting, a place that Brooke would have expected to find in a vacation brochure.
What in freakin’ hell? Where am I? Where the hell am I?
She turned and looked straight at her kidnappers. “Where have you taken me?!” she demanded. More importantly, how? Only she didn’t ask that because if they couldn’t see what she was seeing, that would mean she’d gone certifiable .
“Calm down,” Perry said, hands up in a placating manner.
She took two steps backward and looked for an escape. “Stay away from me. Stay away.” Her voice was shrill, laced with panic.
“Listen—”
“No. Keep away, keep away, keep away.” She was shaking her head, completely beside herself.
“Brooke!” Perry yelled her name in a stern reproach that jolted her and made her heart stop.
Huh? He knows my name? How?!
“We need you to calm down. You have to tell us where we can find Sam!”
Brooke felt her world spiraling down. So this was about Sam. It was no random attack.
This was way worse.
Brooke let out a scream that would have earned her a role in any B-rated horror flick and directed it straight at Perry.
He exhaled and looked at the blue sky as if begging for patience. “You asked for it,” he said, his green eyes showing a combination of regret and rueful satisfaction.
Next, he waved a hand in front of her face and everything went black. An instant later, her knees gave out. Perry rushed forward and caught her in his arms as sleep slithered quietly into her veins.
Chapter 12 - Greg
“Quick!” Greg pulled their bug-out bags out of the closet, both with sleeping bags laced at the bottom. They were backpacks filled with everything they would need for an emergency escape just like this one. Sam took the smaller backpack and walked out of his bedroom. He followed, carrying the larger one and giving the room one last inspection to make sure there
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