The Capture

A Chapter by Makenzie Weber

Nikki's capture

I was ready to scream. I was so frustrated with myself. It had been four days and I still hadn't caught any hint as to where the kidnappers whereabouts were. My shirt was full of brambles and thorns, my jeans were ripped from knee to mid-thigh. I was exhausted, and Dad looked dead. I felt so ashamed. I should of caught whoever it was by now. It was the last day of my expedition, and I needed to prove myself or go home. To this day, I don't know if it was chance or fate that led me to see the faint outline of a boot print.

“They went this way!” I pointed out the direction, and Dad ran like a bloodhound. I was on track in my school, and I was able to keep up with him all the way up until the clearing. I was so in shock as to what I saw that I froze in disbelief. It was full of bones. Animal and human. I stumbled into the edges of the forest and dry heaved. My sight went blurry and I saw stars. My throat burned and my sides felt like they were about to cave in. I felt my knees give and I fell to the forest floor. I was to dizzy to get up and before I passed out I saw the one sight that made me so overwhelmed. It was an intact skeleton, a little girls. Her hair was still on her scalp, blueish black. Her hand still gripped a teddy bear, and her face still held the expression of agony that she felt as she died. I blacked out and my head fell into a heap of bones. Sometime later, when I woke, I couldn't dismantle my hair from one shard of bone. I went over to Dad and made him dinner. He was asleep, and the aroma of squirrel woke him up. We ate fast, then when it was over, I put out the fire and we went to sleep. I couldn't fall asleep. I kept seeing the girl and a circle of interconnected bones. Finally, sleep came, even if it was an uneasy one. Nightmares plagued me, and one stood out more than the others. I was standing next to the remains of the girl, when she grabbed my ankle and wouldn't let go until a mysterious shadow came. I always woke up right as it reached me. I woke up and heard a rustle outside. I figured that it was an animal and I tried to fall asleep again. I heard it again, only this time it was closer. I waited until I heard it for the third time, then I grabbed my knife and gun. I crept to the door of the tent and watched the shadows. I saw a shadow move, and I moved to the hidden backdoor of the tent. I gently unzipped the door of the tent and slipped out into the night. I slinked around the tent and pulled out my gun. I steadied myself with a deep breath. I was about to whip around the corner when I heard a growling sound coming from in front of me. A ripping sound followed, and Dads scream. I flinched, and covered my ears. They broke into the tent. I heard arguing.

“There was a girl. Where is she?” I heard a sharp sound, flesh hitting flesh.

“I don't know. I honesty don't know.” I could picture Dad, with a red mark on his face in the shape of a hand. “Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you.”

“You will tell us if you value your life.”

“My wife's dead. My daughter's missing. I'm being held captive. I have nothing to live for. I don't value my life. So what? Kill me.” I stifled a scream, and cursed myself. One of them looked towards me, and sniffed in my direction. Odd, I noted.

“She's over here!” the rest of my fathers men scrambled out of their tents and ran into ours. I heard growling, yells, and gunshots, but most of all I heard my fathers voice above the chaos, screaming at me.

“Run Nikki!” and I ran like there was no tomorrow. I started running as fast as I could. I heard a growling behind me, and I started running faster. Suddenly, there was nothing but the beast and me, trapped in an endless spiraling story of predator and prey. Soon one of us would stop, and the other would live or die. The beast lunged at my face, and I tried to dodge it. I almost did, but the beast bit into my shoulder. I screamed after I saw the blood pouring out of my body in rivers. I couldn't really feel the pain until I looked. I fell to my knees and collapsed on the ground in pain. It was like fire and ice, dueling inside of you. I was burning alive then I was frozen. I saw spots, but I didn't black out. I slowly stood, and with all my reminding strength, hurled my knife into the eye of the beast. I heard a scream of pain, then felt the weight of the animal on top of me. It resembled a wolf more than the dog I originally thought it was. It lifted up its snarling maw, and I braced myself for the end. This is it, I will die tonight. I welcomed death, in my final hour. When the wolf hybrid lurched towards my neck, my mind went blank and I went into survival mode. My arm instinctively went between the wolf and my throat. I threw the animal off me and pulled out my handgun. I took aim at the recovering animal and shot the hybrid. It didn't die, but I'll bet that I shattered a bone or two. The beast pounced on me, and I was out of adrenaline. As the beast poised to kill me, I heard a voice. Someone I had heard before, but I just couldn't place.

“Simone, get off of her! Don't kill that one. There's more than enough others for you. Take your pick, just don't kill this one.” To my surprise, the wolf answered in a human voice.

“This little b***h is mine. She took out my eye and shattered my bone. No, Maximilian, she's mine.”

“Simone, I didn't want to pull this card. I will ask you once more. Get off the girl.”

“Go find your own! I hunted her, so she's mine.” The one called Maximilian just sighed.

“I am the Alpha of all the packs in this side of the world. I command you to release her now!” with a snarl, the wolf on top of me backed away slowly. Hate filled his amber eyes. “Now, come here, girlie.” I shrunk back to my gun. I grabbed it and held it behind my back. I walked slowly over to him. “You see, Simone? She's perfectly tame.” he reached for me, and as quick as lightning, I pulled my gun on him.

“Step away from me. Back away slowly, both of you, and put your paws and hands up in the air. Yes, that's it. Now you boys are going to let me go now. Got that? Nod your head if you understand.” Disbelief filled their eyes, then amusement.

“Little girl, you are so naive. Put the gun down, and come over here.” When he saw that I wouldn't, he snarled. “Bullets don't hurt us, girl. They can't kill us. You're only digging yourself into a deeper hole, missie.” With that, he rushed at me, and disarmed me. He tackled me to the ground. “That wasn't so hard, now, was it? I should kill you now, but I won't. You're too much of value to me. You should bring me a pretty penny.” He ran his finger across my lips and I bit him hard. “Feisty little thing, arn’t you? So hard to find, nowadays.”

“Let go of me, you b*****d. Can't you just find another girl?” the man laughed in my face.

“You obviously don't know who I am, do you? I am Maximilian Grant, Alpha of the Western side of Earth. You, little lady, can call me Max.”

“Where are you taking me?” I asked after he tied me up and started walking with me.

“Your little camp. You'll say your farewells, we'll split up the rest of the people evenly, and we'll leave with just our captives. Have fun, little girl.” He walked me back to the clearing where the survivors of the battle were being divided equally between members of the offending party.

“Max, you're missing the Divination! C'mon, all the good ones are being claimed.”

“Is there ay more girls like this one?” Of course there wasn't. I was the only experienced teenager allowed on highly classified missions like this.

“No Max. She's the only one. Good eye.”

“Then divide up the others among the others. All I want is her.” he took me to a circle marked 'Maximilian Grant'. I saw dad, broken and bloodied, being dragged into Simone's circle.

“Dad!” he turned around and saw me in my restrictive area. He started fighting Simone off, trying desperately to get to me. Over half my guards left to go restrain him. He looked deep into my eyes and I got his hidden message. Run! I leaped out of the circle of guards and ran towards the forest. They didn't notice that I was gone until I was already gone.

“She escaped! We need to get her!” they ran the wrong way, and I got to the main road before they turned around. I got in front of an oncoming car.

“Help! Help me!” I started waving my arms up in the air. I took a deep breath and jumped out in front of the car. The last thing I remember is Max's face looking at me greedily through the windshield. He slammed on the brakes but it was too late. I closed my eyes and waited for the end.

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