Chapter 2

She wasn't dragged to her death like she was at first, but she wasn't rescued either. What's going on?

I wake up in a dim room. It has stone walls that are crumbling in some parts. I'm lying on a worn blanket. It's a dark red. I hope with all my heart that that's the natural color. I feel a strange numbness in my leg, and I try to ignore it. I must have some anesthetic. I try to sit up, but pain shoots through me, nearly knocking me out again. So much for pain-killers. My vision swims, and I lay back down. So much for numbness. I hear two people coming toward me. I feel relieved when I see it's just the boy and girl from earlier. Then I get nervous, because I am still captured. It's lighter in here, so I can see them better.

The girl is short with long, light brown hair in a ponytail that sits high atop her head, with light blue eyes sparkling with curiosity. The boy is tall and very skinny, with shaggy jet black hair, the bangs just as long and pushed over so they cover one eye. The most notable thing about him is his eyes(his visible eye, that is). They're as orange as fire. They seem incredibly familiar. It isn't them, Silver, One side of me said. They're probably dead. The other side said, The resemblance is uncanny. It might be them. It's unlikely. One side of me is sure they're gone. The other side thinks it could be possible, but still has doubts.

“Stay still. You need rest.” the girl says. The boy looks like he wants to be anywhere but here. “We checked on her. Can we go now, Bronze?” Bronze. The name reverberates through my ears. It sounds so familiar, but I can't place it. I rack my brain trying to desperately discover where I'd heard it before.

“Wait, Ebony. We still don't know if she was our target.”

“She was surrounded by EGS men. She's the target.”

“I guess the boss will be proud. Might even get a sleeping bag.” Bounty hunters! They were getting a reward for my capture! I start panicking. I try to stand, but my left leg gives out under me. I fall back down on the blanket with a loud thump. Another girl rushes in. She's tall and lean, with straight blond hair a little lower than her chin. She has pale blue eyes.

“What is going on in here?!” She demands sharply. Bronze answers her.

“She tried to stand, but fell back down again.”

The other girl looks enraged now. “She tried to stand?! Doesn't she know about the freakin' hole in her leg?!”

“No.” the other girl is exasperated now. She storms out of the room. I have a hole in my leg? I know there is something, but I assumed it was a run-of-the-mill cut. I try to see my leg, and am absolutely horrified when I see a perfect circle through my thigh.

“How did this happen?” I say, my words like sandpaper in my throat. Bronze and Ebony flash each other worried looks. Then they hastily leave the room. That's not a good sign. I moan and fall asleep. When I wake up again, I see many kids in the room, but I don't see Bronze or Ebony. They're all muttering quietly in small groups. They see I'm awake, and the room falls into chaos. I'm pulled up off the blanket by many hands, and it takes shear willpower to keep a scream from tearing out of my throat. They carry me down a molding wooden staircase. I'm not sure it's safe to go down. They set me down in a room with moss hanging from the ceiling. I'm sitting in a chair that's everything but collapsed. Ebony and Bronze are here too. Everyone else takes a seat. The chairs are arranged in a circle on the cracked concrete floor. A girl that looks about fifteen sits across from me. She has short, black hair, and is wearing rags like the rest of us. The only thing special about her is that she has a faded name tag.

“Okay,” she begins. “Let's begin the meeting. Tonight's topic? The girl with the Krank hole in her leg.”

Author's Note

My first and not fabulous attempts at expanding into horror. Please tell me what you think!