A Second Chance

Abducted

"Uhhhhh," a groan of pain parted from her lips. Rae's eyelids fluttered, letting small flashes of tinted light help her come to. When her eyes fully opened however, she quickly became aware of what previously took place. She gasped and abruptly sat up, side-swiping the snow with her movement. Immediately, her eyes sought out details.

Turning her head, she confirmed that she was still surrounded by trees covered in a mild layer of snow and not a hospital bed. Groaning, she laid her gloved hand against the side of her head, her vision spinning a moment with her movement. The pain throbbing within her skull was a comfort, only a minor head concussion, nothing demanding serious attention, but to be on the safe side she would try to take it easy. 

Patting the helmet that was thankfully secured on her head, she adjusted her blue tinted goggles, and the mask covering her face. Wiping up her the snowboard that was still attached to her feet next, she took a moment to compose herself. 

But before she could completely relax, one key detail was still out of place and it completely unraveled her momentary relief.

Where were the trails?

No matter what direction she looked, there was no sign of them. She couldn't even hear the ski lift or the sound of skiers noisily passing by. When she looked at the snow behind her, she expected to see deep indentations from her snowboard, but there was nothing.

Something was very, very wrong.

Before she got ahead of herself and started panicking, she quickly shed her gloves, leaned forward and undid her bindings to release her feet from the board. Once free, she got up and turned around to try and spot anything familiar. She knew for a fact that both Damon and her hadn't traveled that far away from the main slope, but her eyes were telling something completely different.

In fact, now that she thought about it, she was standing on very flat ground, something that was practically impossible to ride on. There was no way a snowboard could catch any downward movement here.

That meant she wasn't on the mountain anymore. But how could that be? She went unconscious, she knew that. So, the only reasonable explanation was that she was taken.

She stiffened, now seeing them. Large footprints leading to her position confirmed her worst fears. Her heart pounded in suspense. Her kidnapper could still be here.

"Okay," she breathed, "now is a good time to panic."

As if on cue, eerie clicking trickled behind her, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand erect.

Rae spun around. She couldn't see an obvious figure, so she focused harder, forcing her eyes to scan and identify an anomaly. She caught a shimmer up in one of the trees. Bingo. Was it the government? Were they onto her again? Did they come to finish her off? Wanting to just get it over with, she braced herself, "Who are you?!" She clenched her teeth in anticipation.

Nothing.

"How much are they paying you to do this?" Her voice shook with more emotion than she wished to reveal. She didn't want them knowing she was scared, that would make her look like an easy target.

When there was no response she scowled beneath the mask, "I can see you so stop playing! If you're here to take me in or kill me, you should have done that while I was unconscious!"

Gold eyes flashed at her like a beacon.

Rae's breath caught and she stumbled back, almost tripping on her board. "What the—!"

The hazy figure jumped down from a branch that was about ten feet up, loudly landing in a crouch. As it rose to its full height, Rae came to realize just how enormous it really was. In fact, it seemed far too big to be human.