Abducted-DJ's Tale

Chapter 1

     "Stop, Melody! Uncle, Uncle!" I screamed. Melody continued tickling me for a couple more seconds before she stopped. We were giggling quite a bit.

     "Are you guys coming down? Sadie, AJ and their parents will be here soon!" our mother yelled.

     "Coming!" Melody yelled. "Come on, Balto." Balto  walked up to us, his tongue lolling. Melody and I ran down the steps. Balto kept up with us- he was very active for a fourteen year old dog.

     Mitchell sat on the lazy-boy, his thin twenty-two year old butt taking up most of it. Despite that, I jumped in with him, laughing when he made a funny sound. He looked at me.

     "That stopped being funny and painless when you turned eight, short stuff," he said, grinning.

     "One, STOP CALLING ME SHORT STUFF!!! Two, that was only five years ago. Get over it," I said, stressing the 'only.'

     He was about to retaliate when an incessant knock at the door made me spring up.

     "Oh, so close to actually winning. Better luck next time!" I said, pretending to mock him. He gave me a playful glare as I went to open the door.

     I was near crushed to death by AJ, who was jumping up and down in excitement.

     "We're going to Walt Disney Land!" she screeched.

     "That's great!" I heard Melody say. My heart sunk. We would be apart for probably a week.

     "That's not the best part! The trip is for six people and if it is okay with your mom, you can go to!" she yelled at me. I instantly smiled and we hugged each other.

     "Come on, supper is ready. We're having spaghetti and garlic bread."

     "Yessss!" I said in a low voice. AJ and I sat next to each other, two plates of food in front of us. Everyone dug in, chatting about their summer vacation plans. We asked about the Walt Disney Land trip and Mom and Dad said it would be fine, but that Melody and I had to be on our absolute best behavior. I nodded quickly. Mitchell declined; he didn't want to go and even if he did he had little-league championships, and his team needed him. Besides, there weren't enough spots.

     After supper Mom, Dad and Mr. and Mrs. Winslow went out to bowl. Us kids said our goodbyes and gathered around the TV to watch a movie. We watched 'Annie,' much to the annoyance of Mitchell.

     After the movie Melody, Sadie and Mitchell played video games. I grabbed a blanket and announced that AJ and I were going outside. Melody said okay and to be careful. I knew why, too. As soon as we turned five, our parents told us about what happened to Melody and Sadie, back when they were thirteen and six. We were shocked. That's all I can say. We were shocked.

     I laid the blanket onto the soft grass. AJ and I stared at the beautiful summer stars. I pulled out my camera and took pictures. Yep, I wanted to be a photographer. I have always dreamed of having my own studio. AJ wants to be a painter. We plan to share a studio. Half will be mine, half hers. We were excited already.

     We had been lying there for about an hour when AJ stood up.

     "I need to use the bathroom, I'll be right back." I nodded and she walked off.

     I stared at the twinkling stars, at least until I heard footsteps. I turned and saw a man in a dark black shirt and pants. His face was half hidden by a scarf. He looked about thirty-nine. I quickly stood.

     He stood between me and the house. His hands were hidden behind his back, which for some reason scared me. His eyes looked cold and merciless.

     "Who-who are you?" I asked. He didn't answer, just took a step forward. I took one back. He kept walking forward, I kept walking back. Soon I was swallowed by the trees in the back of the property.

     I turned and ran, trying to lake a large U-turn. I heard footsteps and knew the man was pursuing me. I tried to run faster.

     What the fudge? Why was I on the ground? I turned and looked behind me. My foot was lodged behind a tree root! Arg!!! I tried to stand up to keep running but it was too late. The man had caught up with me.

     The man shoved me onto my stomach, after duct-taping my mouth shut. He crossed my arms behind my back. He quickly tied them tight and pulled me up. Grabbing my bicep, he dragged me out of the wood, away from the house. I kicked in a vain attempt to free myself from his grip. After a couple of minutes of this, he grunted and slapped me across the face. I stopped struggling.

     After a while we came to a clearing. A beat up truck sat in the middle. He roughly opened the door shoved me inside then got in himself. He shoved me off the passenger's seat and onto the floor of the car. He buckled his seat belt and started the car. He drove quickly out of the clearing, leaving a cloud of dust in our wake.