Taken

Chapter Seven--JEREMIAH

It was about another slow month until we were in city limits.  We were dangerously low on ammo and so we had to keep that in mind in terms of priorities when we went to search for Grady.

          Grady was about six-foot-two, with bleach blonde hair cut short and eyes that were the craziest I’d ever seen.  I met him the summer of eighth grade at a camp and we had been practically brothers ever since.  I would be able to easily pick him out of any crowd, but I knew it was going to be hard to find him.  For all we knew, he could have left town weeks ago.

          We stopped in every grocery store we came to, but had little luck.  Everything was spoiled or was some gross canned vegetable like brussel sprouts, and besides, all the freezers were off. We snagged some corn and instant mashed potatoes, plus the last bottle of ibuprofen, and finished our raid with some band aids. All in all: an unsuccessful trip.

          “How do you even know he is still here?” Denny asked once we started walking past what appeared to be a zoo.

          “I don’t,” I replied. 

          “So, what, if we don’t find him we just wasted a whole couple-month trip?” She sounded irritated, but I had nothing better to suggest.  Yes, we had wasted a trip if we couldn’t find him.  But it wasn’t like we were going to stay back home much longer, and I knew we would have regretted it if we didn’t try.

          We walked until the sun began to set before we decided to make our camp in an old mall by where I-35 and I-240 crossed over each other.  It was dark and creepy, and it made me nervous, so I dropped my bag close to the entrance, where the fading light still reached us.

          The building offered little warmth and I immediately regretted the lack of a fire.  We opened up the can of corn and ate it cold, but it didn’t fill any of us up. The longer we sat in silence, the more eerie the large space became and every sound kept me on my guard.

          I was about to drift off when I heard a loud bang and some voices.  Haven and Denny were already asleep and I didn’t want to wake them both—I knew it would just worry Denny—so I grabbed my gun and loaded it with one of the last few bullets I had. 

          As I followed the noise into the darkness, the voices got louder and I could make out what they were saying.  One sounded familiar, but I shook it off, thinking my mind was just playing tricks on me because I was tired.

          “What did you say about my mama?” One shrieked and they all burst into laughter.  I knew whoever these guys were probably didn’t like company and so I kept my gun poised, my senses alert.

          I turned the corner and saw the light at the end of the corridor.  There were about five or six guys around it, and every time one would say something, they would all fall backwards and roll around, snorting like a pack of wild pigs.

          “Hey Grad Dog, wanna smoke?” one finally asked after handing out his pack to a few of his buddies.

          Grad Dog?  “Nah,” came the reply, the familiar voice I recognized.  No, I thought, it couldn’t be that easy. I couldn’t have found him that quick.

          “Ah, come on man, you know you do.”

          By now I was just enough in the shadows to where they still hadn’t noticed my presence.  I could tell there was more guys sitting back from the light, maybe two or three, and a girl was sitting with her knees drawn, staring absentmindedly at the wall across from her.

          “I’m good, really.”

          I stared at him, studying his face, knowing that this was him, this was Grady.  I also noticed that one of the guys smoking had a gun and I didn’t want to risk my life.  I had to come up with a plan, something to get me into their circle so I could talk to Grady.

          Nothing came to mind so finally I went with the brave approach, the reassurance of Grady’s presence fresh on my mind, and I walked into the light, knowing what commotion was going on due to my unexpected visit and thought raising my hands would help.  The gun was in the air, loaded of course, but I hoped I didn’t need to use it.  Cigarette Guy pulled his gun quick too, and I was suddenly looking to Grady for help.

          Recognition flooded his eyes like a hurricane, but yet he stood still. As briefly as the look came, it passed, and he only fidgeted as Cigarette Guy tossed him the rest of the pack and approached me. Grady lit up quickly to busy himself doing something probably, because otherwise I couldn’t see him ever doing something like smoking.  I couldn’t believe my eyes, he wasn’t even old enough.  The other guys looked it, but not him. 

          I was desperately wishing I would have stayed back with the girls. Even though I found Grady, I feared for my life, because obviously these guys had a tight enough grip on his behavior he wasn’t going to stray from their order.  I never thought him as a coward, but he was obviously one now.

          “Well, well, well…   What do we have here?” It was the oldest line in the book, usually meaning the one who spoke the words had no heart and was ready to push his limits.  He took a long inhale of his cigarette then blew the smoke in my face.  I coughed and choked on the wretched smell and he just chuckled.

          “I know, I know, cliché right?  C’mon, why don’t you hand over your little shot gun, huh Big Shot?  Then maybe we can have a talk and get all this straightened out.” 

          “Wai—” I started but he cut me off.

          “I don’t really like defiant idiots, you know.  That’s what you are right now, Big Shot, an idiot. Nobody defies me…huh boys?” he asked the guys bouncing around behind him who trying to get a look at me.

          “Nope!” they all said in unison.  I noticed Grady stayed silent.

          I gulped and handed over my shot gun before Cigarette Guy had a couple guys grab me by the arms and drag me forcefully away; following him into the dark which scared me silly.  A talk in the light I could maybe take, but when you got me in the dark where I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face?  Then we had a problem.