Kidnapped

Standoff

I feel myself moving, attacking, and blocking against Lander, but a larger part of me is telling me to stop and get to the cave before Jeff and his pals come. They seemed way too interested in finding me. I didn't like the excitement in their voice either.

Finally, a kick from me makes the sword in Lander's hand fly through the air and land a few feet away. Before he runs to it I pull it into my hand and point the tip of the sword at Lander. The handle is heavy, but I keep it as straight as I can in my left hand. "Your friends are coming and I don't want to be here when they get here. So move out of my way."

"THERE SHE IS!" Jeff's voice calls. Lander and I both glance over to see the guys running toward us. They pull their guns out and start shooting at us.

Maybe it's the fact that they are shooting at one of their own or the confused look on Lander's face when we make eye contact, but I drop the sword in the snow next to Lander and start running for the cave. They couldn't be working for Lander, I work out. Which meant that they were looking for me and Lander all along. I glance back to see Lander picking up his sword and facing Jeff and his friends. "Come on!"

********************

Lander's P.O.V

"Come on!" She runs off, but I ignore her and face the idiots who were firing guns at me. I dodge the bullets and run behind the tree I had hidden behind to wait for Blake's inevitable arrival. I crouched down at the base of the tree and take in the situation.

There were five of them, all wearing white, and annoyingly familiar. The guns that they kept on firing sounded different from the ones that I had gotten used to hearing, which meant the weapons game has changed since we've been gone.

I grab the bag that I had hid and pull out my gun. The thing hadn't been used since getting to Saunders, and I was a little rusty, but I was running on anger right now. They had to watch out. I clip the sword on my belt and get ready. There were enough bullets in my bag to get me through these idiots and then some.

They had gotten closer. As I watch, they split up. Two of them start towards me and three of them turn and move in Blake's direction. I glance back to see her just standing there. Even from here I could tell that Blake's face was really pale and that she was shaking, but instead of running she was standing on a slope and staring in my direction.

What is she doing?

Three guys were on her and she was just standing there? The gunfire returns, but when I turn around to fire back they're gone. Shit. I have been made. I grab my bag and run toward where I saw Blake standing on the slope. Then I stop. They were gone. Blake was gone too.

"Follow me if you want to live," her voice almost makes me jump. I turn around and point the gun at her. The guys who had been after her on the slope were gone too.

"What did you do?" She flinched back, but her gaze wasn't on me. She stares off into the distance for a moment. Then she runs past me. "Hey!" I fire my gun at a tree. The loud piercing sound freezes Blake in place. When I get closer, her eyes are wide and I can see the shock in them, but that only makes me smug. I point the gun at her again, as I ask her again "What did you do? What happened to those shooters?" I edge my gun closer to her head. "Did you kill them? Are they dead?"

Blake shook her head. "No."

"Then where are they?"

She blinks slowly. "I...I...I don't know. They--they were shooting. And I was--" Blake trails off, her gaze somewhere over my shoulder. "No."

I fall for it. I turn to look behind me and Blake grabs the gun out of my hand. "Don't make me do this, Lander." I grit my teeth in annoyance. I have already told her not to call me Lander. "So, please turn around and..." she trails off again, but this time I refuse to fall for it.

I lock my gaze on hers and speak slowly. "Give me the gun back." I reach for the gun, making sure to keep her eyes on mine. Blake dodges my attempt and slides her gaze away. She concentrates, squinting her eyes a little. The air seems to get heavier as Blake lurches forward, grabs my left arm, and pulls me along. I see the grimace on her face a second later, but then it's gone and we're running.

I tug my hand away from her. Blake stops running and again she refuses to meet my eyes as hers search the woods. "Lander...."

PING!  PING! PING-PING!

The sound echos through the air. I crouch and look around. Someone was shooting at us. Blake puts up her left hand as if she's shooing something away. The air ripples and I hear it: the sound of large objects moving. Then the ground starts to tremble. I watch as Blake drops my gun on the floor and turns around, keeping her left hand up. I roll over to my gun and pick it up. The metal on it feels insanely over-heated.

PING! PING-PING! PING!

These shots strike closer. One of them hits the tree bark behind me. Blake is still acting weird, keeping her hand up and moving around in a circle. One of the shots rush past her head, but she doesn't even blink. Just as I try to train my gun on her, Blake looks down at me, and I freeze.

I didn't freeze because I was scared or anything. My whole body just felt trapped. I couldn't look away as Blake lifted her right hand toward me in a gesture. Without permission, my body gets up on its own and turns around. I hear the gunfire intensifying behind me, but I can't do anything. Blake walks on ahead, with both of her hands raised in the air, and I follow.