Curse Carrier Book 1 Of The Curse Carriers Series

Chapter 4: Be Brave Naomi

Naomi POV

Naomi goes outside with her rabbit. It's warm even for October. Her itchy purple shirt feels sticky in the heat. She walks mindlessly across the road to a large green park. There's no swings or slides here. Just a few scattered picnic tables and an old gazebo in the center. It had large trees around the edges as well as flowering bushes planted here and there.

Leaves lay thickly over the walkway and the grass. Smile. She thought. How can I smile? I hate this place. I hate them. She thought to herself over the crunch of the leaves as she kicked a path through them.

She stopped by a bench and became so lost in her slow murky thoughts she failed to notice the men walking up to her.

One touches her shoulder to get her attention. He smiles friendily and asks, "Hello little girl. What's your name?" He speaks with a thick accent the girl doesn't recognize.

"Naomi." She says emptily. In the back of her mind an alarm starts going off but she's slow to react.

Cribby's voice bursts through the muddy stream that is her thoughts. Run Nee! Get to the church! She screams.

The second man looks at her coldly. He pulls a shiny black thing from his hoodie pocket and points it at her. "Follow us. If you scream or resist I'll kill you." He says pointing the hand gun at the girl.

Naomi nods as the first inkling of fear enters her mind. Run Nee! RUN!! Cribby screams. Naomi puts the rabbit down on the bench facing the church. She steps away and starts to follow the scary men. DON'T FOLLOW THEM!!! The rabbit calls after her.

I have to. I don't want to die. She says in her head knowing Cribby will hear her. I'm sorry. Please watch after my sister. Naomi bites her trembling lip as she's led to a white car.

Cribby relents and starts to cry. Alright. I will. She promises. Be brave Naomi and come back safely.

Naomi gets in the car and the first man puts a pillowcase over her head. She feels a single tear slide down her cheeks as he gets in the back with her and tapes her hands together.

The second man with the gun gets in the front and drives. She sits quietly and stops crying. As her Sunday dread wears off her fear disapears as well. After a couple hours she's thinking calmly and clearly. She also really has to pee.

"Mister. I have to go to the bathroom." She says calmly.

"Can't it wait?" The one up front snaps.

Utau flinches a little on the inside. "No. I really really have to go." She says back.

"Unless you want to drive the rest of the way in a car that smells like piss we better let her go." The man with the accent says.

The man in front 'tsks' in annoyance. "Fine. Make it quick." He snaps pulling over. "Untie her." He sighs exasperated.

The first man unties Naomi's binds and takes the pillow case off. He points at a bush, "Don't try to escape. He'll shoot you square between the eyes if you try."

Naomi relieves herself behind the bush. When she comes back the foriegner is waiting for her. He puts the pillowcase back on. Naomi holds out her hands and he tapes them again.

The man stares at the girl curiously. She's small for her age in ill fitting clothes with frizzy wispy hair. She looks fragile to like a strong wind could break her in half. Despite her small stature the girl has her back straight and her chin held high. The other kids the man had captured so far had cried or sobbed or even fallen silent with shock. Hear fearless attitude surprised the man. She didn't even appear rattled.

"Little girl, are you not scared?" He asks pronouncing his words carefully.

Naomi looks at him coldly over her shoulder and lies. "Of course." She smiles as her Sunday mask finally fell away completely. "But I'm not going to show that to the likes of you." She smirks sassily.

Back in the car she was once again bound and blindfolded. For the remainder of the trip she stayed silent and let them escort her to a mordern looking building. It's white with black shiny windows that wouldn't let the viewer see inside. The building is about ten stories high with one side having another five stories stacked on top.

Before being brought inside another car pulls up. A man in a business suit gets out and opens the back door. A young white haired girl steps out and the man reaches in to pull out an unconscious red haired boy.

The man with the accent escorted Naomi to a room just past the very official looking front desk. He told her to shower and find clothes that fit. He taps the boy's face until he starts to wake up.

He bolts awake with a shock and kicks the man in the face making his nose spurt blood. The man drops the boy and he rolls away and jumps onto his feet. He glares at the man witb steely teal eyes. "What happened! Where am I?" He demanded.

The white haired girl observes him with interest. "We should do as we're told." She says running up to Naomi. She relates the same instructions the man had given to them to the red haired boy. To Naomi's surprise the fight seemed to drain out of his eyes and he immediately turns to do as he's told. The white haired girl smiles and has Naomi follow her.

In different stalls they shower and sift through a large pile of white hospital uniforms until they find ones that fit. Out in the hallway the foriegn man has drugged the boy again and has him slung over his should like a sack of potatoes.

Naomi cautiously follows the man to a door. When he opens it the girls go inside. Inside the room is the size of a football field. The floor is shiny white tile and the walls are painted white. The ceiling high above is dotted with lights but is also white. Milling around the room to Naomi's surprise is about two to three hundred other kids dressed white clothes.

The man with the accent grunts. "Take him!" He says grumpily throwing the boy at them. He slams the door shut and Utau looks at the boy concerned.

She shakes him partially awake, "Hey! Are you okay?" She asks concerned.

The boy looks at her with blurry eyes, "Lapis?" He asks. "Where are we?"

Naomi looks around, "I'm not sure where we are. By the way, my name is Naomi, not Lapis."

The boy's eyes flicker as he fights the drug in his veins. "My name's Lazul." He looks up at the ceiling, "Damn, we've been kidnapped." He mutters going limp.