Taken (On Hold)

Chapter 2

Sand. That's all I see when I open my eyes.

What? I blink in confusion and rub my eyes groggily. Why on earth would there be sand in my bedroom - oh. It is dark out, but in the light of the moon I can make out some of my surroundings. As I take in the moon reflecting on the ocean, which laps at the sand a few yards away, the leafy palm trees towering over me, and the interminable plain of sand, I realize the truth: I am not at home.

Where am I?

On an island in the middle of nowhere?

I stand up shakily and grab a nearby palm tree to keep from collapsing. My head is throbbing, and I'm so dizzy that I can barely stand. After a few minutes, my head clears slightly. I carefully step away from the tree, reaching up to brush the sand from my short brown hair.

Almost in a daze, I start walk to the edge of the ocean. It doesn't look too deep, so I wade in about ankle deep. From here, I can see that the water quickly gets too deep to walk in. As small waves lap at my ankles, I contemplate swimming off this island. But I have no idea which way is home, and even if I did, there's no way of knowing if it's close enough to swim to.

With a deep sigh, I realize that I am trapped on this island. Who would've brought me here? I don't think I've made any enemies . . . Could this be some sort of a test that Taide, or even President James orchestrated?

I turn and walk back to the area under the trees that I woke up in. I'm so deep in thought that I'm not paying attention to where I am walking, and I trip on something. A leg.

Thankfully, that leg is attached to the body of a human being. She's unconscious. Either that, or dead. I'm praying for the former.

Because even with her red hair splayed across her face, I can tell who it is. My best friend.

"Amy," I whisper loudly, shaking her shoulders frantically. "Amy Rose, please be okay, wake up!"

"She'll wake up soon," someone says from behind me. I turn to see an familiar Asian girl standing behind me. She had pretty, thick black hair that reached just past her shoulders, and round, dark eyes. Her soft voice had a slight accent, as if English was a second language. I think she is from Altruisme. She's clearly frightened, but is doing her best to hide it. "I think we were drugged. She'll wake up when it wears off."

I nod, understanding. "Thank you." Amy Rose stirs, but doesn't wake up.

"I'm Eri," she says, offering me a shy smile that lights up her pale face.

"Megan," I answer, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you. You have a beautiful name, by the way."

"Thank you, it's Japanese," she explains. "And the pleasure's all mine. You know," she comments, cocking her head slightly, "I remember you from the ceremony yesterday; you were awarded for Taide."

"Yeah, that was me." I think back to the ceremony. Maybe that's where I recognized her from? I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I'll just go with it. "You were too, right?"

"We all were," a male voice with a heavy Irish accent says. The voice belongs to a tall, freckled redhead. Even though he's not smiling, he has crinkles around his eyes as if he smiles all the time. In fact, his eyes are twinkling, though there is no humor in them.

"What do you mean?" I ask him with a frown.

"Haven't you noticed?" He seems shocked that I haven't noticed, whatever it is he's talking about.

I frown. "I don't understand."

"Look behind you," he directs, gesturing vaguely with his hand. I turn around, somewhat nervously, and I can't keep from gasping aloud at what I see.

The sun has started to rise, and I can see my surroundings much more clearly in the growing light. I can see that the beach is littered with bodies, males and females around my age. I hope that Eri is right, that they are all simply drugged and unconscious.

There are around thirty teens lying on the sand. A couple of others have woken up and are talking in hushed tones on the other side of the bodies.

"What's going on?" I ask in horror, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Do you know anything? Please, tell us!" Eri begs, her eyes wide.

"You haven't figured it out yet? I envy your naïveté. I would much rather be in ignorance about this." He smiles sadly.

"I never thought I'd hear a Connaissance kid say that," Eri quips halfheartedly. The boy laughs without mirth. I wonder how Eri remembers what sector everyone is from. I certainly couldn't. In fact, I'm surprised that I even remembered Eri's sector, unless I was wrong about that. So how does she do it? I make a mental note to ask her later.

The boy laughs without mirth, and I grow even more worried.

"I need to know, however bad it may be. If you know anything at all, you need to tell me," I demand, my voice trembling ever so slightly.

He sighs. "Well, think about it. What does everyone here have in common?"

I start connecting the dots in my mind. If he was right earlier, then all of us were awarded yesterday. So, we were all supposed to graduate today. Which means . . . we're all eighteen . . .

"Oh my gosh," I whisper hoarsely. "It can't be . . . " My voice trails off. The boy nods grimly. Despite his calm demeanor, I can detect a trace of fear in his eyes.

"Yes," he says, then proceeds to voice my worst suspicions. "We've been Taken."

I am totally on a roll with updating today! The action has begun :) I will post pictures of characters on the side as they are introduced, but this is the last time I'm telling you. From now on, you'll have to notice on your own! ;) I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

-Lucia<3