Mutation

Chapter 15: Depression

After we had all gone back to camp, we spent time in our designated tents. I sat on my pillow, for the hard, gravel ground was uncomfortable. The back of my thighs touched my calves and my arms on my knees. My forehead was rested on my arms and the door of my tent was zipped up and shut. I just sit there as I hear the meadow to the left of the camp sway and creak and listen to the critters scurrying across the ground.

I was about to fall asleep when, suddenly, I heard footsteps outside of my tent in the distance. It was only noon and it was very bright so I wasn't too concerned. I've been afraid of the dark since I was 6 years old. I didn't bother to look out or even move. I'm sure it was a stray dog, a deer, or even some local traveler. But, then, I heard someone's tent zipper open. That made me lift my head. I heard a little bit of whispering, then, rustling coming from the tent. Then, a puncture in the tent. More footsteps. I heard the person do the same thing to another tent that was closer and closer and closer. And the more tents the person did that to, the more footsteps I heard. Then, finally, they walked up to my tent. I held my breath and I didn't move. They walked in front of my tent, then, stopped, then, passed it. I let out a silent exhale of relief. I decided to peek out just a bit to see what was going on outside.

I slightly opened the zipper to make a little peep hole in the front of my tent. The tent in front of me was about 10 feet away so I could see the tent from top to bottom. It was Peters tent. Peter always had his tent facing mine.

The guy went up to his tent and unzipped the door a little and asked if he could ask Peter a question in private in a very quiet whisper. Suddenly, 3 other people came up to the tent dressed in black- 2 on the left side and one on the right. He responded with "Yeah, give me one minute." The one on the right had a small tranquilizer needle. I gasped. I asked myself what to do as I backed away from the front of my tent a few inches. I stopped asking myself for a moment and went back to look through the peep hole again. Peter stood up and got out of his tent, not seeing the other people beside the one who asked him the question.

"So, what did you need to ask me?" Peter said oblivious. He looked to the right and left of the person that asked him the question. As soon as he saw them, he tried to run into the forest that was to the left of my tent.

"RUUUUUUUN!! RUUUUUUUN!!" He shouted as he was looking toward the tents. He ran into a guy that was dressed in black, as the rest of them were, that got in Peter's way. Some of my friends got away but I knew some didn't. I saw Hallie, Sam, and Zach go into the forest filled with thick trees to the left of our camp site.

The guy in black threw him down and pinned him to the ground. He tried so hard to escape, but another guy dressed in black got a tranquilizer and took off the cap as fast as he could. Peter managed to get the guy on him, off and started to breath very heavily as he ran swiftly toward the forest. The person with the tranquilizer run as fast as he could to catch up with him. He was right behind Peter when Peter tripped over a light brown tree root that wasn't very visible in the desert place we lived in and got a tranquilizer to the neck. They quickly picked up Peter and ran to the right of my tent.

I tried to keep my sobbing noise level to a minimum as I heard them all run to the right of my tent, away from our campsite. I unzipped my tent and stood swiftly to see what they were running to. It was a medium sized air craft that had some of my other friends.

"NOOOOOO, PETER!!!!!" I screamed as I ran towards the air craft. The entrance of the air craft was about to close. I tried to pull it back open but just ended up closing on the tips my fingers to my cuticles. I screamed in pain as the air craft started to fly up. It lifted me off the ground and eventually ripped off half of two of my fingers. I fell about twenty feet till I hit the ground.

"OOOW!!" I exclaimed so the birds in the trees could hear with more tears streaming nonstop down my face. "My fingers, they're gone!! I think I broke my leg, too!!"

Adam and any others who weren't captured ran over to me. "Crap, Courtnee, I can't heal bones!!" My vision was blurry from the tears. Adam took the knife from my pocket and cut my pant leg open and rolled it up. My shin was swollen and bright red like a rose. My fingers, or at least what was left of them, was covered with this dark red liquid. As I began to look closer, I noticed it was blood. The blood ran from the stumps of my fingers down my hand and onto my arm. Adam ran me back to camp. While he was running, he noticed the tranquilizers stabbed in the tents that the people in black captured. He proped me up on a campfire chair. He ran into the tent and whipped out the first aid kit. He snatched the bandaging fabric that was soon going to be on my hand. As I squeezed my wrist in pain, Adam attempted to wrap my hand, but failed, for I was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. He got one of the tranquilizer needles from Hannah's tent and stuck it in my neck. As the needle sunk into my skin, I heard him whisper, "I'm sorry... Courtnee..."

I felt myself relax and calm as he removed the needle. I started to feel drowsy and my eyes became heavy. It was dark. I didn't know what was happening. I tried to open eyes but couldn't for some reason.

I remember seeing them carry Peter, Krysten, Josh, Hannah, and Sydney into that ship. I have to save them or my life with them is going to be gone.