Kidnapped

Chapter Three

- Chapter Three -

After the meal and lounging until around three o'clock, I suggested we check on Scarlett.

"Come on guys!" I begged. "Don't you want to know if anyone else is okay?"

"We do," Jinx said calmly. "But we don't want to be taken either."

I stared at her for a while, wondering where that spunky Jinx had gone. The one with a thirst for adventure and a heart of curiosity. I guess a person can change when they're watching their sister be hauled into a random car kicking and screaming by a strange, unknown man with unknown intentions and no clue if they'll ever see each other ever again.

I tried to put myself in her shoes, feel the pain that she felt. Once and a while I watched her bite back tears, she loved her sister, and even if we weren't friends I'd help get Jessie back.

I thought for a moment- or what felt like a moment, it was most likely several minutes because Max and Jinx were staring at me expectantly.

"Lets just take the back streets. Bring a baseball bat, and stick together." I suddenly burst out. "What happened to that old, adventurous Jinx I knew who would've liked a bit of danger to spice things up." I playfully punched her shoulder.

"It's just-" She sighed.

She didn't even have to finish that sentence, I knew what she meant.

Later that evening, dressed in black (At Jinx's request), we walked down the street, hostile and glancing around at any little sound. Diving behind bushes if we heard a distant car driving around.

For the most part, it was quiet. A nice evening too, just pushing seventy degrees, and a mild dew from a little rain shower earlier in the day. It was a cloudless night, the stars shone brightly and the sliver of the moon was the only light we had.

I was brought back to consciousness by Max as he dragged me out of view behind a house as a car passed along the street we were about to turn on.

"Wha-"

"Shh!" Jinx hissed. "I don't want to end up like the other unfortunate souls that were taken." I heard the sadness edge her voice.

We sat crouched behind an odd little brick house for what felt like forever, we listened, Max peaked out and down the street to see if any more cars were coming. He motioned to us with his hand to come forward and advance further to Scarlett's house.

The whole time walking I felt like we should have some crazy dramatic narrator like in the movies or in silly cartoons. I laughed to myself at that thought.

I'd been leading our hike to Scarlett's house, so I turned to Max and Jinx and said, "Shortcut or no?"

"Shortcut please." Jinx said a bit on edge.

We where all on edge.

I snaked around a few more houses and came to the elementary school playground, I nodded my head to the open field.

"We risk being caught but it'll save us a couple minutes." I looked at Jinx in particular, making sure she was okay with it.

She gave me a look that said: 'I'm nervous but let's do this!" I looked around for a couple minutes, making sure there was no cars or any other people. I nodded as a signal to run, because on the other side of the playground there was a small patch of woodland we could hide in the case of being seen.

Max was the fastest by far, he sprinted across that field like it was nothing. I wasn't the fastest but I was scared of being seen, Jinx on the other hand was a bit slower but I could tell she was nervous of ending up like her sister and she kept about the same pace as me.

I felt cool mud splash up my legs as I ran across the field, Jinx tried to give a light laugh but she was breathing hard. Max waited for us by a large birch tree, he was breathing pretty heavy too for having cleared maybe a one hundred yard field in about twenty seconds.

We all cast each other relieved glances and continued a small hike through the thin woods and up a small slope, Scarlett's house would be on the next block.

Jinx didn't look so good, she isn't exactly the most fit person and that mad sprint across the field winded her. In a couple minutes after regaining breath she looked better, right as we arrived at Scarlett's front door.

I gulped, walked up to the door, and knocked. We all stood motionless on her front steps, I heard a couple clicks and the sound of something being drug across the floor. Then, Scarlett's mom opened the door and her welcoming smile dropped when she saw me.

"You know you're not welcome here." She said gruffly.

"Yes ma'am, I know. I'm just with them." I said ashamed and stepped behind Jinx and Max.

"We were just wondering if Scarlett was around." Jinx piped up, breaking the tense silence that hung in the air like a think morning fog.

Scarlett's mom gave a sad expression and let out a heavy sigh, "She was taken when these happenings first started. She always liked to walk around at night, I tried to persuade her to stop going out at night or at least take someone with her but she wouldn't listen-"

"It's okay." Jinx barely whispered, "Yesterday we watched my sister be taken, right before our eyes she was just snatched up."

"Oh you poor things!" Scarlett's mom, Katherine, shrieked. She pulled Max and Jinx in a tight hug around the neck, leaving me standing there like the idiot I felt like.

After we'd visited Katherine, we stopped at my house to pack a couple bags for me, and I asked my mom to come stay with Jinx at her house. She agreed, and we began to pack up our belongings.

After we'd gotten back to Jinx's house and began to make dinner, me and Max sat at the table in a comfortable silence, just staring at each other. My mom and Jinx's mom had been friends for a long time and she was pleased to have my mom and I staying with her.

"What does Scarlett's mom have against you?" He broke the silence I was enjoying thoroughly.

I sighed deeply, "Just some bad choices I made." I said brightly. Trying to change the subject, I plastered a fake smile on my face, "Mmm, doesn't dinner smell good?"

"Don't go and change the subject on me, River. I know there's something going on here." He said sternly.

I burried my face in my hands and mumbled, "I just did some bad things she didn't approve of. Like cut myself, swear, I got into drugs for a bit, I used to live with my dad who she hated, and more."

"I didn't catch that, you're mumbling." He giggled lightly.

"I was just a bully for a while, you know I'm nicer now. And I used to swear a lot. " I smiled my best fake smile, and he bought it.

I hate lying to him, I hate lying to him, I hate lying to him. I said to myself over and over and mentally slapped myself for being to chicken to tell the truth.

I promised myself that'd I'd tell him more about my past later, since we were living together now, Jinx deserved to know too- since she was my best friend. And Max, dear Max, was my boyfriend who didn't know about my rebellious past.

A/N: Badass River up in here! Lol well Vote, Share, and please keep Reading!!!

-Kirby