Lilly

Chapter 25

Lilly left the mall as fast as she could go. She knew Stuart would try and catch her, and she didn't want to talk to him anymore. She needed space, and time, to think.

"Gotcha!" Strong hands grabbed her, and her head was covered, blocking out all light. She'd let the birds go, and hadn't realized it until then. Stuart had distracted her, yet another reason she needed to avoid him.

"Let me go!" she yelled, trying to fight her captors.

Her mind called out, as she felt the pinch of a needle going into her arm. She jerked hard, not sure if it made a difference. As she resumed her call, she put real thought into it. She needed dogs. They might allow her to avoid them figuring out her ability a little longer.

At first, there was no sign anything had heard her call, and she hadn't tried to touch the animal's minds, just call out to them. Then, as the men lifted her up, she heard it. There was a growing roar that became recognizable as lots of barks and yelps. It wasn't long before the roar of the dogs was all around them.

"Get away, mutt!" one man said.

"What the..." she heard another voice.

There were yelps, she guessed from the men kicking dogs, then she heard grunts from the men, curses, and lots of growling. The one who held her loosened his grip, allowing her to slip away, and out of his reach. She yanked the hood off her head as she did.

"Get her!" a man yelled, but she ran through an oval space in the sea of dogs, a space which closed as she passed. Her pursuers didn't have the same opening, and the dogs worked to stop them.

Stuart came out just in time to see Lilly running away from two men, but he hadn't seen them grab her. What he saw was the space opening around her as she ran. He didn't know what to make of it. What he knew was captivated him like no girl he'd ever seen before, and he barely knew her.

However, as he watched her, he knew there was something about her walk that looked...off. Just as he worried about her odd gait, his phone rang. "Hello," he answered, not even looking at the number.

"Help me," the voice pleaded, a voice he equated with angels.

"I can't get through all the dogs."

"They won't bother you," she assured him, but he couldn't see anyway he could avoid them, and some looked mean. When he saw her stumble, he knew something was wrong. He walked, his pace increasing as the dogs parted for him. When she fell, he ran, yet not a single dog interfered with him. Just like he'd seen with her, a small ellipse of space formed around him. When he got to her, she struggled to lift herself on her elbows.

"Get...way," she mumbled. Her phone was on the ground, having slipped from her hand.

He grabbed the phone, and shoved it in her pack. Then he took the pack from her shoulders and slung it on his, and lifter her up in his arms, like a baby. She weighed nothing, her pack feeling as if it was heavier than her.

"What's wrong?"

"Drugged," she said, but she was struggling, her words slurred. "Get...away," she said and he realized she was telling him to get away. Then he remembered the two men, and knew what she was trying to tell him. He was thankful he'd parked on this side of the mall. Looking around for only a moment, he found his car and walked as fast as he could, carrying his load.

He placed her in the passenger seat, buckled her seatbelt. As he pulled away, the sea of dogs began to disperse

"How weird," he said to himself, but aloud.

With a quick glance at her, he saw she was out. He knew Lilly would fuss at him for doing it, but he called his mother.

"Mom," Stuart began, cutting his Mom off, as she answered, "some men did something to Lilly. She's knocked out. She said they drugged her."