Bite Me

Chapter Two: Don't Say You Never Loved Me

We drove for hours, stopping only after I started crying because I had to pee so bad. They bought me a banana that had seen better days and a bottle of water. I almost said thank-you when the man handed it to me, but then I remembered: I wasn't thankful.

I tried to keep track of the direction we were going, any signs that might help me get home. I'd seen it in movies and read about it in books, kids who got kidnapped by stayed vigilant and got themselves home.

But after three hours, I lost track. I knew when it got dark that it was hopeless. I felt a sinking feeling as it occurred to me I wasn't as 'highly trained' as I'd imagined. I hadn't even thought to scream. I deserved this, probably, if I didn't even scream for help.

At close to four in the morning, we finally parked. I'd slept on and off for the entire trip, and I felt sick and groggy when they pulled me out of the car. It was the darkest part of the morning, wherever we were, and I couldn't see any of my surroundings.

I felt steps under my feet. Concrete, and I heard a big door open. We walked down what seemed to be a hallway until another door was opened and a light flicked on.

"Kara?"

A voice came from one of the four beds, and I saw a girl's head pop up.

"Go back to sleep." Kara pushed me into the room, and turned the light off.

I froze, standing where she'd left me for a long time. I slowly looked around, my eyes barely adjusting at all. I felt dizzy and disoriented.

"Where are we?" I whispered, not daring to try the door handle so soon.

"In the morning. Go to bed." The same muffled voice came from the bed on the other side of the room, and I hesitantly took a step towards it.

"Which one is my bed?" I held my hands out, trying to feel for anything large I might walk into.

"God, just shut up and go to sleep." the voice sounded irritated, which made me angry. This wasn't the time to be snappy. Maybe she was in on this whole kidnapping thing. Maybe she was my guard.

Silently, I dropped to my knees and crawled as quietly as I could to where I remembered seeing a bed. I shook it, and it rattled. I hadn't had much resistance, so I figured there couldn't be anyone on it. I climbed up, keeping my shoes on, and closed my eyes.

"Hey, wake up."

I felt a poke in my side, and I rolled over, feeling very wide awake all the sudden.

I looked up into the face of a pretty, olive toned girl with blond, almost white, short hair.

"I'm Bolade, but just Bo works. That's Greer over there," Bo jerked her head in the direction of the bed across the room from mine. I could see red hair, but that was all that wasn't covered by blankets.

"I'm Thecla. Were you kidnapped too?" I sat up, pushing the pile of blankets away and looking around.

It wasn't how I'd imagined. We were, it seemed, in an old classroom that had been converted into a bedroom, of sort. It was well furnished with what appeared to be brand new beds, a couch, a long table in the corner with a mirror and a dresser. Everything was immaculately clean, and I recalled that my bedding had smelled nice when I'd crawled into it.

"Yeah, I was grabbed on my way home from swimming practice." Bo shrugged, and didn't seem to even care.

"What about her?" I looked at Greer, who still hadn't moved from the comfortable den she'd created with the blankets.