RYLIE
"Let me get this straight; you want to leave, no escape," she air quoted with her fingers, "a secure environment where we're probably being watched every minute of the day, all four of us to the outside world where we know no one and have nowhere to stay or a means of survival because of a hunch." Nina looked from me to Gabrielle in disbelief. "Where did this idea come from?"
"When you put it that way, it does sound unrealistic." I sighed. I tangled my fingers in my hair and pulled. "Arrrrgh. I know what it sounds like."
"Yeah, it sounds stupid." Gab inserted.
I speared her with a look, and she mimicked a zipping motion over her lips.
The familiar comfort of my sisters' room mocked me; their twin beds rested next to the wall, and underneath the windows on opposite sides of the room, a thick rug graced the floor in the middle, which I was currently occupying. The room was painted in various shades of blue, with the shades ranging from very light to very dark, from the top to the bottom. It was beautiful. The slight scent of roses lingered around the room, the same scent that was always attached to my sisters. They were both perched on Nina's bed and watching me like I had developed horns.
I felt like I had developed horns.
I folded both my legs underneath each other and sat up. "We have to try."
"Rylie, it is basically impossible. We'd never be able to leave, heck, even the doctor comes to us, and we don't have any money. How would it work?" Nina asked, looking to Gabrielle for help.
"I don't know, we'll think of something."
"No, we aren't thinking of anything, we're going to stay right here." She announced, sounding older than me in that minute.
"Nina can't you see?"
"Yeah, I can; I can see that you've gone nuts." Her long black hair was pulled into a neat ponytail which bounced around as she shook her head at me. Nina was very tidy, and she always tried to look her best; she was perched on her neat and well-laid bed like she didn't like the idea of placing an indent on it. Gab didn't share the same sentiment. "I don't understand. Is this about the argument you had with Dad and Mom on Saturday? The same argument that happened almost every other time?" Her voice softened.
"This isn't about that." Even though I knew it was partway because of that.
"Dear sister of mine, it has been years." Her eyes offered comfort. "You have to adjust to the new situation and be open; perhaps you'll realize that it's not as bad as you make it seem." She sighed, and she looked so much like Mom at that moment. "I know it's hard, but please give Dad another chance. What's done is done and we can only move on. Let's take a shot at happiness, and who knows, maybe things will progress in the right direction if we give it a chance."
"Rylie, I think we should do as Nina says." Gabrielle took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "We all deserve to be happy, so baby steps in the right way?"
I looked at both of them; they were right, and I was interested in some peace, too. Perhaps the nagging in my gut is just because I now hate Dad and the whole situation; perhaps it'll go away; perhaps there's some semblance of our past in our future if we tried. I decided then to try.
"You both sound so mature, and it's annoying." In a flash, I was up from the floor and jumping onto the bed. I crashed into Nina, taking her down as I landed. We all broke into resounding laughter; I was happy and surrounded by the people who mattered the most to me. Later on, we watched the dwindling sunset from Nina's window.
Yeah, I could do this; everything was going to be just fine, I thought at that moment, except it wasn't.
*************************
Another school day today, I hated school. I hated everything that forced me to live my pretend life. Those thoughts stayed on my mind as we drove the winding roads that led away from the estate. I've always wondered why anyone would choose to live so far away from civilization.
We'd lost all the other cars conveying the other kids at Lord knows where; I usually tried to follow with my eyes but somehow, they always disappeared. I never knew where they all went.
Gab had kept up a steady stream of chatter since we left the house with Nina inserting a few words now and then. I wasn't interested in talking, I felt funny and I wanted to be back home, sleeping the day away.
It was the 27th day of May 2023. I rested my head on the window and played with the loose seams at the edge of my skirt. I did not like nor enjoy school; we couldn't exactly form strong bonds with other people since we never really saw each other after school, and we had no means to keep in touch. I was demoted a year ago when I complained about never being able to participate in group studies and assignments. Now I could participate with my sisters and group members.
Our car slowed to a stop, and I raised my head from its resting spot; I knew we were not at our destination yet.
"Stay in the car," was all from David as he opened the door on his side. There was a tree obstructing the road.
I could hear him speaking on the phone. "There's a tree on the road." He walked to the remaining stump on the side of the road. "It looks natural enough, but there were no winds last night." He listened before he continued. "Just send help to move it and be fast about it, I don't feel good about this."
The wind carried his gruff voice to us. Gab and Nina had quieted down, but they didn't look too bothered though.
Suddenly, I could hear a voice in my head, calling my name. I jerked off my seat, it was the same one from my dream. Unconsciously, I opened the door on my side and stepped out. The wind picked up speed, and I could hear the voice calling to me. "Riley..." I looked back and forth, turning round to hear where that enchanting voice was calling from.
"I told you to sit still, why do you find it hard to listen?" David shouted, but his voice sounded so far away from me, though he wasn't. He approached the car.
Then some figure darted through the trees. I tried to focus and see, hoping my eyes had played tricks on me, but no. It was there! A figure wrapped in some sort of green attire. Several other figures like it darted through the trees as well and it looked like they were headed for us.
"Shit!" David screamed at me, breaking into a run. "Get in the car." He shouted, I didn't need telling. David jumped into the car, immediately making a U-turn. "Seatbelts! Now." I hurried to clasp myself in place, and Gab and Nina did the same.
"Rylie, what's going on?" Nina asked, her voice remained calm but she had a death grip on her seatbelt. They both had panicked looks on their faces.
"I don't know." I gripped the handle of the car door on my side.
David drove like a bat out of hell. I could still see the figures flitting through trees on either side of the road, they were crazy fast as well. A foreign feeling settled in the pit of my stomach, fear. I hardly ever felt scared.
There were silent tears on Gabrielle's face, and I could do nothing to comfort her. My eyes widened in their sockets when I realized there was another fallen tree blocking the road ahead of us. It was too late when David saw it. He swerved off the road in an attempt to avoid it, but it was too late.
The sound of our screeching tires against the road filled the air and we went tumbling to the side. Someone was screaming and I did not realize it was me. Time slowed down for me as the car flew through the air in a somersault and crashed into a huge tree.
The engine hissed loudly but the ringing in my head was louder. We were upside down, and I was hanging with my seatbelt holding me in place. I unclasped it and crashed face-first to the floor, moaning in pain.
Pieces of the windscreen and the car windows covered everywhere; they bit into my hands and my exposed skin. Nina and Gab were hanging from their seatbelts, too; they were both unconscious, and blood flowed freely down one side of Gabrielle's head; tendrils of her hair were dripping with it. But they were alive at least.
David wasn't that lucky; his body was twisted in a very uncompromising position in front. The human body shouldn't be able to do that. It looked like he didn't take his own advice about the seatbelts.
Tears blurred my vision. I felt groggy, and a certain darkness was trying to swallow me whole; I blindly fought the urge. Green-clad legs and feet were already making their way to the car. A lot more tears poured, frustration drowning me, then I remembered the phone. It should be on David, clenching my teeth, I prayed to whatever gods were listening that it would still work.
I maneuvered myself to David's side and started searching his pockets. It was hard due to how bent his body was. I was covered in tiny cuts, and my fingers were getting sticky because of his blood and mine; it was everywhere.
"Get the girls out, the car might explode." A strange voice said. They were already here and it was too late.
Someone pried the door open on my side, and I planted my boot-clad foot in the first face that showed. An angry yell was the result of that.
The destroyed doors were being forced open on all sides. With no thoughts or ideas in mind, I scrambled on my hands and knees out of the car. My body was screaming in pain and the phone was still nowhere to be found, and help was not coming anytime soon.
A number of green-clad people surrounded the car, and there was no escape in sight. I felt a lot of things in that moment but fear was the overruling emotion.
They were covered from head to toe in green with only their eyes out. Eyes in different shades and colors all stared at me. What did they want with us? Something told me they only wanted me.
I took a fighting stance, I was breathing heavily and already exhausted but I was not going down without a fight.
Something flew through the air and I felt a sting in my arm with a spreading numbness. The ground rose to meet me and that darkness welcomed me with open arms.
*************************
MARCUS
"There was an accident, sir," a pause, "the driver is dead, and a girl is missing." Another pause.
"Get on with it." I put my hands in my pocket and looked out the window; it was midday, and the sun was taking a stance in the middle of the clear blue sky. The day looked very beautiful, too beautiful for unpleasant news.
"It looks like they were ambushed, sir, There were fallen trees blocking the road on both sides, and the girls were set down far away from the overturned car. There are no traces of the last girl."
"Details?"
"The girl taken is Rylie; blond-haired, age 17, she was with her sisters, Gabrielle and Nina, both are dark-haired and 16, the driver is..."
"I don't care who the driver is." It was delivered in a chilling tone.
He kept quiet instantly.
I left my spot by the window and had a seat, we were in my library/home office.
"How did this happen? They weren't too far away from the property." I was seething on the inside. Who dared to do this?
"The driver called to request help about a fallen tree, the car and girls were met in that situation when they arrived a few minutes later."
"Where are the girls and what's the extent of the damage done?"
"The girls are at the infirmary?" Yes, I had everything they'd need on my property. I made it that way. Any one of them could be what I was looking for and I wasn't going to let them roam out of reach.
"One had a concussion, and there was a bit of damage done to the other one; they're both still unconscious."
"Bring her back," I stated.
"Yes sir, we're working on it."
"You may leave." Some files were dropped on my table and he left the room.
Someone was messing with me and it would soon be time again. I could not afford any mistakes at this time. I was going to get my family back at all costs, I didn't wait this long to keep waiting.
I wondered who it was doing this; I thought hard about it and chuckled; it was hard to tell; I had made notable enemies over the years. They would regret it though. I wasn't one to be trifled with.
But underneath all the anger and rage, there was another emotion. Excitement. Everything had been quiet for a long, long time, and it was boring, passing so much time with nothing to do.
I was going to have a lot of fun with this new development. The thought curved my lips.