Good Book? (or not)

6

Dee ran after Shadow like Kay had told her to.
“Shadow!” she called after him. He glanced over his shoulder at her, but kept running. They ran for almost ten minutes. Then Shadow halted quickly, and Dee almost tripped, trying to stop herself before she plowed over her brother.
Shadow muttered under his breath. Then aloud, he said “She got taken here. Two full grown men grabbed her, and covered her mouth and dragged her away.” He began to jog to the left. “Come this way,” he ordered.
Dee followed. A minute later they heard a scream, echoing from the direction they’d come.
“Karma,” said Dee, her incredibly expressive eyes wide and fearful.
Shadow turned to head back up the trail. Another scream, this time it was Kay. They both knew it. Shadow ran harder, Dee trailing behind by a foot or two. They ran, both pushing hard, their leg muscles hurting, neither caring. Shadow tripped over a tree root. He glanced down at his hands, splayed in the dirt. His eyes widened as black fur spread over the back of them.
“Wha’?” He said
Dee skidded to a stop, staring at him, as he mutated. They both watched as his hands grew larger, turned black, and claws came tearing out of the skin underneath his hands. He winced, and Dee wondered if it was painful. His ears slid up until they were on top of his head, and grew larger. The fur sprouted up all over him, like hyper-active grass. Dee let out a squeak, as his eyes’ pupils narrowed into a diamond shape. They turned a silvery-golden color. He opened his mouth in surprise, and Dee gasped as huge fangs came tearing out of his gums. Dee opened her mouth and started to say something. Then she closed it. What could she say? Shadow roared a panther’s roar. “GGRRRAWWWRR!”
Dee jumped. It really wasn’t a dream. She turned, and scampered up the nearest tree. Shadow flicked his tail.
“Ccllimb onnn,” said Shadow, trying to wrap his panther tongue around human speech.
Dee jumped again, and stayed put. Shadow sat down. “Come ooonn, we don’t havee much time!”
Dee slid hesitantly down the tree, and stepped nearer to Shadow. Shadow whipped his head around at something rustling in the nearby bushes. Dee clambered onto her brother’s shoulders. Shadow had become a war-horse sized panther, so Dee’s weight wasn’t too much for him. Shadow roared again.
“GGRRRAWWWRR!” Dee cringed.
“Let’s go get them!” Shadow growled, getting the hang of speech. Then he took off into the densely packed trees.







I sat there, my bound hands behind my back.
Stay away, Dee, Stay away Shadow. You can’t get caught, too.
Yeah, we got caught. I tugged at the plastic cord binding my hands together. I struggled against the rope one of the men had used to tie me to the tree with. The one with all the tattoos sneered at me. The sad thing is, there were only two men there. We got caught by two men! How pathetic is that? I looked over at Karma, tied to a tree across our clearing. Jay was next to her. I glanced down the path leading directly out of this forest. The two men had dragged us, bound and gagged, to a clearing where they had made camp. They apparently neglected to consider the fact that there could be more than three of us. So, the bald man, after rifling through all of our things, tied us to a tree, where we were supposed to spend the night. Great. The two of them sat there watching me struggle. Their backs were to the forest, and again, I wondered how much experience they had at kidnapping, or whatever their plan was. The tattooed one lit a cigarette, and I turned my face away, revolted. Dee, Shadow, stay away, don’t look for us. I pleaded. Then I shook my head.
Snap out of it! I told myself. You are stronger than them, so take them down! You’re acting like you don’t know anything! You are acting like a weak little girl! You got caught by a couple of men, you are acting plain pathetic!
I growled through the dirty rag in my mouth. These men had made a fool of me, and they would regret it. I pulled harder at the cord, adrenaline lacing through my veins. I felt something running through my blood, not the familiar adrenaline, but something… different. It was cold and red hot at the same time. It burned me, running through my blood like fire with ice spikes ramming into my veins. I cringed. It hurt, a lot, but then I felt the plastic cutting through my skin, and I was freed. I held up my hands. Blood dripped down my arm, and the plastic cord dangled uselessly from one wrist.
“How…” I asked no one in particular. Or, at least I tried to. I still had that filthy gag in my mouth. Do I have super strength now, or what?
The two thugs gaped at me. Jay and Karma stared. I pulled the gag out and spit, cleansing my mouth of whatever was on that filth they called cloth. A panther roared in the distance, and I grinned. I’d heard that panther sounded like a woman screaming. This one just sounded plain furious. I used my new found strength, and whirling my arms in the air, spattering my opponents with my blood, charged the men who’d been foolish enough to believe they’d contained me.



Shadow ran, Dee hanging on to him for dear life. He caught the scent of a cigarette on the air, and sped up. Shadow pricked his ears as something ran past him. A rabbit.
Dinner? Shadow shook his head, disgusted with himself.
You’re losing it! You’re losing control of yourself. The panther is taking over. Control it. You can do it. You have control over this body.
He stopped running. He stood there panting, arguing with himself.
What are you doing?! God! You need to get control of yourself!
Dee nudged his shoulders.
“Think of Karma,” she whispered.
Shadow began running again. You are in control…
“Think of Kay,” Dee whispered.
Is that blood I smell? Shadow opened his mouth, scenting the air. He then drew a conclusion. Not animal blood. Human. Kay’s? He narrowed his glittery golden eyes. They will not get away with this, he thought viciously.
He leapt and landed lightly, his huge paws as graceful as a kitten’s, on a tree root a couple yards away. He flexed his gigantic shredding claws, and opened his mouth. His cat tongue was red as blood against his ivory white teeth.
Forget lions, you are king of this jungle.
“GGRRRAWWWRR!!!”



I ran at them, and at the same time, I heard a truck speeding through the woods, heading our way. The two men regained themselves. But I bet none of their prisoners before had snapped the bindings. One of the men, the bald one, pulled a wicked looking knife from a sheath on his hip. He slanted it, so that it glinted in the setting sun’s reddish glare. It made the knife look bloodied already. A chill ran up my spine, but I ignored it. I was maybe two feet away from the knife-wielding one, when I ducked and purposefully slid to his side, pulling an equally deadly knife from my boot. I slashed at his right ankle, feeling the weapon puncture his flesh, and he howled in pain. Then his face contorted with rage, he aimed his knife at me, preparing to throw. By no means was he giving up this easily. I leapt to my feet. His aim rose with me. I could see that if he threw, it would hit me square in the chest. The bald man paused, knowing my life was in his hands, then the man threw it, and his comrade laughed at me. As I ducked the knife spun past me, shaving through the rope binding Karma to the tree. I watched as it struck. I watched as Karma stood, loosening her hands. She turned to join the fight.
You can’t let her endanger her life!
“Karma, run!” I yelled “Get Jay and RUN!”
Karma was crying, she stopped when I yelled, the tears smudging the dirt on her face. She turned and yanked the knife out of the tree; a small piece of bark was still stuck to the edge. She cut Jay free, and turned back to the fight. Jay stood, rubbing his wrists where the cord had been. Large red welts disfigured his skin there, and I felt a pang of fury. Who could do this to him? I shook off my rage. Anger only gets in the way, I told myself grimly. The man with the tattoos had just been watching, but as Karma had pulled herself free, he’d ground out the cigarette, and pulled a long dagger from its hilt. “Karma, GO! Get help!” I screamed
She nodded reluctantly, and grabbed Jay’s hand as they both ran into the trees. The man chased them, but I was confident that he would not find them. I yelled once more,
“Karma look out-” but I was muffled by the bald man covering my mouth. He wrestled me to the ground, and put his hands on my shoulders. I growled and bucked, but he was too strong. “It must be humiliating to almost have been beaten by a girl,” I spit at him.
His eyes glittered dangerously, as he tied my hands together, pushing me into the waiting truck.

Shadow knew something was very wrong. The smell of blood was stronger, sharper. He poured on the speed. He urged himself to go faster. He heard a twig snap behind him. Shadow whirled, his huge panther paws skidding to a halt. He growled a warning growl, teeth bared. Whatever it was came closer, ignoring the threat that he posed. He was almost three minutes away from the blood shed, he could smell it. Three of his friends were there, he and Dee should be there now. He turned to leave, but the wind shifted, and he caught a scent that confused him greatly.
Two little shapes came out of the shadows at the base of the trees.
“Karma? Jay?” Dee asked wonderingly.
“Dee? Are you riding a giant cat?” asked a familiar voice.
“It’s me, Shadow, ” said Shadow.
Karma jumped at the sound of his growly voice, and hesitated.
“What happened?” asked Shadow “I can smell blood,”
Karma then explained everything in a rush. Jay added things here and there.
Shadows eyes got narrower, and glitterier with every word they said.
He stopped her halfway through.
“Get on. Now,” He ordered.
“Can you carry three?” asked Dee. “We can walk,” she added
“I can,” he said trying to sound positive.
I’d better be able to. He added silently.
Jay climbed on, and then Karma. They both looked extremely nervous.
“What if you lose control?” Jay asked what they’d all been thinking.
“I won’t,” he said simply. Then Shadow ran in the direction the smell of blood was coming from.



















7




I turned, leaping for the door. It slammed in my face. I searched for a latch, or a lever, or something that would get me out. When that didn’t work, I began pounding on the door.
I was in a truck; it was about the size of a moving van, with the big trailer type thing on the back. That’s where I was. So, I could stand in it, but that was about all. I turned, and walked calmly to the back of the truck. I faced the door. Then, I ran with all my might. I could feel the strange twinging pain receding. My strength fading. So, after running the few feet of space I had, I slammed my shoulder into the door with everything I had. Wham!
It did nothing, other than give me a huge bruise. So much for that plan. I rubbed my shoulder. I hated the feeling of hopelessness, like there was nothing I could ever do about that situation. It made me freak-ing furious. It made me want to do everything within my power to escape. But most of all, it made me want to kill. It whipped me into a frenzied, senseless anger. And hopelessness shoved the real me underneath it’s many layers, and let loose a killer who’s greatest dream was not to stay alive and see her family again, as mine was, but to kill everything within sight, and draw blood. That really scared me. That’s why I hate the feeling of hopelessness. I put my hands against the door, and shoved with all I had, hating how weak I was. I sank down onto the floor, and wrapped my arms around my knees. I tried to hold back the horrible feeling of having no hope. What do I do now? I can’t let them have me. I shouldn’t have even let them see my power. That probably numbers up pretty high in the “Most Stupid Things I’ve Done” list. God. We all knew that any normal person who saw our powers had to die before they could say anything. I mean, are we supposed to take their word of honor that they won’t tell the FBI or whoever that there’s a group of kids with mind powers running around? I don’t think so. The protection of me and the people I’m close to come first. Strangers are last. So, I had just endangered Karma, and Dee, and Jay, and Shadow. And me. By trying to escape. It was one of those moments where, if life had a rewind button, you’d definitely punch it.
That really wasn’t smart. Now, what do I do? Maybe I can leave Karma and Jay out of it. The two men never even saw Dee or Shadow, so I don’t need to worry about them. Karma and Jay looked terrified when I broke that cord, so if Tattoo and Baldie have the brains, they’ll think that I’m the only one with powers! ‘Course, they probably have the collective IQ of cheese, so I might have to spell it out for them…
I sat there, thinking, trying to come up with a fault proof story, when the truck started rumbling, and groaning. It sounded like it was a million years old. So, we were moving. Where are they taking me? What do I do now? I can’t just sit here! It’s in my nature to fight with every thing I have, even when I know it’s not enough. I glanced up for the first time. The top of the truck was open, only metal bars blocked my way. The bars were about five inches apart. And they were thin. Thin enough to be torn away?


If you are wondering about the whole Shadow-is-a-panther thing, I have no idea where that came from.

-DarkHawk09