Full Moon-Appalachian Shifters

Chapter Six Marie

My mouth felt like a desert, sitting up I bumped my head on a wooden beam and winced. Where was my mother? I tried to look around but it was too dark to see anything. The smell of wet animals and dung made my eyes sting.

“Marie, are you alright?” Mom’s voice sounded muffled I shifted and found my hands were tied and so were my ankles. My head throbbed as well and I remembered shopping and then Gideon.

Did he kidnap us? He should know that my sister wouldn’t pay a ransom. It wasn’t as if she didn’t love me, but she was broke and refused to share my money with me.

“I tried to warn you, Marie.” I rolled my eyes and did not want to admit that she was right. He was just too attractive to be a kidnapper though.

“I assure you madam I had nothing to do with this.” My heart leaped for joy, he was innocent, and then it hit me. He was innocent, but he was also trapped in this hellhole with us.

“How do I know you didn’t just put yourself in this box with us.” Sighing I reached my hands up to my temples and muttered.

I could barely move my fingers and my hands. They tied the rope too tight and soon I was going to lose all feeling in my hands. There goes my career if I lose my hands.

“Mother, please, we need to figure out where we are.” My purse was missing, which meant there was no way to contact Jolene.

A door opened in front of me and the cold night air swept in, a shadowed figure stood in the doorway and leaned down in front of me. All I saw were his eyes and they were as black as the clothes he wore.

“Where is the white witch?” Blinking at him, I didn’t understand what he was talking about. I knew nothing about witches. Only that they were not the broom-flying ones that you see in movies.

“She knows nothing, let her go and I will tell you what I know.” I heard Gideon’s pleas and my heart fluttered with pleasure.

“I did not ask you fox, I asked her.” The man’s voice was distorted and I tried to catch his eye again. He was avoiding making eye contact with me.

“I know you did not ask me but I am telling you.” The man grunted and slammed the door on me. I saw the night sky behind him and nothing but woods.

I tried to wiggle my toes and groaned. I kicked at the door and screamed, maybe he would open the door and I could kick him in the face.

I heard a loud scream outside the door and my blood turned to ice. How many people do they have here? I heard the scream again and I huddled into a ball.

The door opened and the scream was even louder, it seemed like it was closer as well. The man grabbed my hands and yanked me out of the small space. The night air hit my skin and I shivered.

He tossed me toward a waiting car and my mother was settled in the back seat still tied up. She had a blindfold on her eyes and the man put one over my eyes and shoved me into the backseat.

“Take them somewhere and keep them there until I know the fox is telling the truth.” The door slammed and we sped off into the night. I could still hear the blood-curdling screams as I settled into my mother’s side.

“How many people did they have there?” I whispered. My mother tried to hold my cold hands but she could not get the angle right.

“That was a bobcat, as far as I know, we were the only ones there.” There were words that were left unsaid. I could read between the lines and she was hoping that we were the only ones there.

“Mother, are we going to be ok?” I hated how weak and pathetic I sounded but I was beginning to worry and I knew Jolene must be sick with worry as well.

“As long as the man gives that monster what he wants. We need to figure out a way to get a hold of your sister.” I scoffed and wanted to give my sister the benefit of the doubt, I knew she would worry and at least call the cops.

However, she would still try to blame me for getting myself kidnapped and I know she wouldn’t go out of her way to help me.

“She is your twin sister, of course, she would help you.” I turned toward my mother, my eyebrows shooting into my hairline. I wish I could see her face; how did she know what I was thinking?

“Will you two shut up? The boss will give your sister instructions on how to retrieve you.” I didn’t like the way he said to retrieve us. How was she going to find us? Will we be alive or will she be identifying our bodies in the morgue?

I must have fallen asleep at some point because we had stopped and I could hear the sound of traffic in the distance. The man who had driven us was talking on the phone and he didn’t sound pleased.

Was this it? Was this where it ends? The door opened and I was dragged out, I nearly stumbled as my feet slid on loose rocks.

“Stay here, if you try to run, I have orders to kill you.” The air was colder here, but it smelled like the forest and woodsmoke. Were we near a campsite? Maybe if I screamed loud enough someone would help us.

I felt my mother brush my arm and then the blindfold was taken off my eyes, we were in a small parking spot along a road that was pitted with holes. The traffic in the distance was from one of the major highways.

I had a whole river to get across if I wanted to go that way. The man prodded us and we moved towards the woods, a trail was overgrown and barely marked. I knew this trail, we were near some of the old mine shafts.

“I see the recognition on your face, if you know where you are then you know where you will be spending some time.” I could hear the glee in his voice. I stumbled over rocks and roots but we came to the first small waterfall and I saw the rusty door on the mine.

He pushed us toward the door and then broke the lock off as if it were nothing. Tossing us into the cramped space he left a rucksack and then slammed the door behind us.

“My boss isn’t a complete animal he left you some light and some food. Make it last though, we don’t know how long you are going to be in there.” He cackled and I shivered again. My coat was torn and so were my pants.

“Do you think there are bats in here?” I could practically taste my mother’s fear. I knew for certain there were bats in here, and I also knew we were probably trapped with very little air as well.

Looking toward the door I just hoped that someone would find us or Jolene would send the calvary. If not, we were screwed this trail was not traveled much in the winter.

“Let’s just rest up here and hope tomorrow is a better day.” I curled up and tried to get comfortable ignoring the fact that we were also bunking with rattlesnakes and who knew what else.