Puppet
She's running.
That is all she can do, run. Run and hope that by some miracle she gets away from the beasts behind her. Why had she thought it was a good idea? Ambushing the Kabras to steal Isabel's wolf tooth? It was foolish and now she is going to pay for her mistake.
The plan was meant to be simple. Get Nellie to call McIntire to tell the Kabras where they were. Lure them into a forested park outside Kingston. Pretend to be caught by surprise and run. Take on each Kabra child individually, then rendezvous back to take on Isabel. "Easy!" Dan had said.
The irony of his words come back to bite her. They hadn't counted on Isabel wearing sneakers, or both Kabra children going after her, or Isabel bringing company in the form of a grunt. It's been over ten minutes now, and she's so far from the campsite where Nellie is she thinks she will never find her way back. But she keeps running. The green shoulder bag she picked up in Japan hits her side painfully with each step she takes, but she doesn't dare discard it. It contains everything she holds dear to herself inside. A photo of her and Dan from when she turned 8, her sketch book, and most importantly, a small slip of paper, to which the clues her and Dan had found were written on in a code which the pair made up.
Her breath comes out in short gasps now as she continues to flee through the deserted ropes course. She takes a left instead of a right like she and Dan had planned, in an effort to get the family as far away from her brother as possible.
She blames herself, it was her idea in the first place. What was she thinking? They were just two kids her and Dan. Maybe it had all gone to her head. The adrenaline and possibility of finally pulling one over the Kabras was just to good to miss. It was bound to happen and she knows it. No way would they have been able to split up the famous 'Kabra Trio', and take down both children, plus Isabel.
She hadn't realized what was happening until it was too late. All of them had taken after her, instead of splitting up like they had planned on.
Her mind flashes back to now. She needs to focus on what is happening around her. Stay focused.
They're still behind her, as relentless as ever. She can't remember how many paths she's run through, or how many courses she's past. All that she knows is that they are still behind her. And they are not going to give up.
Suddenly landing on her ankle wrong, she chokes back a cry as she stumbles forward, flames of pain beginning to lick up her leg.
But she doesn't stop.
She takes another left, hoping to reach a crowded area where she can blend in with the people. They had to pick an abandon rope course for their master plan didn't they? Maybe if she can just reach the information center, she can blend in and get lost in the crowd.
Her heart sinks when she reaches another empty dirt path, with nothing but a few taped off areas and construction signs. Past the pathway, she can make out the campsite in the distance through the trees where she and Dan started, even making out the picnic table where they sat. Someway or another she's managed to do a complete circle of the track. Just a little more she tries to convince herself.
She hears their pounding footsteps behind her, gaining in volume and speed every second. It's become a game to them, they're purposely drawing out the chase now, wearing her out to scare her, and she knows it's only a matter of time before they catch her. She doesn't have a plan. She refuses to stop; yet she knows they have her caught.
It's when a body slams into her own that she knows she's done for. Her body falls to the ground painfully as the second body forces it's self onto her, and she feels the gravel scrap across her knees, the wind being knocked out of her in the process. She stumbles again to her feet, only to get a few feet away before hands grab her from behind and force her to the ground. She cries out in pain as her already grazed knees come again in contact with the dusty ground. She fights to escape, but cold hands draw her back and press her into a body as she is pulled painfully from the ground. A pair of arms rap around the front of her body with a firm grip and crush her arms into her side, preventing her from running.
She feels her head lull forward as her body is lifted up, and it takes several seconds before she is willing to try and lift it. Slowly gaining her bearings, she raises her throbbing head to meet that of Isabel Kabra's.
"Hello Sweetie." She smiles mockingly at her, her red painted lips creasing into what appears to be a smile. She can make out the figures of her children behind her, Natalie and Ian.
Natalie looks at her with a calm demeanor, looking unfazed by what is happening. She bears a striking resemblance to her mother, Amy realizes. They both share the wicked smile and over bearing eyes. Ian on the other hand looks uncomfortable. She tries to meet his eyes desperately, but he avoids her look purposefully by occupying himself with picking at non-existent fluff on his shirt.
She can't find the words to respond. She can feel the blood dripping carelessly from her knees down her legs, and they throb painfully. She can't seem to find her breath as she struggles to get oxygen back into her system. The energy she needs to struggle with her captor who remains unidentified behind her, his arms still wrapped around her with a death grip, remains non-existent.
"It's been awhile hasn't it dear," Isabel coaxes, "I understand that you and your brother have gotten around." She takes a step further and despite her wishes, Amy presses herself further into the body of the man behind her.
"What do you want?" She crocks out, fear over taking her. This just seems to make Isabel's smile widen.
"Why, I just thought it would be nice to catch up with my niece, you know, spend some time together, perhaps," She moves in closer so that Amy can practically feel her breath, "Exchange clues?"
She immediately flinches at the word 'clues'. She would never have dreamed that a single word could send shivers down her spine. But it does. And she hates her family even more because of it. At the mention of the word, her eyes involuntarily cast down at the bag cast over her shoulder, but she quickly tear her eyes away. Isabel seems to notice instantly.
"Oh? What's in there?" Fear catches her in the throat, causing her to struggle harder and cry out.
"No… no…" She repeats the mantra over and over again as Isabel brings a hand over to her side and painstakingly pulls the bag off her shoulder. She struggles harder against her captors grasp, but it only seems to tighten with every small movement she makes.
"If it's all right with you, I'll just take that." She smiles again and places an ice cold hand on her check. "There now Hun, that wasn't so bad was it?"
Isabel turns away, throwing the bag towards her son, acknowledging him for the first time.
"Ian." Her tone of voice changes instantly from sugary sweet to hard and cold. "Open it."
She sees him hesitate, and for a moment, she believes that maybe he's on her side. The flicker of hope is instantly crushed as the boy she once trusted obeys his mother's orders, and opens up her bag.
"Well?" Isabel asks with a harshness Amy has never heard before. Ian shrugs, and tosses the bag back to Isabel.
"Nothing important."
Amy releases a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Maybe they'll leave the bag here, maybe they won't find the piece of paper, with clues her and her brother worked so hard to find written on it.
"Alright Amy, this doesn't seem like the best place to talk does it? Plus you seem so uncomfortable standing there am I right?" Isabel turns her back to her, shielding her view before turning back into sight, a new item in hand.
A needle with a green vial glints in the sunlight and her eyes widen with fear. She's seen something like this before. The last time, it was Kabra poison, and it almost killed her brother. Isabel explains anyway.
"This is a special Lucian concoction, and I think it will suit perfectly for the occasion," she smiles again at Amy, "I've always wanted to use it."
She braces herself for the pain and the possible death that will come with it as Isabel begins to advance on her. This is it. She might never see her brother again, or Nellie.
Her thoughts are shattered as a voice fills the silence.
"Mother?" The usually silky voice of Ian Kabra comes out cracked and nervous. Not even he would stand up to his mother.
Isabel turns and stares daggers into her son, the wicked smile evaporating from her face.
"What is it Ian?" The tone in her voice seems to make the boy shrink back even further into the shadows.
"Well, isn't this a little... unnecessary?" He presses nervously. She sees his eyes look up for the first time to meet her pleading ones, and she begins to think that there might be hope for her.
Then things take a turn for the worst.
The woman approaches her son with dangerous speed.
"What did you just say Ian?" Her tone is cold, like she's forgotten she is talking to her own children. Natalie moves to her mother's side, and there becomes a clear division between the three.
She watches in horror as Isabel throws the palm of her hand into her son, who stumbles back with surprise. Amy cries out, but she can only watch as Isabel advances on him and kicks him in the side, causing the boy to fall to the ground with a cry. She repeatedly kicks him. Again and again, screaming out atrocities at her son.
"Stop it!"
Her words slice through the air, catching the woman's attention and she turns back to her, a new flame flickering beneath her eyes.
"Oh? Feeling a bit left out are we? Don't worry honey, we'll figure something out." She leans in as Amy continues to fight the grasp of the man holding her and places a hand around her neck, feeling the veins as she struggles to breath.
"You know, I never liked children. But who knows, maybe you and I will get along."
She feels the needle come in contact with her skin, puncturing the soft tissue and releasing the contents of the vial into her blood stream. The effects are instantaneous.
She doesn't have a chance to cry out as the liquid hell works its way through her system, setting her body on fire, then cooling it just as rapidly. All she wants is to be back with Dan and Nellie. Dan. He'll be so scared when she doesn't come back, and Nellie, Nellie will have a fit.
She feels her vision go fuzzy as she loses herself in the numbing effects of the vial. She feels herself trembling, partially from fear, and from what ever is in her.
"Amy!"
She hears his voice calling out frantically to her, but she can no longer respond. Her eyes grow heavy, and suddenly all she can think about is going to sleep.
As much as she wants to fight it, she can no longer. Her eyes close, and she slips into oblivion.
He watches her grow limp in the man's arms, her eyes closing and her breathing evening out. Her hair brushes over her pale face and he is instantly filled with guilt. She doesn't deserve this.
He pulls himself shakily from the ground as his mother again turns to face him, the lifeless girl now forgotten.
"Whose side are you on Ian?" He doesn't reply, and he realizes that this is his first mistake.
His mother brings her knee up to his face and slams it into him without a second thought. He stumbles, then regains his footing and takes a step forward.
"Maybe I'm not on anyone's side anymore, Mother." He hisses the words at her with venom. Mistake number two. A fist now collides with his stomach, causing him to double over from the new pain. Stars seem to fly through his vision. He's not thinking straight, that much he knows. He must be concussed he thinks, no person would stand up to Isabel Kabra, and live.
"You're siding with the girl now, are you Ian?" At the mention of her, he picks his head up to see her again, cradled in the arms of the grunt his mother hired for muscle like a limp ragdoll.
The sight presses him to fight back harder, as foolish of a thing as it might be.
"Maybe I don't agree with your methods."
"Really? As I seem to recall, you had no problem leaving them to die in the cave in the Pukhansan Mountain, or setting the crocodiles on them, or-
"Stop it, just stop it." He can't bear to hear what he's done to her, all the pain he's caused, yet his mother seems to treat it like sport. Like she enjoys it.
"Why the change of heart?" She practically snares at her son. "You've gone soft Ian. You're weak, and un-loyal to the Lucian clan. With that kind of attitude, you'll never win."
He practically laughs at her response despite the circumstances. He knows he should be cautious now, with his own life possibly on the line, but the sight of the Cahill girl lying limp shocks something into him, and all concerns for his own well-being disappear.
"Win? Win what Mother? A prize beyond wild belief? Riches? Fame? As far as I can see it, Natalie and I are your puppets. Your show ponies that you love to flog about and show off but never care for." At the sound of her name, Natalie raises her head to her brother, yet remains unmoving by her mothers side. Fine by me, he thinks. He presses on, "What do we get out of this clue hunt? Other than killing or at least hurting everyone in our family that we know. The way I see it, no one wins. "
His mother looks beyond human, yet her demeanor is still calm and collected.
"If you believe you're a puppet, then so be it. Just remember one thing Ian. Puppets can always be cut from their strings."
He feels his mother's hand on his neck, and a series of sharp pains radiating from the pressure points.
He finds his legs failing beneath him, and he falls unceremoniously to the ground in a heap as his body relaxes.
The last thing he sees is Amy Cahill.
Hi all :) This was just kind of a side project to my other stories, but it turned into something kind of huge, so I decided to post it. Chapters for my other stories out in a few days. This takes place during Storm Warning, and will basically be kind of a 'what if' story. BTW, it never actually mentions whether Amy has a bag or not, but it's kind of important to the story so I added it :) Review and tell me if I should continue :D