Whispers in the Dark
Seven year old Barin struggled to keep up with the long strides of her Mommy and Daddy as they hurried through the space port. Her brother, Otaru, being ten, did a bit better. She was a small girl, with delicate green skin and amber eyes, like a cat. She was trying to move fast, like the rest of her family, to prove that she was big enough to keep up and didn't need to be carried. As they rounded a corner, practically running toward the boarding gate, she stumbled, red curls falling into her face. As she tried to brush them away, she heard a high pitched whine, and felt a rough hand close over hers, hauling her to her feet and then hoisting her into the air, and tucking her under a massive arm, where she hung suspended sideways in the air.
Usually, she loved when her father carried her, but not like this. As he ran, she bounced, and she began to feel slightly nauseated. She began to cry, and she begged him to put her down, but the only heed he paid was to put a large hand over her mouth.
"Silence," he hissed, and her eyes grew wide. That voice, it was not her father's. Not knowing what else to do, but knowing she did not want to go with this person, she began kicking and flailing, and she sank her teeth into his hand, drawing blood. With a muttered curse, he took the hand away, and turned her upright. For a brief moment, she thought he was going to put her down, but he didn't. Instead, she felt pain explode across the back of her head and down to her legs. It was a moment before she realized he had hit her, hard. When he put her down, she sank to her knees, and just sat there, sobbing and trying to catch her breath. He yanked her to her feet, and dragged her, facing backwards, feet barely touching the floor, for what seemed an eternity, and then he stopped. She heard doors open and felt the temperature change, so she knew they had walked into another room, though he had her facing away, so she could only see what was behind her. Roughly, he turned her around, shoved her into a seat, and drew a large, scary looking knife. As he sat down across from her, he hissed, "Any more trouble, little miss, and you won't live to see where we are going." He spoke to one of his companions, "What about the others?"
She heard a cruel laugh, and another voice answered. "By the time they wake up, she'll be so far away they'll never find her. They won't remember what happened, either." She started screaming, and her captor brandished the knife. Leaning back to avoid it, she felt herself falling. She was in freefall, forever, and then she felt her head hit something soft, and she awoke, sweating profusely.