9 Hours Earlier...
I close the door and lock it, slipping the chain on, I sigh and head up to my room. Parents are gone for the night, the next and come back on Saturday. Walking through the doorway I glance at my phone to hear a ding.
"I thought they'd never leave," comes a creepy voice from behind my door causing the hairs on the back of my neck to raise and a chill to go up my spine. I spin around ready to change, but Rita grabs my throat and immediately grabs for my coin in my pocket.
I grip her wrist with my left while trying to take her hand off my power coin. She grins wickedly at me and tightens her grip on my throat making it so I'm straining for air. Standing on my toes she moves her face so it's within an inch of mine.
"Didn't know I had returned?" Rita asks coyly and I pull at the hand on my coin as she yanks the whole pocket with the coin off of me. "Oooh" she frowns and tisks, "feeling as defenseless as Yellow?" Moving in closer I watch as she takes a deep breath through her nose, smelling me like a predator. "Mmm... I'm going to have some fun with you... Pink."
I feel myself shudder at the thought, and finally in revolution I kick at her, and begin to regret it as she begins cackling like a witch. Without warning I see her staff in the corner of my eye, she releases my neck for me to automatically fall and her staff connects with my head.
I feel myself soar across my room and into my dresser, breaking the mirror with my right shoulder. Landing on my jewelry box and books from school before rolling off onto the floor. I ignore the fresh cuts on my shoulder to get to my hands and brace my feet to launch myself at her. 'I need my coin back!' But before I can even reach her to land a kick she swings her staff and sends me at the window.
My legs go up to catch the open window, making my head connect with the frame. I fall upside down onto my floor, groan and start to pull myself up to get hit in the head and black out.
7 hours later, 5a.m.
The smell of old water reaches my nose and I jerk my head up and instantly regret it. My head starts pounding, right in the front above my right eye. I close my eyes shut tight and clench my fists to realize I'm standing. A rough textured material is rubbing against my wrists, chest, waist and legs.
I can hear water slapping at something beneath my feet but I'm not wet, slowly I open my eyes at the sound of birds, seagulls and take in the boat house I'm in. I glance to my right, squinting in the dim light as the sun is slowly rising to see the rope used for boats is what has me bound. 'The same rope that night we lost Billy...' I close my eyes and let my head drop.
"Oh don't tell me you're giving up now," Rita says from behind me. My head snaps up and my mind clears up dramatically, the boat storage all around me, I'm tied to a pillar of some sort, my arms are above my head, I'm not gagged, ankles are together and no sound of the fisherman. 'What time is it? How long have I been out? Do the others realize I'm gone? My coin!'
I can hear Rita walking around me slowly and watch as she comes into view on my right, a big door to the right that is open to a railing to the water. No docks there. "What's your game Rita? You threatened my friend and made a comment about her not changing, now you take away my coin. Don't like a challenge?" I spit and cringe as my headache comes back.
"You mean little you? Don't make me laugh Kim... I have been watching your homes for some time now. Watching you and your friends, and please keep this in mind," she says as she approaches me. Lifting her left hand and running her index finger along my right shoulder then going up to my neck.
I try to pull away, watching her eyes as she examines me like a specimen, her finger continues up to my jaw and moves under it. Sharp as a razor but not cutting me, her dark eyes boring into me. "I will do what I want to get what I want... and that includes looking to do things the easy way... which means," she moves in much closer, just like in my room. "If I don't feel like a challenge, and feel like playing with a toy instead, that is what you'll be," she flashes a toothy grin that sends chills up my spine. I pull on my restraints on my wrists, trying to break free, but only feel the rope dig into my skin instead.
Her eyes travel to each wrist and she cackles, "I'll give you a challenge... Kimberly, you want your power coin?"
"Why is it you took me in the first place?" I ask, anger boiling up inside of me at her constant toying. I feel my muscles tightening up at the mention of my coin.
Rita moves away, swaying her hips before spinning around to face me. "After over a week of watching you and your friends... I decided 'why let Yellow have all the fun?' I just had to be sure we wouldn't be immediately interrupted by a... Amber Alert is it?" She pulls out my coin, "and while I plot out how to properly take you all out... I may as well play with my prey."
She tosses my coin behind her, it lands with a thud onto the wooden boards. "Fetch," she says and just like that, the ropes binding me release me. Just like that other night on the boat.
I fall to my hands and knees, looking up at her and then looking beyond her at my coin. Pushing aside all the pain my body has going through it from my head to my wrists and torso, I look back up at her and charge.
Fists clenched and jaw set in determination, I advance and swing my right leg up, toes pointed up at her head. She waves her staff just as I'm about to connect and I feel a force shove my body into the air and backwards. The middle of my back slams into the pillar I was once tied to and I give out an involuntary cry as my body twists into the post before I fall to the floor.
Looking up at her as I take deep breaths to steady myself 'get your coin... you have to get your coin!' I repeat in my head as I move to stand up and charge again.
Swinging my right fist at her head, she moves as though in slow motion, dodging, with an amused smirk on her face. Before I know it, she back hand's me in the right cheek and knees me in the gut, my feet temporarily leave the ground for a second as I feel myself doubling over. Just as I am grasping time normalizing I watch her right leg swipe my feet out from under me and she suddenly advance to slam her palm into my chest.
My body is lifted as though weightless, the air knocked out of my lungs as my upper body angles down from the blow. Finally the floor boards smack into my forehead and she laughs.
"Oooh... do try again... Kim" Rita draws my name out as I clutch at my abdomen with my left arm, right hand supporting my body in a kneeling position. Gasping for air while my right arm shakes, I watch her feet walk around me tauntingly.
My eyes move up the wooden board grains all the way till they land on my coin. 'Okay... she won't play fair... that is beyond obvious... go for the coin then, don't attack.'
I feel like I'm nearly dragging my finger nails into the wood as I move for the coin, propelling myself for it, straining my muscles to move. I hear another cackle before feeling my feet get lifted, going above my head I look down to suddenly be seeing behind me about 7 feet in the air.
The air gets sucked out of me as my lower back and legs get flung into 2 separate beams in the ceiling. I feel the wood give in behind my back before my legs come down again, spinning for my head and left shoulder to connect with a wooden crate stacked against a wall. I land in a heap, chunks of wood landing on me as my vision doubles.
Coughing I groan as I work to get myself up, closing my eyes shut tight as the sunlight pierces through wall to my far left. My hair is covering my face as I begin to get up, looking around I spot my coin, the pink starts to glow and I feel a surge of adrenaline. I stand up quickly to take off for it and within two seconds I'm lifted for my back to slam into the ceiling.
I brace for the feel of the floor but feel the woosh of her staff send me elsewhere, I open my eyes in time for my head to smack something hard. My left hip nails something as well, my vision is doubled and the pain in my head exploded. I keep my eyes closed, but my body has a proper chance to rest for two seconds when hitting the ground before being sent smashing somewhere else.
Hands gripping my head as much as I can to protect myself as Rita whips me around like a rag doll. 'Where are you guys? I need my friend's!' I feel pain spike in my right arm, my left foot, right upper rib, left lower rib, left thigh, behind my right thigh and calf.
It takes me a minute to realize I've stopped spinning, resting on my right side against the rough wood surface. I groan, slowly assessing my injuries, swallowing with a dry mouth, tasting blood. Pulling my hands away from my head I try moving my toes 'no pain' with effort I move onto my knees.
Pursing my lips together, I clench my jaw tight, 'I need to get my coin! You need to get up! If you can get yourself to morph, you'll heal up that much faster...' I lift my head and look ahead.
Not 5 feet away from me is my power coin, as though it can sense me I watch it glow brightly. "I'm coming," I whisper to myself in determination, I push off the floor, bounding off my toes, pushing through the pain pulsing through my limbs.
I dive for it, a force hits my upper back hard, I hit my chin off the floor and stare at the coin. The weight lifts from my upper back, I take in a deep breath and reach for the brightly glowing coin.
"Determination can only get you so far," Rita says coldly, I reach and can feel I'm a centimeter away when pain rips through my left shoulder. I scream, shut my eyes tight for a moment to turn my head and look at my left side.
The golden staff is protruding out my left shoulder and into the board, blood is on it dripping down. I clench my teeth and again reach with my right hand for my coin.
"Let her go!" I hear and recognize the voice as Trini, I want to sigh in relief but I know it's too soon for that.
"Acting all high and mighty for someone who took on another without their powers," Jason states and I purse my lips together.
"What took you so long?" Rita asks, "I've been having so much fun with your friend here... over an hour" she put emphasis on the last word before twisting the staff.
Another scream escapes my lungs, my whole left side throbbing like it's on fire, hands ball into fists and I can feel warm blood start to spread on my back and my chest. I feel the staff get yanked out and feel a thud of feet come and go and then another set of feet land next to me. I barely notice a hand touching the middle of my back.
"Kimberly, can you hear me?" I pick up on the soft voice of Trini, I nod my head slowly before opening my eyes to see my coin is just ahead. Opening my right hand I push up just enough that my fingers get the rim and I pull it into my hand. I feel parts of my body heal, the lesser hurt areas
and feel Trini move to my right side and help lift me.
I can't help a whimper escape as I feel the remaining pain resurface to the front of my mind. My head is spinning, I don't even realize I'm walking with Trini out of the battle zone. I feel her release my right arm and I grab for my shoulder and take a deep breath, somehow her voice seems distant, I can't tell what she's saying.
I hope you like what I've done with the story, please review!
SLITH
