Chapter 3
It was Friday, and Summer was nervous. She had barely seen Mark in school all week, and the couple of times he had appeared he had looked tired and worn out. She was half afraid that their date might be canceled, because he was too busy or too tired.
Still, she got dressed in her favorite outfit. It was slightly clingy and the color made her eyes glow from within. She just hoped that she would see Mark today to finalize plans for their date.
All day in school, and at lunch, she looked for Mark, or Jason, or Princess.
But none of them were there.
As the last bell rang, Summer sighed unhappily. Where had Mark gone? Perhaps he hadn't really been interested after all...
"Hi." said a warm voice in her ear.
"Mark!" Summer cried happily, turning to see him standing behind her.
"Sorry I missed you today." Mark said. "But I was hoping that we could still go out."
"I'd love that." Summer blushed.
"I'll pick you up tonight, then?" Mark asked.
Summer nodded, eagerly scribbling down her address for him.
Only a couple of hours later, she was putting the finishing touches on her make up and running her fingers through her carefully styled red curls to put the ones that had not been co-operative back into place.
Then she heard the doorbell, and her father opening it. She heard the soft sounds from downstairs as Mark politely introduced himself. She tried desperately to squash the butterflies that were now loose in her stomach as she moved out of her room to stand at the top of the stairs.
He looked up and then their eyes met. Neither of them said a word as they walked out the front door and down the path to the street.
"Uh..." Mark stuttered, not certain what to say to the vision before him. "Is it okay if we walk? My car's kind of broken down. I was hoping to borrow Jason's, but he's taking Princess out tonight."
"Isn't Princess your sister?" Summer asked, confused.
"Well, foster sister." Mark explained. "None of us are actually related."
"Oh." Summer digested this information for a moment, then looked around.
"It's a beautiful night." she said. "If a touch chilly."
"Oh, gosh." Mark seemed embarrassed. "I hadn't realized you'd be cold. Here."
He put his arm around Summer, pulling her next to his body.
"Is that better?" he asked solicitously.
"Much..." Summer sighed dreamily.
Summer floated all the way to restaurant he had booked. It was a small family owned establishment that served dishes from all over the world.
Mark still kept his arm around her shoulder while they waited to be seated. He leaned in close to her and she could feel the warm touch of his breath as he whispered.
"Summer you look not just beautiful tonight, but amazing. Seeing you at the top of the stairs in this dress...well, it just blew me away…"
Summer wondered in amazement that she could even move after those words. Her legs turned to jelly but his steady arm guided her to their table. It had a view overlooking a lake. The candles danced in the soft, romantic lighting and sitting on the table in front of her seat was a single lavender rose.
"Oh!" Summer looked up at him as he gave her a dazing white tooth smile, clearly happy that she was touched by the rose. "How did you know?"
"I just had a feeling you liked lavender." He said as he pushed her chair in for her like a perfect gentleman. "It just...well it just seemed right for you."
The night couldn't get any more perfect, but then she looked out the window.
Strange men in bizarre green uniforms were running up the street, holding rifles in their hands.
"Mark..." she said nervously.
Mark's head turned to look out of the window, and he saw the men as well.
"Get down, Summer!" he said in a commanding tone. "Under the tablecloth, where they can't see you!"
She barely had time to cover herself before the door to the restaurant burst open, and a dozen of the strangely dressed men were inside, yelling at everyone.
"Where is he?" they cried. "Where is Mark Anderson?"
Summer peeked out from under the bottom of the tablecloth, seeing Mark's feet as he stood and walked over to the men.
"I am Mark Anderson." he said quietly, without any hint of fear in his voice. "What do you want?" If anything, he sounded almost as if he were scolding them for interrupting his evening.
"You have an appointment, brat!" snarled one man. Summer lifted the tablecloth just a little further to see the soldier push the end of his rifle into Mark's throat. "You're going to help convince your father to..."
"Hey, look at this!" another of the men exclaimed, moving past frightened patrons towards Summer's position. "I didn't know tables had high heeled shoes!"
The man reached under the tablecloth, roughly dragging Summer out into the room.
"Seems like Anderson's brat has himself a little girlfriend." he sneered. "And just the one we were looking for, too!"
"I'm sure we could find something to do with her." leered the one with the gun at Mark's throat. "Before we turn her over to Lord Zoltar…"
"If you dare touch one hair on her head..." Mark said threateningly.
"You'll what, sissy boy?" the men laughed roughly. "You're both coming with us!"
Summer found a gun shoved in her back, and tears ran down her face as she was pushed toward the door. It was just starting to sprinkle rain as the men dragged them out of the restaurant. Summer was terrified, but she was more worried about Mark. He was just ahead of her but he looked so calm. Had he lost it?
"Mark..." she said, just above a whisper.
"Summer, don't worry, just do as I say." he managed to say, before he was struck in the side of the head by a rifle butt.
"No talking!" The green-uniformed soldier snarled in her face, but Summer decided that she was not going to be intimidated by these men. At least, she tried not to be as she kicked the man in the shin, before he slapped her across the face and pulled her apart from Mark.
"Mark..." Summer yelled as she tried to get to his side, ignoring the throbbing pain in her cheek.
Mark moaned as they dragged him back to his feet. The two of them were thrown into the back of a grey van, after being gagged and tied up.
"Suuuummmmmmmerrrrrrr…" Mark tried to say through his gag. He tried to indicate to a side of his jeans as he blacked out. Mark's head wound was bleeding and Summer attempted to get to his side while the van jolted them around.
Summer rolled and bumped around the back of the van, being tossed from side to side until the vehicle stopped for a moment. She landed with a thump on top of Mark, who opened his eyes to see her face only an inch away.
Summer felt his long, hard body pressing against hers, and suddenly this whole kidnapping thing didn't seem so bad after all.
"Summerrrrr..." Mark's voice was muffled.
"Whaaaa...?" Summer couldn't say much herself.
Suddenly the van started moving again, and they rolled together to the other side. Summer noticed that Mark was struggling with his hands, attempting to get them free. He seemed to be making a little progress, and she was thinking that he might just be able to do something when the van stopped once more. Mark rolled onto his back, hiding his hands from view.
This time the van didn't begin moving again. The door opened, and more of the green-uniformed men with guns were there.
"Time to get out." they grinned evilly...
Mark pretended to be unconscious and Summer played along with him. One of the guards went to grab him and pull him up. There was a sudden blur, and faster than the speed of sound Mark moved and knocked the man out with a move that had Summer marveling at how he had done it while still tied up.
Summer began to wonder what other talents this handsome man could do with his hands tied up… but the sound of gunfire brought her mind back out of the gutter. She had completely forgotten that she was still tied up and gagged.
Then another green man fell in through the doorway with a feather sticking out of him. Summer cried out…
"Ah, Condor, I'm glad to see you." Mark said loudly from just outside the van. "The Swan too; now I'm impressed!"
"Some thanks for saving his butt." the Condor moaned as Mark's face appeared in the doorway of the van. The Condor jumped in quickly and untied Summer's bonds.
"G-Force are here?" she asked excitedly.
"Yeah, they are." Mark replied. "Summer, are you OK?" He took her face in his hands as he examined her for injuries.
"She looks OK to me." the Swan stood in the doorway and gave Summer a smile.
"Ja... Condor... I thought-" Mark didn't finish his sentence as he glared at G-2.
"Ah, well, the Eagle isn't here. He's busy, apparently." The Condor shot the Swan a look that made her turn her face up and walk away.
Summer and Mark got out of the van.
"Condor, can I speak with you for a moment?" Mark didn't wait for the G-2 to answer as he took the Condor by the arm and they moved away.
The Swan walked over to Summer.
"You know, you're a lucky girl…" the Swan started to say, but she was interrupted by a loud explosion that rocked the area. Summer fell to the ground, with the Swan next to her.
"What was that?" Summer cried.
"I think they set the self-destruct sequence!" the Swan shouted. "The base is going to blow! We have to get out of here!"
"But what about Mark?" Summer asked frantically. "I need to make sure that he's okay!"
With a strength she hadn't known she possessed, Summer wrenched her arm away from the Swan's grasp, and ran into the flaming wreckage, in the direction she had seen Mark walk just a minute before.
"Mark!" she screamed, coughing and choking from the dark smoke that billowed around her, its acrid air filling her lungs. "Mark! Where are you?"
Her mind grew dizzy, and the air was getting hotter, but still, Summer pressed on. Her mind entered a strange haze, and soon it became an effort to even take a step, but still, she continued to move onwards.
Her legs gave way, and soon she was crawling on the ground, pulling herself forward.
"Mark!" she choked, her voice hoarse and raw. "Where are you?"
The last thing she saw, before she lost consciousness, was a flash of white in front of her...