CHAPTER 8

KIDNAPPING

At the other end of the forest, nestled in the large valley, was a small log cabin. The roof was made out of wood as well, except for the chimney which was stone. Inside, a young mother and her three children were going about their daily lives.

Alexia, the mother, had three daughters; Tanya, the oldest, Jamie, the second oldest, and Alexis, the youngest. Tanya was a tall sixteen-year-old with fair skin, light green eyes and long brown hair that was pulled up in a ponytail. Jamie was a short girl of twelve and also had fair skin, but had short blonde hair and blue eyes. The little five-year-old, Alexis, had the same skin tone as her sister, but had red hair and green eyes. Their mother, Alexia, was a young mother of thirty and like Tanya had brown hair and light green eyes.

Alexia turned to Tanya and said, "Dear, I am going out for a while, you are in charge of your sisters." The teen nodded and the mother walked out, up the hill and disappeared as she walked into the forest on the other side.

Hours passed by and Tanya looked out the window and saw three men riding up to the house. She ran into her room where her two younger sisters were playing. "Jamie, Alexis, we need to hide, NOW." She said and the two looked at her.

"Why?" Alexis asked and Tanya told her not to ask questions. Jamie shrugged and motioned for Alexis to follow her. The three girls crept down the front stairs and into the kitchen where Tanya moved a table, swept away the dust with her hands, and moved a board, revealing a hidden crawl space. She motioned to her two sisters and they walked over. Jamie slowly crawled in and Tanya lifted little Alexis into the hiding spot. Once her sisters were safely hidden, she closed the board and put the table back. She rushed towards the door.

Rongo burst through the door and walked up to the young girl lying on the floor. He bent down and grabbed her, pulling her up. He wrapped one arm around her head, clamping a gloved hand over her mouth. He yelled to Lirui and Ancal, "Search the rest of the house for the other two and remember; we are to bring them to Kaba alive." His cohorts nodded and ran through the house.

Under the floor inside the kitchen, Jamie and Alexis waited silently. Lirui and Ancal walked in and Jamie silently nudged Alexis toward the small tunnel that led out of the house. Lirui approached their hiding spot and was standing right above Jamie when the floorboard underneath him creaked. He looked down and removed his foot. Bending down, he removed the board and smiled manically at the girl who had been hiding, but did not see Alexis who had already crawled halfway through the tunnel.

Jamie screamed as he reached down and grabbed her arms, lifting her up out of the floor. He turned to Ancal, who had followed him in and ordered, "Go outside and look for the other child." Ancal nodded and ran out the back door. "You belong to us now little girl." The hunter growled at his captive. He then scooped her up under his arm and carried her struggling twisting body into the living room.

Inside the living room, Rongo forced Tanya onto the couch. She kicked and screamed as her captor tied her arms to her side and her ankles together with thick rope. He then took out a dark cloth and tied it between the screaming teenager's teeth. "That should keep you quiet." He growled, knotting it behind her head. Lirui walked into the living room and said to Rongo, "Look what I found under the floor…" The man smiled evilly at the squirming child and replied, "Excellent. Now we just need the little one…"

Ancal ran around the back of the house and saw a small hole cut out of the wall, just small enough for a small child to fit through. He decided to wait at the hole for his victim.

Meanwhile, Alexis, unaware of the man waiting for her, slid down the tunnel backwards toward the back the house. She reached the exit and stopped herself as she scooted out of the tunnel. Alexis stood up and Ancal emerged from his hiding place and jumped out in front of her. She tried to scream, but her attacker clamped a hand over her mouth as he picked her by her waist and threw her over his shoulder carrying her struggling, twisting body up the hill back to the house.

Back inside the house, Lirui was having a bit of trouble controlling Jamie. The girl proved to be very hard to restrain. Rongo grabbed her arms and held her down while Lirui tied a white cloth over her mouth. He then took out two pieces of rope and tied her hands behind her back with one; then tied her ankles together with the other. "There, that should hold you." He told the squirming girl.

The front door burst open and Ancal walked in, saying with an evil grin on his face, "Look what I found outside." Rongo smiled as his cohort took the child from his shoulder and spun her around, placing her on the ground wrapping one arm around her, placing a gloved hand over her mouth.

"Wonderful." Rongo said, grinning. He pulled out two burlap sacks from his bag and threw one to Lirui and the other to Ancal. "Bag them up and let's go." Jamie and Alexis let out muffled screams as their captors forced them into the sacks, tying them closed. Rongo swooped Tanya up in his arms and walked out the house to his horse. He sat the girl on the saddle, tying her hands to it. He then mounted the horse and waited for the others.

Back in the house, Ancal reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a ransom note, laying it on the table in front of the couch. He then threw the sack containing his captive over his shoulder and walked out, his partner right behind him. After they mounted their horses, the three men whistled and the animals bolted into the forest.


The men reached the campsite and dismounted, tying their horses to the trees. They took their captives into the leader's tent and Kaba smiled when he saw the teen. "Do you have the little ones?" he asked and they nodded. "Excellent…" he growled, and ordered Rongo to bring the girl in his arms over. The man complied and set the girl in front of the leader who gripped the girls' chin and turned her head from one side to the other. He then looked at her chest and smiled. "She's perfect, take her to my bed and tie her to it." Kaba said and Rongo nodded, forcing the girl into the sleeping quarters.

The leader turned to Ancal and told him to open the bags. The man nodded and opened the bags, pulling Alexis out first. The little girl let out a muffled scream as the leader walked toward her. "Don't scream little girl." He growled, pulling out a knife and pressing it against her chest. "We don't want any messes…." He threatened as the child trembled. Ancal then opened the other bag and pulled Jamie out. Unlike her sister, Jamie stayed quiet as the leader examined her. Kaba then turned to Liuri and told him to take Jamie to his tent and the same was said to Ancal. The men nodded, scooped up the girls and left. Rongo returned and said "Sir, the girl is restrained."

Kaba smiled and dismissed him. After the man left, Kaba turned to Ancal and Luiri and told them to take the little ones to their tents. The men smiled and scooped up the girls and walked out. Once they were gone, Kaba walked into his sleeping quarters and smiled at the girl tied to his bed.

Her hands were tied together by a thick, scratchy rope, which was connected to another rope that was tied to the headboard, a dark cloth was tied between her teeth. Tanya struggled against her bindings as the leader approached her. He smiled wickedly and said to her stoking her face, "Don't worry, your sisters will be well taken care of and as long as your mother complies with our demands, she will get all of you back. If she doesn't, you will become our play toy and your little sisters will be killed. We wouldn't want that now would we?" He glanced at the rope holding the girl's hands and noticed it had gotten a little loose from her squirming.

"Now, to make sure you stay put…." He said and as he tightened the rope, Tanya let out a muffled scream. "Let's tighten these ropes." She turned her head as he looked at her and suddenly, he grabbed her chin and pulled her face toward him. "Tomorrow, the real fun begins…" He whispered and let go of his victim, and walked out of the tent. As soon as he was gone, Tanya let out a small whimper, hoping her sisters weren't being treated as cruelly.

Ancal and Luiri walked into their tent and plopped the two girls down onto the ground, back-to-back. Ancal held the girls still while Luiri took out a long rope and tied it around the two girls. Alexis whimpered as her captor stroked her cheek and whispered "You girls belong to us now." The child's whimpering grew louder as the man backed away and laid down on his bed. Her sister watched as Luiri took out a small dagger and pressed it to her throat, growling "And if either of you try to escape, you will be killed…" Jamie glared at the man, somehow knowing that she and her sisters would get out of this somehow.


Alexia arrived to find her home in shambles. She frantically ran through the house calling for the girls, growing more and more worried when there was no response. As she glanced down at a piece of paper on the over-turned coffee table, her worst fear was realized: it was a ransom note which read:

Dear Alexia,

Your children have been taken into our possession. If you want to see them alive again, do exactly as we say. Go to the castle of the royal vampires and kill the king and queen, and anyone who gets in your way.

After that, you are to take the little vermin and kill it. When you are finished, put 3,000 dollars in a bag and take it to the edge of the forest and your children will be returned to you, unharmed. However, if you refuse or fail, your oldest daughter will be raped and killed, and you two little ones will also be killed. Also, do not call the police, for your children will pay dearly for that mistake.

You have one week to meet our demands.

Her hands shook as she read the note and she collapsed on the couch, not sure of what to do. She, as well as all the other humans knew the punishment for trying to kill the king, queen or their child was death, but she couldn't let her own children be killed. She sighed and decided to go through with it. She walked out to the shed in the back and pulled out her husbands' old bow-and-arrow, but did not dare touch the tips, for they had been dipped in some kind of poison. As she gathered her equipment, she just hoped whoever this person was would keep their end of the deal and return her children safely.