Chapter 10

"Goodbye, Sarah," Gwen said during after school.

"Goodbye, Gwen. Wait. Where the heck is your cousin?"

"I had no idea too. Why? You're looking for him?"

"Umm... yeah. I'm expecting him to be here because about the project at hand. Please remind him to meet me at the library, will you?"

"Okay. By the way, I was wondering, it seems like you like Ben, a lot,"

"Nonsense, Gwen. I... don't like like him, I only... like him as a friend,"

"Suit yourself,"

"Bye,"

"Bye,"

Gwen walked home while Sarah walked to the LRV station. She didn't realize that she was being watched. She took the LRV to the centre and reached the library. But no one was at the entrance. Ben is late, again as usual.

She stood there, looking at her watch. The hand had struck 4 but still no sign of him. Sarah started to grow angry, but then she calmed down. Then she saw Ben was walking to the library at the opposite road. She waved at him at he waved back. He walked across the busy road.

Sarah didn't realize someone was approaching her. Suddenly, her hand was tied to the back by an unknown force. She tried to struggle but it was useless. Her only hope was Ben now.

"BEN!" she yelled. But then her mouth was clamped by a hand and she was pulled into the darkness. The bottle she was holding before rolled down the stairs.

Ben heard her cry and came as fast as he could. When he reached there, it would too late. Sarah was gone. Her bottle was on the floor. He picked it up and kept on yelling her name but no one answered. He turned into Big Chill and quickly flied back to his house.

Gwen was swimming in the pool. His parents and her parents were no where to be seen. Looks like they're not back from their work yet. Grandpa Max must be at the seaside sun-bathing again.

Ben landed beside Gwen. "Gwen," he said in a chilling tone. "Sarah's in trouble,"

"Trouble?"

"She's been kidnapped. We got to hurry,"

Gwen got off the water and changed. "Who would such a thing? It's like Sarah has no enemies at all,"

"I had no idea either," he said as he changed back to himself. "But there's a possibility that Animo kidnapped her,"

"Do you have anything that belongs to Sarah?"

"I found her bottle,"

Gwen took it and started to sense for Sarah. She tried and tried but nothing happened. "I can't sense her. Someone blocked my powers,"

He sighed. "Great. How should we find her at all?"

"I got an idea,"

"No, not him. Not that little brat!"

"He's not a brat, Ben,"

"Well, we got other solutions, right?"

"No we don't,"

He sighed. "Fine, but where in the world are we suppose to find him?"

"Easy. Look for a huge, orange airship,"

"Who are you?" Sarah asked. She struggled for freedom but the chains locked her hands up tight.

"None of your business, kid," Charmcaster replied.

"Well, if it's none of my business, why you kidnapped me?"

"Silence!" Komodo yelled.

Sarah looked at the talking Komodo dragon. "Okay, talking komodo dragon. What's next on the menu?"

"Look, kid, if you don't shut your mouth, I'll tear you apart just like what I'm going to do to Gwendolyn,"

"Gwen?"

"Yes, now shut up!"

Sarah gulped. A boy stood out from the shadows, which looked like Zak only his hair was a reversed version of the Zak she knew.

"Zak?" Sarah murmured.

"Sorry, but I'm not the Zak you knew. I'm his evil doppelganger. I'm Zak Monday,"

"Interesting," a white-haired guy stepped out and examined Sarah. "You can cast force fields with your mind and make things invisible. How interesting,"

"If we get to use her powers on the weapons, we'll make fortunes!" said a guy in a mask with a jetpack on his back.

"Money shmoney, all I wanted was a revenge on Ben and Gwen, that's all. I don't care if we were going to make fortunes," Charmcaster said.

"Money can wait, Van Rook. Right now, with her, we can threaten Benjamin and his friends. We might even use her as bait," the white-haired guy said.

"Why don't we just turn her into your mutants, Animo," Zak M. asked. "Any friend to that Zak Saturday is an enemy to me,"

"My apprentice, she's too valuable to be mutated," Komodo hissed.

"Umm... I don't know what you are talking about so I should just leave," she tried to walk to the door but Charmcaster stopped her.

"You're not going any where, princess,"

"Okay. Maybe we should just make deals or something like that," she murmured.

"What's your name again? Sarah, right?" Animo asked. "We'll make a deal. If you lure Benjamin here, I'll free you,"

"Not a chance, goblin face," Sarah replied. She would never betray her friends.

"Fine, if that's what you want," Animo took a gun-like weapon and pointed it at Sarah. She gulped.

"That's a toy gun, right?" she shivered.

"No. It's a genetic mutation ray. I have combined cryptids DNA with my mutation experiment. I've tried it on a lot of people, and it worked perfectly well. Then I'll turn the whole world into my army, you'll be experiment no. 21,"

"I thought you said I'm valuable,"

"Not anymore," he pressed the gun. A ray was released and it was about to hit Sarah but something blocked it. It was a force field that Sarah cast.

"Charmcaster, I thought you cast a spell to prevent her from using her powers," Komodo hissed.

"I did,"

"Maybe you didn't use a good spell," Sarah murmured. Charmcaster was furious. She cast mana rays at her but the force field blocked them.

She made the force field into a huge ball which she can float in it and rolled towards the villains. Of course, only the ball was rolling, not her. The villains scattered for safety so that the force field won't hit them. She rolled the ball around the room and then rolled towards the wall that was keeping her from freedom. She burst right through it and made a huge hole on the wall.

She found herself in a barren wasteland outside of the city. She rolled back to the city as fast as she could. Charmcaster blasted her with mana rays and Van Rook used his machine gun but both wasted their efforts. Charmcaster stammered her feet angrily.

"We'll get her and her friends sooner enough," Animo said.