Anil and Brany raced for the Commvee as fast as thier legs would carry them. They breathed in heavily, exhausted from running the long distance. Anil pulled the door open and the two staggered inside. They found Debbie sitting at the table, drinking a soda. She looked up as Anil and Brany stumbled towards her. "What's up with you two?" "Where's Mom and Dad?" Anil asked, his body heaving as he breathed in and out heavily. Debbie looked concerned. "They're sleeping. Worn out from searching for...I don't even remember what it was...Why? What's wrong?" The next words she heard stopped her blood cold. "Chelsey and Kacie...they...they were kidnapped!"

"We have to go look for them! Before they do something bad!" Brany bolted past and headed at a fast pace for the lower level of the Commvee. Debbie watched her vanish, then turned back to Anil. "What do you mean? Who kidnapped them?" Anil sighed. "Sloan and Bree Blackburn." he said simply. Debbie's heart skipped a beat and a chill shot down her spine. "N-not them again!" Anil sighed gravely. "I'm afraid it's true."

Down below, Brany had reached Nigel and Marianne's bedroom. The two were sleeping soundly and snugly in their bed. Brany gave a small sigh. She didn't want to wake them, but this was an emergency. Cautiously, she walked inside and headed for their bed. She first tried to wake Marianne, gently tapping her shoulder. "Mom? Wake up." she pleaded. Marianne moaned in her sleep, but didn't wake. Brany tried again, a little harder and more urgently. "Mom. Wake up!" Marianne moaned again, but this time she began to wake up. She turned over, and slowly opened her eyes. She saw a blurred outline of a child, then reconized it when she heard the voice again. "Get up." "What is it, honey?" "We've got trouble, that's what."

"What kind of trouble?" Marianne asked, still not fully awake. "Kacie and Chelsey...They were...They were..." she couldn't bring herself to say it. Marianne waited patiently for Brany to calm down enough to tell her, but she certainly wasn't expecting the few words the came tumbling out of the young girl's mouth. "They were kidnapped by the Blackburns!" Suddenly, Marianne was fully awake. She jumped up, startling Brany, and gently, but firmly, grabbed her shoulders. "What happened?"

A sudden fear suddenly overtook Brany. They weren't suppose to have run off that night, now she felt they would all get in trouble. Marianne seemed to sense the fear building up in Brany's heart, for she said gently, "You can tell me. I won't get mad." Brany swallowed her fear, or tried to at least, then began to tell her what had happened, that Debbie had let them go out on the savanna and play, how the Blackburns suddenly showed up, how Chelsey had first been captured, then Kacie, how she and Anil had tried, but failed, to help and came running back. This was all Marianne needed to hear. She turned back towards the bed, to find her husband sitting up, awake. Apparently, he had been startled awake as well by the sudden movements of the bed.

"Dearest, what's wrong?" he yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "We have to get moving! Chelsey and Kacie were kidnapped! We have to find them!" Nigel too, was quickly awakened by this news. He leapt out of bed as well, then both rushed out of their room and up to the above level of the Commvee. As Brany stepped out of her stepparent's room, she bumped into Eliza and Darwin. "Hey Brany." Brany looked very nervous when she said, "Hey." in return. Eliza studied her face for a minute. "Brany, what's wrong?" "I just knew you were gonna ask me...Kacie and Chelsey were kidnapped while we were out."Eliza felt a cold wave of fear wash over her. "By whom?" "The Blackburns..." she choked out, on the verge of brusting into tears. Eliza's heart nearly stopped. The Blackburns! Why was it always them who caused the trouble? First, Chelsey had been kidnapped, then given her trademark scar, now this.

They all climbed up into the upper level. Marianne already had the engine running and didn't hesitate one second and giving it the gas. The Commvee leapt forward, barreling through the savanna grass. Right now, they needed to find their two step daughters...before something bad happened. However, little did they know just how bad it was gonna be...

To be continued.

Like it? Sorry it took so long to write, but for a while, I was out of ideas, add on to the fact I'm back in school, high school to be exact. Anyway, it's short, I know, but I hope you liked it. Also, there might be a song or two for this story. I'll let you know first hand in the next chapter. Until then...

I'm Eliza Thornberry's mother, just shorter...with messy brown hair and dark green eyes.

Mini Marianne