{Caught}

[Jisanna Elizabeth Taylor]

My original plan had been to... well leave here and never come back. So far I had done well, leaving the note and getting this far. However once I reached Flint River, my mind started to wonder just how well this would turn out. I mean this is my home, not Flint River of course but the two Islands. I had lived here for almost half of my life. The only half I remembered clearly. Hopelessly I sit down and stare into the glinting depths of the creek. Honestly, I don't want to leave. Nevertheless it is my only choice to. I have stayed in one place too long, I feel the tug to find somewhere different and exciting for myself. What would happen once I got to this new place? Would anything even be different? My ultimate question was of course: Would it be safer anywhere else in the world? Rising to my feet impatiently I start to pace silently. I need to stop thinking, I need to just do it and get on with my life. Something is stopping me from doing so, as if an invisible force is grounding my heart. I sling my backpack over my shoulder carelessly as I decide to keep moving.

It is only then I realize I am not alone.

In my momentary lapse of concentration figures have started to appear from the shadows of the treeline. Hunters. Not a normal amount of them either. There are ten in all. That is something that I have not seen or heard of before, and I was a Hunter a few years ago. Obviously they have been offered something of their liking. What it is I do not know. They come closer yet, my eyes dart for possible ways out but I am too late. They have enclosed me in a circle of muscle and strategy. Maybe I could maneuver my way out. Even I know that this is not realistically thinking. I am certainly going to die. Right here. Right now. Surprisingly in the silence, one has stepped forward, but he is not a Hunter. Only a human. He is tall and not well muscled. His face is clear of blemishes and scars. Quite up to date glasses frame his muddy brown eyes. His eyes suggest a life of thinking logically. His clothing consists of black trousers, a white collared shirt and a black tie. My muscles are rigid, but I stand straight. My chin is held high. I wonder what this is about before Tall Guy explains.

"You are going to come with my friends here, real quiet and nice. We're not going to kill you unless you try something stupid."

My eyes glare ice daggers at him, and with a sassy smirk I tell him what I think.

"Something you have to know about me, I'm not quiet and nice. I will always try something stupid."

Tall Guy looks amused before he backs out of the circle. Coward. I scoff in my head before it really gets to me, I could actually be in a bit of a situation here. Two Hunters come forward and pin my hands behind my shoulder blades. My shoulders smart in pain and I flinch. The pressue doesn't let up and I know that if I move wrongly, I will snap or dislocate my shoulders. They start to lead me to a black van. For once in my life I am actually worried about what will happen to me.

God. I really am stuck.