by Lara Lacombe
Her arms were numb. She’d felt blood earlier, warm and leaking down her long fingers. Now she felt nothing. Her shoulders ached and burned as she watched her captors lead the horses over to a small pool of water at the bottom of a large, rocky canyon. The quarter moon gave her just enough light to see what was going on.
One man, his eyes black and glittering, came over and untied her hands. He stood with his rifle and threw a bottle of water into her lap.
Madison reached out for the water. Her fingers were numb. Fire shot through her shoulders as she moved toward that precious bottle of water. Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth and then forced her unfeeling fingers around the bottle. It took a minute to unscrew the lid but when the water flowed into her mouth, Madison groaned. She gulped down the water, feeling lightheaded and weak. When she finished it, the man threw her another bottle. She drank three of them before she was sated. Her stomach growled. The last time she’d eaten was at noon. She looked up at the soldier. Cringing inwardly, she noticed the raw hatred in his eyes as he glared down at her.
Madison looked past him and saw all six horses drinking deeply at the pool. Their bodies gleamed with sweat. They’d been pushed hard. As she scanned the area, Madison thought they were in a canyon from what she could make out in the deep shadows. Could she escape? Oh, God, if only she could! Everywhere she looked, it was desolate and desert. Craning her neck, she looked at the group of men standing, their heads together, talking quietly. What were they going to do with her? Where were they taking her?
Her hands began to wake up. She could feel blood coming back into them, the pain almost unbearable. Pushing the hair off her face, she felt close to tears. What had she done? How was she going to get out of this? As she looked up at the soldier guarding her, Madison felt the crushing answer. She wasn’t getting out of this alive. She didn’t know the area. She had no water and no food. These men knew this land because they lived here. Once again, she could only feel dread for what would happen to her. Her one stupid, childish and selfish mistake had landed her here. Tears burned in her eyes and she shut them. Madison didn’t want them to see her cry and she sucked it up, burying it deep within her.
“Get up!”
Madison snapped her head up. Another man in dark clothing stood, his hands on his hips, glaring at her. “Y-you speak English?” she rasped, her voice hoarse.
“Get up!” He gestured sharply to her.
Madison stood on wobbling legs. She saw the expression in the leader’s face, behind the black beard hanging halfway down his narrow chest. He turned and said something to the soldier. They both looked at her.
Suddenly, Madison felt like raw meat for sale, and it scared the bejesus out of her. Were they going to rape her? Oh, God...
“Move!” the man barked, gesturing for her to walk to where the horses stood.
Instantly, Madison moved. Relief shot through her. They weren’t going to rape her. No...no, not that. Dazed, weak from not eating, she was pushed toward the horse she’d been on before. In minutes, her hands were bound behind her once more. Groaning, the pain hot and burning across her shoulders, she was forced back onto the horse. They dragged the rope beneath the horse’s belly and again her ankles were bound. They placed the hood back over her head. The men mounted and the soldier who had guarded her tied the reins of her horse to the back of his saddle. They kicked the animals, moving out at a fast trot.
Madison found it tough to ride in this position. She compressed her lips, looking around but seeing nothing. From earlier, she knew they were moving out of the canyon and back on to the desert floor. Up ahead, huge mountains rose to her right. Where were they taking her? Her mind cartwheeled with terror. Wasn’t anyone going to try to rescue her? Did the Marines even know she was gone? When she didn’t show up at dinner, surely they’d realized something was wrong.
Tears began to leak down her drawn cheeks. Madison was alone. No one knew where she was or what had happened to her. With one stupid decision, her life, as she knew it, was over.
Copyright © 2013 by Lindsay McKenna
ISBN-13: 9781460321638
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Copyright © 2013 by Lara Kingeter
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