Stolen

by Cheree Alsop

  “I knew the risk,” she argued. Whisper moved on the couch and she lowered her voice. “We both agreed that I could walk away if it got too dangerous, right?” I nodded reluctantly and she shrugged. “I just feel like the good outweighs the danger.”

  I looked down at the small healing marks from my teeth along the back of my hand. “How would your family feel?”

  “Marek.” She waited until I looked up, then gave a smile that melted my resolve. “I’m glad I got to go,” she said seriously.

  Moonlight from outside played across her face. I hesitated, but the impulse was too great to resist. I lifted a hand and ran my fingers softly along the gentle curve of her cheek. “You might be too brave for your own good,” I said quietly; my fingers shook the slightest bit at the touch of her skin.

  She cupped her hand over mine and held it there for a moment that felt like the most perfect eternity. Her eyes closed briefly, and when she opened them again and stared into my own, I knew once and for all that I was hers.

  Chapter 27- Kyla

  That night after Marek had gone home and everyone was asleep, I lay awake in my bed staring at the constellations on the ceiling. Mom had helped me put up the glow-in-the-dark stars years ago; they were a present from Kip on my fourteenth birthday. Mom had carefully created the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper, then we ran out of constellations we knew and ended up putting the stars in random spirals and patches all over the ceiling. Kip, on one of his better ideas, had also put stars on my door, the closet, and the bookshelf so that I could navigate my way safely out of the room in the dark.

  I couldn’t get my mind to slow down. Memories from the last couple of days raced through my head. I heard the gunshots again, and my heart pounded at the remembered terror. It was easy to push the fear away when Marek was around, but the silence was enough to bring it all back in full force.

  The thought of Marek made my heart pound in a different way. I traced my cheek where he had touched it so gently; a smile came to my lips at the memory of how his hand shook at being so forward. I found myself wishing he had kissed me, but I wondered if it would have changed the memory.

  His eyes had glowed golden when he looked into mine, golden at first with fear for my safety and how strongly he wanted to keep me out of danger, then a softer gold when he brushed my cheek with his fingers and stared into my eyes as though he never wanted the moment to end. My heart and soul had echoed the sentiment.

  I rose, walked to my dresser, and brought the pendant back to bed with me. Just holding it made me feel better. The cold metal was reassuring in the darkness. I turned it slowly and the crystal caught the starlight that stole into the room through a gap in my blinds. Blue light sparkled from the gem, bringing a bit of comfort in the gentle night.

  I remembered what Marek said about blue specks in my green eyes. I had never noticed; I always thought my eye color was plain. I could still feel his fingers caress my cheek and heard the whispered cadence of his voice as though he was afraid of the words he said, but spoke them as though they would consume him otherwise.

  I fell asleep with the chain intertwined around my fingers, the pendant resting on my pillow where it caught the most light.

  ***

  It was hard to sit through school the next day. I wore the small pendant Marek had given me under my shirt, and felt it against my skin. My friends grilled me on where I had been the day before, and I did my homework in class to catch up. I felt obligated to go to the clinic and help Dad out for a few hours so he wouldn’t wonder what I was up to.

  It was dusk by the time I pulled into the old garage. This time, no one was there to meet me. I walked quickly through the streets toward the warehouse, starting at every strange noise. By the time I got inside, I was grateful for the sentry-like presence of the abandoned machinery. I made my way through them, barking my shins only twice in the dark, and knelt to put my hand on the door. It slid open soundlessly. I walked down the ramp, waited for the next door to open, and stepped onto the platform above the Den.

  I laughed when I saw the scene below. Somebody, my suspicions lingered on Shadow, had armed the children with water balloons. Water splatters were everywhere. Children chased Phoenix around the corner where the motorcycles were, then he chased them back to the main room with a fresh armload of balloons. Flint and Marek sat at the covered computers in rain coats; tarps had been spread over the maps and diagrams on the rows of tables. Whisper hid under the table where Marek sat while Shadow filled more balloons in the kitchen sink.

  A balloon sailed through the air and hit Marek on the back of the head, splattering water on the computer screen. He rose, hands up. “Okay, that’s enough. No water around the computers or we’ll have a harder time finding your homes!” He shot Phoenix a questioning look, but the Shifter pointed at a little brown-haired girl next to him. “It was May; she’s got a good arm.”

  “Uh-huh,” Marek replied, unconvinced. He sopped up the water with a rag Whisper handed him from under the table.

  Now that the water balloons were banned, I made my way down the steps. Marek glanced up and when he saw me, his blue eyes brightened in a way that sent butterflies through my stomach. He leaned down and said something to Whisper. I grinned when the little girl dashed out from under the table and practically flew into my arms. “I’ve missed you, too!” I said, giving the girl a hug.

  “These kids are crazy!” Whisper replied, exasperated.

  Marek walked up in the hallway. “They are.” Two little boys who had followed him nodded.

  I looked around again as we walked into the main room. “There are less of them. Who’s missing?”

  “We returned Meisha and Jory this morning. We’ll be taking Crissy and May home tomorrow. May lives out in Huntington, but we’re going to take her to her Grandma’s in Vernon to avoid the Falconans. Phoenix and Flint will take Crissy to her uncle’s apartment in Mareport. He’s been helping her family search for her.”

  May’s dark eyes sparkled from where she held Phoenix’s hand. “You excited to go home?” I asked her. She nodded, an eager grin on her face. I laughed; the little girl was missing her two front teeth.

  Everyone eventually dried out from the water fight. Flint uncovered a large television in a corner of the main room and before long, most of the Lost had fallen asleep watching Looney Tunes re-runs. Shadow sat in the corner of a couch reading Green Eggs and Ham quietly to Whisper. Phoenix was in working on one of the motorcycles with Flint. Raven was out flying under the pretense of keeping watch; I guessed that sometimes, though, it was just to be able to fly.

  It was the quietest I had seen the Den since the Lost were rescued. I glanced over at Marek. He sat on the floor with his back propped against a couch, his arms folded loosely across his knees. He was studying the sleeping forms on the blankets and mismatched couches around him. “How do you do it?” I asked quietly. “How do you get them all safely home and know that they’re safe and the Falconans aren’t going to steal them again?”

  Marek gave me a thoughtful smile. “You worry about them, don’t you?” At my nod, he sat up, his smile fading. “That’s something I’ve wrestled with for a long time. It seems to me that the Falconans don’t pick them back up because their families are extremely protective and careful with their children after getting them back. My main concern is if the Falconans stop taking children in secret.”

  I frowned. “You mean, taking them without care of who sees, regardless of consequences?”

  Marek nodded, his eyes on the sleeping kids. “We’ve stopped them taking this group and watch everything that goes on at the labs as well as we can through the computers; but, what if there are labs we don’t know about, or lost children being traded at the closed borders for the sole purpose of turning them into Falconans?”

  He turned and met my shocked stare. “They do the same thing with guns, bombs, and drugs; children are weapons now, too, once they become Falconans. We’re trying our best to stop what we see, which seems like
a lot when you’re trying to return fifteen kids home; but I feel like we could do more.”

  I knew what he was saying, even though I could tell by his expression that he felt he wasn’t explaining himself well. I had felt it often at home before I met Marek and jumped into his rabbit hole. It was a feeling of underachievement, of not reaching my potential, like I was made to do something great, to truly make a difference, but didn’t know where to go or how to do it.

  But I was amazed he felt like that. Here was someone who saved children from a fate truly worse than death, and who returned them home to their families who were so desperately searching for them. He was a hero to the children he saved and to their families; he made a difference in every one of their lives.

  “Marek,” I finally said, speaking soft enough that only he could hear. “You do more here than I could ever dream of doing. You save children without regard for your own life; you put aside your safety to get them back home.” I shook my head and wrapped my arms around myself. My voice was even softer when I continued, soft enough that a normal human wouldn’t have heard me, but Marek did. “I still shake when I think of being shot at. I don’t know how you can keep facing them.”

  “Hobby, I guess,” he replied with a half-hearted, quiet laugh. Then he grew somber. “I just want them all to be safe, happy, and loved.”

  “Well, you’re doing a good job,” I said. “I don’t know what they would do without you.”

  Marek was silent for a moment. I followed his eyes to where Shadow had fallen asleep, the book dangling precariously on one knee. Whisper was snuggled against him from her perch on the arm of the sofa, her head on his shoulder and eyes closed. A soft smile touched her lips as if she was dreaming about something wonderful. “They’re my responsibility, Kyla,” Marek said quietly. “I can’t fail them.”

  “You aren’t failing them,” I replied. “You’ve given up any life you could have had out there to save these children.” Marek sat quietly, his expression troubled. On impulse, I changed the subject. “What would you do if you weren’t doing this?”

  He glanced at me. “If there weren’t Falconans and the Lost and everything?” At my nod, he gave another half-smile. “I’d be a student.”

  Surprised, I lowered myself down to the floor so that I sat against the couch a few feet from him. “A student? Why? What would you study?” I thought about how anxious I was for my last year of high school to get over, and how overwhelmed I felt trying to apply for colleges. College was expected of me; I didn’t feel like I had a choice in the matter. Right now, though, college was just the next step in life, the way to contribute to society, to make a difference. I didn’t even know what to major in.

  Marek’s answer surprised me even more. “I’d study everything,” he said with a flourish of his hand. I noticed with a brief glow of satisfaction that the wounds from his teeth had healed to leave a series of straight white scars across his skin.

  “History, English, Art, Science,” Raven said from behind us, making me jump. Marek must have heard him coming because he didn’t seem surprised to see the bird Shifter. “Chemistry,” Raven concluded, hoisting himself over the back of the couch to sit near Marek. “Maybe we can figure out what they did to us.”

  Suddenly curious, I asked him, “If you did find a way to reverse it, would you?”

  Raven hesitated a moment, then shook his head with a grin on his face. “Flying is too much fun. It’s worth the persecution.”

  I knew I shouldn’t ask, but I did anyway. “Would you, Marek? Would you give up being a Shifter?”

  Marek studied his hand, clenching and unclenching his fist, watching the scars. I wondered if he had heard me, or if he simply didn’t want to answer. I was trying to think of another change of subject when he said, “No, I wouldn’t.” His tone was slightly lifted, as if he had just realized something. “I wouldn’t give up being part wolf. It’s a part of me, even if it’s a part most people would find undesirable. It would be like asking you to cut off your hand and learn to live without it. You could do so, but you’d miss that part of you that made you whole.”

  I thought for a moment. “Why don’t the children shift? I’ve seen you shift, and Raven is constantly flying, keeping watch.”

  “More flying than keeping watch, I’m afraid,” Raven interjected with a self-conscious smile, his dark eyes flashing.

  Marek was silent, then he replied in a heavy tone, “It’s hard to do something like shift when you’ve been forced to do it over and over again in front of a bunch of scientists who care only that you do it faster and more efficiently. Once you get away, you want nothing to do with that part of your life anymore because it brings back the memories. But Shadow and Flint shift when we get out to run, and I can occasionally urge Whisper to fly a bit when we’re alone, but those moments are few and far between.”

  Raven nodded his agreement of Marek’s words. “It took me a long time to shift after we left the labs. It was almost like I was afraid doing it would bring them back, and would make me a prisoner again.” He glanced down at Marek sitting on the floor. When he continued, his voice held respect. “But Marek wasn’t afraid. He protected us so many times as a wolf that I finally forced myself to shift.” He winked at me. “I’ve been flying ever since.”

  “It wasn’t that I wasn’t afraid,” Marek replied. By Raven’s raised eyebrows, I realized Marek had never talked about it before. Marek continued, “Being a wolf was the only way I could protect the Den from the colorful inhabitants of the Downs.” He stared at his hands as though looking through them at his memories. “Sometimes, I paced the whole night around the warehouse just to keep the local gangs at bay. They weren’t too pleased with us moving in on their territory. Luckily it didn’t take them long to realize that a black wolf would attack anyone who came near our warehouse.” He gave a ghost of a smile. “It gave them a good reason to steer clear of this place and not be thought cowards for doing so.”

  Raven laughed. “I wondered why they never bothered us! I’m just glad the great black wolf of the Downs is on our side.”

  “Alright, alright,” Marek said, rising to his feet. “Let’s get these kids to bed.”

  As if on cue, Phoenix and Flint came up the hall, finished with their motorcycle for the night. We all helped carry the little ones to their beds where they clutched their teddy bears and dreamed of home.

  ***

  I drove slowly through the streets of the Downs. Once I left the vicinity of the warehouse, it was easy to remember that I was in the roughest, dirtiest part of Charlton. Members of the city’s dark nightlife leered at me as I drove past. I slowed for a yellow light, then sped up to run the red as several tattooed, chained, and solemn looking men broke away from the sidewalk toward me. My heart started to pound. I shouldn’t be driving through any part of the city alone after citizen curfew, especially the Downs.

  I reached another stoplight, but this time I didn’t even slow down. There was no one driving on the roads at night, no one sane at least. Then I saw a single headlight in my rear-view mirror. The motorcycle passed me, then slowed to the creep I was doing through the city.

  Alarmed, I was about to turn at the next light when my headlights reflected on the small silver wolf paw print on the back of the rider’s helmet. It was the same sign painted on all of the pack’s equipment. I gave a sigh of relief. This was Marek, then, escorting me safely home. Motion above the rider caught my attention, black wings held out in a glide. Raven.

  I followed them to Chester Street a few blocks from my house, then the rider turned up a side street and was gone. Grateful for the safe return, I pulled into my driveway and turned off the engine. I walked slowly to the side door, enjoying the coolness of the night breeze.

  A sound caught my attention and I turned back toward the car. My heart skipped a beat. A black wolf stood under a large elm in the neighbor’s yard across the street. A black bird sat in the branches above Marek’s head. Raven lifted a wing and let it fall, almost
like a human wave. I smiled and waved back, then stepped through the door, my heart thumping a bit louder than usual.

  I didn’t know if it was the fact that Marek cared enough to see me to my door despite the obvious danger to himself or that I was unaccustomed to seeing him in his wolf form that made my heart pound, but when I closed the door, I realized I didn’t have time to dwell on it. Mom sat on the sofa with a book in her hand, waiting up for me.

  “Uh, hi Mom,” I said as casually as I could. I set my keys on the small shelf by the door and tried to think of a good excuse for why I was home so late.

  “Hi,” Mom replied with a warm smile. She bent the corner of the page she was reading and closed her book. “It’s been a while since we’ve had the time to talk, just the two of us.” She patted an empty cushion next to her.

  It had been a while since we last talked, but I found myself thinking now wasn’t the best time to catch up. I doubted Mom would be thrilled with what I had to talk about. I settled reluctantly in the corner of the couch, pulled off my shoes, and brought my knees up under my chin so that I sat facing my mother.

  “Oh, don’t look so worried,” Mom said with a laugh. “You’re not the only one that’s ever been out after curfew.” She pulled her legs under her and leaned on the arm of the couch.

  It suddenly struck me that Mom wasn’t mad at me. “Where’s Dad?” I asked cautiously.

  “In bed, snoring,” Mom replied with another laugh. “He was worried when you didn’t come home, and I told him I’d wake him up if there was an emergency.”

  Grateful that she covered for me, I smiled. “Thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Mom said with a shrug that made her seem years younger. She gave a small, understanding smile. “So, you really like Marek, huh?”

  A knot formed in my stomach. I fumbled for words. “It’s obvious, huh?”