Taken - Chapter Four

“What do you mean?” I practically squeaked out, barely audible.

I saw her gulp, and turn to face me. “I heard them say something…” She sniffed, looking away from me again. “They said that there was no need for two, two…” She trailed off. I knew what she meant though. I knew it, she was dead. I bit my lip, staring down at the fake grass below me. They only needed one… baby maker… My mother wasn’t needed, she also wasn’t pregnant… so they threw her away like a used napkin.

“It isn’t ‘putting her down!’” I yelled, not even directed at her. I could feel the rage building up inside me. When I was mad, really mad, I said things I wouldn’t ever say otherwise. “We’re not fucking pets! We’re people too!” I was seething, but I felt her arms pull me into a hug. All of the anger disintegrated. Only then did I really understand how much I needed my mom. And I burst into tears, hugging her back.

“I know… I know…” She tried to sooth me, and it was working pretty well and my tears had almost completely dried. But a sudden noise practically made me just right out of my skin, undoing everything she’d done so far to calm me. I practically whipped my body around, to face whatever had come to terrorize me next. The nice woman let go of me, letting me fall into a heap on the floor.

A young , (but not nearly little) boy, no older than four was tapping relentlessly on the glass and sending me back into the shell I’d unknowingly started the moment I was brought here. My vocal chords hurt, so I just let the tears stream down my face once again, curling up into the tiniest ball I could possibly create. Loud and quiet sobs leapt from my throat, almost like frogs. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to block out anything and everything threatening to break me. I just kept rocking back forth in a steady pattern, failing to calm myself down.

Suddenly, the thunderous tapping dissipated; through my ears realised it, my body still hadn’t caught on just yet. Slowly but surely, my eyes opened cautiously, and my rocking was barely noticeable. The sight quickened my heartbeat and left my mouth agape.
It was another boy, but not nearly the same age as the other. He looked like he could’ve gone to the same school as me, age wise that is, (definitely not height wise). His wall-like, palish skinned, hand holding the child’s away from the tank, while staring right into my eyes. His dark brown, curly, hair gave him a childish look, though his gigantic facial features proved he wasn’t a child. But, no matter how he looked, he was still part of the race that kidnapped me from the life that I belonged to, held me against my will, and stole my brother from me. So he couldn’t be good… could he?

He turned around for a moment, obviously talking to motioning to someone behind him, though I couldn’t see who. But his words were a dead give away. “Mom, can you take Max while I look around?”

I still couldn’t see her, but I could just barely make out her words. “Yeah,” she said. She suddenly came into view, or at least her bottom half did. She grabbed the little boy’s hand, (recently deemed ‘Max’) and pulled him away. “Come on, let’s go see the Soraparts.” I had absolutely no idea what that was, but I was somewhat relieved to see him go, though it didn’t mean I wasn’t still terrified.

The older boy turned to face me, seemingly kneeling on the store floor, as I could feel the movement vibrate through my entire form. I scooted backwards, still in a sitting position, though I didn’t know what good it would do to protect myself from a thing that could very easily grab me without hesitation. But he looked… almost human…

Whilst my mind was at war with itself, the boy had gotten his face right in front of the glass, just staring at me. With a jolt, my mind ceased its war and realised the boy’s face was filling my entire field of vision. I shook with realization; he was obviously going to ‘adopt’ me.

“Hey… are you okay...?” He asked. Wait, was he talking to me? I kept quiet, I would be egging him on otherwise. “I-I know you’re scared of me, and have every right to be,” He paused for a second to look behind him, though no one was there. “I’m not going to adopt you.” He said ‘adopt’ bitterly, like he didn’t like how it felt in his mouth. My death grip on my knees loosened slightly. “My name is Luke, if you care.”

He waited a few seconds before realizing I probably wouldn’t say anything and started to stand. But my mouth defied my brain’s authority. “Wait!” I felt the words leave my lips, but I instantly wish they hadn’t. He knelt again, his gigantic eyes fixed on me. Then I got nervous again. “M-My name,” For some reason, revealing my name felt as though I was granting him access to my brain. “Is Isabelle.”

He sighed, his large breath fogged up the glass, contorting my vision. “That’s a beautiful name.” He spoke softly, barely above a whisper. I didn’t know why, but his words sent shivers down my spine and butterflies to flutter in my stomach. The glass slowly cleared, granting me the vision of his soft smile.

I gasped, seeing his mother towering figure above him again.

“What’s this?” She asked hesitantly, a creepily over-happy smile plastered to her face.

He whirled around, staring up at his mother. “Nothing Mom, just looking.”

“Don’t tell me you like the shy kind…” My mind soared. Shy kind?! But she kept talking, already I hated this woman. “I mean, a pet that’s terrified of its owner, isn’t the kind you want, Luke.” I felt like I was going to throw up the little food that I’d eaten.

“MOM!” He shouted, terrorizing my eardrums. I clamped my hands over my ears, the only protection against the deafening shout. “Isn’t it obvious that they aren’t pets?! They look like us, speak like us, and even eat the same food! The only difference is their height!”

She looked shocked, unbelievably shocked. When she spoke, it was hesitant and shaky. “Luke, not here, not in a store.” She said, almost pleadingly.

His lips parted as though he was going to shout again, but he looked at me and stopped. I had my fingers in my ears now, my face shaped into a contorted frown, and my eyes squinted.

“I’m so sorry… I totally forgot…” Though my fingers were still in my ears, I could clearly make out his words. He was sorry for yelling about how I was a person too? It hurt my ears, but I was glad he’d stood up for me. I suddenly didn’t feel as scared of him anymore.