Chapter 3

"Drop your gun slowly and don't move," the man said

I could smell the alcohol on him. If he was drunk enough then I could probably take him but I wasn't going to risk getting shot. I dropped my gun slowly to the ground and got back up, but the don't move part was already in motion. My muscles tensed up as soon as I heard the safety switch off. It felt like my muscles were literal stone.

"Good," he said with a little tone of pleasure

I felt his hand slide onto my torso. It felt heavy and strong. That's when I saw his tattoo. Shit, he's a WildFire, was what my mind was screaming at me. I could feel his hot breath on my neck as he inched closer to me. I could determine the alcohol he was drinking before. Tequila? No it was for sure Vodka. Better than him being sober. I forced my elbow back, driving it into his nose. I felt his hand come off of me and I heard him fall on his butt.

He was screaming while grabbing his nose "You little bitch!"

If I didn't piss him off before, this did the trick. I grabbed the gun and I ran as fast as I could to find my dad on the other side of the store. I was panting when I finally found his large dark figure in the aisle that had flashlights and without thinking ran towards him without hiding my expression. I stumbled over my feet and he managed to catch me before I fell on my face.

"Hey kiddo...What's wrong?" he asked

I could barely manage to get a whole sentence out so I split it up into words I knew he would understand.

"Wild....Fire....Gun...Drunk...Elbow," I said, still trying to catch my breath.

His face went serious and he took the gun from my hand while holding the majority of my weight with one arm. I finally managed to catch a good breath and stand up on my own.

"Amber where is he? Did he touch you? Are you hurt?" he asked with panic in his voice

"I don't know. I slammed my elbow full force into his nose and he was super pissed after that. I don't know if he ran or if he is looking for me," I said.

He gave me a nod and switched the safety off of the gun. As he walked off, I managed to get my phone out and call Jared. This was part of the plan that we created. It rang 3 times before he answered.

"Jared?" I asked

"What happened? You sound like you got chased by a bunch of dogs," He said.

"Jared, you need to follow the plan just like we practiced ok. If I don't come back just remember I love you to the stars..."

"And to the moon...Don't worry I know the plan but Amber, come back to me please don't leave me alone," He said.

"I promise I will find you," I said.

The line went dead and I threw my phone to the ground and crushed it with the nearest hammer I could find. This was also part of the plan so that nobody could trace the call back to the house and find Jared. Just a precaution.

As soon as I destroyed the phone, I went to go look for my dad. I was jogging yelling "Dad?"

I yelled that about 5 times before he said "Amber!"

I followed the sound of his voice and found the man holding a gun against his head.

"Ah so the little bitch found us," the man said.

His voice was so rough. So strong. It sounded like he was a smoker but I couldn't smell any cigarette on him. Maybe it was hidden behind the Vodka. He had my dad in a headlock and slowly pointed the gun towards me. I slowly put my hands in the air as a form of surrender.

"That's good sweetheart, now tell me how old are you?" he asked in a polite tone

I saw the look on my dad's face when he asked that and it told me to lie but only the truth came out.

"I'm 15, I turn 16 in 2 months," I said.

He nodded in approval and said "You're a little young for our taste but you're also quite pretty for 15."

He had an evil smile on his face,

"So here's the deal princess. You come with me and I let daddy here go home," He said.

My dad looked so angry I thought he was about to kill the guy. I didn't know what to do. All I knew is that I made a promise to Jared. I couldn't leave him all alone, not with his birthday coming up. So I questioned the guy.

"How do you know if I'm a Pure or not? You don't even know if I have the vaccine," I said with a bit of a vicious tone in my voice.

"Oh sweetheart," he chuckled "It's not hard to tell. If you're about 16 then that means that you were in the age group this all started with. So you were one of the first tested. We may be in a gang but we aren't stupid darling. Now come here and I let daddy go."

I walked slowly towards him still having my hands up. He slowly released my dad from the chokehold and then replaced me with such swift movements. He whispered in my ear and said "Maybe I could get some action from you."

A shiver went down my spine as I saw his gorgeous blue eyes look at me. He wasn't bad looking but I couldn't leave Jared. I nodded at my dad who looked like he was about to cry and he already knew what I was saying.

We turned around. He had his gun pointed at my head just in case I resisted, and then I heard a scream. As it came closer, the sound that came next sounded so familiar. It brought me back to the day that Jared and I were in the car looking at the girl who was yanked by her hair. I heard the gunshot echo through the walls of the huge abandoned store. I turn around and I realize what the sound was. A gunshot. I was in shock. I stood there like a statue, tears welling up in my eyes, and I was about to scream but the fear closed my throat so tight I thought I was going to choke.

"Dad?!" I screamed when I managed to move.

I ran towards him and caught him before he fell to the ground. Even though I was half his weight I still tried to support him. I couldn't feel anything. The blood started pooling. The warm, sticky blood stained my hands but it was going away from my jeans.

"Dad? Dad stay with me please. You have to go home and take care of goldie," Goldie was our code name for Jared if we ever got caught. We said Goldie because it sounded like a golden retriever.

As soon as I thought about him, a tear fell down my cheek. My dad was trying to say something so I bent down. I heard him whisper in my ear and the next thing I knew he was so still in my arms.

"Dad?" I said as my voice cracked.

I felt the anger bubble in my chest as I slowly started turning towards the gang member. My cheeks were so warm from the tears that just fell down from my eyes.

"Oh don't try anything sweetheart, your little goldfish can survive on its own but now you're coming with me," He said as he was pointing the gun towards me with another evil smile on his face. He grabbed my arm and pulled me with him and the anger faded as soon as we hit the fall breeze. We walked all the way to the back of the lot where a black van was parked. There was one more guy in the driver's seat of the van. I heard the door open and slam into the car.

"Who the hell is this beauty," the other guy said

He wiped the tears from my eyes and I gave him a fierce look saying I'm going to kill you and he obviously got the memo. He retracted his hand from my cheek and stood there contemplating to grab me or slap me.

"She's feisty, I like it," He gave a smile as evil as the other guys

"I'm not your little toy," I said, through gritted teeth. And then I spat in his face. If my look didn't make him mad, this for sure did the trick considering that I felt the sting after it actually happened.

He looked me up and down before he said "Put her in the back and drug her."

He got back into the car because I heard the door slam and the car shook with the slam. I put my hand up to my cheek trying to see if it can actually still have some sensation. I may have strong bones but I don't have strong skin. The guy that threw me in the back still had the gun pointed at me. He had this wild look in his eyes that made me so angry. How could he take joy in this after he just killed my father? The only parent that Jared and I had left. Jared. Shit! He has nobody now. That made me even angrier than before.

"Listen princess, this isn't anything personal. Just some more money if we have a Pure," He said

I kicked him right where it hurts and tried to run. He caught my wrist before I could even jump out of the back.

"Nice try you little bitch," He said with such anger in his voice

I felt the punch as soon as it hit. My cheek started to burn and then it was throbbing with pain. He shoved a needle into my vein and I started feeling sleepy. I couldn't feel the pain anymore.

"Nighty Night princess."

Next thing I knew it was pitch black.

* * *

I felt a warm hand on my arm and then on my torso. I opened my eyes to see the 2 guys that brought me to a random place. It looks like an abandoned warehouse and it looks really familiar too. I remember passing this warehouse hundreds of times heading out of Georgia on road trips. At least I knew where to go from there. If I could ever get out I already knew what to do. Where to go.

"Hey there princess, you have a nice nap?" one of the guys asked sarcastically

I looked at them with a stare that I thought their heads were going to explode. I was so angry but as soon as they dragged me out of the van I felt fear consume my body. They dragged me into the warehouse and I could feel my face freeze. I was standing there in the huge space that they occupied. So many girls that look like me and older. And so many teenage guys. I couldn't believe the number of kids that they managed to take. But I didn't think about that. I thought about the pain that my cheek was in. I could tell it was bruised by the stiffness it had. The slap was just the cherry on top.

I felt the 2 guys touching me again. One of them slid their hands around my torso and whispered in my ear like he was trying to seduce me.

"You like your new home? Cause you aren't leaving," he said

Someone yelled "Jason!" from across the room and I guess that was the driver's name considering that he responded to it. I saw him walk over there and I could tell that they were happy that they found me.

"Having fun princess?" the other guy, who was apparently named Luke, said in my ear with a tight hand around my arm and torso. I felt him kiss my neck and grab my waist and arm tighter. And that's when I shoved my elbow back into his nose. He didn't fall to the ground like in the abandoned Wal-Mart but he was even more pissed than before. He grabbed my arm and threw me to the ground and started kicking me.

I could feel all eyes on me when I felt Luke's foot made contact with my stomach. Jason and one of the other guys rushed over to stop Luke from killing me.

"Hey! You need to chill. She can make us a lot of money but only if she is in one piece! Now go clean that up."

I heard him cuss under his breath as he walked away. Jason was looking down at me and I knew that his brown eyes met mine.

"Welcome to The WildFires princess," Jason said

I had to hold my weight up with all my arm strength and I felt my dark brown eyes staring at him. He got up and yelled for someone named Trevor to help me to my room.

I felt a warm hand on my waist but it wasn't like the others. This touch was soft, sweet, and feather-light against my skin. The guy was strong because I could feel his biceps flexing while he was carrying me. They weren't too small or too big, they were like normal biceps of someone that lifts weights about 3 times a week.

We reached my room and I felt him sit me down gently on the nearest chair. I looked around the room and it looked like there were 4 girls to a room. It was all lit up and a little messy but other than that, it was fairly nice.

"It's nice isn't it?" the husky voice said with a softness to it

I nodded even though his back was facing me. And my theory about him working out about 3 times a week was correct. He had muscles but not too much. It was perfect for a 17-year-old boy. He turned around holding a cup of water and a bucket of water too along with a washcloth. He gave me a faint smile and I looked away from him.

"Your cheek seems bruised. What did they do, punch you?" He said handing me the glass of water

Without saying a word, I took the glass of water from his hand and took a few sips. I heard the drips of water as he dipped the washcloth into the bucket of water.

I could feel his eyes on me but I tried my best to avoid looking at him. He moved his fingers across my bruise and I winced as he touched it.

"Sorry. If it makes you feel better the bruise will be gone in about 3 weeks" he said with a sympathetic voice

I turned to look at him and he was breathtakingly handsome. His eyes were as dark as mine and it mixed well with his chestnut brown hair that looked a little darker than it actually was and it fell just a little higher than his eyes but it was messy so it wasn't a straight line of hair. He gave a faint smile and asked me "What happened to your hands?"

I looked down to where he nodded with a confused look and I felt the fear bubble up in my chest again. I couldn't speak for a moment. Then I had enough courage to actually talk to him.

"My dad....got shot where they picked me up. And I tried to" I took a deep breath in and tried to steady my voice "I tried to save him but....the blood came out too fast and...," I stopped and met his eyes that were staring straight at me.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't know. You don't have to tell me I understand," He said, as understanding as he could. His voice was so soft but it was also strong and deep.

He grabbed the washcloth and wiped my hands of the blood. I couldn't keep my eyes off him, trying to figure him out. Why he was different from Luke and Jason.

"Lift up your shirt. I need to see what damage Luke managed to do," He said sweetly

I hesitated for a moment before grabbing my shirt and managing through the pain that came with moving. I rolled it up but I couldn't keep from letting a little noise of pain escape from my mouth. He grabbed my hands gently and laid them where they were before. He grabbed the shirt to see the damage and his gaze was all focused. Focus or anger because his eyebrows drew together and his eyes examined my stomach. He tested the stiffness of the bruises and a tiny scream of pain came from me.

"Good news, it's not that bad. Bad news, it might take about a month to heal without another beating," He said, while he slowly let the shirt fall over my stomach. He met my eyes again and his face visibly relaxed.

"You just need some rest and don't fire back when they touch you or else your healing will take a little longer" he said. He gave a faint smile and stood up from his crouching position. He was about 6'1" maybe even 6'2" from what I could establish.

"I will let you get some rest," he said while opening the door

I had to figure out what he was in this whole mess. "You're not like the others...are you?" I said as my eyes narrowed at him in question.

He gave me a faint smile and a little chuckle before he could answer. "Nope. I'm like you, not like them. They took me when I was about 14 years old and I've just been stuck here for 3 years."

So I was right. He was 17 years old.

"I'm Trevor," He said closing the door again

"I'm Amber," I said

He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and it showed off his muscles.

"Any more questions for me?" he said with a little chuckle

I took a deep breath in and then asked him "Why do they treat you like one of them? Like you are just normal?"

He sighed before responding. It was clear that he didn't know the real answer but yet somehow came up with a theory. "I think...it's because we are guys. Usually when we get older they give us kind of a leadership position here where we can capture other girls or do other stuff. I think in reality, they're scared of me because it's not like they can do much damage to me without a full-on chainsaw to break my bones. Least they can do is bruise me and even then I can probably beat all their asses" He said with a little chuckle.

I gave him a faint smile and looked away. I think he understood at this point that I wanted to be alone to deal with everything. So he left the room. And after he did the anger started to rise in me. Fear was gone but anger was there. I kept going back to when Luke shot my dad in Wal-Mart and that's when I remembered what my dad's last words were to me.

"Escape the gang, Find Jared, and send him to Mexico. Keep yourself safe and remember, I love you"

The first step...figure out an escape plan.