Redeeming (16 page)

“Freshly washed…” he said as he raised one eyebrow and looked at Owen. “I’d say within the past five or six hours. Now, who washes hair of such length and thickness mere hours before a backwoods hike?”

Owen bit his lip but didn’t respond.

“No human that I know of…” Kane began as he let her hair fall away.

He walked over and grabbed Daniella’s hand. As he turned and examined it, Daniella felt his calloused skin against hers.

He held her hand up in Owen
’s direction. “Manicured nails, makeup… They are no more hikers than I am a giraffe.”

Daniella swallowed hard as he let go of her hand.

“Now…” Kane began. “We will get to the bottom of…”

But just as he started to speak, a couple of men came down the stairs. In their
hands, they carried the women’s purses and Owen’s backpack.

“Sir…” one of the men said as he approached Kane from behind. “We discovered these on a grid sweep of the area where they were captured.”

Kane turned back in the direction of the men as they approached.

“Ah,” he began. “It looks as if we will uncover the identities of our mystery guests after all.”

Along with Owen’s backpack, the man placed both purses on the table and searched through them for about a minute. Kane sat at the table and as he did, the man produced the women’s identification and handed them to Kane. Kane took them, held one in his right and the other in his left.

He looked at Tricia first.
“Tricia Rebecca Taylor, from… Barnestowne.”

Tricia swallowed but averted his gaze.

Kane turned his attention next to Daniella. “Daniella Jennifer Tanner, also… Barnestowne.” He began. He placed their driver’s licenses down on the table. “Barnestowne, eh? You ladies drove a fair bit for a late evening hike, I’d say.”

“Actually,” Daniella began. “I live in Pine Hill now. That’s my old address. Tricia was staying with me.”

“Uh huh…” Kane muttered.

Owen groaned.
“What is the point of all this, Kane? These women are useless to you. This is between the boy and us. Let them go so that we can settle this once and for all.”

“When I want your opinion, brother…” Kane replied while he rose from his chair with measured precision. “I will ask for it!”
He exclaimed as he slammed his immense hands down on the table. The impact was so loud it caused Daniella and Tricia to jump in their seats.

“I’ve grown weary of these semantics. Take the women to the cells…” Kane said as he gestured towards them.

“What!” Owen yelled. “This is an outrage!”

“Yes sir!” Rudy exclaimed. In the next instant, he and another man snatched Daniella and Tricia from their chairs and forced them to stand up.

“Restrain him again,” Kane replied as he pointed towards Owen. “We’ll get what we need from him. One way or another.”

***

Seconds later, the men hustled Daniella and Tricia through the same door they entered less than an hour earlier. At the same time, the men covered their heads with hoods once again.

“Walk…” Rudy said as he placed his hand on Daniella’s shoulder.

“But, I can’t see where I’m going,” Daniella replied. “I’ll fall.”

“Just walk, bitch.” Rudy mumbled. He gave her a little shove. “Fucking humans
, eh Marcus?”

“Yeah,” Marcus scoffed. “Weak through and through.”

Daniella wanted to tell him off and she knew Tricia felt the same way. But instead she decided to keep her mouth shut for the time being. They walked along for what felt like several minutes. Aside from the squish of grass beneath their feet and the occasional crunch of gravel, there was almost no sound in the bear clan compound.

“Stop.” Marcus said from behind them.

In the next instant, she heard the sound of a door unlocking in front of her. Rudy wrapped his hand over her shoulder once again.

“Go.” He said.

As Daniella walked forward, the door slammed closed behind her. She and Tricia shuffled their way on a gentle slope downward. As they walked, the ambient temperature in the air continued to fall.

“Wait.” Rudy commanded.

The women stopped and just ahead of them, the sound of a large metal door opening echoed in her ears.

“Just them?” A
voice she didn’t recognize asked.

“Yeah,” Rudy replied. “Maybe one more later… shifter… but depends on what the boss does to him.”

“Shifter, eh?” The man asked. “One of ours?”

“Yeah,” Rudy replied. “Carmichael. Owen Carmichael. Ever heard of him?”

“Nah, can’t say that I have… Before our time, maybe?” The man replied.

“Yeah, he’s pretty old.”
Rudy said.

“And these two?”
The man asked.

“Just lock them up for now…” Rudy replied.

Daniella sensed the new man move close to her. He lifted her hood until their eyes met. At first glance, she noticed his arms and legs were short and thick and not like any shifter she’d seen before. Not much taller than Daniella, he peered beneath the edge of the hood under a set of bushy eyebrows.

“Humans?” H
e said as he rubbed his chin and glanced at Rudy.

“Yep.” Rudy nodded.

The man dropped the hood back down over her eyes.

“I won’t ask…” he replied.

“Good idea,” Rudy began. He reached over and along with Marcus, they removed the hoods from Daniella and Tricia’s heads. “We’ll be back.”

The man nodded. Rudy and Marcus turned and left the room and as they did, the man closed the large steel door behind them. Daniella and Tricia followed him with their eyes as he locked it and spun around to face them.

“Alright,” he began. “In you go…”

He gestured behind them and Daniella turned her head on a swivel to follow the direction of his hand. As she did, a large wall of iron bars appeared before her. Daniella and Tricia glanced at one another as the man walked up behind them and steered them towards the barren
jail cell. They walked inside and he closed the door behind them. It clanged shut with a heavy thud. With what appeared to be a set of medieval dungeon master keys, he locked it and gave it a quick tug to make certain it was secure.

“Make yourselves comfortable…” T
he man said as he turned to leave. Bowlegged, he walked towards the exit and without turning to face them said, “I’ll be right back.”

A moment
later, he’d disappeared and closed the door behind him. Daniella and Tricia looked at one another.

“Oh my God, Daniella.” Tricia whispered. “This is totally fucking nuts! What are we supposed to do now? I could kill you.”

“This is no time to argue,” Daniella replied. “I’m sorry, okay? But, we have to stay calm.”

Tricia shook her head and plopped down on a cot nearby. Daniella walked over and sat down next to her. She draped her arm over her friend
’s shoulder and pulled her close.

“I am so sorry, Tricia.” Daniella sighed. “You have no idea.”

“I know…” Tricia groaned. “I’m just scared.”

“Me too,” Daniella said as she rubbed her on the shoulder. “Even so, if we let it get to us…”

Tricia nodded. “You’re right.”

Just then, the door to the room reopened and the short man reappeared. In his hands, he carried a large tray with some food on it. Even though eating was the last thing on her mind, Daniella had someone else to consider now when it came to her appetite. The man kicked the door closed with his foot and walked over to towards their cell. After he reached it, he slid the tray inside through an opening in the bars wide enough for
it to get through, but nothing else.

“Eat…” the man grumbled.

As the women stood from the cot, he turned to leave.

“Wait…” Daniella said.

The man stopped and did a half turn in their direction. He raised his eyebrows expectantly but didn’t speak.

“Um,” she began. “What is your name?”

The man chuckled. “Eat your meal human.”

Without another word, he opened the door and walked out. Daniella and Tricia picked at the food. It
wasn’t a real meal… more like a bunch of stuff just thrown together. It was apparent that feeding prisoners wasn’t something they did very often. Stale bread, some carrots and a lukewarm bowl of stew was all they gave them to fill their bellies.

Tricia took a few bites of her meal and offered the rest to Daniella.

“You need to eat,” she began. “You have to keep your strength up.”

“I’ll be fine.” Daniella replied. “Actually, more than anything I could use some rest right now.”

“Rest?” Tricia said. “How can you even think of sleeping right now? Don’t you wonder what’s happening with Owen, not to mention Jett?”

Daniella sighed.
“Of course I do but I mean there’s nothing I can really do about it.” She said as she grabbed hold of one of the steel bars and yanked it. “You know? We’re kind of stuck right now.”

Tricia groaned.
“I suppose you’re right.” She replied as she sat down on the other cot in the cell. “Well, why don’t you try and get some rest first. I’ll stay awake in the meantime.”

“Okay, I think you should sleep as well.” Daniella replied.

“I can’t right now,” Tricia began. “You go ahead.”

“Alright…”

Daniella laid down and did her best to find a position of comfort on the thin, albeit lumpy, mattress. Although she figured it might take a while for her mind to calm down enough to fall asleep, it didn’t. Before she realized it, she felt her eyelids grow heavy and she drifted off.

***

A loud thud jolted Daniella from her slumber. When she came to, she forgot where she was for a moment. Her eyes scanned the room and all at once, the memory rushed back. The sound startled Tricia also and she lifted her head up off her cot.

“What was that noise
?”

Daniella shrugged.
“I don’t…” she began. But as she spoke, the door to the cell flung open and through it came a battered and bruised Owen. He fell to the ground with his hands tied behind his back. He struggled to get to his feet but no sooner did he attempt to right himself, than the jailor came in and kicked him to the ground once again.

“That’s all that’s fit for you.” The short man snarled. Owen winced in pain as he rolled around the floor.

“Owen!” Daniella shouted. “Oh my God!”

“Daniella…” Tricia whispered as she pinched her on the arm. “Shhh… remember?”

“Shut up!” The jailor yelled. “Get back… both of you!”

The women retreated near the back of the cell as he opened the door. Afterward, he
walked back over and stood above Owen.

“Come on,” he ordered. “On your feet old timer. Move it!”

Owen staggered upright and began to walk towards the cell. As he entered, Daniella caught her first glimpse of his face. There was little doubt he was on the losing end of something. The purplish red hues on his cheeks were evidence of that. Once inside, he managed to get to one of the cots where he collapsed. The jailor slammed the door to the cell closed and seconds later, exited the room without a word. After he did, Daniella rushed to Owen’s side.

“Owen, oh…” she said as she touched his cheek. “Where are you hurt?”

Owen coughed. “A better question might be where am I not?”

Tricia knelt down next to Daniella as she tried to make the old man more comfortable.

“What… happened?” Daniella asked him.

“Oh,” Owen said. “I reckon Kane got a little fed up with my lack of cooperation. It’s his way of trying to convince me otherwise.”

“Well, I mean… Are you okay?” She asked.

“Yeah,” the old man replied. “I’ll live.”

For the next several minutes, Daniella and Tricia attempted to clean him up. There was a bit of leftover food as well which didn’t seem to interest him much. Eventually, he seemed to relax a little so Daniella and Tricia sat down on the cot across from him.

“Owen…” Daniell
a began. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“What?
” He asked.

“That Kane is your brother…” she said.

“Would it have made a difference?” He asked. “You would have followed us here anyway.”

With expressions of guilt on their faces, Daniella and Tricia looked at each other for a moment.

“It doesn’t matter…” Owen said. “The past is past, what’s done is done… Jett and I still have work to do.”

Daniella leaned forward.
“Owen… where is he? What is going on?”

“No need for you to worry or know anything about that…” he said without hesitation. “That goes for
both of you. The less you know the better.”

“But
what are we going to do?” Tricia asked. “How are we going to get out of here?”

Owen leaned back against the wall with his legs hung over the edge of the bed.