Trapped (10 page)

“
If Stella tries to keep her captive and take all she can from her,
I’ve heard it can be incredibly draining
,
”
Carlos sighed.

“We have to find Stella’s
coven in the
woods. I know that she keeps away from the living
as much as possible
. She lives with a very large group of followers in the woods on the outskirts of the city. We just have to find this hid
eout. I am going to call a few S
eekers who might have an idea
as to where it may be
,
”
Carlos said, turning to start calling his contacts.
Hayden decided to go visit
Millicent and Joshua.
T
hey
might know something more from the other side. They may have hea
rd what’s going on and where he can
find Stella.

H
ayde
n glanced over at Carlos,
involved in a conversa
tion with someone. His back
turned away f
rom him,
Hayden grinned and took
off. He
must
find her as quickly as possible
. Hayden
recently bega
n
to think
that
Carlos may have
ulterior
motives
for finding her
and it made him uncomfortable
.
He
coul
dn’t sit still
and he definitely
wouldn’t let Carlos find her first
. He knew
that t
ime wasn’t
on his side
either
. Once Stella had a hold of
Natalie
,
there would
n’t be any
time left. I
f it i
s some fragment of Natalie
’s energy
that
she wants she will
take it like a starving dog.

As Hayden ran downtown, he wished he had his car, but he knew that would take even more time. He would have to back track. At his speed and his ability to go over buildings and down alleys he would probably make it there faster
without it
.
Once he turned onto their street
,
he saw them standing side by side, like they were expecting him.

“What happened to Nat
alie
?” Millicent shoute
d
as soon as Hayden
appeared
out front
Ava’s house.
If she could
have cried
she would have
.

“I don’t know for sure
Millie, but I have to find Stella
,
” Hayden held his a
rms out to her. She ran to him
, throwing her thin arms around his neck
.

“I know that there are
a number of the others that meet behind the old railway stati
on regularly. They are apparently
followers of Stella’s.
I just don’t know where her hideout
is. I wish I knew more but I
never cared about them
before
,” she said as s
he struggled to hold onto Hayden. It was so much e
asier to hold
Natalie
, she thought
.

“
Stella’s followers will do anything she says. They depend on her. I have heard that after they meet they
usually
disappear
south
, into the woods
. Possibly that is where she lives. I will come with you
,” Joshua
told him. He
appeared
shaken by Natalie’s abduction
too. They could
both
see Hayden’s exhaustion
on his face
but
they
also understood his determination
. Millicent cou
ld sense Hayden’s despair
growing no matter how much he tried to hold it back. She could feel
his thoughts, his vision of Natalie all alone, surrounded by wicked spirits
,
it
tormented him
.
Millicent sighed as she thought of how
tired
and frightened
Natalie must be
. She hasn’t stopped to rest
since being taken
last night
.

“We ha
ve to go now. The sun will be setting again
soon, that will make it difficult
to s
ee them,” Hayden shouted as he ran
towards the old station. Joshua and Mill
icent would wait for him there.

Carlos didn’t seem
surprised
that Hayden
left him. He actually seemed
pleased
by it
. He
preferred to hunt alone, he worked better that way
. He could
think clearer when he
hunted alone, without vo
ices interfering with his concentration
.
He knew Natalie belonged to Hayden but he couldn’t deny his love for her, regardless of the fact that he’ll never have her. He at least had to have her back safe. He cherished their friendship and if that’s all they’ll ever be than he’ll take it, he just needed her back. He promised to take her out hunting ghosts and he was determined to keep that promise.

His sources informed him of the woods on the south side of the city
. He
called on a number of S
eekers to join him
there
. Th
ey were
out for the last battle and expressed their surprise
that it wa
sn
’t over yet. They have
begun
combin
g the city for any signs or talk
of Natalie.

~~~

“I’m weak Hayden,
” I whispered in
to
the darkness.
I couldn’t o
pen my eyes. It felt like
a nightmare, the kind
that you can’t wake
up
from. No matter how hard I tried to m
ove I
couldn’t control my body
.

“B
eth. Are you here?” I could bar
e
l
y speak. I mumbled her name
a f
ew times, hoping she might have a
change of heart and
help me
again
. I kept telling myse
lf that she i
s still my friend
and she’s
been
over powered by Stella
. S
he
i
s
just
afraid of her. I needed
to believe that
some o
ne knew where to look for
me
and w
ould save
me
from her before it i
s
too late
. I tried t
o calm the panic that
was rising
in my chest. I took
a few deep breaths and
open
ed
my eyes a
gain. Miraculously I could
see, alt
hough blurry,
at least
I could see.

I didn’t know
where she brought me
to
.
There w
ere no windows but at the end of the room there
appeared to be a door that
open
ed
to the outside. I saw the light from the sun shine in
underneath
it
.
As I placed my hands on the floor, I felt hard
dirt
and stones. I stood and felt the cold stone
walls
.
I am
in a cave
. Why am I
in a cave?
I
close
d
my eyes again
as
they were sti
nging and my head began to throb painfully
. I
sank back down to the floor and leaned against the stone
wall
. I
rested for a few minutes before I opened
my eyes again. Stella stood, towering
above me. I hadn’t even heard her
enter. I’ve
lost
control of
my senses.

“Carlos, help me
,
” I whispered as I closed my eyes aga
in. I could feel
my body moving. I stood
up
and walked
out into the sun. I’ve lost
control over my own body
movements
. I thought I
scr
eamed but no sound came
out of my mouth. I could feel my tears but I couldn’t wipe them. I couldn’t stop my legs from moving towards the crowd. I searched the
ir
faces for someone
that looked familiar. All of them
looked at me in awe. They seemed
just as surprised as I was that
I walked toward them,
joining them.
As I search
e
d the c
rowd I realized that Stella looked at me differently
than everyone else
, she
s
tared
at me without showing
any
emotion
s
, she gave me a blank but intense stare
. I rea
lized in that moment just how powerful her control over me really was
. I must
pull
myself together and fight her.

I have no idea what she wants from me. Maybe she only wants
me dead. I tried to hide
my fears deep down inside. I have
to be strong. I closed my eyes and pictured Hayden smiling at me. I took a deep breath.
J
ust as my leg
lift
ed to
tak
e another step it halted in mid
air. I opened my eyes and glared
back
at Ste
lla. Although it felt like I wore
cement block
s on my legs,
I kept
trying. I noticed a
flicker of a
sh
adow cross over her face. She i
s losing her grip. I pulled my leg back and planted it firm
ly on the ground. I refused
to move any closer to her.
I
hear
d
her silently moan
. M
y strength
is returning
. I could sense her emotions
now
too
.
I felt
aware of her
energy
surrounding me. It is the
strongest energy I have ever felt from a phantom.

I slowly began to walk backwards, not taking
my
eyes off her. Her anger
revealed itself
on her face now.  She i
s having trouble hid
ing her emotions. As I walked backward I saw Beth come into view
, standing
behind her.
For
just a
moment my s
trength faltered slightly. I felt
a quick pain of losing someone I trusted. Stella was
ted no time. She
reac
hed
for me
quickly
.

“What do you want from me
?” I shout
ed
at
her. Without her even saying a word I felt all her hopes and dreams wash over me. I knew everything instantly. She believed I could bring her
back to life. I felt
her arms
circle around me. M
y heart slow
ed and my breathing beca
me faint
and shallow
. Just as I came close to collapsing
into her someone
snatched
me
away
.

Beth grabbed my
arms and
she
flew quicker than I have
ever
run before. I didn’t think
Carlos would
even
have been
able to catch her. I heard Stella’s screams in my head again. Beth didn’t falter for a second. The trees scraped me as we flew further and
further away from them. I felt aware of someone
following us b
ut I couldn’t tell who.
All I knew is that it
is
n’t Stella this time. This
new pursu
er
somehow
seemed
familiar
to me
. Beth didn’t s
low and the follower kept pace.