Gone (Parallel Trilogy, Book 1)

by Christine Kersey

  It was before we’d moved to Fox Run. I’d been out with a group of kids from school—I wouldn’t exactly call them friends, but more like popular kids I wanted to fit in with—when we’d gone to a party. Some of the kids had been drinking. Well, let’s be honest—all of the kids were drinking. Wanting to be one of the group and against my better judgment, I’d accepted a drink that someone had handed to me. Even though I hadn’t really liked the taste, I kept sipping at it until it was gone. Somehow a full glass replaced the empty one in my hand and I worked on that one too.

  Next thing I knew, I was kneeling in front of the toilet, throwing my guts up. Eventually I was able to get up and stagger back out to the party. The group I’d come with had left. I was stranded and it was way past my curfew. I didn’t know anyone else at the party and it was too far from my house to walk, so I had to call home and have Dad pick me up.

  He didn’t say anything to me as we drove home, but I could feel his disapproval as he glanced my way. I didn’t realize it at the time, but later he told me I reeked of alcohol. When Dad and I got home, Mom was sitting on the couch, patiently waiting for my arrival. As I walked in she stood and came toward me, a warm smile on her face.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she’d said. “I was so worried.”

  But then she got close enough to get a whiff of me. The look of utter and complete disappointment that filled her face made me feel worse than I had ever felt in my life.

  Now, as I sat next to her on her bed, that same look was clearly etched across her features. I couldn’t imagine what I had done to elicit that response. “What?” I finally asked, my need to know overwhelming my calm.

  “Oh, Morgan. You know what.”

  I shook my head, my mind jumping from one thought to another, trying to figure out what it could be.

  “The cookies, Morgan. The cookies.”

  Fresh confusion swept over me. The cookies? What was she talking about? Frustration replaced the disappointment. Obviously Mom thought I should know exactly what she was talking about. “I don’t understand,” I said.

  She sighed and shook her head. “I got a call today. From your school.”

  I still didn’t get it. Everyone had turned on me and she was upset about cookies? “Okay.”

  “Is there something you want to tell me?”

  How I wished I knew what I was supposed to be telling her. I certainly didn’t want to tell her something I didn’t need to. Oh yeah, Mom. The whole school thinks I’m a complete loser and that Connor hates me. Oh, and the one person I thought was my friend? Connor’s sister, Anne? Yeah, she turned on me too. I think it was just for show, but it seemed pretty real, so I’m not completely sure. Is that what I’m supposed to tell you? Oh, and by the way, tomorrow I’m going to head to our old house in Fox Run so I can try to cross through a wormhole to get back to the world I came from where being overweight isn’t a crime. Instead I said, “No, not really.”

  “Well, let me tell you then.”

  Her eyes kind of flashed when she said it, like she was livid, but at least I wouldn’t have to guess.

  I nodded, wanting to get this over with.

  “Evidently you were trying to distribute the cookies you made.”

  Distribute. The way she said that word made alarm bells go off in my head. Like I had done something seriously wrong by offering my homemade cookies to the kids at school. Like I had been offering them a drug. “That was days ago.”

  “Well, I got the call today.” She pursed her lips before going on. “You know you’re not allowed to bring stuff like that to school. And passing them out to other kids is even worse.”

  I didn’t know what to say. It was so absurd.

  “I let you make those cookies for that boy. Connor?”

  I nodded.

  “But I didn’t think I had to tell you not to take them to school.” She sighed. “Morgan, you know better.”

  Actually, I didn’t. But I couldn’t tell her that as I obviously should have known.

  “You’re no longer allowed to make cookies for that boy.”

  I frowned. That wouldn’t be an issue because with any luck, which I had to admit was not in abundance, by this time tomorrow I would be basking in the glow of my family back in a normal world.

  “Or for anyone else. Including us.”

  That caught me off-guard. Not that it mattered now, but still. “Why not?”

  “It just doesn’t look good for us. That’s all.”

  To whom? Though I wanted to ask, in this bizarre world there was no point in asking. Nothing made sense here.

  “Have I made myself clear?”

  I nodded.

  She smiled. The first time she’d done that since we’d walked into her room. “Good. Now I need to take your brothers to their open house. I expect you to be working on your homework while I’m gone.”

  “Okay.” It didn’t matter that I had no intention of doing my homework. As long as I agreed, that was all that mattered.

  As soon as Mom and the boys left I went into the closet and took out the backpack. Amy was downstairs so I decided it was a good time to organize everything. I had to be ready by morning so that when Mom thought I was on my way to school, I could head to Fox Run instead.

  Just as I was unzipping the backpack, the phone rang. I knew Amy would answer it, but I waited to take everything out of the backpack, just in case. It was a good thing I waited because a moment later Amy came into our room.

  “I’m going over to Katrina’s house to work on our group assignment.”

  “Who’s Katrina?” I remembered Amy telling me how she was having a hard time making friends.

  “She’s new too. And she’s nice.”

  I smiled at my sister, glad she was having better luck than I was in the social department. “Okay. I’ll let Mom know.”

  “See ya.” She grabbed her backpack and left our room.

  I watched her leave, then turned my attention to the backpack. I unloaded everything and set each item out on my bed. Then I put everything back in, making sure it all fit together. I tucked the backpack into the closet, then dug through my desk, looking for Fred’s phone number. I thought I had put it in the drawer, but now I didn’t see it.

  The phone rang and I almost didn’t answer it, but then decided I should. What if it was Connor? It would be my only chance to say good-bye, although he wouldn’t know it was good-bye. I hurried into Mom’s room, but the cordless phone wasn’t in the cradle, so I raced down the stairs and picked up the phone before it stopped ringing. “Hello?”

  “Morgan?”

  It was Anne. When I heard her voice the day’s events rushed through my mind and I had a strong urge to hang up on her.

  “Morgan, don’t hang up. Please.”

  Obviously she’d been able to sense my mood. “What do you want, Anne?”

  “Look, I’m sorry about what happened, okay?”

  I didn’t respond. It’s true that at lunch she had given me a two-second warning that she was about to betray me, and I was pretty sure it was all for show, but the way everyone had reacted was one hundred percent real and so was my humiliation.

  “It paid off, Morgan. That’s why I’m calling. To warn you.”

  “Warn me? About what?”

  “They’re coming, Morgan.”

  Her words sent a jolt of adrenalin through me. “Who? Who’s coming?”

  “The Enforcers.”

  I shook my head, confused. “Who?”

  “You need to get out. Now.”

  I had no idea what she was talking about, but the urgency in her voice was unmistakable. “I don’t understand.” Where was I supposed to go? Who was coming? What was happening?

  “I just talked to Lori and she told me that her dad was sending the Enforcers to pick you up tonight. She said he gets a bonus if he finds people to take in.”

  Just as I was beginning to process this information, loud pounding sounded on the front door.

  “Is t
hat them?” Anne asked, obviously hearing the noise.

  My mouth went dry and I was unable to speak. What was happening?!

  “Morgan Campbell,” a deep voice bellowed through the door. “We have a declaration.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  I had heard the expression about people breaking out in a cold sweat, but I’d never experienced it until that moment. The blood drained from my face and goose bumps broke out on my skin. Sweat formed on my forehead and the phone slipped from my hand. I stared at the door, paralyzed with fear.

  Suddenly the door opened.

  Amy must have left it unlocked when she left, I thought numbly as I watched two large men walk into my house like they owned it. For all I knew, they did. They wore dark green uniforms and appeared to be fully armed.

  “Morgan Campbell,” the larger of the two said, like he already knew the answer.

  I stared at him, unable to speak. Vaguely, I could hear Anne’s voice through the phone I’d dropped on the floor, screaming at me to run. My eyes met those of the man who had spoken to me.

  “Answer me,” he demanded.

  I managed to nod.

  “You’ll need to come with us.” He stepped toward me, but didn’t touch me.

  “What is this about?” I whispered.

  The second man looked at a device in his hand before looking back at me, a sneer on his face. “Your declaration says you’re above your approved weight.” He glanced back at his device. “You’ve also been accused of distributing high calorie items to minors.”

  The absurdness of my “crimes” swept over me, breaking the paralysis. My gaze darted to the left then to the right as I tried to figure out a path to freedom. The men watched me, seeming to expect an attempt to run. The smaller of the two men (though he was still quite large) walked past me and into the kitchen, blocking my path to the back door.

  My heart pounded and adrenalin flooded my veins as I glanced at the front door, which stood open. Though I knew my chances of escape were low, I had to try. I dodged to the side, running behind the couch, attempting to get to the front door, but the men moved quickly and easily blocked me, the larger of the two grabbing my arm.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” He seemed to enjoy this game.

  I looked into his face, hoping to see kindness or something like it, but all I could see was the thrill of the hunt etched in his eyes and I knew there was no chance he and his partner would let me go. He smiled and dimples appeared on both cheeks.

  My gaze shot around the room, frantically looking for something that would help me get away. The phone caught my eye. I could still hear Anne’s voice, which helped me feel less alone, although I knew there was nothing she could do for me. The men evidently heard it too as the man clenching my arm motioned with his head for his partner to deal with the phone.

  The second man picked up the phone and pressed a button, abruptly cutting off Anne’s voice. I was completely on my own. Knowing that no one would be coming to help me spurred me to act. I pulled my leg back and kicked the man holding onto my arm, but he hardly reacted. “Let me go,” I screamed, trying to yank my arm away. “I haven’t done anything!”

  He calmly held on, obviously used to people resisting.

  As I imagined people being dragged away from their homes on a daily basis, then pictured my own dad being forcibly hauled away by these people, a fresh burst of adrenalin surged through me and I began fighting as if my life depended on it. For all I knew my life did depend on it.

  A moment later I felt something hard and cold jammed against my neck, then a powerful jolt of electricity raced through me. I slumped to ground, unable to move, and knew I’d been tasered.

  They zip-tied my hands behind my back and I was helpless to stop them.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Dimples said to his partner.

  They each grabbed one of my upper arms and dragged me through the front door and out to their vehicle. They tossed me in the backseat like an old suitcase, slammed the door shut and climbed into the front seats. A moment later we pulled away from my house. I had landed in an awkward position on my side, my face pressed into the seat back.

  Pure terror filled my every nerve. I had no clue where they were taking me or what was going to happen next. Mom would have no idea where I was or what had happened. I could only hope Anne would tell her or someone would notify her. Did they even do that or did they just take your family members and not tell anyone? Did they care that your family would be worried about you? I doubted it.

  What would this do to Mom? Not just emotionally, but financially? Was I going to be taken to a F.A.T. center like Dad? How would Amy and the boys react? Though I couldn’t move, tears filled my eyes and slowly tracked down my cheeks.

  After a few minutes I tried to move my legs and found that I could. Though my hands were bound behind my back, I was able to move my fingers. I managed to turn my head so that I could see the pair of Enforcers sitting in the front seat. Metal bars separated us. I tilted my head to look at the door nearest me to see if there was a way to open it, but it didn’t have a handle or a way to open the window. I assumed the other door was the same, though I couldn’t get a look from where I lay. Obviously they didn’t want their prisoners escaping.

  I’m a prisoner. The realization stunned me. Not only had I never imagined I’d be a prisoner, but being taken away for the crime of being a few pounds overweight as well as sharing my cookies with classmates? The idea was the most ridiculous thing I could have imagined. But what I had just experienced was all too real. Much worse than what had happened at school.

  As I replayed what had happened this evening, I thought about my conversation with Anne. She’d said Lori had told her that her dad was sending the Enforcers to pick me up. How would Lori know that? Why would her dad tell her? Did he tell her anytime he was going to haul away one of her classmates? Or could this have happened because Lori convinced her dad to make it happen? She hated me. That much I was sure of. And Connor had told me that she could be a bully to people she didn’t like.

  I pictured Lori’s face and felt a white-hot hatred like I had never felt before. But what did it matter? Knowing who had instigated this didn’t change the fact that I was now in the custody of the Enforcers and that I was going to some unknown place. I had to forget about Lori and instead focus on my situation. I needed to stay calm and figure out a way to escape.

  I had been so close to leaving—hours away. Now nothing was certain. Except the fact that I was a prisoner. As I considered the real possibility that I might not be able to get to the hut at the right time, panic swelled within me and I felt myself start to hyperventilate. My arms became stiff as the lack of oxygen prevented my muscles from working properly.

  “What’s going on back there?” one of the Enforcers asked through the metal bars.

  “I can’t breathe,” I whispered.

  “She’ll be fine,” Dimples said.

  “What if she passes out?” the other Enforcer asked.

  “So what? Then she’ll settle down.”

  I didn’t want to pass out. It was critical that I stay awake and aware. I forced myself to breathe slowly and my arms eventually began to tingle as the oxygen in my blood stabilized, then the tingling stopped and my arms felt normal. The car began to slow and a moment later we went over a small bump, then the car stopped.

  “You awake back there?” one of the men asked.

  I didn’t answer, wondering if I could pretend to be passed out and then somehow break free when they least expected it. A moment later they opened the rear door near my feet. One of them grabbed my ankles and began pulling me toward the open door. I held perfectly still and kept my eyes squeezed shut. I tried to keep my breathing even so they’d believe I was unconscious. As he pulled me, I slid across the seat and closer to freedom. At least that’s what I tried to tell myself to keep the panic at bay.

  One of the enforcers laughed. “Look at that. She really did pass out.”


  “It happens,” Dimples replied. “Let’s get her to processing.”

  Then I heard a cell phone ring and heard Dimples answer it. The sound of his voice got quieter and I could tell he was walking away.

  The other Enforcer continued sliding me out of the car. When my feet touched the pavement, he grabbed me by the upper arms and began to pull me upright. I let my head fall back and I cracked my eyes open just enough to make out his shape.

  “Come help me here,” the Enforcer holding onto my arms said over his shoulder.

  I opened my eyes more and saw Dimples talking on a phone about twenty feet away. The Enforcer in front of me was straddling my legs and looking at his partner. I reacted on instinct. I opened my eyes completely and drove my knee upward, nailing him between his legs. He released my arms as he crumpled to the ground, holding himself.

  I leapt to my feet and raced away in the opposite direction of where Dimples stood. With my hands bound behind my back I found I had trouble running as fast as I did in track, but pumped my legs as hard as I could. I had no idea where I should go and though there were some lights in the area, it was still pretty dark.

  When I saw the road we’d driven in on, hope blossomed inside me and I ran in that direction, crossing a grassy field. A moment later the hope became despair when one of the Enforcers body-slammed me to the ground, knocking the wind out of me. Without my hands to break my fall, my face took the brunt of the impact. Even though I fell on grass, my cheek scraped across the ground, my lip split open, and my teeth clamped down on my tongue filling my mouth with the metallic taste of blood.

  “Not a good idea to try to run,” Dimples growled in my ear.

  I couldn’t respond since all the air had left my lungs. Desperately trying to drag oxygen into my lungs, I thrashed around, but it was impossible with his weight on top of me. I felt him move and a moment later an excruciating jolt of electricity blew threw me,

  At that moment I wanted to die. I thought I was dying. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. I had no idea where I was or what was going to happen to me. If I’d been able to draw any breath into my lungs I would have sobbed.