Taken By Force (Taken Trilogy Book 2)

by Jessica Frances

  It’s probably why when hands grab me roughly I’m not able to even scream in protest. Rose and Will keep running as I’m slammed to the ground. My face hits the grass and someone leans hard on my back, trapping me to the cold surface.

  “Give her the needle. The sooner she’s out of commission, the easier it’ll be to get her out of here,” a voice hisses, and I know I’m in deep trouble. I feel a stab in the back of my neck and then a feeling of heaviness floods my neck, beginning to cascade down my back.

  Fear builds up in me as does a surge of adrenaline, while panic takes over my limbs. I struggle hard to get away from whoever is holding me down.

  I move my arms and body, trying to wiggle out of this impossible grip, panicking when one of my legs refuses to move. It’s paralyzed. The person moves off me and I manage to roll over so I’m facing upwards. I see a man holding what I assume is the needle he just stuck into me when a wave of dizziness hits me.

  Now is not the time to faint, I tell myself, demanding I be stronger.

  I kick out with my good leg and, in the surprise of my attack, I manage to get the man in the groin. He falls backwards in shock. I know this is my one and only chance to get out of here.

  I try to stand up, but only make it halfway before I fall down. My left leg refuses to work. It’s completely paralyzed. The numb feeling is spreading all over my body as I stand up again, this time dragging my left leg along. I have no hope of escaping now. The man who’d been holding me pushes me in the back, causing me to fall back down again, having no way to keep my balance.

  My body shakes in fear as he kicks me hard in my leg, growling at me in anger, probably pissed that I just kicked him in the balls. Unfortunately, his kick is to my good leg and I’m able to feel it completely. My adrenaline abandons me, leaving me feeling exhausted. I try to force my eyes open, yet the effort is draining. My other leg begins to feel numb and a weird sensation swirls in my stomach. I know, without trying to, that my arms will feel like slabs of concrete. I hope Rose and Will have been able to get away.

  As they come into my thoughts, they also fill my vision. My head drops to the side and I can no longer lift or move my neck. I helplessly watch them both fighting three men, unsure if I’m dreaming or if what I’m seeing is really happening. I try to call out to them and tell them to run, but when I attempt to speak, my words sound slurred. I can’t manage to say anything that makes sense.

  I watch four more men surround them. Rose is suddenly dragged out of my view and away from the streetlight, into the darkness. I try again to move my head, but my eyelids betray me and close. How can I sleep through this?

  I force them open and panic when my vision has changed. I’m being picked up. It’s such a strange sensation since I can’t feel my body anymore.

  My head bounces as whoever has me runs. My vision moves from the darkened sky before finally resting on Will’s familiar features. I’m relieved that he’s fine, but my thoughts quickly move to Rose. Where is she? I try to stay awake, refusing to give into my forced exhaustion until I know she’s safe. My eyes sting and a headache floods my brain, yet I ignore it, willing my eyes to make contact with her.

  My view changes once again as Will reaches our car and quickly dumps me in the backseat. My head rolls to the side and I catch a glimpse of Rose’s blonde hair in the driver’s seat. I sigh in relief. She is here, she is safe.

  My eyes close and this time I don’t fight it. I let the darkness swallow me whole.

  ***

  I wake to a smooth, rocking sensation; it tries to immediately lull me back to sleep. I close my eyes wanting more rest, yet I feel like something is wrong. I open my eyes up again and try to figure out where I am. I sit up slowly, taking in the fact that I’m lying down in the backseat of a car.

  As I slowly get my bearings, my eyes land on Rose and Will in front just as Rose screams. Her eyes connect briefly with mine in the rearview mirror and she swerves the car violently. I fly to the side and knock my shoulder into the door.

  Will ducks outside when Rose comes to a halt and I hear his hurling. It’s enough to make me feel ill also.

  “Zoe, you’re awake! You scared the crap out of me.” Rose turns around in her seat. I notice her hair’s unkempt and she has dark circles under her eyes.

  “I’m sorry.” My voice is raspy and I cough, trying to loosen the tightness away.

  “Are you feeling okay? You’ve been asleep for nearly an entire day. We’ve been so worried. We didn’t know if we should take you to a hospital or not.” Rose has tears in her eyes.

  I pat my hands around myself, trying to determine if I am actually okay. My legs are both sore to touch, but other than that, I feel okay, just tired.

  “I’m fine, I think. What happened? Where are we?” I try to remember what happened.

  “We passed through New Mexico an hour or so ago.” Rose sounds exhausted. “We lost them, I think. Well, we haven’t seen them since Nebraska. We changed cars again and are going to loop around a bit to make sure we’re not being followed. The boys are going to be so worried.”

  Will gets back in the car. I sympathize because he still looks quite ill.

  “You must be tired, did you want a break?”

  “You look as tired as I feel,” she states, but I see her eagerness at wanting to take me up on my offer.

  “I have a few hours in me, get some sleep.” The last thing I want to do is drive, however I feel bad that I seem to have done nothing except sleep for an entire day.

  Rose doesn’t take much more convincing and I try my best to get out of the car and not lose my footing on the short walk to the driver’s seat. My legs feel like jelly. Luckily, Rose is so tired she doesn’t even seem to notice. I barely have the car back on the road before I look at the backseat and see Rose is asleep.

  “Did Rose at least get what she needed?” I ask Will, the memories of us being at the university and the horror that followed hitting me fully now.

  “Yeah, she said she just had enough time to get it all.” He sounds tired, too.

  “Good, at least this wasn’t a waste of time.”

  “That was really close back there,” he says. I turn to glance at him, watching him visibly gulp.

  “I know. Thank you for saving me.” I bite down on my guilt and fear. Now is not the time to break down.

  “We couldn’t leave you.” He frowns at me.

  “Next time, don’t come back. It’s too dangerous. You both could have gotten yourselves caught and that can’t happen,” I say confidently, but can’t even contemplate what I would do if I was trapped with Stan and Martha on my own.

  “I don’t think I can do that.” He looks away from me and out the side window. I think he might be afraid I’ll be angry at him for his response.

  “I know. I wouldn’t be able to, either. It gives them an advantage over us.” I begin to realize how much harder this is going to be for us.

  We sit in silence for over an hour before Will breaks it.

  “Can I drive? I’m seventeen now.”

  “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” I have visions of us crashing. Not something we need right now, or ever really.

  “I think I’ll feel less sick if I’m driving.” Will does still look very pale.

  “Maybe when we get back the boys will show you. We’re more isolated there.” I can’t help fearing another car pursuit and with Will at the wheel. Who knows what will happen.

  I end up driving for six more hours until my legs go stiff and I find it hard to put my foot down on the brake. The headache that I started getting three hours ago gets worse and I have to pull over before I crash.

  “Zoe?” Will is worried.

  “I need to rest.”

  “I’ll wake Rose up.”

  Rose isn’t easy to pull from her sleep, but eventually we coax her awake. I feel guilty, although I know I’m doing the right thing.

  ***

  We make our way down the dirt road to the cabin. I soak in
the familiar sight ahead. It’s as close to feeling like coming home as we’re likely to ever get. I also see the boys getting out of the other car. They have either just gotten back here or are about to leave. Rose jolts to a stop and we all quickly stumble out of the car.

  Charlie is at my side in an instant, making all the stress and worry erupt inside of me. I cry, relieved that I’m finally here with him. Rain falls down around us, but I don’t even feel it. Charlie pulls me back and, for a moment, I think he might be about to drag me inside. Instead, his lips catch mine and I feel a desperate need to be close to him weigh down inside me. I lean my whole body into his and stand on my tiptoes, matching his fervor as our kiss deepens.

  When we finally break apart I notice we’re both soaked and also alone out here.

  “I was so worried. What happened?” he asks with his lips still close to mine.

  “We ran into some trouble. Why were you guys in the car?” I still feel breathless from our kiss as I press my hands on his chest.

  “We were coming to look for you. Come on, let’s get you inside.”

  “But we were barely gone two days. What was your plan?” I demand, basking in the heat from the fire as we step into the cabin. The others are nowhere to be seen. I have no doubt Rose and Will are both already asleep.

  “Our plan was to find you.” He takes hold of my hand and leads me up the stairs to our bedroom. I watch with bated breath as he strips down in front of me, taking off his wet clothing and standing in front of me in just his boxer shorts. My eyes follow his arms when he holds them out to me. He slowly moves my sweater up and I lift my arms so he can remove it all together. He does the same with the shirt underneath and my eyes lock onto his while I stand in front of him in just my bra and jeans. I quickly move my hands to the button of my jeans and undo it, eager to remove the soaked item from me.

  Charlie’s eyes roam over me and I see excitement light up his eyes, but then his expression darkens and his hand brushes over my arm. I wince in pain and then look down to see a deep cut along my shoulder and dried blood. I must have done that leaving the library. My neck aches moving it, and I touch the back, feeling a sore spot over the place the needle most likely went in.

  “What happened to you? Are you hurt anywhere else?” Charlie questions, his left hand pulling my chin up so I’m forced to look into his eyes.

  “I’m fine.”

  He frowns, but doesn’t push me any further. He reaches out and takes my hand, pulling me over to the bed where he tugs the covers back and I lie down, unsure where this is headed. He sits down next to me then moves the covers up and over us. When he slides down the bed so that he’s lying next to me, he turns me to my side so I’m facing away from him and then wraps his arms tightly around me as his whole body cups mine.

  “Sleep,” he orders.

  I lose myself for a moment having his skin touch mine. I fidget in his arms, feeling his excitement stirring behind me.

  “Zoe...” he warns.

  “Don’t you want me?”

  “I think you already know the answer to that. I haven’t slept for two days and you look exhausted. Please sleep.”

  He’s right; I’m exhausted. I’ve spent most of my time since we escaped the library sleeping and I’m still tired.

  Rose’s words echo in my mind from the beginning of our road trip. She’d been surprised Charlie and I haven’t had sex, and now I wonder if she’s right. I know Charlie’s big revelation the night of our reunion put a damper on things, but we’ve been a lot better now. Maybe he’s worried that I don’t want to? Am I supposed to make the first move?

  I mentally shake those thoughts off and decide I’m too tired to be freaking myself out with this. I instead worry about our task ahead. Breaking into The Core.

  We barely escaped the library alive; how will we go breaking into a government run facility?

  Charlie’s grip tightens around me as he drapes his leg over me. I get the feeling he is trying to trap me so he’ll wake up if I try to move away from him. His body heat warms me up completely and I relish the feeling of security I feel being in his arms. I let all my other thoughts and worries drift away, just focusing on the feel of Charlie’s body behind me and his heavy breathing as he drifts off to sleep behind me. I soon begin to drift off to sleep, too, and hope I’ll be spared from any nightmares.

  My eyes open and I’m trapped in another future dream. I groan, feeling like I had closed my eyes only seconds ago when I was lying next to Charlie in our bed.

  I fight away the fear and focus on my surroundings. This will most likely be important as every dream I’ve felt this dread inside me has been.

  It’s dark around me, but I notice desks and chairs scattered about. Offices are along my left and, judging by the window I see through one of the open doors leading into an office, it’s late at night. I don’t recognize this place, and have no idea where I am. Everything here feels electric and buzzing rings in my ears like I’ve just been standing next to some loud speakers at a rock concert. Other than the one window I can see from here, the light source is coming from the few exit signs scattered about, and short spouts of light bursting randomly in the air.

  I smell a strong smoke odor around me, but I can’t see any fire. A strange breeze passes me. I try to figure out what is causing it, and as I look back over my shoulder, my mouth drops open in shock.

  I watch men pouring out of what looks like a stairwell, all heavily armed. Belatedly, I realize that some are shooting at me. The bursts of light that I’m seeing are bullets being shot. I’m being shot at and I’m just standing, not moving. I’m frozen. For a brief second I wonder if I’m invisible in this dream, that maybe I don’t exist here and I’m seeing someone else’s future. Why else am I simply standing in the open doing nothing?

  There is a pressure at my hand and I’m pulled downwards as more shots fly over me. A cold fear takes hold of me. Someone just grabbed me. I’m myself in this dream.

  Screaming. I hear screaming. I turn my head just as a faceless guard stands towering over me. He raises his gun, pointing it at me. Now it’s definitely me screaming. Maybe it was always me screaming.

  Everything slows down. I lean away from the guard, trapped behind a desk and unable to have any chance of getting away. I’m powerless to stop this from happening. I watch the guard’s finger twitch and then an explosion fills my ears.

  Chapter 28 – The Date Night

  January 20th

  The next couple of weeks are a blur. The disaster that had been Nebraska is enough to kick us into gear. Fitness is now a top priority and we fill our days with exercise. Dean tries to teach us all combat skills, but I’m by far the most hopeless. I try my hardest, yet I just can’t bring myself to fight back. I hope it’s simply because of whom I’m fighting here, and maybe if it’s against someone working for P.A.G.E., I’ll have the guts to go all in.

  Everyone else seems to be able to pick fighting up well. Rose, Dean and Will are the best obviously, but Charlie and Joel are catching up slowly. I haven’t spoken to Joel since the Christmas incident. He has stayed out of my way and really kept mostly to himself. I sometimes see him talking to Will, but other than that, he’s quiet. I still wish he wasn’t here. However I know I’m slowly getting used to seeing him. Back in Jacksonville, I couldn’t stop the anxiety I felt whenever he was near me. Now, I’m merely annoyed that I have to see him. That seems like an improvement.

  One thing I’m able to exceed at is my fitness. I have found a new love of running. It’s only been two weeks since we started training and I’m finally feeling myself moving past the pain. Today is the first day I’m able to run from the lake all the way back to the cabin without stopping. My body has been in constant pain since we returned, but now it’s starting to feel like good pain. The burn is my way of knowing I’m pushing myself to be better. I may not be the strongest fighter, but they have to catch me first.

  The information Rose retrieved doesn’t mean much to me, but Dean, Rose
and Charlie pour over it every night like they’re Dana and just found a new book to obsess over. The information covers building plans, maps and other information that seems useless to me. They are concerned about how we’ll move around in The Core, though they’ve overlooked the fact that we actually have to get in first. I doubt there will be entrances where we can simply waltz right in.

  I haven’t told anyone about the dream I had that night I returned. I already know I can’t change what happens in my future dreams and knowing what will happen will only distract the others. I feel a chill take over my entire body when I think back to it. Is that how I’ll die?

  In the dream I saw of my birthday, I misread what was really happening. My feelings tricked me and the pain I felt wasn’t me being shot, but the pain from seeing my best friend dying. This dream would be hard to misread. I seemed to be alone, on the ground with a man standing over me, pulling the trigger. How can anyone miss from that close?

  I continue to have a nagging feeling I missed something. I’m not sure what it is, but I’m not looking forward to finding out. As soon as Rose mentioned that The Core is almost like a regular office building, I knew where my dream will take place. I’ll be shot, and possibly killed, when we break into The Core. Which I suppose means we do manage to get in. Why am I alone, though? Someone had pulled me down in my dream, but I never saw their face, I never saw anyone for that matter. Where did they go? Why couldn’t I see them?

  So far, we’ve decided to move in teams, Charlie already volunteering to stay with me.. Had that been Charlie who pulled me down in my dream? If so, where did he go afterwards? Why was I alone when a guard stood over me, pointing a gun directly at me?

  I shiver, picturing bullets flying over him. I’m scared to die, but worse is thinking that perhaps Charlie will die. I can’t even cope with the loss of Dana, there is no way I could handle losing Charlie. I think my brain will just give up and turn to mush if that happens.