Kidnapped

Tara: I didn't look at Aiden, knowing if I glared at him Rose would go off the deep end again. I saw her stumble, and I sighed again. "I told you not to try and move!" I went over to help her up.

Rose: "I'm fine. I'm just stiff, and I want to walk some. Ugh, being a cripple SUCKS! I miss being able to just get up and walk." I cursed.

Aiden: "You're not going to get very far on one leg, Rose." I chuckled.

Tara: "Yeah," I agreed with Aiden. "And we can't carry you everywhere, either. I guess you'll have to stay in the cave most of the time until you heal." I thought about how boring that would get. I remembered how boring it was having to stay stationary for just a few days, when I had surgery that one time. "Um, is there something you can think of that you could do? So you're not bored out of your skull? A game we can make out of nature? Okay, no that just sounded dumb. But we really don't have many resources out here..."

Rose: "I really have no idea. But usually an ankle takes six weeks to heal. I can't do that. No way. I've got to practice walking with a bad leg. I can't sit here that long. It's either I walk, or you guys find a city or someplace with a hospital." I replied, groaning at the thought.

Aiden: "I think the best option, and Tara, you can back me up on this, is for us to go scout and find a city, leaving you behind. You can last by yourself for awhile, right?" I said.

Rose: "Much as I'll be bored out of my mind, I suppose I could," I groaned.

Tara: I bit my lip, I didn't really like that idea, but I didn't see any other option, either. I nodded slowly. "Alright. But we should camoflage the mouth of the cave, and how long do you think we'll be gone Aiden?" I asked, trying to decide what Rose would eat.

Aiden: "I don't know. Three days max. Give or take." I replied hestiantly, unsure of the math or how far in the middle of nowhere we were.

Rose: I looked at both of them, wondering what exactly was gonna happen. All of a sudden, an idea of entertainment popped into my head. "Can you get me a bunch of pine needles please? Like, a giant stack?" I asked.

Tara: I gave her a skeptical look, but went out to the mouth of the cave and spotted a pine tree. I pointed at it, and a whole bunch swooped into the cave next to Rose. I gave Aiden a 'is she crazy?' look.

Rose: "Thanks." I said, as I picked up a few, beginning to bunch them together to make little stick people. Yup. That's how bored I am. Bored enough to make pine needle dolls. So lame. I blew a piece of hair out of my face.

Aiden: The chick has lost her mind. But judging by the way she picked them up and bunched them together, I think she found something to keep herself occupied.

Tara: "Alrightey then," I said, clearing my throat. "Well, you have fruit there, and a whole bunch of fish...I suggest eating the fish first, since they'll go rotten," I said disgustedly. "Before we leave I'll camouflage the cave, come on Aiden." We both had to be outside of it for me to cover it with leaves, etc.

Rose: I looked up from my bunching and nodded. "I think I can handle it. And yeah, I'll eat the fish-" Nasty! "-first. Thanks guys. You have fun. Good luck." I said, and smiled.

Aiden: "Thanks Rose. Yeah, lets go Tara." Why did I feel like a parent leaving a kid home alone for the weekend? "No wild parties." I laughed.

Rose: I laughed. "No promises." I joked.

Tara: I smiled but didn't laugh, not really in the mood for it. When we got outside the cave I piled boulders up against the entrance, then sticks, twigs, leaves, whatever I could find. There was still a hidden entrance, that Rose could use, and I pointed it out to her. Then I stepped back "How does it look, Aiden?"

Rose: I looked at the secret entrance I could use if necessary. Cool.

Aiden: "Looks great! And that entrance is way to small for those wolves. Good job Tara." I said, patting her on the back.

Tara: " 'Kay, let's go then. Bye Rose!" I called as we began through the forest. "Where are we going, anyway? Are we just going to walk aimlessly until we run into a city?" I laughed shortly.

Aiden: "That's the plan. Do you have a better idea?" I asked.

Tara: "I guess not, but it could be longer than three days." I sighed. "I don't like leaving her behind, all alone. Maybe Autumn will come back," I hoped for her annoying presence, for once.

Aiden: "You never know." I smiled gently.

Tara: "Yeah..." I crushed a berry and rubbed the juice from inside on a tree trunk, I didn't want to get lost, so I was leaving marks for later. "And when we do find a city, if we do find one, we're going to come all the way back and get her, then bring her to a doctor?" I wanted to be clear on the plan.

Aiden: "Either that or have them send one of those helicopters after her."

Tara: I nodded. "If we find a city, are we all still going to live out here?"

Aiden: "Definitely not. We're going to pack up the shelter, talk to the cops, and see if we can get an apartment." I took a deep breath. "Or go back to wherever we lived before all this." I gazed up at the clouds. The thought didn't sound appealing. I didn't want to leave Tara.

Tara: "Yeah, you can go back to being a famous surfer and all that," and I'll go back to having nothing. Living with the father I hated, and the friends that were faker than plastic. Great. "And Rose can go back to...wherever she was."

Aiden: "Come with me to California." I said suddenly.

Tara: "What?" I stopped cold in my tracks and looked over at Aiden. "That's..." Crazy? Stupid?...Awesome? Amazing?

Aiden: "Come with me. Back to California. My parents would love you. You'd love the beach. Come with me."

Tara: "Are you sure about this? I mean..." I couldn't really think of any reason not to go, but it seemed like too good an idea to be true. I smiled, a very, very small smile.