Chosen

For a moment, it seemed as though time stood still, and Katie felt sick as she instantly recognized the language as that of the loathsome tormenter in the cell with her father. Terror sliced through her and she couldn’t breathe. It felt as though she had just gotten the wind knocked out of her. What was going on? How had she ended up in the place she had been dreaming about? Did that mean she was going to end up in that torture chamber? Did that mean that she was wrong about her father being alive, and now that she was dead she had come to join him? Her mind whirled like a top on a rampage. She tightened her grip on Bailey Rae as she braced herself for the repercussions of those dreaded, unknown words. In her experience, the outcome was never good. As soon as the man finished speaking, the three men stopped abruptly and waited expectantly. A loud splintering noise tore through the air. The three fugitives looked around wildly, trying desperately to find the cause of the disturbance. Out of nowhere, a dark shadow passed over them and more crackling sounds echoed through the forest. They looked up as a gigantic branch swooped down from above, as if it had become possessed. It snaked through the air as it wound its way towards them, and its twisted branches came at them like an open, clawed hand. Another loud crack resounded through the woods as a second clawed limb traveled from the tree beside them and slithered towards them maliciously. Bailey Rae hid her eyes and Katie let out a terrified squeal. Ámerlane stood trembling in fright. The gnarled, skeletal fingers of the two trees met in mid air, surrounding them. The twisted branches clasped each other in a wicked embrace, forming a wooden prison, as the pointed ends wound around the broad trunk and roped themselves into tight knots that would be impossible to break. The limbs clashed together with such force that the impact produced a thundering crunch, and shards of bark flew at them like glass. Katie winced as she was hit by the debris and shook in terror as it sunk in that the branches had formed a warped cage around them. They were hopelessly trapped. No! Katie thought frantically. The image of the torture room from her nightmare remained fixed in her mind. These men were going to take her to that cell…and then she was going to have to face…him!!! Bailey Rae was still squeezing her eyes closed and muttering what sounded like a frenzied prayer. Ámerlane was shaking so violently, she thought his bones would surely break, and he was whiter than the most pristine porcelain. Beads of sweat were pouring down his weather-beaten face as if he had just finished a triathlon. He frantically whispered garbled words that sounded strangely like an incantation, and as Katie listened more closely, she realized that she was hearing the all-too-familiar language that she had grown to detest. Stunned, she wondered how he knew of it, and if he was one of them. But even if he was, he was obviously no friend to these men, who were clearly intent on imprisoning them, or worse. For the time being, she would worry about the men on the other side of the bars. Katie ran her sweaty hands nervously through her matted hair and gazed in horror at her captors as she tried not to think about the terrible plans they had for them.