Born 01 - Born

It's a warning of pain to come if I continue to stick my hands in the fire. Sitting between the two men, I can't help but feel like it's appropriate.

Chapter Fourteen

    I crouch in the woods, gripping the branch of the tree next to me. My stomach is tumbling inside of me. If it weren’t for the fact that I was scared beyond functioning, I would blame the hare. It feels like food poisoning.
    I look at the gravel on the road in front of me. I glance back at Jake and Will in the forest hidden by the trees. Jake smiles at me like a goof. Will looks worried. His face is the one I trust. He knows what I'm about to do.
    "Em, we'll wait, okay? We won't leave you," Jake whispers loudly.
    "You leave me and Anna if I'm gone longer than two weeks. They'll have us pregnant by then, anyway," I say. I'm talking to Will. I know Jake has no survival skills. He would die in the woods waiting for us. Will will leave me before the two weeks are up.
    Will clenches his jaw. "You be fast, Em."
    "Sneaky. Fast and sneaky. Oh, and don't get pregnant," Jake says. I gag.
    Terror rips through me as I hear the truck. I look at them one last time and hate myself for kissing them both.
    I take a deep breath and push myself away from the tree. I run across the road into the ditch, when the truck rounds the corner.
    "HALT!"
    I run, not as fast as I can. My legs want to push it hard but I have to keep reining them in. They want to flee. They want to do what they're good at. But if I let them go, they will outrun everyone in the truck. I will outrun the truck if I have to. I see a log on the grassy field in front of me. I brace myself for what is going to come next. I half jump and feint tripping. The ground isn’t as soft as I assumed it would be. The strands of grass are filled with sticks and branches I can't see. They scrape their way across my body as I tumble.
    The footsteps of the men who jumped from the truck to chase me are coming. I pretend to scramble up to run some more, but they are too close.
    Huge hands rip into my arms and throw me to the ground. They pin my face into the rough grass.
    A man speaks softly as he fondles my entire body. His hands run over my legs and in between my legs. "Stay calm and we won't hurt you."
    I feel a tremble roar through me. The fear has taken me.
    "She's clean."
    "She looks freaked, man. Cuff her."
    A knee digs into my back. I cry out as cold metal grips my wrists. I'm lifted off the ground by my elbows, which bends my arms at painful angles. I want to fight. My body is screaming to defend itself. I breathe heavily as tears stream from my face.
    I look down. My shirt has drops of blood starting to make shapes on my chest.
    "She's pretty, at least."
    I see them for the first time. One man is incredibly tall. He must be a foot taller than me. He looks like a man my father was friends with named Serge. He ran an ammunition and hunting supply place, before.
    He looks at me and narrows his eyes for a moment. The other man grabs my arm and pulls me through the grass. He's closer to my height and has the fieriest red hair I've ever seen. He grins at me. "I hope you have diabetes or something."
    I frown at him. I look back at the man I'm almost positive is Serge. He looks at me and nods. "She's going to be healthy. You can tell."
    The redhead smiles. "Maybe I can find a way to fall on her before we drop her off."
    The Serge guy grips my other arm and drags me closer to him. "No. You leave her alone."
    The other guy looks confused. "Fine, if you want her, that’s cool. Jesus, like I care. There are plenty of ladies in the back of the truck. She has no tits anyway."
    My chest is heaving with panicked breath. My face is stinging where the blood is dripping.
    I sniffle. Serge takes a cloth from his belt and wipes my face. He gulps and whispers, "Lenny. You knew Lenny?"
    I look at his green eyes and see the panic. I nod. Lenny was my father. He is Serge.
    "Em?"
    Of course he recalls my name. Dad bought my first camouflage from him. He laughed at my dad for outfitting me at the tender age of four. He hasn’t seen me since I was nine.
    "You look just like him."
    I want to smile and remember him. I always thought I looked like my mother. I'm too scared to do anything.
    Serge leans in. "Go with what I say, okay?"
    I nod again but glance at the redhead.
    The truck is a huge delivering truck. Men stand outside of it with guns. They smile when they see me.
    "Nice find, boys."
    "Look at the ass on her."
    "Sweet