G.Meesarapu

Callie ran faster and faster. The narrow path twisted around trees and boulders. Her sneakers crunched on the dried and decaying leaves swirling at her feet. The sun had begun to set and  rain started to come in heavy torrents and soaked her to the skin. Reddish-brown hair pushed around her head, covering her eyes and sticking to her face. Her green sweatshirt stuck to her body and her denim jeans felt like they weighed 100 pounds. A small backpack containing a couple of belongings was all she had.

In the distance she could hear guard dogs barking and howling. She envisioned the large, burly dogs pulling on their leashes, galloping through dense forests, saliva dripping from their mouths. She knew that the first place they would attack was the neck. Callie touched the smooth tender skin on her neck, perspiring as she ran. She glanced back and saw lights of her kidnappers, bright, and bold LED lighting shining in and around the woods. They were screaming insults while being dragged behind their dogs. She breathed a quick prayer and only ran faster.

One thing she knew: they would basically chase her to the end of the world to get the precious computer chip that she held in her bag. It not only held the private secrets of CS7, but in the wrong hands, all the work they put into it would be stolen and used for terrible things. CS7 was her only home. The C stood for Complete, and the 7 stood for the seven agents that she was a part of. But her mission wasn’t to get away from them, but to be caught by them. The weirdest mission, in her mind. She had to be “one of their agents” and figure out all their secrets. So technically, she had to LET them kidnap her, but make it look real.  It made way more sense to be “kidnapped” and “become” one of their agents than risking being caught in a high tech agency HQ. At least she had some gear and could get out of a possible kidnapping.

Her reverie was suddenly interrupted with the crashing of thunder and a branched streak of lightning. Callie scanned the wet and humid atmosphere for a shelter. A cave! She ran inside and sat in the thicket of it. She pulled her bag from her back and put it on her lap. Then she leaned on it and just laid there looking outside. Her watch said it was 7:38 pm. Outside, the thunder roared and the lightning struck. She was safe in here and nothing else mattered. She fell to her knees and started praying.A loud rumble of thunder stopped her short. Then she just stared at her bag.

She remembered when she first got it. Her friend made it. She had kept it all these years. A single tear fell from her eye onto her arm. Her best friend- it felt like an eternity. And she hasn’t seen her in so long. Ever since she became a CS7 agent, Her life was changed. She couldn’t see any of her friends, and in a world of secrets, how can you tell what’s real?

She basically thought that God hated her. But now, He was the only one she could trust.

Callie stared off into space a little longer and a bolt of lightning snapped her suddenly out of her reverie. She grabbed her bag and slid it onto her back, got out of the cave and looked around for the kidnappers, but she saw no one. She put her phone and a couple of other necessities in her pocket.

She took a couple of steps and scanned the thick foliage. Through the leafy green plants and the striped  trees. Then she walked some feet away from the  cave and soaked in the beautiful scenery. SNAP!!!!!! Callie spun around and heard a soaked leaf crunch and a rustle in a nearby bush. She ducked under a rhododendron bush  and hid herself under the leaves.  She could sense something tragic- something-…….

” Well hello little lady,” came a rusted voice. Out of the thicket came a man, not much taller than she was. He was wearing an old, ripped, red coat smeared with paint and dirt with pants torn at the knee. He had big, burly features, with an unshaved face and a black eye. His breath reeked of alcohol  and weed stuck from his pockets. His wife, who was just as ugly, gave her a sneer. Callie recognized his voice- recognized them. They had wanted the chip all his life and now was their chance to get it.

“You’re coming with us,” he said as as he grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet.  Callie shivered and tried to get away from the man, but he held her tight. She couldn’t use any high-tech or else they would know she was a spy. His wife grabbed her other arm. She tried kicking, screaming, and biting, but all in vain.  Then she spotted a huge branch. Callie grabbed it and slammed it on the man’s head.  She didn’t hit him hard, so that this whole kidnapping business would at least look real. He looked back, swore under his breath, and held her tighter.  Then he stopped, took off her bag and started fishing through it for the chip. He took it, put it in his pocket, and kept on going. There was no point in fighting back, they had the chip. Eventually, she decided that she might as well just give up and let them drag her.

After what seemed like hours, They arrived at an old, beat up pick up truck. Callie screamed as the man pulled her onto the  and buckled the door and got in the front seat with his wife, who was trying to put the chip in a safe place.. Then he put on a mask and sprayed some sort of tranquilizer onto her. Everything became a blur-like she was in some sort of dream.

Then after that, it became just-quiet……………….