They made it through the rest of the meal without threats of violence. Both Chantelle and Taylor ordered steak tartare. At least Chantelle’s appetite was good.
Chester and Carol seemed mollified as they headed out. Cliff stayed behind to pick up the check as Rusty and Truman walked the girls out to the car.
Rusty stopped in his tracks as they got close to it.
“Both the rear tires are flat,” he said. His tone turned urgent. “Girls. Run back to the restaurant now.”
Chantelle and Taylor turned to run, and as they did, Perry and Joel stepped out of a dark pool of shadow by the side of the restaurant. They were aiming rifles at them.
Taylor felt something sting her. She looked down and saw a blowdart sticking out of her abdomen, and she heard angry shouting from very, very far away.
She fell to the ground, and the world faded into nothing.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Oh, God.” Taylor woke up with a groan and slowly, painfully sat up. Her head throbbed and her throat and mouth were dry.
She was in an enormous metal cage, in a dark room. She could see surprisingly well, considering how dark it was. The cement floor felt icy cold.
Chantelle lay curled up on the floor next to her, her breathing shallow.
Panic rushed through her, and she felt like a helium balloon, light with fear. Was Cliff okay? Were Truman and Rusty dead? Why had Perry and Joel kidnapped her and Chantelle, and why was she in a damn cage?
Don’t panic. Panicking won’t help. The whole pack will be out looking for us. They’ll find us – out of self-preservation if nothing else.
But would they find them in time? Perry and Joel obviously had plans for her and Chantelle – bad plans.
A sickening thought occurred to her. Serafina’s parents, killed by a hunter who basically used an elephant gun on them…had that been a coincidence, them running into the wrong person at the wrong time like that?
Were Perry and Joel planning to hunt her and Chantelle?
She looked around the room. The door was closed and there were no windows, but somehow she could see. It must be because she was so close to the turn. There was one other cage in the room, but it was empty. Why were there two cages?
The moon pulled at her. It wouldn’t be long now. She sensed it. It was getting close to morning, and that evening, she’d turn. She didn’t know how she knew…but she was sure of it.
Was she going to turn here, alone, without help? Would she kill Chantelle when she did?
She crawled over to the cage door. The cage was too small for her to stand up and walk. She tried the door, but of course it was locked. She patted her head, feeling her hair for bobby pins. She didn’t have any, and she didn’t actually know how to pick a lock, although if she’d found a bobby pin she would at least have tried.
She crawled back to Chantelle, who looked pale and drawn underneath her heavy layer of makeup.
“Chantelle, wake up,” she whispered, pushing her shoulder.
Chantelle groaned and mumbled something.
“Wake up. Now. It’s an emergency.”
“What’s happening?” Chantelle sat up, looking around in confusion.
“Perry and Joel shot us with tranquilizer darts and kidnapped us.”
Chantelle’s eyes widened in panic as she took in their surroundings. “Rusty? Is Rusty okay?”
Odd question.
Before Taylor could answer, the door swung open.
Perry hurried in, with his ever present smile on his face. “Oh, good, you’re awake,” he said pleasantly. “Won’t be long now!. And, two of you! At least one of you should survive the change. If both of you do, that’ll be even better.”
