Taken

Emma.

Emma sniffed the air but the scent she had picked up was gone. Shrugging, she went back to sitting beside Tommy and ran her hands through her bright red hair. A minute later, she heard the voices of her friends including Alison. She turned her head and saw them heading towards her with their backpacks and the tents they had been using it for their makeshift residence.

“We’ve agreed to stay here for the night,” Richard said. “You need some time to mourn and think of what would be the best for Tommy. We couldn’t just leave you here alone. If there’s any danger, we will face it together. I’m sure Tommy would have wanted us to stick together.”

“Thank you so much,” Emma said, feeling grateful. “I know you guys are risking a lot by being here but I’m really glad you decided to stay. I was getting really scared.”

“Well, if we die, you’ll rot in hell knowing it was because of your stubbornness.” Alison said.

Emma sighed and decided it was best to ignore her. Now was not the time to get into meaningless fights.

Two of the young men in the group starting collecting dry wood while the others set up the tents. The group was now remaining with six members. Alison was a twenty six year old beautiful tall blonde with a killer smile and a slim body with slight curves in all the right places. Emma who was skinny with no distinct curves, and had felt very insecure when Alison started making moves on Tommy. At times, she had worried that Tommy wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to be with the sexy slightly older woman. Emma and Tommy were both twenty four years old.

There was Richard, who was twenty six years old. He was tall and had long blonde hair that went up to the nape of his neck. He usually parted it in the middle of his head, leaving it to fall by the sides of his face. Emma thought he was quite handsome, and if she didn’t have Tommy, she would have dated him. She always wondered why Alison didn’t date him instead of trying to seduce a taken man. But then, Richard didn’t seem to like Alison either.

The others were Jonah, Keith and Amon. They were all of average height and looks. Jonah and Amon had small bodies while Keith was quite big. He was obsessed with working out which was why he had developed a lot of muscle.

Within a few minutes, the tents were up and all their belongings had been placed inside. The fire was started and soon they were all conversing around except Emma who was not in the mood for conversation. As darkness took over the world, the group ate and stayed up as much as they could, before they started sleeping in turns.

Emma refused to sleep. Even if she had wanted to do so, she couldn’t. The memories of good times with Tommy kept replaying in her head and she cried every now and then. By morning, she was a mess. Tommy’s body had been put in the tent they always shared. Emma lay right next to her boyfriend’s body, choosing not to move or let anyone else be there.

In the morning, she lay there staring at the tent’s ceiling for a long time. She could hear a lot of activity going on outside and Alison complaining about everything under the sun. Emma did not even understand why the group stayed with Alison. She was never really close to anyone in the group. I guess it was because there was nowhere to kick her to. Most of the group members did not have family. It was only Keith who had made a decision to run away from his criminal family.

Eventually, Emma got out and told the rest that they needed to bury Tommy. Although, she still wanted to be with him, she had come to terms with the fact that it was best for them to bury him and leave that place. She would have to find a way of moving on at some point. He was gone and never coming back. She had to be strong.

Richard and Keith started digging the grave immediately while Emma prepared the body with Jonah and Amon. She banned Alison from coming to the tent while her boyfriend’s body was being prepared. Alison sat on a tree trunk and started smoking while waiting for them to get over with it.

When it was all done, they carried the body and put it near the grave. They had dressed him in his favourite clothes and accessories. Emma broke down when they started the rituals. She turned and was about to walk away when something exploded and smoke rose up around them.

“It’s a smoke bomb,” Alison yelled. “Run!”

“Nooo,” Emma yelled, returning to the grave.

A group of ten warriors’ appeared from behind the trees and all the rogues ran away. Emma sat next to Tommy’s body, crying her heart out. Seeing that she was not about to go anywhere, the warriors ignored her and started running after the others. A minute later, she heard Alison’s loud scream and grunts from others. Emma did not even look up to see what was going on. She was too focused on Tommy. It didn’t take long before the warriors were moving away five bodies of her friends who had been shot with poisoned arrows.

Three warriors appeared by the grave side.

“Get up,” one ordered.

“Help me bury him,” Emma begged, looking on helplessly. While she was able to lift the body, putting it in the grave was tricky. She couldn’t just toss him inside. When the men did nothing, she stood up and jumped into the hole.

“What the hell!” one of them said. “This chick is crazy.”

“Give me the body,” she said. “He was the love of my life. I don’t know what you want from us but I’m not going anywhere until Tommy has got a decent burial.”

“What does she think she is?”

One of the warriors jumped into the grave and quickly snapped her neck.