You Dare

The sound of heavy feet hitting the sand with a loud thud caused her heart to drop. Chang clutched her arms close to herself protectively, aching in her chest, at seeing the men she had just escaped from a few hours before.

After exerting herself so hard for so long, little black dots and bright floating lights danced in her eyes, making it hard to focus. She turned her face from the blinding light of the truck and looked to the ground.

"Where did you think you were going to go Miss Dumont? We're over 800 km from where you came from, and 300km from the nearest building. Though I doubt you would find much help from them, especially in your status." The man's eyes lingered over Chang's skin as he said the last part.

The leader gave her a look full of malice. "All you have succeeded in doing is marking yourself up and wasting our time. Come with us now."

Chang shook her head "no" and took a few cautious steps back.

"That was not a request."

Chang stumbled backwards hitting the ground hard as the man advanced upon her. He grabbed a handful of her hair and viciously jerked her up. As he pulled her up, her hand that had closed around a good hard rock came up to the side of his face near his eyes. Screaming she smashed to his face as hard as she could.

The man gasped, releasing her. Chang staggered away from him, holding her bloody rock, and tried to get away again, to hide herself. The bullets came down around her again and she dropped to her knees, shrieking a little.

"What did I say? Stop before you hit her, shes more valuable alive and intact!" The man she'd hit with the rock yelled at one of the men back with the truck. Clutching his bloodied face as he let out a string of low curses the man walked to her with a murderous look in his eye.

"You're going to pay for that though, bitch." Chang crouched on the ground her back to them, hopelessness slumping her shoulders.

"I'm sorry.. I tried so hard.." Chang whispered to herself, feeling the cold and weakness take over. "I can't fight or run anymore. I'm sorry.."

She closed her eyes and thought of the new friends she just made at the palace, Leila, Dinara, Halene, and Miray; she wished she had more time with them and got to know them better.

'I wish I got to talk to Justin one last time and had a laugh over a drink with him..

'Mom I love you, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you as often as I should have been, especially after dad passed. If I could go back I'd do some things over.

'I'm glad I met you Jian.. No matter what. Even with all the sorrow, anger, and now terror, you are one of the best things that ever happened to me. '

Chang smiled to herself, her head hung low. She felt a hand grab the back of her thin undershirt, gripping it as if prepared to rip it.

Holding her breath Chang prepared for what seemed like the uninevitable. The hand stopped and slowly released its grip as a whirring sound over their heads became louder and louder. A sudden wind picked up all around them throwing the dust up in large swirls around them.

Chang felt her hair whipping all around her face wildly and looked to see a darkness blocking out the light of the stars over their head.