Taken

Walking with Dirk and Fang was a little strange. The three had to keep to the shadows, so as not to get caught, since Fang and Dirk were skipping school. Dirk also had an awkward posture due to the heavy canvas bag of paintings he was carrying.

“Help me out here,” he whispered to Fang. Fang took hold of part of the bag, and carrying it became slightly easier.

“Waka waka,” Fang randomly said with a strange look in his eyes.

“…What?” Alyssa didn’t understand at all.

“It’s our secret code word,” Dirk replied, his icy eyes also widening.

“For what?”

“It’s code for HIDE!” Dirk pulled the three into an alleyway as a crew of peacekeepers walked by.

Alyssa’s heart hammered in her chest; the alleyway was darker than the back roads they had been walking along. Never in her life had she felt so alert and terrified.

With the routes she normally took, she wasn’t in any danger of being caught visiting the abandoned house. Now thanks to Dirk and Fang, she had stolen paintings, and was in danger of being executed if she were to be caught.

“We better not get caught for this!” she whispered harshly to the two boys.

“Shh!” Dirk covered her mouth, his eyes wide. When the sound of the peacekeepers’ footsteps had faded, he pulled his hand away. “You don’t have to worry about getting caught.”

“Are you kidding me? I helped you guys steal these paintings!” Alyssa whispered again. Dirk’s hand clamped back over her mouth.

“Are you insane!? You’re the one who’s going to get us caught!”

“What’s going on out here?” an old man stepped into the alleyway, a net full of fish slung over his shoulder. Fang quickly took the bag and hid it behind himself.

“We’re just talking,” Dirk replied, trembling a little and pulling his hand sharply away from Alyssa’s mouth.

“I see… aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

“We, uh, we graduated last year,” Fang lied, nodding his head as if he had to reassure himself. The old man narrowed his eyes, but didn’t question him any further.

“Alright, but you seem awfully suspicious, hanging out in alleyways,” the old man muttered. “Makes it seem as if you’re doing illegal things,” The man hitched the netting up over his shoulder more, and turned to leave the alley.

Fang let out a breath, and all three of them helped with carrying the canvas bag once more.

“Right, so, we’re getting close to my house, which is where everything is going to go,” Dirk told Alyssa, smiling a little at her. He whispered to her then, “If we don’t get caught, you’ll still be able to visit to admire the paintings every now and then. If you can remember where I live, that is.”

“I’m not so familiar with these back roads,” Alyssa mumbled, feeling a little disappointed. “I’ve never had to take them before.”

“Well, you should familiarize yourself with them, because it’s the only way to get to our homes,” Fang added.

“What do you mean?” Alyssa asked.

“We live somewhat on one of these roads,” Fang explained. A small sigh left Alyssa, and then the three carried the bag out of the alleyway.

“This thing is heavy,” Alyssa complained, feeling her shoulders and arms ache.

“You think this is heavy? This is nothing, compared to what I normally lift,” Fang laughed at her.

“Then why do you need us to help you carry it?” Alyssa pouted, watching the dirt she kicked up as they walked.

“These are delicate paintings,” Dirk cut in; his voice was a low whisper. “If he were to somehow drop the bag, they could be damaged and lost forever.”

“Oh,” Alyssa nodded her head. There was a serious expression on her face as they walked the rest of the way in silence.

They took a left near an old, tall tree at one point, and climbed up some steps to a smaller housing area. The houses were somewhat small, and there were about a dozen of them. Alyssa compared it to the part of the neighborhood where she lived. The people here were definitely poorer.

“You guys live here?” she asked them.

“Yeah,” Dirk and Fang replied in unison.

“Fang lives directly across from me,” Dirk nodded at Fang. Fang grinned back. “It’s lucky that we live in the same area; we don’t have to walk too far at all to visit.”

They walked up to the beaten door of one of the houses, and Dirk knocked his foot against it. A young girl with hair and eyes similar to Dirk’s pulled the door open. She looked surprised as the three dust-covered teens walked through the door.

“Quickly now, Gabriella, shut the door,” he demanded once the three had stepped completely inside the small space.

“What are you guys doing, and who is she?” the girl asked, shutting the door, her eyes wide with curiosity.

“I’m Alyssa,” Alyssa nodded at the girl.

“Yeah, yeah; she’s Alyssa. Come on, let’s go,” Dirk led them up the narrow staircase, into one of the rooms on the right. There, they let the canvas bag fall onto Dirk’s bed, and Dirk shut the door.

“Okay, so now what we’re going to do is hang these up around the house,” Dirk explained.

“Are you sure about that?” Alyssa bit her lip. What if the peacekeepers had seen what the paintings looked like? They were definitely going to get caught.

“Well, some of them, at least,” Dirk ran a hand through his hair, staring at the bag. Fang sat in a creaky chair near what might have been the door to Dirk’s closet. “The rest will be hidden away.”

“I could hide a few,” Fang offered.

“No way,” Dirk shot the offer down. “The paintings were done by members of my family, and my family is going to be the one to hide these paintings. Besides, your parents aren’t as friendly to strangers.” Dirk waved his hand toward Alyssa, who was standing there, watching them.

“You have some good points there,” Fang sighed. He ran a hand through his lighter colored hair, his own dark eyes examining Alyssa’s small frame. “They especially don’t appreciate when I bring girls home.”

“They always suspect that you’re going to be doing the nasty, when you do,” Dirk explained, laughing at his friend. Alyssa made a face.

“Oh, come on,” Fang groaned. “They’re just friends; nothing more, nothing less. It’s not like any of the girls around here are interested in me, anyway.”

“Oh, you’re right there,” Dirk agreed. “They’re all into that bad boy, Hank.”

“Hank Heiseland?” Alyssa laughed.

“You know him?” Fang asked.

“The girls are all into Hank? You have to be lying,” she crossed her arms over her chest.

“We’re not lying,” Dirk shook his head to help prove his point. “The girls are all seriously drooling over him; even some of the boys.”

“That can’t be right,” Alyssa shook her head as well. “From what I remember of him, he’s a really gross guy. He’s not even good-looking!”

“Well, he is apparently, this year,” Fang sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I still can’t believe it,” Alyssa laughed a bit more, walking over to the covered window in Dirk’s room. “Then again, the teenage girls these days do the craziest things.”

“You can say that again,” Dirk smirked, looking at Alyssa. Alyssa turned to look at him, too, a smile on her face.

“Oh, hush,” she chuckled. “If it wasn’t for the fact that you guys happened to be in that building the same time I was, I wouldn’t have helped you steal the paintings at all.”

“Then the paintings would have mysteriously disappeared, and you’d have been sad; you should be thanking us,” Fang pointed out.

“You’re right.”

“Dirk, I know you’re skipping again! Come play with me, or I’m going to tell mom!” the young voice of the girl from earlier called from behind the door.

“That’s my sister again,” he sighed, walking over to the door.

“I’d better go home, anyway,” Alyssa said, following him. Fang followed behind them as well.

“I should get home, too,” Fang agreed. “Before my parents find out that I’m not in my bed anymore.” As soon as the door was opened, Fang rushed out and down the stairs.

“See you later,” Dirk called after him.

“Nice meeting you,” Alyssa added.

“Yeah, you, too,” Fang waved before heading out the door of the small house.

Dirk led Alyssa down the stairs at a normal pace, to the door. Gabriella was close behind, watching them with wide eyes. She was very interested in this strange, new girl that Dirk had brought home with him.

“Where do you live?” Gabriella asked; the gap where her front teeth were still growing in was making her words somewhat difficult to understand.

“Somewhere far from here, I think,” Alyssa smiled at the girl.

“Don’t bother her, Gabby,” Dirk warned, holding the door open for Alyssa. “It was nice to meet you, Alyssa. Remember, if you want to view the paintings, you can come over any time you want.”

“Thanks,” Alyssa nodded. The door was shut behind her as soon as she was out of the house.