Marrying my husband's greatest rival

A game.

Calliope's P.O.V

I knew without a doubt nothing good was going to come from this. I might not even make it out of this alive... I remember sending a prayer to a god I knew so little about... Please, God, whatever happens to me, it's out of my hands, but allow me to return to my brothers and sisters. No matter how broken I may be after what happens here tonight, they need me. Please don't let me be another person in this world that lets them down.

By now, the car had moved, and I was stuck between two guys. Another two sat in front. They were all smiles and cracking jokes like they hadn't just kidnapped someone... the foul smell of alcohol wafted in the car, the smell of cigarettes and weed hung heavy on the breath of the two guys next to me.

One of them, the one to my right, is holding a knife to my side that's digging into my skin so deep I can feel my old shirt getting soaked. But I remain calm, conserving my energy for when I really need it. The guys talk with each other about their plans for the rest of the week like I'm not even here.

I get the feeling that they have done something like this before. They are not panicked, they're taking their time talking and laughing like this is something they do for a living. I squirmed between my two captors, but it only made the knife dig into my side a little more. The guy on my left hands me a bottle filled with brown liquid...

"Drink up sugar, you're in for a long ride."

He smirks, making the rest of the assholes laugh.

"I'm 12, I don't drink."

I say, keeping my voice as firm as possible.

They remain quiet, the road we're on is getting darker and so is my soul... There's this lump in my throat making it harder for me to swallow. My eyes are burning. All I want to do is curl up into a ball and cry... I want to scream to tell them this is far enough. I want to beg them not to hurt me, to just leave me alone and throw me out of their car...

But, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride... they're coming to a stop off a gravel road and in the distance I can see an old broken-down building. The fear I'm feeling is something I can't explain. The driver gets out first, then the one on my right taking the knife from my side as he moves to get out of the car.

The one on my left violently grabs my arms and pulls me out with him. They say nothing as they drag me down a narrow path. I have no fight, my limbs betray me, my voice eludes me, I'm willingly following or being dragged down a dirt road with no help insight. It gets darker the further we get from the car.

I realize the passenger isn't with us and I wonder if he decided he didn't want any part of this... maybe he could be my saving grace. Maybe he would be the one that calls for help, but if wishes were flying monkeys, we'd all be wearing tiny hats. When we reach the broken building, they release me...

I turn and stare at them. I feel so f*****g broken already, so vulnerable, so exposed, so unlike myself. The driver holds a flashlight in his hand and shines the darn thing right in my face, making me look away...

"We're going to play a little game... I'm going to count to 10, then you'll run ill give you 5 minutes before we come look for you. If you make it back to the car before anyone of us catches you, we will take you back to the place we found you unharmed, but if we do find you, you'll entertain us for the night."

The driver says... My blood runs cold. What kind of sick f*****g game is this? They're 4. The chances of them finding me is a solid 10 out of 10.

"Well, not exactly unharmed. I may have cut her just a bit."

The guy that was sitting on my right says.

"I told you not to hurt her."

The driver says to him.

"How else do you think she didn't put up a fight?"

The guy that was on my left says.

"1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7...

I take off, but I don't get far. One of them has me in his arms from behind.

"You have to wait until he reaches 10 sugar, that's how the game works."

He whispers into my ear, then takes me back.

"1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10"

I take off like my ass is on fire.

I have no idea where I'm going. I ran in the opposite direction. We came from. It's so dark I couldn't even see my hands... something makes this rushing wind sound beside me, and it makes me run faster, but I trip over something... and scrape my hands on the gravel floor. It stings

I rub my hands on my shirt, no doubt leaving dirt and blood on my favorite old shirt... it's so quiet I can hear my heart beating... I can hear heavy foot falls coming from behind me. I want to remain here. I'm so tired. My body doesn't want to move. My lungs are dying for air, but I know I need to push on if I want to live.

.I got up and started running again. They are getting closer. I can hear more than one pair of feet coming up behind me, but I keep pushing... another rush of wind blows past me... are they throwing me with something? A little further away from me, I can see a light flickering, and I'm torn between running in that direction or continuing running straight... I made a decision to run in the direction of the light that flickers.