Am I dead? I opened my eyes slowly, not sure I wanted to know the answer. The world was sideways, or at least it looked that way from where I was laying on my side. I looked around for Owen, but all I saw in my limited field of vision were old paint cans littering the back of a work van. The vehicle I was in made a sharp turn, and everything in the back slid across the floor, including me. Unfortunately, I didn’t slide far enough, and a large object I can only assume was a paint can hit me square in the back. I tried to sit up to escape further bludgeoning, but failed. Something held my wrists and ankles tight. I seriously doubt souls are delivered to heaven bound and gagged. Well… Maybe. But that’s a different kind of heaven. I used my impeccable reasoning skills to analyze the situation. No, I’m not dead. And yes, I’m totally fucked, but not in a good way.

The last thing I remembered was sitting in the car outside of Walmart with Owen before we were attacked by Africanized-GMO-monster-bugs from hell. I was pretty sure they weren’t natural. Insects don’t act like that. I shuddered. Then I was stung, and…

Oh, God. Owen! Is he okay? I wasn’t sure how long I was out for, or how far we drove. I didn’t even know if Owen was alright. Is he coming after me? Is he… No, I couldn’t think about that. But I knew that for now I was on my own. I would have to get myself out of this situation first, then I could find Owen and Tobin, wherever he was. Please, just let Owen and the asshole be alive.

In the meantime, I was just going to have to be strong enough to stay alive until we could be reunited. Either my boys were going to come to my rescue, or I was going to come to theirs. I tried to recall the self defense classes I took a few years ago. What was it the instructor said to do in a situation like this? Look around and see, smell, and taste your surroundings?

Looking around the area, I saw paint cans, a metal ladder, and other painting bullshit. So I’ve been kidnapped by painters? What the fuck?

I sniffed the air from where I was tied up. Inches from the floor, the van smelled foul, like paint thinner and ass. Nasty, dirty, ass to be exact. Yuck! Okay, smells. Check.

Taste the surroundings. Eeew! No, thank you. Nuh-uh, not gonna happen. I couldn’t see any benefit from licking the floor. I’m sure it would taste just as terrible as it smells.

What can I hear? I heard the muffled sound of men talking in the front of the cab. I moved forward, inchworm style, to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“—mean that weaponizing insects is just weird. C’mon, you can’t make me think any different,” the driver goon said.

“It worked. Didn’t it?” the passenger goon replied.

“Well yeah. But it’s weird, ain’t it? I mean, Killer beetles?”

That bastard! He’s the one that attacked us. I thought about Owen again, and quickly pushed those thoughts away. Freedom first, worrying later.

“You're just jealous.” passenger goon taunted. “What’s your power anyway? Let me guess, eating sandwiches?” he snickered.

Power, as in magical power? What, like Harry Potter, Dumbledore, Hagrid? Don’t tell me I’ve been kidnapped by role playing freaks.

“Fuck you.” The driver went quiet for several minutes. I imagined he had a useless power like he could grow really long toenails or something. I didn’t waste time thinking about whether he could grow other areas of his anatomy. “Invisibility.” he finally said. “I can go invisible for short amounts of time”

Oh, shit. That is not useless. Fuck! How am I supposed to fight an invisible bad guy?

“Oh! That’s a good one. You must be blessed.” The passenger sounded impressed.

“Aye. I’d say a bit more than you, bug boy.”

“It’s entomancy. I’m an entomancer.”

“Whatever you say, bug boy.”

I heard the static of a CB radio chirping across the cabin, and one of the goons spoke into the receiver. “Green target acquired. En route to drop off.”

Green target? As in Jade? I’m green target? Oh, shit! This is happening now! I’m not ready. Ok, remember your training. I reviewed the tools in my arsenal. The element of surprise was my only weapon right now, that and a crappy fucking paintbrush. Okay, I can work with this. I needed to look unconscious when the goons finally came round to collect me, so I slowed my breathing in order to play the part.

After what seemed like endless rounds of brainless banter, I determined that my kidnappers were imbeciles. I was about to give up my plan and demand a sentence or two of intelligent conversation at the end of my flimsy paintbrush

I was about to give up on my plan and start swinging my flimsy paintbrush, pointy end first, and demand a sentence or two of intelligent conversation. I think I’m losing brain cells just listening to these doofuses. Is their plan to stupify me to death? At least, it should be easy to outwit them.

The van suddenly came to a stop, and I tensed involuntarily at the sound of the sliding door opening. I could feel the adrenaline dump into my bloodstream causing my heart to race in preparation for a fight or flight. It’s showtime! Rough hands pulled me across the floor as I struggled to remain a limp rag doll. My defense training was at total odds with my self preservation instincts. It was hard to remain in this vulnerable state without moving, but I needed an advantage I could use to get away.

I took glances of my captors, stolen from between nearly closed eyelashes. Even though I could barely see, I could make out two men standing over me. I can take these assholes. They're, what, 150 lbs heavier than me? No problemo. My bravado surprised me. Adrenaline would only get me so far. The fat guy obviously couldn’t run after me if I managed to get away, but the other guy, the weird one that commanded bugs, could probably call on his horde of beetles again. He could really kill me this time.

Bug boy yanked me up from the floor and threw me over his shoulder. The world turned upside down, and I barely managed to keep a hmph inside when his shoulder dug into my stomach. Stay limp. I chanted in my head over and over again. In this position, my nose was only inches away from bug boy’s buttcrack. Eeeeew! My mantra quickly changed to please, don’t fart. Please, don’t fart.

I tried to take in the surroundings, but it was hard to concentrate upside-down with my head so close to his ass, which I was still praying wasn’t loaded. Looking down, I could see grass growing in the cracked cement. Judging by how tall it was, I would guess the parking lot hadn’t been used in a long time. I closed my eyes to relieve them from the view and focus on the sounds. The view was useless anyway, some guy’s saggy buttcheeks and a bunch of broken pavement.

I could hear a train not too far away, but no traffic sounds. That’s odd. Maybe outside city limits? I guessed. The outskirts somewhere? I filed the information away for later, in case I needed to come back and kick some ass, or if the guys needed to know where to come get me. I’ll worry about that later.

We came to a stop, so I risked a peek. We stood in front of a metal building. The door scraped against the cement when the fat goon, presumably the driver, opened it wide enough for us to enter. “He’ll be here in half an hour. We've got plenty of time.” The idea of spending plenty of time with the goons was repulsive enough, I didn’t need the disgusting hand worming its way up my thigh to illustrate his plans. So, the fat goon thinks he’s going to have plenty of time with me? I’ll show him.

“Put her down here,” the driver said gruffly, seconds before I fell roughly to the floor. My eyes flew open in shock, ruining my ruse. Dammit! Flickering fluorescent lights illuminated a filthy face inches from mine. “Look, she’s awake.”

“What a tempting little cunt,” a grubby man snarled through rotten teeth. Disgusted, I scooted back gathering my feet beneath me. So, this must be bug boy. His face isn’t much better to look at than his saggy ass.

I quickly scanned my surroundings for a weapon or a way to escape. Industrial shelves lined the walls while metal tables were spread throughout the room, making workspaces of some kind. I took a second to catalogue as much as possible: the flickering lights, tools strewn across tables, machinery, and metal barrels with brightly colored labels. Looks like some kind of manufacturing or repair place. I wasn’t sure, but thought the large equipment might make a great place to hide behind. That reminded me...

Where the fuck is the fat goon? Just as I went to stand up and make a break for it, large hands roughly grabbed my shoulders and shoved me back down. There he is.

“Don’t get any ideas, little girl,” the driver snarled when he saw me looking around for an escape. He pulled me to my feet, and pushed me towards the other goon. “Hold her down fer me.”

“No! Let go of me!" I screamed and struggled to break his punishing grip and get away, but all it did was egg them on. Bug boy laughed, and steered me towards one of the metal work tables.

“She’s feisty.”

I fought off their advances while looking for an advantage, any glimmer of hope. That hope came from a tool left haphazardly strewn about. They didn’t see the Phillips head screwdriver sitting on the table in front of us, but I did. I just needed to get a little closer to it, antagonize them just enough that they didn’t see what I was planning.

Bug boy was behind me, steering me. I was in a perfect defensive position. Taking a step with my left foot, I took aim with my right, stomped on the top of his boot while turning my body and breaking his hold on me.

“Aarrgh!” He screamed in pain.

I was impressed. The defensive move worked perfectly, just like the instructor said it would. The screwdriver was only a couple feet away. I raced towards it, completely oblivious that the fat goon had disappeared until I felt someone grab my shoulders and slam my upper body, pinning me to the rough metal surface.

“Fuckin’ bitch broke my foot!”

“Stop whining, and hold her down for me,” fatass snarled, pushing me harder into the table.

I grit my teeth as the sharp edge of the table cut into my hip, while frantically looking around for the screwdriver I had been running towards. I was relieved to see it was still there, and only inches away. Bug boy held me down by my shoulders, while fat goon stood behind me, groping my ass. Biting back my disgust, I gave him a second to unzip his pants before enacting my plan.

My hand shot out towards the screwdriver. I gripped the hard plastic handle in my fist, and reached back with it, stabbing at anything within reach. Bug boy yelped, and released my shoulders to cover the wound I made. I stabbed him again for good measure, this time in the arm before turning around and kicking the fat goon in the crotch. He went down like the fat sack of shit he was.

They thought they were going to take advantage of me. They thought they were stronger and could do what they wanted. They thought wrong.

With a parting kick to the fat man’s gut, I ran through the machinery and equipment, searching for those red exit signs every place is supposed to have, illuminated signs to freedom in case of fire or evil goons chasing you. Where’s the fucking exit? Fuck!

I lost sight of them when I sprinted down isles of machinery and shelving, turning and zig zagging as I ran. I reached a deadend with no exit in sight. Turning back, I realized that the bastards were back on their feet. I could hear them bumbling and getting closer. Their clumsy asses were running into tables and cussing.

I hid, ducking down behind a barrel while I tried to pinpoint their location. My legs tensed, ready to sprint in the opposite direction, before the room fell silent. The sound of my heavy breathing filled the void. It’s too quiet. Where are they? As soon as the crashing and cussing stopped, I was forcibly pulled from my hiding spot by my hair, screaming and kicking.

“Gotcha, you sneaky little bitch!” bug boy sneered when he yanked me around to face him.

“Fuck you!” I snarled. When the goon winced, I smiled at my handiwork. Blood was still dripping from the wound I inflicted.

He saw my expression and frowned. Following my line of sight, he put two and two together. I was impressed he could count that high. “You’ll pay for that,” he warned.

“Take her to the cage,” the fat goon growled, interrupting our happy reunion. “He'll be here any minute. There’s no more time for fucking around.”

I cussed and fought as bug boy drug me across the warehouse. He kept a steady pace, pulling me along despite my attempts to slow him down. We were almost near the opposite end when he stopped in front of a large metal cage. It looked like a heavy duty dog cage of sorts. I might have been scared if I was in my right mind, but I was too pissed off and hopped up on adrenaline. Before I could react, I was savagely shoved into the cage. The door slammed shut behind me.

“Good riddance, cunt” he barked. A lock snapped closed, and he spit on my face before stalking away.

I reached up, and wiped the saliva off. At least, I seemed to be safe from them for the moment. I’m okay. I’ll get out of this, I thought. I refused to think of this cage as the end. Right now, it was a barrier between me and them, and that was alright by me. I sat in the farthest corner, facing the direction I thought the goons were in, keeping watch.

The adrenaline was slowly fading, and I needed to figure a way out of this. I needed to think.

I’m tired. Against my better judgement, my eyelids felt heavier. So, tired…

A loud explosion rocked the warehouse.

What the fuck!

I instinctively crouched in a makeshift fighting stance. The cage was too short for me to stand up to my full height, and limited my movements. I scanned the warehouse to identify the source of the sound, but didn’t see anything out of place. Suddenly, the acrid smell of smoke assaulted my nose. Shit!

With a renewed dose of adrenaline, I began frantically rattling the cage to test its strength. It was solid and didn’t budge an inch. There’s no time for making plans. I have to get out now! The bars were thick, much thicker than any dog crate I’ve ever seen. What were the assholes doing with a cage like this? The implications made me angry.

I choked on the smoke building around me. It was suffocating. Focus Jade. Use your resources and don’t freak out that you’re about to be burned alive in an abandoned warehouse.

I looked around for another tool to use, anything to pry the door open before I was barbecued. A few screws littered the ground near the cage, but nothing of any consequence until I spotted a rusty piece of angle iron not far from the cage. As I kneeled down to reach through the bars for it, I saw a large imposing shape walk through the smoke towards me which was bigger than both goons put together. Ohhhhh, fuuuuuck! Is this the guy they were talking about?

I retreated further into the corner, pressing my back against it for safety while keeping my eyes glued to the giant in front of me. I hid the angle iron behind my back, just in case. Being hunched over and slightly out of sorts from, I don’t know, from being kidnapped, almost raped, and now nearly burned alive, I had a hard time judging dimensions. But he was fucking huge, not just kinda huge. Ginormously huge. One of his massive arms seemed thicker than both my thighs put together. That can’t be human. A shiver of fear ran up my spine.

The enormous silhouette cleared to reveal a man’s hard body. I struggled to see his face, but the thickening smoke made it difficult for me to make out his features. I could feel the negativity rolling off him in waves. He practically radiated death and destruction. I was sure he was pissed at someone or something, I just prayed it wasn’t me. If it was, well, I hoped he was softer than he looked, and that the angle iron did some damage before he killed me.

The giant didn’t speak, didn’t grunt, didn’t make a sound. He just stood there, staring at me for several seconds. Smoke filled my lungs, causing me to double over coughing. Great, now he thinks I'm weak. This seemed to spur him into action. He grabbed the bars by the door.

“You’re an asshole, picking on someone smaller and weaker.” I choked out.

I watched in terror as a red glow appeared beneath his palms. The metal bars melted in the giant’s hands. This isn’t happening… You can’t melt metal with your bare hands, no matter how big and tall you are! My poor brain tried to make sense out of what I witnessed, and failed. The lack of oxygen made thinking clearly difficult.

My vision started to darken around the edges, even as I gasped for air. The entire front side of the cage fell away, slamming on the concrete floor with a deafening crash. This is it. I gathered my strength for one last, desperate hail mary, and sprung up at him, swinging the angle iron wildly. I landed several good hits, too.

Fuck you, giant! I tried to roar. “Fk-ugh!” Came out between coughs.

A bolt of pain lanced through the back of my head. It felt like my skull caved in. What the…

They say you see your loved ones before you die. I never thought it would be this soon. Pictures of Owen, Tobin, and our short time together flashed before my eyes. So, this is what dying must feel like… I tried to hold onto their images one last time before the world went black, but my body crumpled lifelessly against a hard surface against my will.

Owen, Tobin, I’m sorry…