We had gotten into the city pretty late last night, but I had been asleep so by the time we arrived I was only conscious long enough to get into the bed. We were now all gathered around the breakfast table outside of our hotel in Nangis, France. The plan was to see the Chateau de la Motte, which was an old fortress located in the heart of the city. I was actually looking forward to doing something different than tour vineyards today.

The tour flew by, after which we walked part of the city and went to an early dinner. My mother and I wanted a calmer day so we decided to get a bottle of wine and cheese for an early evening snack. But we were barely our first glasses in when Jeff got a phone call.

"Well I just remember you Alex, and your face was like," Jeff continued his story as we all laughed watching him make a ridiculous face meant to imitate me. "Then dad had-" bells chimed from Jeff's pockets. He looked down as he pulled it out to see who it was, "Oh, sorry guys, its Melissa. I better take this," he said apologetically.

"Hmm, I wonder what she wants," my mother says.

"Yeah, she knows he is Europe, calling minutes are outrageous!" my dad said.

"Must be some kind of an emergency then," I wondered aloud.

It wasn't long before he came back with a somber expression on his face. "Dad, I need to try to get a taxi back to the airport, or maybe if you can give me a ride somehow... Mel is in trouble."

"What? What happened?" My dad says back to him.

"Jeff, honey, just sit back down. Tell us what Mel said."

My brother looked genuinely upset as he looked at my mother before continuing slowly. "Well, I, uh..." he looked uncomfortable.

"My god, Jeff. Just tell us what's so important that she really wants you to go back home." I say a little too firmly.

"Ok... Well. I just want you to know this happened after I had proposed. I love her, and this had nothing to do with-."

"Just get on with it Jeff. We can't help you until we know everything." My father encouraged him on.

"She was pregnant," he blurted out. He looked at all of us before continuing. "We weren't going to tell you because the wedding isn't for another month. It's only been five weeks. Anyways, she's just called because she is at the hospital." He was frowning now, concentrating at the ground. "It was a miscarriage."

"Oh," My mother gasped, placing both her hands on her heart. "Poor Mel."

I was speechless. That was serious. I had no idea she was pregnant, of course none of us did. But now...

"Jeff, son, I'll take you back to the airport."

"Thanks, Dad."

We continued on silently. I emptied my glass.

Jeff got up, "Alright Alex, I guess this is goodbye, I'm gonna go back and pack as quickly as I can. Dad, I can help you get a hotel for the night, I know it's late."

"What..." I got up as he embraced me.

"Love ya, Lex. I am sorry I have to go so soon like this," he pulled away from me as he looked at me somberly. "I know you were looking forward to this vacation."

I began to shake my head. "I just can't believe you didn't tell any of us!" I blurted out as I stepped away from him. "I mean, none of us knew. We had no idea. This is your first kid," I was throwing my hands up in the air. "I mean you were going to be a dad! And you were keeping that from your family? From me?" I couldn't help it. This hurt. There were some things that I would tell Jeff, but I wouldn't tell my parents. Jeff and I were close like that, I thought.

"No no, Alex. I know, I'm sorry!" He tried to step towards me but I was backing up now, away from the table, away from everyone. "It was Melissa. She didn't want to tell anyone until after the wedding. Alex-"

I could feel the tears coming on. And I knew I had to get away. I hated to be seen crying, hated to be seen as weak. "No! Just stop. Jeff, why couldn't you tell me?"

My parents had been silent up until now, they'd known it was between Jeff and myself. "Alexis, come on back to the table honey." My mother walked towards me, gesturing. I could see my dad step closer to me from behind her.

I shook my head more vigorously now as I continued to back up. "Mom, Dad, just stop." They knew I would need my space. Right before I turned and ran, I saw my Dad's face, contorted with concern for my reaction, and worry over his son.

I had twisted around fast enough that I could start running immediately but not before I could get out of the way of the other chairs around the main square we were in. I knew my dad would be following me, but I just needed to be alone. I decided to maze it as I took random turn after random turn until finally settling in a small inlet off the street. I knelt down to the ground before the tears came.

I missed being a family. I missed it all. Being at home. With my parents, getting into arguments with my brother. When did I grow up and graduate? Everything was going by way too fast. Ever since Jeff left for college. I grew up. Now we were all separated. Literally. There was barely a time anymore that we were all together like this. Now the stupid wife takes it away. I couldn't stop the tears once they started.

~*~

I had lost track time sitting there thinking of everything, when it had hit me that I never gave myself a chance to actually say goodbye to Jeff. I shook myself as I got up and turned the corner back to the main square.

The air had somehow cooled down enough so that I could see my breath. I turned around yet another corner as it began to sink in just how lost I really was. I picked up my pace. How long had it been since I left my parents at dinner at that little cafe? And how many little backstreets can one small town like this really have?

I fumbled around in my jacket pockets before realizing I didn't have what I was looking for. "Remind me why I'd left my phone at the table with them again? Of all the times," I silently cursed to myself.

Feet shuffled and rocks scattered somewhere close behind me. I quickly turned around only to find no one there. Odd. The little cafe was beginning to seem like the only place alive at this time of night. Even though it wasn't really that late.

In an attempt to calm myself down, I decided to admire the backstreet I had gotten lost in. On either side of the cobblestone path were antiquated black Victorian style light poles placed about every three yards. Yellow painted concrete walls were marked with several windows, clearly indicating this area to be a non-residential side of town. However, the lack of noise and activity did confuse me. Icicle string lights adorned the storefront windows to my left and to the right a barn style door displayed a closed sign. The roofs were made up of a mix of dark red, green, and brown shingles. Moss was growing in a pattern appeasing to the eye near the doors and windows on old town walls. A clock tower chimed in the distance.

I stopped. The clock tower. That had been the center of the town near where we had eaten earlier. As it kept chiming, I strained to discern which direction it was coming from. It had already chimed eight times, indicating it to be much later than I had originally thought. Shivering, I pulled my jacket closer to my body as I began to move towards the towers chimes.

Rocks shuffled behind and I turned around half expecting to find nothing as I had before. I wasn't sure what I had expected to see, but my initial instincts had told me to turn toward the direction of the noise. The last bell on the tower chimed as my eyes made out the shadow of a figure darting into an alley. My heart skipped a beat. I did not want to think the worst, but who would be out here at this hour alone and not want to be seen?

Turning on my heels, I quickly picked my pace back up in the direction I had been walking. After about ten minutes I began to doubt my navigational skills as I seemed to be nowhere closer to the town square, or any part of town less remote than where I'd already been.

The street lights seemed to be growing scarce. Instead of being placed every three feet, they were almost every ten feet. Low lighting was making it harder to see as I examined my surroundings once more. The walls were no longer a pleasing yellow color but rather a dull gray. No windows and very few doors were here either. What few doors there were, seemed to be rusted shut. Taking a closer look to the door on my left, revealed it to be padlocked. It's wooden frame was beaten down and the bottom scuffed from years of use. The moss hanging here covered almost every free space of wall, and the sloping roofs above me were black.

Another shuffling of rocks behind me. I didn't need to turn around to know that I was still being followed. My pulse quickened as I began to round the nearest corner and made a quick plan in my head to run. Once I cleared the corner I leaned forward onto the balls of my feet and accelerated into a full on sprint. All of my senses were hyper-aware as I began to hear the sound of more than one pair of feet bounding after me. The countryside fast came into view on my left as I turned around to get another look at my pursuer.

To my horror, there were now three hooded men running after me. What the hell? When did this happen? I turned back around as I renewed my focused on the directions I'd have to go in order to escape. Some part of me was scared shitless but the other kicked into high gear. I was not going to let these guys get me, whatever they wanted with me.

Think Alex. There had to be a small back alley somewhere I could run into so I could lose these guys. But going into an alley would be a gamble. It could turn out to be a dead end.

Around another corner on the right. Ahead of me I saw my path narrowed and what looked like lit up streets just beyond. Damn that hurt. I'd just hit a broken stone in the street. I stumbled, nearly falling to the ground but was able to retain my balance as I raced ahead. Behind me, silence. I didn't take a minute to think why though as I seemed to be nearing the street ahead. My breathing became more labored as my stride slowed slightly. I knew I'd have to pick up my pace but this street was beginning to feel longer than I had anticipated.

Then everything went into slow motion. I had been so focused on getting to the end of the narrowing cobblestone path, I flinched at the sound of glass breaking to my immediate right. The sound threw me off focus for far too long. Darkness surrounded me as I surmised the sound must have come from a light post breaking. My heart somehow beat even faster now that the only light came from an impossible distance ahead of me.

Two figures came at incredible speed past either side of me, blocking my path as one underhanded me while simultaneously holding me up so I wouldn't fall. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of me as I fell into his stone hard embrace. I struggled against him until yet another kidnapper behind me seized my wrists, holding them steadfast. Still attempting to struggle, a hard blow to the back of my skull stopped me definitively.

Short on breath, I looked up with a cloudy gaze to my attackers. I only got a good enough look at the man to my left who was holding some kind of dark cloth in his hands. Under his hood, the shadows of the moonlight showed his stark features and yellowish hazel eyes. Although I wasn't able to make out the color of his hair, he had some gray stubble on his face indicating that he must be older. How a man of his age could have come past me with such speed was beyond reasoning.

While I was busy examining the man, a sharp pinpoint pain in my neck created a warm feeling that spread quickly to the rest of my body. The men began laughing as they tied ropes around my wrists and stuffed the hood over my head. The last thing I saw before going into complete unconsciousness was the figures of the two men smiling and showing inhumanly long teeth...