Undying Devotion

Shannara had already spent three days at home. Masie had kept her word, keeping her informed and up to date, but the hours dragged on. She long since abandoned the sling, though the doctors kept telling her she had to wear it to reduce the strain on her shoulder.

She sat on the couch, her files strewn across the coffee table, the sketch she had helped create staring at her from the middle of the pile. Picking up the picture she tossed it on top of Kayla’s file that sat beside her on the cushioned seat. She’d spent all day looking through the files for what seemed like the hundredth time, it was now dark outside.

The man who had spoken to her using Kayla’s phone was different from the man who had confronted her, she was sure of it. But she still had no leads on the other cases, she picked up her phone about to dial Masie, wanting to get news on the DNA from the hair she had pulled out, and the blood they had collected from the scene after she had shot him, but her phone had no bars. Holding it up higher she frowned, she normally didn’t have an issue with the signal in the house.

Suddenly and abruptly, her door burst open, the lock breaking as wood splintered off with a loud crack. She jumped to her feet facing the assailant. She cursed to herself, her firearm was in the safe in the other room. As a number of armed soldiers dressed in black, with small lettering that read CIA on their shoulders came barging in, she thought it best to stay still and not run for the weapon. With several automatic guns pointed at her she raised her hands in the air, a cringe crossing her features as her shoulder twinged with pain.

“Guys, you seriously couldn’t have knocked? This is a retail for christ sake!” She remarked shaking her head.

One of the soldiers approached her and pulled her hands down behind her back, causing her to hiss with pain, before zip tying her wrists together. “I am willing to come along without a fight, is this necessary?”

A black fabric hood was thrown over her head. “Oh, okay. I guess it is necessary, must be top secret, right?” She added dryly, her voice now muffled by the fabric.

She was pushed out her now broken door and into what she could only guess was a van. “You know I’m charging you for that door, my landlord is going to kill me!”

But still, nobody answered her. She sighed as the vehicle lunged forward and they started moving. She shifted her weight trying to make herself slightly more comfortable.

“You know, there isn’t anything but woodland for miles, this is a small town with a secluded airport. Even if I’m bound and bagged, I still know where we are.” She commented sarcastically.

“She’s quite chatty, isn’t she? Take the hood off.” She heard someone from the front say.

As the hood was pulled free, her hair falling around her face in a messy heap, she made a dramatic sigh. “Ah, I can breathe again. Now what’s this all about?”

“You’ll find out once we reach the commander.” The voice responded.

“Don’t bullshit me.” Her voice turned stern, all joking done with. “The only one with any command in an organization like this is allowed to speak to prisoners.”

A man turned to look at her through the grate that separated the back of the van from the front. “You’re a detective for a reason it seems.”

“It’s a passion of mine, though it does tend to get me into troublesome situations. To what do I owe the pleasure of this one?” She narrowed her eyes on her capture.

“A substance you were trying to match flagged in our system.“He tilted his head upward, looking down on her.

It was easy to guess which one. “So what is it, some military experiment gone wrong?”

“Why do you want to know?” He raised a brow with her.

“So I can find him and stop him, even kill him if I have to. Why did you kidnap me?” She retorted.

“I like your honesty.” He huffed.

“I don’t like you.” She shot back.

He laughed, though he was cut off abruptly as the van was impacted by something she could only assume was another vehicle. The van swerved, the driver trying to frantically regain control. She heard the sound of metal groaning and straining as though it were restricting an external force. The back doors buckled outward and were torn from their hinges, bouncing with a loud clank on the road that was speeding past. Long claw-like fingers gripped the edges of the now blank space, a figure filling the emptiness, blocking her view of the tarmac.

“Shit! It’s here already.” The man exclaimed from the front of the van.

Shannara couldn’t speak as she watched the figure shrink in size until it slipped into the back of the van. The dark of the night hid his features until they were practically face to face. Her breath caught, it was him, the man in her sketch. Though he looked different somehow, she could still tell it was him, the same black eyes stared at her, unblinking.

The sound of gunfire defended her as a flurry of bullets slammed into him. He dug his claw-like hands into the metal of the van, the ear-piecing sounds of scraping metal drowned out by the automatic gunfire that sprayed around her aimed at him. He reached forward grasping hold of one of the several men in the back and tossed him out of the vehicle with a simple flick of his hand, like it was nothing. The man wailed, his voice draining off in the distance as his body bounced and twisted unnaturally as he hit the ground, the van still speeding forward.

“Stop the van, you bloody moron! We’ll be slaughtered like this!” The person in command screamed.

The driver slammed his foot onto the break, and the van drifted to a halt, causing most of the soldiers to lose their aim and fire wildly into the van and each other. Shannara screamed and attempted to hunch herself over to try to avoid any stray bullets, but her body was covered by that thing! His eyes bore down into hers, it was protecting her. Its arms wrapped around her as he leapt from the van, cradling her. With inhuman speed he disappeared into the woods, leaving the surviving humans in the van wide-eyed and shocked.

She wasn’t sure at what point she had closed her eyes, but she didn’t open them until she felt that they were no longer moving. Her ears ringing she found her feet as she was placed on the ground and flung around to face away from him. With one of his long claws, he cut through the cable ties fastening her hands before pushing her toward a huge tree behind her.

“What the fuck is happening!” Her words were answered with a heavy shove that nearly had her falling to her knees.

“Through the tree, now!” He barked.

She looked at the base of this tree, a huge hollow cavity that disappeared into darkness as the roots seemed too twisted and reach up forming the trunk of the tree. It looked like an opening with no end inside, only darkness.

She was nudged forward again. “If you’re going to kill me, just do it now. I’m not becoming one of your artworks.”

He laughed. “That was just a test to see if you were worthy to meet my lord. I have no intention of killing you. We need you.” He shoved her again.

She stumbled forward on unsteady feet and leant on the tree trunk for support. This guy was insane, maybe even delusional. Was he following the orders of someone else, could they be in this together? Was this man actually related to the other killings after all?

She would play along for now, maybe she could find an opening to run. She walked into the hollow of the tree trunk, with each step she took her surroundings were engulfed in complete darkness, with no light to guide her way. Her hands flew out in front of her as she felt blind, she was sure she was walking in a straight line but appeared to exit the trunk in a few short steps.

Wait no... The woodlands looked different. The usual browns and greens of the leaves were replaced with greens and purples. Her eyes widened, spinning around she slammed into his chest on her small attempt at a retreat.

“No going back.” He grabbed her arm and began dragging her to the edge of the woodlands.

His claws had retracted showing only normal hands and fingers now, had she imagined the beast-like features before? Had she been drugged? Maybe the medication she was on maybe a little too strong. Or had he pushed her into the truck that he had filled with a hallucinogenic? She’d only ever done mushrooms once, and it seemed almost similar to that experience, the only difference being that the world wasn’t spinning out of control or warping into weird shapes.

She didn’t say much as she was led into a town that strangely mirrored the one she was investigating, but this was... so different. Some people had horns, others had wings and the flowers were... talking.

Yep, she was high, or at least she thought she was.

The old city hall seemed like it had been given an upgrade, it looked like an ancient palace with vines crawling up its walls. She was being taken there it seemed. Her eyes darted around taking in everything and yet nothing, her mind was alive with wonder, she felt as though she were in a dream. She was yanked through some large doors and thrown before a man perched on a throne. Sitting on her knees she pushed herself up and their eyes locked.

He was sitting with his legs crossed, his elbow resting on the arm of the chair holding his chin up. If she were to describe him, he seemed to be a man out of a fairy tale. He had a chiseled jawline, short tamed and well-styled brown hair with deep brown eyes. His fine-toned body was easily accented by the sharp suit he wore.

“This is she?” His voice melted her. She’d never heard anything like it. In all her wildest dreams this was what her deepest darkest desire would be, he was perfect. She had to be dreaming, was she already dead? Her mouth was agape as she looked up at him.

“Yes my lord, I have tested her. She has courage and is driven by justice, strong-willed and strong-bodied.” The man who had broken her ribs excitedly explained. “She is the perfect candidate.”

This man who her capture had brought her to, he stood and began striding toward her. He knelt down and helped her to her feet. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.

“In that case.” His hand slipped around her waist as he pulled her close, his face inches away from hers. “Will you marry me?” He breathed.

She made a disgusted face, all illusions of a dream broken. She would never dream of something like this, let alone this cheesy proposal. She pushed him off her with apparent force that had him blinking at her in confusion.

“No!” She barked shaking her head, before taking a few steps back. “What the fuck is going on!?”

Had she seriously just been whisked off to another world?