Chapter One| WarningI looked out the car window. I wouldn’t admit it but I was going to miss Boston. The outskirts have been my home for so long. And my dad is sitting in the front seat cruising the streets to the airport like nothing’s any different than any other time he came home for leave and was quickly reassigned somewhere else.
I heaved a sigh from the backseat. It had to be my millionth drive to the airport in fifteen years. Only this time my stuff was crammed in the trunk as well, with all my larger belongings taking a cross country drive via army truck. Apparently dads pretty important to whatever he’s being transferred to Somnus for. I found it rather depressing that the move was being forced on me. Marie offered to let me stay with her until the summer so I could at least say goodbye to my teachers. But my parents said they couldn’t let me do that.
Dad parked the old sedan in the temporary parking lot. The car service would be coming by to pick it up later. Since now we were selling it, never to be seen again. My feet dragging against the pavement as we caught the bus to the main terminals so we could fly out to LAX, and then catch a charter plane to the airstrip just outside of Somnus on the base.
Fort Summerton, that was to be my new home. In some little rinky-dink building that was scarcely bigger than a trailer in a trailer park. But then again the base did have access to a large portion of forest that I was free to roam whenever I felt. This comes in pretty handy for me.
As for the school it’s a two mile walk from the base. This is tolerable after my father made me train until I could run five or six miles without stopping once I turned eight. Takes me a while to do it but I can. I just hope it doesn’t rain while I’m walking. I don’t mind getting wet but being soaked like Somnus is known to be during school hours would be uncomfortable.
The jet boarded without any problems. My parents had enough foresight to get me a seat as far away from them as possible. Because I still was really mad at them. Although I think a better would be I was bordering on starting one hell of an argument that would really make my father think I was six or seven instead of fifteen.
Taking my seat I was disappointed to find that my seat was the window seat of row “f”. I’m claustrophobic. Which means I’ll start flipping out the minute the person whose supposed to sit in seat 33 sits down. I turned and glared at my mother in row “A”. She knew this about me. Just like she knew that it was usually the quickest and easiest route humbling me. Well not this time. I huffed my strawberry red hair out of my face and sat down, shoving my carry on under the seat in front of me and buckling up.
It didn’t take long for my “mate” to join me. I was surprised to find it was a boy who looked about my age. In first class and seemingly alone. Or maybe he was a little older. Yes I think he’s a year or two older. I didn’t even notice I’d been staring at him, at least not until he shifted in his seat to look at me.
“Can I help you?” he asked his voice wrapping around me like a warm blanket.
I surprised myself that I didn’t close my eyes and smile in ecstasy. His voice suited him so well. He had this really faint accent that I couldn’t place. He had particularly nice facial features almost haunting in the way they were so pale. The brightest things about him was his dirty blond hair and green eyes. No green is not the right word for the color of his eyes. Its too bland. His eyes were fathomless, for a moment I swore I was lost within them. And they were a vibrant hunter green mixed with gold. I’d never seen eyes like that, and I was sure I’d never see eyes like that again.
Slowly coming out of the daze his face created I shook my head sitting back in my seat as we took off. I hate the claustrophobia and I hate planes even more for giving me motion sickness. Which I had completely forgotten since it had been at least five years since I’d been on one. But let’s just say the guy next to me isn’t about to forget that particular flight. I felt horrible even while being angry at myself for not taking Dramamine.
Needless to say I spent the majority of the flight locked in a bathroom. I was in there for who knows how long but someone decided to interrupt my vomit-fest and knock on the door. Which seemed rather pointless. Seriously you could hear me retching through the door. The knock just got louder the longer I didn’t respond, finally being able to swallow what was left in my stomach I opened the door.
“I’m sorry miss, but you need to return to you seat. We’re about to land.” A flight attendant said looking at me warily as if I was expected to vomit on them as well.
Well golly Miss Molly I’m sorry that I get motion sickness. I can’t help it and the lack of Dramamine made it that much easier to go spewing all over Mr. Rich Hunk’s lap and sweater. And I couldn’t blame the look he shot me as I sat down. It was almost as if he was angry but more controlled, but I only had a second to view it because in the next instant he was pushing me into my seat. I think he saw me turn several shades of green as the plane hit a small pocket of turbulence.
Buckling myself back in I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Trying and not succeeding to will away the plane surrounding me and pretend I was just on a roller coaster. Roller Coasters are nice they may jostle you a little but they didn’t make me sick like planes did.
The landing would probably have been the best part of the flight if it hadn’t been for the fact that I had still yet another hour plane ride to take from LAX to the air strip. But I thought the pilots deserved a medal for not making the landing really bumpy.
People actually knew how to get off in an orderly fashion I thought absently as Mr. Rich Hunk dragged me off the plane by the arm. I didn’t even realize that I was half jogging to keep up with him until he stopped us two hallways and a several masses of lounging people away. But I did notice that his grip was cold. So very cold, almost like he’d just spent four hours in a blizzard instead of on a plane whose climate control was set to a balmy seventy degrees.
I looked up at him, holy crap he was tall. I was only about five and half feet tall. And this guy was towering over me. It was a little disconcerting. I think if I had to guess he’d be a little more than a foot taller than me. And he still had my arm in a death grip only it didn’t hurt as much as a death grip should.
He looked down at me as if he felt my gaze on him. Our eyes locked for a moment and I wished they hadn’t. He seemed almost pained. It was bothering me. I hate seeing people in pain. And I hated even more the fact that now that he was looking at me it seemed to be radiating off him and finding a home in me.
“Let go of me!” I said rather loudly but hell I was scared and more than a little pissed off.
Who wouldn’t be I just got dragged off a plane and quite a ways from my parents. It was almost unlikely that I’d be able to find my way back. Considering crowded places tended to leave me disoriented. So my internal compass as you can imagine was all screwed up from the moment I got off the plane.
Mr. Rich Hunk sighed almost as if he were exasperated by me, but he let go of my arm. Which I in turn rubbed enthusiastically trying to get some warmth to flow through it again. He watched almost as if he regretted hurting me. I glared at him internally cursing my own idiocy for letting myself be dragged so far away from my parents.
“You know I can hear that, right?” He was laughing at me.
I hated rhetorical questions. Even though I still managed to stare at him for a good five seconds before being pressed between him and a wall. People ran by us my parents among them talking to walkie-talkies about my disappearance from the plane.
He took my arm in his grasp yet again then and led us into a small alcove between the restrooms. I was surprised not to find about six or seven payphones in between them. That’s usually what covered the expanse of wall wasn’t it. Not some mini alcove of a hallway that I was being led into by a guy I met a few hours ago by throwing up on him.
“Listen to what I have to say next carefully.” He said as he swung me around in front of him.
All hints of his earlier amusement were gone. He looked so serious. So completely like he was the bearer of bad news. I almost felt sorry for him. I probably would have to if I could still feel my arm.
I raised an eyebrow at him and just shrugged out of his hold and he let me. Something told me that if he really wanted to keep me in it he could have. Personally though., I wasn’t about to care. I wanted away from him. As far away as I could possibly get. After all how much trust could be placed in the words of someone who kidnapped me. There was an explanation for those who did, I just couldn’t remember what it was.
I gave him one quick quizzical raise of my eyebrows then turned on my heel and broke into a run. And at first it had seemed like a fine and dandy idea. Hell I’d almost made it back into the corridor before I was pressed once more into a wall. My head snapping back and hitting the wall.
“Idiot. Are you so desperate to get back to those who would…” He trailed off when I looked up at him.
I cursed finding that now there were three deliciously handsome Mr. Rich hunk’s. Lady Luck really wasn’t on my side today was she? A collective annoyed sigh from all three of them had my head spinning in pain before he pulled away from me.
“Let’s get you to a hospital, shall we?” He said as he picked me up and had me cradled against him before running out of the airport.
The ride to the hospital was mostly a blur as everything drifted in and out of focus. Even his sensual voice seemed far away for the majority of the ride. But I could tell he was talking to someone. Not only had I managed to get a glimpse of the cell phone he was speaking into. But I could almost feel the car growing tenser and tenser as he got more and more frustrated with whomever he was speaking to.
“Looks like I’m stuck with you for a while.” He muttered clearly thinking I couldn’t understand what he was saying at the moment.
I just moaned in response unable to form intelligible words at that moment and wished the hospital would rise up to meet us, because I had a splitting headache.
I guess someone heard my prayers because we were at the hospital shortly after that being ushered into and examination room because of the lack of consciousness I was exhibiting, or at least I hopped it was the reason. He answered all the questions they asked him. Even going so far as to say I was his younger sister and he was the only one left to care for me since our parents died a few years ago.
I might have laughed at how idiotic that sounded if I hadn’t been in so much pain. But the nurse seemed to buy it. And a doctor came in a few moments later and declared I needed an x-ray. I groaned just what I needed more enclosed spaces.
But it ended in me having a concussion. And a prescription for painkillers and not doing anything that would jostle my head to much. I wonder if flying would be considered jostling my head too much?We were back in his car shortly after that. And we were off to god only knows where. I suppose he knew the best place as any to get me to relax was anywhere without congested streets and skyscrapers because we were outside LA shortly. I was grateful once we were far enough away that I couldn’t smell the sulfur of the car exhaust anymore.
“We’re going to meet up with some friends. And then I’ll take you to Somnus.” He said quietly.
“I see.” I didn’t dare risk nodding.
I reclined the passenger seat and let myself drift off to sleep. It wasn’t that hard after the plane and the concussion. Yes sleep was sounding quite nice at this point.
“Where is she?”
“Sleeping in the car. Why did you have me bring her here? My orders were to deliver the message and then return her to Somnus.”
I woke hearing that. Mr. Rich Hunk had orders to deliver a message to me? Why did he have to take me all the way…out here. Wherever out here was. The crunch of feet on the dirt outside the car made me hunker down in the foot well and try to hide.
They stopped outside my door, then a pause as if they were unsure if they should open the door.
“Stop and think about this. What will kidnapping her prove, but their warped ideas that we shouldn’t exist.” Mr. Rich Hunk’s voice asked quietly.
It was so quiet I could have sworn it was very close to being under twenty hertz. And I don’t mean the car company. I mean the frequency. My father was teaching me basic physics until a couple years ago. Cause supposedly I’m like really smart.
But anyways, they stopped and then their voices dropped. Really low, they were like a faint ringing in my ears. A real faint ringing because I could just barely and I mean barely make out what they were saying.
Finally after a long while the driver’s side door opened and Mr. Rich Hunk got in. He saw me curled up in the foot well and the corners of his lips curled up in what appeared to be a smile. I think he could tell I could just barely understand what they were saying.
He hit the gas pedal hard taking off speeding. I screamed at first surprised. He pulled me up out of the foot well and told me to buckle up. Which I did all too gratefully. I don’t particularly like the idea of going splat against the windshield anytime soon.
“What was all that about?” I asked shifting in my seat to see him.
“You have to be careful. There are people out there who want to use you. And other’s who would want to kill you.” He said.
I stared in shock and surprise. He had to be joking. Why would anyone want to kill me or use me? I’m not even remotely special. Well except for this one thing but still that was hardly enough to justify killing me wasn’t it.
“You’ll be at Somnus by dawn. You must promise that you will not tell anyone about the events of the last ten hours.” He said turning his gaze away from the road to look at me.
He held my gaze for several long moments before I realized that if he didn’t return his eyes to the road we could hit something. He just smirked but returned his emerald gold eyes to the road anyway. No one has any idea how disconcerting it is to have someone act like they know what you’re thinking. Even if they claim that they can hear it.
But I didn’t have much time to ponder on it. I was growing sleepy rapidly. My eyelids getting heavier by the moment. Eventually I stopped trying to fight it all together and let them close to fall asleep.
I figured I might as well. He was expecting me to anyway considering that I kept feeling his eyes on me whenever I wasn’t looking. And every time I’d yawn or snap my head to wake myself up he’d just smirk some and go back to watching the road. It was like he was waiting for something that he wasn’t entirely ready to share with anyone. Not even me.
