strangerthanfiction

by HalkettLucas

  Storm took his electromagnetic cuffs from the back of his uniform and slid them over Maddy’s wrists before she had even noticed. “This is no game, Maddison Scott. You have been lawfully apprehended by Hunter Alaziel, operative of WRAITH and a son of Vargr. You are charged with being the enemy of the realm and will be held until your trial and judgement day.” His whole demeanour had now changed, the familiar words rolling off of his tongue easily and the determination to bring another criminal to account for their actions was evident in his eyes and body language.

  Maddy was incensed. This game had gone way too far and as she struggled against the restraints, she could feel the panic from earlier beginning to rise inside her once more. Something in her mind was telling her that this was real—and if the stranger was ‘acting’ the role of Storm, he deserved an Academy Award because he was completely convincing.

  Storm led Maddy through the car park towards a secluded area away from prying eyes. Just before reaching the walled area to the far side of the grounds, a whoosh of air went past Maddy’s right ear and she was about to turn when Storm covered her with his body and was forcing her onto the dirt. There was silence and then another whizzing noise before they spurted rapidly overhead.

  Maddy was dragged up from the dirt and being pulled by the collar of her shirt towards the walled area. They were running, but she didn’t have a chance to see who was firing at them. “We’re being shot at!” she shouted above the noise of gunfire.

  “You don’t say?” Storm smirked down at her as he returned fire. “Stay down and let me do my job, human.”

  Maddy hadn’t hung around to listen to Storm. She was running as fast as she could, almost getting two black eyes as her large breasts bounced up toward her face with her movements. Her wrists were still restrained behind her back, her clothes were half buttoned and half sliding off her body and her face was crimson red as she puffed out of breath. As she approached a couple passing by, wheezing. “Help!” they took one look at her and then at the handcuffs then the motel...and told her they were god-fearing folks who would pray for her soul before hurrying away in the opposite direction.

  “Thanks a bunch.” Maddy frowned, her running now a more manageable power-walk away from the motel. Just as she was about to turn a corner a hand reached out and clamped around her mouth, preventing her from screaming as another arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her backwards.

  Chapter Seven

  The shadow of the dome of pleasure

  Floated midway on the waves;

  Where was heard the mingled measure

  From the fountain and the caves.

  —Khubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Colelridge

  Storm raced down the sidewalk trying to pick up a sense of Maddy but she was gone. He hadn’t even been able to get a clear visual on the enemy that had opened fire on them, but he was sure that who was behind Maddy’s disappearance.

  As Storm made himself invisible he weaved in and out of the oncoming crowds searching for Maddy—and within minutes he had spotted her being shoved into the trunk of a car on the opposite side of the road.

  Maddy was arguing and kicking like a mule as she was being manhandled—which gave Storm just enough time to get over there, knock the driver out with a sharp jab of his elbow to the back of his neck and to put a shot into the chest and arm of the gunman. Throwing the unconscious driver out of the car, Storm started the engine shouting to Maddy to close the door.

  Maddy was terrified. She wasn’t sure if she could trust Storm, but her instincts were telling her to do as he said. She tried to make herself into the smallest shape she could as the bleeding gunman slumped on the backseat beside her.

  “Where are we going?”

  Storm looked at Maddy through the mirror as he sped down the highway. “I told you already. To Vargr.”

  ****

  Troy heard over the intercom that his prisoner had been apprehended and the portal was being opened. He wondered if a human sacrifice had been executed for his trip home, but he pushed that thought out of his head. He needed to keep a check on his anti-Ruling Council thoughts and leanings. If he wasn’t careful, he would be picked up by a random psych-test.

  The psych-tests were carried out by the colloquially named ‘psych-snitches’: A group of telepaths who were hired by the Council to snoop on employees and ensure that they fully complied and believed in the Realm’s doctrine. It was like a sports anti-drug test but for the mind.

  In the ever growing anti-establishment factions, it had been rumored that these psych tests were to gather more information than just state loyalty—that they were being used for more sinister means. Some even thought the telepaths were getting bribes by corporate entities to gather consumer information to give them dominance in the marketplace. Whether they were one, all, or none of the above—they were real and they did need to be watched out for.

  Troy did not want to be labelled a traitor just for having some fanciful thoughts because he was bored. And it was because he was bored and not because he had started to question everything he had been told. As he told himself this though, he knew that he wasn’t even good at convincing himself anymore.

  ****

  Storm had driven them to some waste ground that Maddy wasn’t familiar with this side of town, and so she couldn’t get her bearings. There were two large men waiting for them, dressed exactly like Storm, but even though they towered over her they weren’t as intimidating as he.

  Storm had dragged the unconscious hit man behind him with one hand as he held Maddy’s upper arm with the other. Words were exchanged with the two waiting men, but she couldn’t make out the language they spoke in. It sounded to her ears like ancient Greek or Latin...

  Without warning, Storm grabbed Maddy and pushed her towards a red painted circle and as she stood in the middle with him, she felt herself stumble and freefall as her vision distorted. She thought she was suffocating and started to panic until Storm wrapped an arm around her waist and cupped the back of her head with his other hand, holding her face close to his chest.

  With a violent jolt, the air returned to her lungs and Storm relaxed his hold on her—as Maddy blinked and refocused her eyes she looked up at the sky—instead of the crisp blueness of before it was now a burnt tangerine with purple clouds punctuating the colour.

  “This…this is exactly how I imagined it.” Her voice was very small but her eyes were huge.

  “Imagined what?” Storm was already pulling her up from the ground and checking that the handcuffs were still in place.

  “Vargr—this is how I have seen it in my head since I was a child...it even smells the same.” Maddy felt as though she was having some sort of out of body experience.

  Storm regarded her silently for a moment. “Are you saying that you have been here before Maddison Scott?”

  Maddy shook her head. “No...I’m saying that I have been dreaming about this place since I don’t know when—that’s what I base all my books on. Are you telling me this is real? It’s not some kind of movie set?”

  “Of course it’s real.” Storm thought he must have banged Maddy’s head when he was driving her towards the blood gates—humans were so frail, he kept forgetting that about them.

  ****

  Dola bowed as he left the Goblin Lord’s chambers. He had just confirmed that his Hunter had custody of the target and she was being processed and incarcerated as they spoke. Her trial was to be carried out within the day, which again made her case unique. Usually prisoners were held for months if not years before having their trial. What was it about this Maddison Scott that had the new King and Council so hell bent on expediting her case? How much of a threat was she to the realm really?

  ****

  “You’re serious…you are actually going to put me in jail! But why? What have I ever done to you?” Maddy, who had never so much as gotten a parking ticket was staring into the back of Storm’s head as he led her down past the other cells. “Answ
er me.”

  This was going against every instinct in Storm’s body. He had never been so reluctant to hand over a prisoner in all his years’ service and as he approached Troy Nabu’s section, his heart sank.

  Storm couldn’t answer Maddy’s questions. He couldn’t look her in the eye and tell her that he actually believed in what he was doing. He didn’t believe that she was a threat to the realm and he was starting to think that she had been handpicked by the hierarchy for other reasons—he just needed to figure out why.

  ****

  Time stood still for Troy as he laid eyes on Maddison Scott for the first time. She had occupied his dreams for such a long time that to see her in the flesh was almost overwhelming.

  Hunter Alaziel had passed over her papers, and they both went through the prisoner transfer words almost robotically before Storm released the prisoner from her handcuffs and stood back. She was now Troy’s responsibility.

  Maddy couldn’t even look at Storm right now...in her mind he had betrayed her, and her foul mood was now transferred over to this new prison officer...who was….oh sweet lord, he was just every bit as gorgeous and delicious as the deadly Storm. And he was the exact image of her books hero.

  “Troy?” she blinked as she whispered the name of her character to the guard.

  Troy looked at Storm then back at Maddy. “How did you know my name?”

  “No way.” Maddy shook her head. “This is getting to be too weird.”

  Troy looked over at Storm. “Did you divulge my name to the prisoner?”

  Storm held his hands up. “Not guilty, man. Maddison stated to me that she ‘imagined’ our world even down to the stink” he gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Seems like you were part of that imagination too” he could barely mask the envy behind those words.

  “But...you’re Troy.” Maddy stopped rubbing her sore wrists to jab her finger into his chest. “You’ve got a birth spot on your right hip and you are obsessive about being clean and tidy. Or am I wrong?”

  Troy stood with his mouth open gawking at Maddy. “How did you know that?” as he confirmed that she was absolutely right.

  “Honestly? I really don’t know—as I told Storm, I’ve been dreaming about Vargr for as long as I can remember and up till a few hours ago I never knew that this place actually existed.” Maddie felt a wave of exhaustion hit her.

  Troy looked skeptical. “That’s impossible” and turned to Storm to mouth ‘isn’t it?’

  Storm said nothing but he looked at Troy barely nodding his head before inclining his head towards the cell. They needed to talk—alone.

  Troy walked Maddy into her cell and when he left her inside he fogged the glass walls to give her some privacy. Storm was still outside waiting on him. “Didn’t your shift finish an hour ago?” he asked.

  “Felt like hanging around for a while—got a bad feeling about this capture. Not with the prisoner, I honestly don’t think she’s a threat to anyone. Well, except when she gets a temper—that human can throw.” He smirked wryly as he poured himself a hot coffee and passed a mug over to Troy. “What do you make of her story?”

  Troy gratefully took the coffee and leaned back on the wall looking over at Storm. The two of them had grown up together, but didn’t actually become friends until the Academy—Storm passing the WRAITH physical and becoming a Hunter, and Troy left back as the cell guard due to his borderline myopia.

  “I believe her.” Troy didn’t make eye contact with Storm as he said the words, and waited for scorn and ridicule to be hurled his way.

  Storm nodded and took a drink of his coffee before answering, “Me too.”

  Troy’s eyes shot up as he stared over at Storm. “Really?” but his question was answered in Storms’ unwavering gaze. “Shit, what do we do now?”

  “Nothing we can do. Her trial has been set for tomorrow. It’s out of our hands Troy.”

  Both Troy and Storm stared at each other then turned to look at Maddy’s cell. “I need to go in there and explain what’s going to happen tomorrow. She needs to know.”

  “Agreed.” Storm put his mug down and folded his large arms across his chest. “I’ll keep a watch outside. Make sure there’s no random psyche’s skulking about.”

  Troy smiled over at Storm. “Appreciate that, man. It’s the last thing we need right now.”

  Storm arched a questioning brow at that remark but didn’t push Troy on it. Instead he unfolded his arms and put them by his sides, hands palming over his weapons as Troy unfogged the glass walls and entered Maddy’s cell.

  Chapter Eight

  Love arrives and in its train come ecstasies

  old memories of pleasure, ancient histories of pain.

  Yet if we are bold,

  love strikes away the chains of fear from our souls.

  —Touched by an Angel, Maya Angelou

  As soon as she was alone, Maddy sat down on the edge of the bed and put her head in her hands. So much had happened to her that she was having trouble processing it all.

  To find out that her fantasy world was real and she had come face to face with not one, but two of her heroes? She should be on cloud nine. Instead she was imprisoned in a glass cell without knowing why or for how long, and no way of letting anyone know where she was. Besides, even if she could she would most likely be labelled a lunatic.

  Curling up into a ball on top of the bed, Maddy closed her eyes and let herself drift off. Instead of her normal dreams that took her to the Vargr world, she was back home—watching her Auntie Fran and Henry as they sat on the porch enjoying the last of the day’s sunshine. She could hear her neighbour’s conversations and thoughts. Her dreams were filled with the humdrum normality of her everyday life—and it seemed so perfect to her. What she would give for ‘normal’ after the day she’d just had.

  Troy sat on the edge of Maddy’s bed and spoke softly. “Wake up, we need to talk.” His hand gently rocked her hip as he roused her from her sleep.

  “Huh? What?” Maddy woke up startled. She could see her reflection in the glass walls and thought she looked like the wild woman of Borneo. Reaching up to run her fingers through her hair and it felt as though it was standing on end and pointing in every direction. Yawning, Maddy rubbed her eyes and frowned as they were dry and scratchy and although she couldn’t see them properly in her reflection, she was sure they were red and bleary from lack of sleep. When she was able to focus her ‘hubbahubba’ meter went off the scale again. It was Troy—in the flesh and looking down at her with those ‘come to bed...well, you’re already in bed, but stay in bed’ eyes. He was everything she had thought he would be and more. “I didn’t do you justice,” she mumbled as she sat up, hugging her knees and peering over them to look at him.

  “What?” Troy was confused by her statement.

  “When I wrote about you—I didn’t do you justice.”

  Troy wasn’t sure what she was meaning, but put it down to a communication barrier between himself and the humans. It happened every now and then and he had learned it was easier just to let it go rather than end up in a convoluted conversation in which neither party would actually get a satisfactory answer.

  “I need to prepare you for tomorrow, Maddison.” Troy’s face was serious as he sat there looking at her. “Your trial will be held tomorrow morning and you’ve been made aware of the charge?” As Maddy nodded, he continued, “What you don’t know is that it holds a death sentence, and no being has ever been pardoned or found innocent at trial. Maddy, tomorrow you will be executed.”

  Maddy gulped as her heart sank down to her toes. “Executed? Wh-what have I done wrong?”

  “I don’t know,” Troy answered honestly. “It will be explained at the trial and you will be given an opportunity to state your case, but…”

  “No being ever gets found innocent or pardoned. I heard you the first time.” Maddy wanted to scream, cry, hide, run—anything but sit here waiting for death to find her. “Is there any way yo
u can find out why they are charging me so that I have at least a few hours to come up with a defence?”

  Troy looked out at Storm, then back at Maddy. “What you are asking of me could be seen as treason, Maddison…”

  Maddy’s eyes raised to Troy’s and she started to beg him not to do it. This was her life here—on the one hand, she couldn’t have him put his life in danger for her, but on the other... Before she could finish pleading with him, Troy took her hands in his “I’ll do it.” Letting impulse rule him, Troy leaned over and cupped Maddy’s face in his hands and pressed his lips to her mouth and kissing her passionately.

  Maddy was dumbstruck, and could only blink like Morse-code as she watched Troy leave her cell and talk to Storm outside. Her lips were still tingling from his embrace and she was sure she was burning up, because her body was flushed all over.

  “Taking a hell of a chance doing that,” Storm advised as Troy told him of his plan to try and help Maddy. “But what’s life for if not to take chances?” he gave the slightest of grins before adding, “You two seem to be getting along well.” and tilted his head back towards Maddy who was sitting staring out at them from her bed.

  “About as well as you were, earlier—don’t think I didn’t see the shared looks you were giving each other when you brought her in.” Troy gave a short laugh as he seen the awkwardness in his friend’s face. “She’s pretty special. I don’t blame you Storm. It’s just unusual for you to show any interest in...well, anyone.”

  Storm’s mood dived. “What is the point in feeling anything? She is going to be killed tomorrow.”

  “And so will we be if we’re caught, so let’s get this over with—agreed?” Troy held his hand out to Storm.