Where am I? Part Five
Brand was the first to wake up. A soft groan escaped his lips as he sat up and found himself in total darkness. He reached up and carefully rubbed the back of his neck, then murmured: "Some party. I had the most bizarre dream."
"You wish it was only a dream." Came Buba's voice from within the shadowy veil to his left. "Someone knocked us out and brought us here, I'm guessing."
"Must not be too far if they brought you."
"Or they're a lot stronger than you think."
Brand hadn't thought of that. He sighed and slowly felt around until he made contact with Megan. After he shook her gentle, she stirred and woke. "What?" She whispered. "What hit me?"
"No clue." Brand said. "Any idea what happened before we were hit? That light and sound show should come with a hazard warning." This wasn't the first time Brand woke up with a fuzzy memory and a killer headache. He somehow doubted it would be the last time, either.
"Girl!" a voice boomed from outside. "Come forward. Any trickery and there will be consequences."
"Uh..." Megan frowned at the notion.
"No!" Buba replied with power. "We all go or none of us go!"
Brand mutter, "I can't even find the door, much less get to it. How's she supposed to?"
"I found it while you both slept." Buba said. "I'm leaning against it right now."
Megan moved toward Buba's voice until she bumped into him. She sighed. "Guys, maybe I should go. We need answer and we're in no position for making demands right now. We have to trust it'll be all right."
Without moving, Brand said: "No, out of the question."
"Hello? Last time I checked I could make my own decisions. Now move, Buba." Megan rested her hand against his and gave a gentle squeeze. At least she hoped that was his hand.
"Megan..." Brand started to say, but Buba cut him off.
"She's right, Brand." He scooted away from the door. "Just be careful, Megan. Scream real loud if you need help and I'll bust through this door or die trying."
"Thanks, Buba." Megan said softly. "Don't worry, Brand. Things will be all right. They have to be." Then, "I'm here!" she shouted.
Almost immediately the door swung open and light assaulted all three of them. They were blinded by the sudden impact and winced deeply as they tried to shield their eyes with their hands. Megan was grabbed by the shoulder and pulled out. A second later the door slammed shut behind her and darkness once more filled the small room.
"Why'd you turn on me back there, Buba? Usually you are the first person to agree with me completely."
"No, I'm not. Even if I was, she was right in this case. We aren't going to get anywhere being rebels. This has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with us. Do you realize this isn't some kind of little screw-up that can be fixed? We are so beyond lost now&" Buba shrugged in the darkness, "it's not even funny."
"I'm not a kid anymore, Buba. I know this is serious and we could die." Brand's voice fell silence then and it lingered that way for some time. Buba started to think Brand went back to sleep, but soon he spoke again. Quieter than before, but definitely loud enough for Buba to hear and understand. "I got us into this situation and this time I'll get us out of it, no matter the cost. All right?"
"All right, Brand." Buba replied in a low voice. "I trust you." He decided against saying 'once again', but Buba had a feeling this wasn't going to turn out very well. He leaned back against the wall of the small room and closed his eyes.
"I wonder what they're doing with Megan." Brand mused.
As soon as the door had closed, Megan had been blindfolded. She was then lifted and carried somewhere. It wasn't exactly a long journey, but by the time they stopped, she was feeling rather sick to her stomach.
Once the blindfold came off, she was seated on a wooden chair, inside a large tent. In the center of the tent was a table with several maps of some kind scattered about it. Chairs were stacked all over the place and a smaller table sat toward the back. Next to the back table was a small cot with a single blanket and no pillow. A peek under the main table revealed several small chests complete with locks. Nobody else was present in the room; for that she was thankful.
With a little more confidence, Megan stood and cautiously moved to the closed flap that separated the outside world from the world within this tent. As she reached for it, however, she heard voices on the other side and rushed back to her chair. The voices continued to speak outside, but they were too muffled for her to make any sense out of what was being said.
Then, silence came, fast and without warning. She looked over her shoulder at the flap and quirked a brow. No sooner then she did that did the flap open and a cloaked figure walked in. The flap closed and the figure nodded to Megan as it made its way around the main table toward the back table.
Once back there, the cloak was removed. At first, all Megan could see was the person from behind. Long, curly black hair flowed down like a waterfall as it was freed from the confines of the cloak's hood. The figure turned around at last and Megan beheld a woman with beauty far surpassing anything she'd ever before witnessed, even in magazines and on television. Her features were perfect; everything was perfect and if possible, beyond perfection itself. Her skin was a deep maroon red while her eyes literally glowed with a pale yellow light. She wore a light gray robe with a simple rope tied around her waist to hold it closed and a pair of tight fitting gray gloves upon her hands.
"Uh... hi?" Megan offered after staring for sometime.
The woman walked to the main table and nodded to Megan once more. She tilted her head from side-to-side while she looked Megan over as if studying her. Which she probably was, Megan realized, but she remained quiet for the moment. This was very odd and she didn't have a clue as to what to do, so she was going to let the woman in front of her control the situation, for now at least.
For a few more nervous minutes, the woman continued to watch Megan, then she pulled up a chair and sat down. As she folded her hands on the table, she smiled gently. "I am Adara. We've been waiting for you and your friends for some time now. You're lucky we found you before the others did. Do you have any questions?"
Not only did she have questions; she had millions of questions. Megan squinted her eyes and frowned. There was far too much going on, far too fast for her and she wasn't ready for this, not by a long shot. So, she just decided to ask the first thing that came to mind: "Where am I?"
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