Chapter 1

Jake / Sandstorm

My name is Jake, and before today, I was living the

life of a bachelor. At one time, I was married, which

basically means I have an ex-wife and son. Though I

haven't seen either of them in a very long time. I was young

and dumb when I left them. My parents didn't approve, so

after our son was born, I panicked and fled. I said

something to her that still plagues me to this day. Though I

know, I can never take those words back. Have you ever

said something that so bad that you never want to repeat

those words again? That's how I feel every single day of my

life.

Still, I moved on with my life... I had another child with

another woman, or so I thought until I was taken from my

home one night while lying in bed with my newest fling. I

remember waking up to the feeling of something being

pressed against my mouth and a strong chemical smell.

After that, nothing.

Well, until now. Coming around, I could feel myself

being dragged down a hallway. Two men were dragging me

by the arms. My shoulders and underarms were burning

from the weight of my body hanging limply beneath them. I

couldn't breathe. There was something covering my head

and my vision was obscured. It felt like a cloth bag of some

sort. I couldn't call out. The words wouldn't leave my throat.

It felt as if I had swallowed sandpaper. I heard the footfalls

of a third person somewhere in front of me. I stumbled

forward and lost my balance only to be jerked off my feet

again. The thought of not knowing where I am and where Iwas going made my stomach turn... I felt as though I were

going to be sick.

Will these people kill me? What have I done to

deserve this? Frantically searching my memories, I couldn't

find a reason someone would abduct me from my home.

The only thing these men said to me is that someone very

powerful wants me and they want me alive. Otherwise, I'd

already be dead.

I would have never imagined that my ex-wife would

have been the one to organize my abduction. Her name is

Luna Decorus. Of all the people to wish I were dead. You

would think she would be the one to make that happen.

Especially after the way I had treated her in the past. This

was not the case. She was the one trying to save my life.

Finally, the men who had been dragging me came to

a sudden stop. One of them spoke, his voice a deep sound

which penetrated my frightened consciousness, "Here is

where you will stay until you are needed." Without further

warning, I felt myself being shoved hard from behind. I fell

to my hands and knees, almost prostrate, and put my feet

underneath me using my momentum to quickly right

myself. As I stood up, I felt for the canvas bag covering my

face and pulled it aside, my arms tensing for an inevitable

confrontation. He stood before me on the opposite side of a

thick door, inches of ballistic glass shielding his 6'2" frame

from me. His dark brown hair barely hid his eyes, which

were piercing and almost a cold glacier blue. His gazed past

me, lost in thought, as if I were irrelevant and infantile.

It felt like this man's eyes were piercing my soul and

gauging my very existence. He spoke again, "If for some

reason, you feel the need to make an ass out of yourself. If you want to hurt yourself or another in some way? Be it

physically, mentally, or spiritually, you will suffer the same

fate as the already deceased members of your family."

I spoke without thinking, "What do you mean my

family? What happened to them? I swear if you have done

something to my family, I will kill you myself you

worthless bastard!"

My words were cut off by the blue-eyed man once

again, "Your family has indeed been killed, but not by me

or any of the people here. Your mother, father, sister, and

your brothers. This happened before we knew what was

going on. We took you from your home before the same

could happen to you. Shortly after taking you, the woman

who was asleep in your bed was killed, and so was the

woman you were fighting in court. You should know our

team has ruled you out as the father of her child. The child

you thought was yours is safe but is not here." He looked

down at the ground both out of respect and empathy.

"I am sorry for your loss. We will return to you when

your presence is needed. Now get some sleep." With that,

he turned and walked away. As my very world began

crumbling around me, I watched him walk away down a

hallway where the lights in the ceiling dimmed with his

retreat, and I kept watching as the man who had just given

me the worst news in the world, the man who just

orchestrated my abduction, faded away into a hallway that

looked just as grim and ominous as the news I'd been given.

I wasn't sure where the other two men had gone, and

I didn't care. I hadn't realized I had fallen to my knees and

tears were streaming down my eyes until the brown-haired

man reappeared outside my door. I don't know how long I'd been sitting there. I just looked at the man. His words

sounded far away, or maybe it was my mind that was far

away because I was trying to cope with the fact that my

entire family was now gone. Finally, his words became

clear, "Now is not the time. You must rest now. There is a

bed over there. All will be explained to you shortly." With

that, the man disappeared back down the hall and left me

sitting there, voluntarily immobile and silently sobbing to

myself.