It begins....

Discoveries of a college student thrown from her world to Rhydin, with no hope of return.

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Shard
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It begins....

Post by Shard »

It all started at the tattoo parlor.

Strange place for this kind of thing to start, you would think, but it's true. The tattoo parlor where I got my little pixies tattooed just under either side of my collarbone. Where I realised that there was a world outside of my books. That I was changing, growing up, even.

Dad was going to be pissed.

I was your typical college student. My father was a senator for California. His real name isn't important, suffice it to say that he did his job thoroughly and had hardly any time for his little girl. Especially since Mom died.

Not that she was much help either. She didn't have more than fifteen lucid moments a day, and that was usually spent searching for another bottle of booze.

So I dug in to my studies, and made it into the University of California at Los Angeles. And started a life of mine. Or so my father thought.

Most of the time I spent being nosy. When your Dad is a former FBI agent working as a senator, he gets access to all kinds of nifty stuff. Unfortunately, my Dad had a bad habit of leaving his passwords written down where I could find them.

I just made sure no one else could.

Anyway, back to the tattoo parlor. My friend Tony had talked me into it, and he was there, sitting in a chair next to me, while the guy with the needle did his work. The little bondage pixies fit me perfectly, he said.

Let me describe Tony. He was your average Hollywood misgotten son. He was shipped off to boarding school, where he promptly became a hellion. But he passed with flying colors, and made it here, right around the same time I did.

Misfits stick together. Especially misfits who like to read. We met at the library, reaching for the same Robert Heinlein book.

I let him talk me into a lot of things.

Glancing at his watch, Tony sat up straight. "Drek, love. I got to run. You gonna be alright?"

"Sure... " I glanced at the guy with the needle. He grinned. Tony ducked out, heading back towards campus.

As the tattoo artist finished up, I got curious. Curiousity was always one of my major faults. Or one of my better traits. It just depended on what kind of trouble it got me into.
Take away the phantom and one sees nothing - one admits that himself. Yet take away seeing, and one sees a phantom - one forgets that.
Shard
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Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 7:22 pm
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Post by Shard »

I handed the tattoo guy a couple of hundred dollar bills, and grabbed my stuff.

My everpresent satchel had been good to me for several years. It contained all of my books for school, my notebooks, my sketchbook, my poetry. And whatever book I happened to be reading at the time. Also, my slightly paint stained army jacket.

I followed Tony out into the night. It was a little chilly, so I pulled my coat closer. The pixie tattoos were tingling in the night air.

It was a brisk walk, but I didn't find Tony. Campus was pretty much shut down for the night. I headed towards the library, towards where I had parked my car. My little PoS Rav4, stocked with more books, and other odds and ends.

A light was on in the basement floor of the library.

Again, my curiosity got the better of me. I walked over to the window, and crouched down. It was a little open, but I still had a hard time hearing what was going on.

"So everything's in place for the takeoff?"

"Yeah, sure. Nobody's got a clue where we moved the bombs to."

"Is detonation set?"

"No, we are still awaiting orders for that."

I slipped just a little bit, and had to grab the bush next to me to keep from falling over.

"What was that?"

I knew that voice. It was Tony.... My best friend.... And he was involved in something having to do with bombs.

I needed to do a little research.

As quietly as I could possibly manage, I backed away from the window, and ran to my car. I jumped in, gunned it, and headed home.

The entire way, the possibilities ran through my head. Was Tony some sort of Political Insurgent? If he was, what exactly were they planning and who against?

I parked my car in front of the garage of our neat little two story home, and headed right for Dad's office. His red Mazda was not in the garage.

Sitting down in front of his computer, I pulled up the United States of America Protected and Classified Files folder. And put in the password... B...O....N...A...N...Z....A.... He always did like the Cartwrights.

Starting to browse through the folders, I noted one highlighted in red, with a current date on it. Pulling it up, I read.

"In the past month, Russia has reported that many of the missles they had stockpiled during the Cold War have disappeared. They have admitted that in several cases, they do not have documentation as to where some of these nuclear missles were located......"

Scanning down, I read:

"It should be noted that the political insurgent group Shining Path are suspected of having transported and stockpiled some of these weapons. Members of this group have been sited crossing the border into California for several years now. Locating members, and finding these lost weapons are a top priority."
Take away the phantom and one sees nothing - one admits that himself. Yet take away seeing, and one sees a phantom - one forgets that.
Shard
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Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 7:22 pm
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Post by Shard »

A hand dropped down on my shoulder, and I whirled around in the chair, thinking to kick the legs out from under whoever this intruder could be.

It was Tony.

I managed a small grin, and took a deep breath.

"How did you get in here without me hearing you?"

I then turned back to the computer and began to systematically delete everything that would have indicated I had gotten onto the computer. Until, that is, I felt the knife at my throat. I tensed, breath coming harsh.

"What do you want?"

"What did you see?"

I gulped. "I don't know what you are talking about." The knife pressed just a little harder against my throat. I could feel a thin trickle of blood already begin to wind its way down my neck.

"Yes, you do. Get up, and walk slowly towards the door. You and I are going for a little drive, princess."

"But, Tony..."

"Another word, and I'll leave your corpse for Daddy to find."

I stood. My legs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds each as I trudged toward the door. I didn't make it, though.

Something hit me on the head, and I was out like I light.

At this point in the story, I would like to warn you that what happens to me next was not pretty, nor something I would ever wish to live through again, or wish upon anyone else.
Take away the phantom and one sees nothing - one admits that himself. Yet take away seeing, and one sees a phantom - one forgets that.
Shard
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Posts: 74
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 7:22 pm
Location: Rhydin

Post by Shard »

When I woke up, it was to immense pain. I tried to sit up, thinking that maybe I had had a little too much to drink, only to find that I couldn't move.

As my eyes finally came into focus, I realised how much trouble I was really in. Tony, and two others, were leaning over me, tightening various straps.

One went about my forehead, to hold my head down, along with one across my neck. Still others bound the tops of my arms, my forearms, my thighs, and again at my ankles. and one across my chest, and abdomen. I tell you this, because it becomes important for what happens later on.

They were talking about torturing me. In and out of the hazy world, I heard them talk. I felt a needle in my arm, and my head felt as if it were on fire.

They started asking me questions. When I couldn't answer them, they would take turns hitting me. Or burning me. Or cutting me.

It all began to run together after a while. I was thinking of ways to get out of this, when the change happened.

It had been nearly a full six or seven hours since this had began. My body was tired, and all of my sensations were skewed.

But this was different. My arms started to tingle, then itch, then burn, as did all the places that the leather touched. I heard a sharp gasp come from Tony, as I sat up. The three men looked terribly shocked, and began to back away.

I didn't understand what was happening.

I grabbed one of the men's jacket to cover my nakedness, and my bag, which they had taken, and stumbled out into the street. I broke the window of a car, with my fist.

That should have been my first clue.

Then I hotwired the vehicle, and took off, heading home. Everything was so dark... I didn't understand what was going on. When I finally got home, I heard a car behind me. In the foyer of the house is a tall mirror. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and started to scream.

Many have seen me like this now, but at the time, I had no idea what was going on. My pixie tattoos were moving all over my chest. Where the leather straps had bound me...well... those straps now appeared to be sewn into my skin. My head was crowned with thorns, the entire way around, pushing out of my skin like little horns. My forearms itched more, and I raised them.... Articulated spikes stuck out from either side of them, and waved.

Then the explosion hit, and I went through the mirror.

And landed in a forest, with nothing but my backpack, and a man's jacket, still in that state. I heard a growling noise, and suddenly, I was surrounded by ......

Dogs...walking on two feet.
Take away the phantom and one sees nothing - one admits that himself. Yet take away seeing, and one sees a phantom - one forgets that.
Shard
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Posts: 74
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 7:22 pm
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Post by Shard »

I was still slightly dizzy. I turned. Two more dog type things, and a man.

The man spoke.

"It's an anomaly. Kill it."

My eyes widened as the first dog thing charged. I threw my hands up, one covering my face, the other out in front. I felt something slide forward from my forearms, and a tormented whine. And a nasty squishing sound.

When I peeked through my fingers, the articulated spikes withdrew, bringing most of the dog thing's intestines with it.

The two other dog things snarled, and charged, each bearing knives. I lifted my hand to ward off the blows, and one of the knives glanced my arm. The knife broke.

I dropped and spun, kicking the legs out from under one of them, inwardly wincing at the snapping noise. I wandered where in the world I had learned to do these things.

The other dog thing dropped his knife, and dove at me, claws out. I caught him by the arm, and used his momentum to fling him.... Out .... over the trees.... And out of sight...

Interesting.

At this point, I felt the heat of a burn strike my shoulder. I yelped and turned. The humanoid held a pistol, that shot a red beam towards me. I ran towards him, and grabbed his pistol arm, palm striking him in the chest.

I watched as he hit a tree, and heard more snapping noises. I stood wide eyed for a moment, then realised something.

I was still holding his arm.

I dropped it, and gagged for a moment. The forest was silent. I realised, I wasn't in California anymore. And something had happened.

I started to strip the man of his clothes, and armor. I stuck the pistol in it's holster on the belt. I searched through their things, taking what I thought I might need, including rations, weapons, what appeared to be a firestarter kit, and an axe.

Then I turned, and headed deeper into the forest.
Take away the phantom and one sees nothing - one admits that himself. Yet take away seeing, and one sees a phantom - one forgets that.
Shard
Adventurer
Adventurer
Posts: 74
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 7:22 pm
Location: Rhydin

Post by Shard »

The forest was thick, and overgrown. Not quite like any forest I had ever been in. There was more of it than there should have been.

I kept focused on my surroundings, trying to avoid the inevitable questions about what had happened to me, why I was suddenly strong, and why I had changed.

Answers weren't forthcoming in the daylight. But I enjoyed the lengthy walk.

As a matter of fact, I didn't even get winded.

As night began to fall, I realised that I could see better than I ever could before in the dark. Another interesting change, but highly beneficial at the moment.

I decided to set up camp, and take stock. The forest seemed to go on forever. I found a small clearing, and began to look around for some kindling, building a small fire girl scout style.

I smoothed out some of the grass, and laid back, looking up to what kind of sky I could see. And of course, the gears in my head started to turn, slowly.

Where am I? And what were those.......dog things... that attacked me?

I fell asleep with no new answers to my questions.
Take away the phantom and one sees nothing - one admits that himself. Yet take away seeing, and one sees a phantom - one forgets that.
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