The Song Of The Wolf (Edited & Rewritten)

Chapter Ten

The strikes of an invisible hammer resonated through her skull like the thunderous heartbeat of a tempest. Her body fought against the sticky, syrupy grip, struggling to break free from the muddled fog it created. The world appeared overly vivid. Every hue and shape had been drenched in saturation, and merged into the interior of a moving car.

The assailants sat in the front, she in the back. Her head rested against something... hard? Words reverberated through the car, entering her ears as unintelligible murmurs. Maebh furrowed her brows, trying to decipher the rich baritones. Gibberish. She lifted her head from her supporting pillar and eyes filled her vision, gleaming like flint.

The stranger.

Fragments tried to clear a path to her frontal lobe. But as the man's narrowed gaze bore into her, daring her to look away, Maebh was ensnared.

When he did avert his eyes, she scooted away, gripping the leather seat beneath her. And then, all at once, the recollections flooded. Maggie's labour. The stranger and the two men abducting her. Coinín letting them. The bitter sting of betrayal. Fighting them off. Grey coming to her rescue. Grey turning into Logan. Logan turning back into Grey. Whatever concoction they had injected her with played havoc with her memories. She tried to piece them together, but every attempt aggravated her head more.

Sceneries raced past, trees consuming the roadside. Most had been stripped of their leaves by the wind and the cold, leaving them with skeletal-like branches and a dusting of snow. Only the evergreens retained their green. In the distance, mountains loomed, their contours familiar to Maebh. It meant she was not as far from home as she feared.

An overpowering desire arose, and faded. What good would it do to fling herself out of a speeding car? Besides shattering her bones on impact? She had left her phone on the nightstand in the guest bedroom. Even if, by some miraculous stroke of luck, she managed to slip away unscathed, the abductors had all the advantage. They would only have to turn the car round and scoop her back up.

'This is a mistake,' Maebh started, her voice trembling, 'you've got the wrong person. I've only moved here six months ago.'

Her eyes darted between the three men, trying to gauge their reaction, 'What do you want? Money? My parents aren't well off, but I've inherited thousands, let me go and you can have it all.'

Rat-face snickered from behind the wheel, his empty eyes mocking her through the rearview mirror. His gaze flicked to the side, meeting the man beside Maebh, and any trace of amusement immediately died. The ensuing silence was heavy, sapping away at her.

'Where are you taking me?' Maebh asked.

The men remained stoically silent.

Her teeth sank into her lip as she pondered her predicament. An hour must have gone by before there was a change in backdrop. The mountains dominated the sky, hemming them in, leaving only a narrow road to spare.

A static cracking pierced the radio, a male voice coming through, inquiring, 'Name?'

Taxi-man detached a wireless walkie talkie from the centre console and raised it to his mouth. 'Oûtis emoí g'ónoma.'

'Identification?'

'FF2412 kai MOC2510.'

'Verified. Proceed.' 

The mountain emerged like a dead end, cutting into the road as if it hungered for asphalt. Maebh's pulse quickened, convinced they were on a collision course. Then, with mechanical fluidity, a section of the rock face split open..

'Weren't they supposed to fix the ANPR thing last week?' Taxi-man mumbled.

Darkness consumed them as the car entered an artery in the stone core. Fluorescent lighting illuminated the tunnel, leading them deeper and deeper until the change in pressure popped Maebh's ears. The dashboard indicated a solid five minutes had passed before the car ascended, and the steep climb released them into the sunshine. Ahead, a marvel materialised.