Enter the Shadows (1st Edition) [SAMPLE]

Purest Heart - 1 | ii

Obsessive.

That was what she had become, over a complete and utter stranger no less. She couldn't help wondering if the man—Lochlan—had been alright after she bolted from the diner like a scared rabbit. Her reaction made no sense to her. He hadn't been rude, he hadn't threatened her, yet she had felt... threatened. Guilt nagged her, as she wasn't the kind of person to see someone else in need and walk the other way. Or in this case, run the other way. His eyes haunted her. They had started out a pure emerald green with flecks of gold, and as she stared at them, they changed. Peculiar and intense were the words she would use to describe his eyes. Beautiful was another.

Her obsession with him led to paranoia. Penny thought she was seeing the man everywhere she went. It wasn't bad enough that his eyes followed her into her dreams, but she could have sworn she saw him a few times, following her on the street. On the train, she had thought she saw him, but when she walked towards where he had been standing, he wasn't there. Penny attributed her hallucinations to guilt. Guilt induced hallucinations. It wouldn't have been the first time her guilt had manifested into what she thought was flesh and blood. She had a habit of obsessing over things, and whenever she did, they only got larger than life.

She stepped out of her apartment looking around her. She needed to let it go. The man was fine. If he hadn't been, there were dozens of other persons in the diner who would have helped him. Penny didn't allow herself to remember the slashes in his seat. There was no way for her to explain it, and with questions and no answers, all she would have done was obsess. Maybe they had been there before he had sat down. Maybe she had missed it. It didn't matter. The man was gone, she was fine, and he was fine too. At least, that was her hope.

Now it was Thursday; another week was almost over, and she was behind at work. As soon as she went through one pile, another heap started. Working as a technical writer at Write Tech Inc., she had all the solitude she needed. It was only her, some file cabinets, a sturdy desk, and stacks of papers in her office. An endless pile that had grown considerably since the new Managing Supervisor was brought on board. The woman had it out for Penny, and she wasn't certain why. Penny had never thought to apply for the position though she had all the experience to qualify. To be Managing Supervisor meant long meetings and mandatory socializing. She wasn't cut out for that.

After months of it, Penny was growing numb to the passive aggressive inklings of Caitlin Crashaw. The woman wanted her to step out of line, or mess up so she could have something to say, but Penny never did. She was good at her job and thrived like a cactus in hostile environments.

To get most of her assigned work done, Penny was the last to leave. She had also been the first to arrive that morning. The last bus was due at 11 pm. Coat wrapped tightly around her to stave off the late night chill; Penny made her way to the bus stop a block in the opposite direction of the train station. She preferred the bus to the empty underground station at this time of night.

The bus stop was in sight on the opposite side of the road, when a van pulled up to the curb cutting her off. Penny stopped, frozen as the side door of the van opened, and two men came out. She turned to run and collided into a third. Her scream was muffled by a big hand that not only covered her mouth but her nose, making it hard for her to breathe. She dropped her bag as she fought, scratching with her nails, and kicking with her feet to get free. It was useless. Powerless to stop them, Penny was dragged into the van, and before the door closed it was speeding off. There were other men in the back of the van.

From a nearby roof, Lochlan watched snapping his teeth together.

Penny managed to get the man's hand from over her mouth as another started to tie her feet. Her scream for help was met with a slap across her face. Penny thought she heard her brain rattle, spots popping up in front of her eyes. The last thing she remembered was her body being tossed around the inside of the van.