Desert Love

Chapter 11

The dream was so terrible. The towering shadow kept forcing me along. The whole house was dark. I felt like I was walking in a dream. No. A dream is pleasant. No. This was definitely a nightmare. I felt fear. Worry, but the whole thing was not something I was able to fully comprehend as real. Any moment, I would wake up. It would be morning. I would be in that large guest room. Nothing would be going wrong. I didn't realize how wrong I was.

The ground sent pinpricks of ice up my feet. The shadow had forced me so suddenly to leave my bed that I did not have a moment to put on shoes. Now it was like I was walking on ice. I wanted to find John. I wanted to yell. I wanted to scream. I readied myself. Stopping my march and taking in a large breath. I looked into the sky. It was brilliant. A full moon swollen and streaming down through inky black. I raised my shoulders, filling my lungs to burst. But before I had a chance to scream, I felt a glove covered hand over my mouth.

"None of that miss!" said the shadow's voice. I was still disoriented. I thought about biting his hand. There must be some way I could struggle and get out of this. My mind was buzzing with worry. What was even happening to me? Who was this shadow? His voice threatened violence. That was when I noticed the gun that he carried. Just a glint of black metal in moonlight. It took my breath away as swift as if I'd been punched in the stomach. The world suddenly shimmered, and I wondered if maybe I had been punched in the stomach. The world turned to waves. Like I was underwater. The moon squirmed and danced, then I gave into the nightmare. I turned my head down, and did as the shadow told me. I saw no way out of this. And the glimpse of the gun kept a lump in the pit of my stomach. As we walked, that lump only grew. It was like a nest of thorns. Like my insides were being twisted into knots. Crossing the lawn, I felt the desire to turn and look at the rooftop where John and I had stood earlier that day. I flashed a quick glance over my shoulder. The roof was dark, but I knew on that rooftop, I had left a piece of me.

I was jolted with another zap of hard realization when I heard a second voice.

"Come on, come on," it said as we approached a large metal skeleton in the middle of the lawn. Whether it was a last attempt to free myself, or just a popping of fear in my stomach, I screamed. It was so sudden that even I was surprised at what I had done. Now I know, if someone screams in the middle of the night and no one is around to hear it. It doesn't really matter. I felt rough hands on me, and I was lifted from the ground. I did not struggle much at this point. My last defiance had been the burst of air. I landed on something hard as I was thrown into the back of the waiting helicopter.

"Take off!" There was an immediate buzzing as engines started with a flick of controls. I felt the bond of gravity loosen its grip, and the helicopter rose several inches from the ground. Hovering like a bird stuck in air. It began climbing. Rising higher and higher. There was a groan at my side. The thing I had landed on. The thing that had stuck me in the ribs as I was tossed in like a sack of potatoes. It was John.

He started to move as though I had poked him in bed to a gentle good morning. I was so happy to see him, that I think I almost kissed him there and then. If I was in trouble. At least I was in trouble with John now. I knew I would be able to rely on him to help me through anything.

The helicopter rose in not quite a straight line, but it wasn't long before lights shone below us. City streets filled with cars. The ground had been taken away. There was no escape now. John blinked at me a few times. I could see he too had not completely taken in the situation. I was starting to feel we might be in even more trouble than either of us realized. I bit my lip. I pinched my arms. Still I was not waking up. How could this be real?

Then the helicopter leaned forward. We were moving at a considerable speed. The lights of the city disappeared into a dark sea of nothing. The streets with their car lights were whipped away. Where were they taking us?

I could see nothing below us and nothing above us. It was like we were moving between two heavy black blankets. John looked at me, still sprawled on the ground. I might have enjoyed seeing that look on his face had we both been waking up in a soft room with one another's bodies against each other. He reached out a hand. I took it. He gave me a reassuring squeeze.

We must have flown for hours. John sat up, and we rested next to each other. I tucked my head into the crook of his neck. Realizing I had not had more than a few hours of sleep. John looked tired too. I shuttered to think what they might have done to him.

A thin line began to be drawn in an orange line of fire. It was the sun, dawn was coming. And, in the weak, gray light I caught a glimpse of what was below us. For the first time I realized we were being taken over a desert.