Steve absent-mindedly counted the empty cans of soda in the trash bin next to his desk. Three, four, five. He looked at the clock. It read 11:45. He’d been staring at the screen for almost 3 hours and he’d only typed a paragraph. He read over what he had typed and highlighted it with his mouse and clicked delete. Steve sighed in frustration. What the heck did he know about unicorns anyways? He had looked them up on Wikipedia (his favorite source for information about almost anything in existence) and had gotten a historical background about the mythology, but it didn’t help. How was his publisher expecting him to write a story about a creature that didn’t exist and had no violent tendencies? All of the other fantasy books that he had written had some kind of sword swinging protagonist who encountered evil and ferocious monsters. It was easy to crank out 200 pages of unadulterated violence and action. Now that Steve was faced with the task of writing something for a younger audience, he was stumped. He sighed dejectedly and turned off the monitor. Maybe he’d just call it a night and try again first thing tomorrow. If he hadn’t signed that damn 5 book deal, he wouldn’t be stuck doing this and he could be writing what he wanted, when he wanted. The lure of the money had been too great at the time though, and Steve hadn’t really thought about the terms of the contract. He got up from his seat at the computer and his dog Malarkey appeared by his side. Steve reached down and scratched the Labrador behind the ears. “Come on, it’s bed time.” Malarkey followed behind Steve as he turned off the light in the office and got ready for bed.
Steve turned off the light and settled down under the quilt. He could hear the heavy breathing of the dog who had already camped down on the oversized cushion next to his bed. In spite of all the caffeine he had consumed earlier, his eyes felt heavy and he was soon off to sleep.
Steve awoke with a panicked start to the sound of a klaxon blaring. He looked around to find himself lying prone on the cold hard floor of what appeared to be a long hallway. As a revolving red warning light flashed overhead, he could hear the sounds of rushing footsteps approaching. He quickly pushed himself up and got to his feet. He was still garbed in his pajamas and his mind reeled as he tried to figure out where he was. He could see three figures in what appeared to be SWAT gear moving towards him from the far end of the hallway. Steve looked in the opposite direction for a place to hide or escape. He didn’t know where he was, or what these people wanted, but he wasn’t about to get into a battle royale while wearing nothing more than breathable cotton. He began to run, unsure of where he was going or what may lay ahead of him. As he raced down the hallway, the klaxon shut off, and the only sounds he could hear were soles of his bare feet slapping against the floor as he ran and the growing din of his pursuers marching after him.
Steve turned a corner as he ran his frenzied marathon to an unknown destination. Suddenly a panel slid up in the wall and an arm snaked out as he ran past and grabbed him. With surprising force, Steve was yanked off his original course and into the orifice in the wall. The hidden door slid shut behind him. Steve looked at his captor in surprise. The person who had grabbed him was a beautiful young woman with long brown hair, full red lips, a generous figure, and warm brown eyes. She quickly put on hand over Steve’s mouth and a finger up to her lips with her free hand. Steve’s natural instinct was to question her, but he remained silent. Seconds later, he could hear the heavy boot-falls of his pursuers passing by the panel in the hallway outside.
Minutes passed, and although the outside hallway no longer echoed with the sounds of the hostile force, Steve and the woman waited in silence. Finally the woman removed her hand from Steve’s mouth. He let out a giant breath, unaware that he had been holding it. The woman spoke. “My name is Ruth.”
Questions reeled through Steve’s mind like a hurricane. Through the whirlwind, two broke free and escaped from his lips. “Where the hell am I? And for that matter, who were those people chasing me?”
“We could be here all day if I gave you full answers to those questions, but I’m afraid we don’t have that much time. Right now we have to get out of here. Once we do that, I’ll do my best to explain things if I can. For the moment you’ll just have to trust me and do what I say.”