Day 1

Jessica Wildness a young twenty-two-year-old detective was investigating a murder.

She was the youngest of three children. Her Father was the chief of county police.

She had long red-hair with blue-grey eyes. She was fit and athletic.

Jessica had picked the lock and broken into the house of a suspect. She planned to plant a bug in the house.

Her handbag carried everything a detective might need. A lock picking kit, mace, camera in a mirror, fingerprinting kit appearing as powder for your nose, two tracking devices for a jacket pocket or car, and even spare batteries in her mascara, she had a taser and a Swiss army knife, a phone, flash drive in her lipstick, climbing line in the strap of her bag, a dog whistle, a red digital camera and a receiver for all her tech.

She was wearing a black long sleeve hoody with black pants and black flat boots, black gloves and a black t-shirt under the hoody. A high-tech watch and her small blue diamond earrings.

Shane West was the son of her suspect who didn’t live in town the thirty-year-old was working in the city but due to the shadow on his family he had taken personal leave to be with them. Shane was tall, dark and handsome, with green- blue eyes. The well -built doctor was in the house.

He had been sleeping from his long trip in and none of the lights were on. He walked out of his room and into Jessica. Her earrings glowed and then he was in the jungle with the burglar.

Jessica Wildness was feeling embarrassed as she looked at Shane West who was very good looking, she quickly blurted out,

“I suspect your father of killing or having had a man killed.”

He stared at her.

“Am I understanding you broke into my house because you think my father killed that man?”

“Well, when you put it like that it seems really stupid”.

She put on her biggest grin.

“Wow you are unbelievable; my father didn’t have anyone killed or kill anyone. Are you a cop? Coz I am going to have your badge!”

“Ummmmm” she began, “I’m a private investigator”.

“So, you break into someone’s home!” Shane was angry.

“Where are we?” Jessica asked realizing that breaking in was not her biggest problem right now.

They both looked around and either of them had any idea.

“How did we get here” Shane asked

It was the impossible question no one had yet asked out loud.

There was a flapping sound they looked up at an army of flying beasts with men ridding them. The beasts flew over them. The beasts didn’t seem to notice them. But one of the men did. He brought the beast down and spoke a language neither of them understood. They replied in English. But upon realizing they could communicate he gestured they join him on his flying beast.

Its body was like a lion but it had great wings and feathers instead of fur. Reluctantly they joined him on the great beast and whoosh! They were soaring in the air. They landed in a barracks in the mountains. The view from the beast was amazing, but neither of them recognized anything.

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Their ride was speaking with other men and seemed to be well respected. He led them to a room, it was small and had a pile of straw against the wall. There was a folded animal skin on top of it. He indicated they can sleep there.

“Sleep here?” Jessica squeaked,

“Where is the bed, or pillows?”

Shane thanked them.

“Be grateful they haven’t harmed you”. He growled.

He had a point. But what about lice and other creepy crawlies?

Shane and Jessica followed the man into a great hall. Where there were long wooden tables with marble tops and big wooden chairs. People were moving about all over the room. Some dressed in armor and others dressed in rags.

Some in lovely dresses. All the ladies wore skirts.

They looked at her in horror. Their host spoke to a woman who was dressed in rags and she bundled Jessica off and tried to get her to dress in damp smelly rags. The woman pleaded. Finally, Jessica put it over her clothes.

Shane had also received a change of clothes. He was dressed like one of the soldiers.

When Jessica joined Shane again at the table, he laughed under his breathe.

“Suits you” he said.

She glared at him. They were served a terrible brown soup. It smelt funny and tasted worse. But everyone seemed to love it.

Shane ate to be polite,

“Jessica” he hissed,

“Eat or you could offend our hosts.”

She ate, trying not to let her face show that she was grossed out by their food. There were sick people at the table and Shane asked if he could examine them. This was difficult as they didn’t understand each other, but their host allowed him to examine the boy.

Sounds like a lung infection maybe early pneumonia. But he used the Latin name the man was impressed. He started to speak some more in Latin but very fast. Shane indicated to slow down. He raked his brain and tried to make a sentence.

“This boy is sick in the lungs. I am a doctor/ healer in training”

He added as he wasn’t sure of their medicine or diseases so he didn’t want people to have false hope.

Shane introduced himself and Jessica to their host.

“I am Magofilies captain of the 5th troop of the skiopia people. This is what is left of my people. We are falling sick and dying and the queen has us trapped in the mountains.”

“The queen?” Shane asked,

“You don’t know the queen?” Mag said shocked,

“Then you should go back to where you came from as the queen does terrible things to new comers. You must take your wife back to a safe place”.

“My wife” Shane said looking at Jessica,

“She is not my wife she is a strong-willed stubborn woman who thinks my father murdered someone and then broke into our home.”

“So, she is now your slave?” Mag asked

“No!” Shane replied.

“Then why are you traveling with her?”

“Because we are both lost and until now, we hadn’t seen anyone else.”

“How can this be?” Mag asked

Shane added “We don’t know how to get home, so until then she is under my protection”

He said remembering some cultures women have no rights and unless they are with a man, they are free game. But he wondered if maybe it would serve her right to be unprotected. But it wasn’t who he was.

“You are a good man” Mag said.

“Where is your wife?” Shane asked Mag.

“She died of the illness” he said sadly.

“It has been many moons. Can you heal my men and slaves?” Mag asked.

“I can try.” Shane said.

“You must not tell people you are not from here. They may try to do you harm. I shall tell everyone that you are Jessica’s brother who is taking her across the land back to your father’s house as your sister is now a widow.”

“Why a widow?” Shane asked.

“Because she wears the sign of being married.” Mag said as a matter of fact.

“What sign” Shane asked seeing Jessica wasn’t wearing any rings.

“Her ears, she wears earrings.” Mag said

“Do your people not put earrings in your wives?” He asked.

“No” Shane said “We put a ring on this finger” he said pointing to his left-hand ring finger.

Mag nodded understandingly.

Jessica got impatient listening to the men speak she wanted to know what was happening. Was Shane going to leave her or are they prisoners or worse?

“Ummm” she interrupted,

“What’s going on?”

“It’s rude to interrupt,” Shane said.

“It’s rude to speak a language that not everyone can understand.”

“Please forgive her where we come from women have equal rights.” He told Mag.

He gave Jessica a paraphrased version and reassured her that he wasn’t going to leave her. But she was going to have to try and fit in and be helpful.

“For now, you will be helping me tend to the sick.”

She pulled a face.

Shane said to Mag

“I will need a room to see the sick in, and Jessica can help me.”

Mag took them to a dusty room with a desk. It had a thick layer of dust on it and it smelt dusty. “Can this be cleaned” Shane asked,

“The man wiped the dust off with his hand,” he seemed offended.

“Where I am from,” Shane began,

“We discovered that a clean place helps people get better quicker.”

His face brightened up,

“What do you need to clean the room?” Mag asked

“Something to sweep the dust out and rags to wipe everything with.”

Mag left them to find cleaning things.

“These people are possibly sick from bad hygiene.” Shane said.

“We need this room sterile” he added.

“Ok” Jessica sighed.

She bundled some straw together and began to sweep all the dust into a pile near the door. It was a big pile. Shane did the same. The moth-eaten curtains were taken down and used to wipe things down.

It seemed like hours before someone finally came to them. The lady said nothing and gave them a candle. She gestured that they must go to sleep. Tired they went to their room. It was as bad as when they had left it.

However, Jessica didn’t complain, she put on an attitude when she was scared but now, she was too tired and sore to complain. She lay on the straw and put the animal skin over her. Shane lay on the stone floor.

“Don’t be silly” she said,

“Join me, plus this room is cold.”

So, Shane joined her thinking ‘one nice thing doesn’t make up for anything.’

He hoped they would awake up at home.