BDCEMF - Chapter Three

3

It was getting colder, Jeff noticed. Being used to the constant high temperatures of the Welsh Desert Plains, Jeff couldn’t stand the cooler climate of the inner cities. He was walking down one of the side streets off the main thoroughfare, hoping the narrow road would offer more shelter from the bitingly cold wind. Jeff was still thinking about the scene he had just witnessed, replaying the event over and over in his head, and wishing he could have done more to stop the brutal murder.

‘For fucks sake’ he thought ‘A 714/A is just littering. He didn’t deserve the death penalty for that. Then again, he shouldn’t have run....’

Jeff quickly stopped himself from travelling down that train of thought. It was that type of sentiment that had led to the easy capitulation of New Britain just after the Mishap. Jeff’s minds eye portrayed images of the world during the Mishap. How everything had changed, the shining hope of the future brought to its knees by one single event, one stupid mistake.

Jeff, busy with his thoughts, didn’t notice the group of men skulking behind him until it was too late....too late to stop himself from being knocked unconscious by a blow to the head. Everything went black.

***********************

Jeff slowly became aware of a conversation being held above him.

‘...ouldn’t have brought him here! For all we know he’s a CID!’

‘Don’t be so stupid Nathan; you saw what type of man he is! He practically ran out of the bar as soon as he could!’

‘Who wouldn’t want to get out of there?! I know I’ve never seen you acting chummy around Guardsmen Sam!’

Jeff’s head was wracked with pain. He tried to move his hands to check for any lumps or blood but found they were bound behind his back. He opened his eyes to survey where the hell he was. He was bound to a metal chair in a dingy looking room, with stained, cracked walls and bare floorboards. A lone light bulb swung overhead, with no shade to cover it. In front of him was a wooden door with a round handle and a large lock that looked brand new.
The voices, raised in argument, were coming from the other side of the door.

‘Listen Nathan, I am sick of your attitude at the moment. I know you’re scared, fuck, we’re ALL scared! And we have been since the Mishap.’ The voice Jeff identified as Sam lowered ‘But this man may be the one we’ve been looking for. He can help, I just know it.’

‘Fine!’ said Nathan ‘On your own head be it! He’s your responsibility, he fucks us over, and it won’t go easy for you.’
Jeff heard Nathan walking away and slamming a door behind him. Testing his bindings, Jeff soon realised that he was here for the duration. The chair was sturdily bolted to the floor and the small grubby window was barred. Jeff resigned himself to waiting patiently for his captors to check on him. His thoughts whirled, and not just from the possible concussion.

The usual thoughts of Why, What, How & Where ran through his mind until he eventually gave up, knowing that he didn’t have anything to go on, other than the sparse surroundings and two names. Nathan & Sam.

‘Who? seemed to be the most important question here,’ Jeff mused ‘they must have been in the bar, but there was no-one else there other than the barman and the...’
Then it hit him. His captors must be the members of the Nova Order. The robe-clad members of some cult-like new religion had kidnapped him. Now Jeff just had to wait to find out why.

He didn’t have to wait long. He heard a large key being placed into the lock of the door, and it swung open smoothly. In the entranceway stood a tall, red-haired woman, clad in dusty blue jeans and a smudged cream top.

‘Ah, awake at last. Glad to see you weren’t out for too long.’ said the woman ‘My name is Sam. I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you but I don’t think the greeting would be reciprocated’

Jeff’s mouth dropped open. Partly at the sheer audacity of this woman coming across so friendly, but partly for how beautiful she was. It was strangely hypnotic, the way she walked closer to him. Even though the metal bindings were beginning to chafe Jeff’s wrists, even though his head still felt like it was trapped in a vice, Jeff could not help but stare at her blankly.

‘Hey! Up here!’ said Sam, clicking her fingers to wake Jeff from his daze.

Jeff looked up groggily into Sam’s face. His eyes were watering from the proximity of such a vision of beauty. He squinted to try and bring her face back into focus, his concussion beginning to affect him more.

‘Now listen to me...Jeff’ said Sam reading his name from the engraving on his ID Cuff, ‘...and listen closely. You are in one of the Chapter Houses of the Nova Order. You were brought here under my orders and for a damn good reason. But more about that later; right now I need to make sure you are who you appear to be’

Sam walked behind Jeff and retrieved a small dark wooden box with a brass clasp lock on the front. On top of the box was an embossed symbol that Jeff recognised as the embroidered symbol the members of the Nova Order wear on their robes. Sam undid the lock and lifted the lid. Inside the box was a smooth metallic orb, smaller than the ones Jeff had seen accompany the Guardsman in the bar earlier that day.

Sam also retrieved a small keypad with which to control the orb and placed the box to one side. With a press of a small crystalline button, Sam brought the orb to life. It floated serenely in the air in front of Sam, who manipulated the controls to send it gently over to Jeff’s cuffed wrists. A scanning laser shone from a hidden orifice and swept across the brushed metal barcode on the ID Cuff. A few seconds later, the orb returned to its box and nestled into the cut foam interior.

Sam walked back in front of Jeff, perusing the personal information that had appeared on the LCD screen of the keypad.

‘So... Jeff Talbot, aged 32, has been working in the Oilfields of the Welsh Desert Plains for 2 years. Prior to the Mishap, you worked as a Roustabout on oil rigs around the world. Guess you have oil in your blood huh?’ she asked Jeff, to which he merely shrugged
‘Nice photo by the way. Guess there’s not a lot to smile about these days.’ Sam sighed.

She looked Jeff up and down, noticing how the light was tenderly reflected from his dark, smooth skin. Placing the keypad down on a nearby table, Sam pulled up a chair in front of Jeff and sat astride it, resting her elbows on the low backrest. She swept the hair back from her forehead, and Jeff noticed that even in this cool climate, she had a sheen of sweat on her face.

‘Listen,’ said Sam, interrupting Jeff’s thoughts about how she would look with a sweat driven out of exertion rather than warmth.
‘I’m sorry we had to bring you here like we did. It was a nasty thing and goes against our main tenets, but it was necessary. You see, we have a favour to ask of you.’