The man stumbles and looks at the people who are holding him by his arms. He then slurs, “Hi, I’m Alex, who’re you?” When there is no reply he continues. “Are you from the cult that’s got my mom? You do know I’m truly good at dodging cultists, don’t you?”

The man holding Alex’s right arm grimaces and glances over to the woman who was holding the left. “Just remember this was your bright idea. We should have just stuck to women.”

“Sam, we’re one short of our quota and we didn’t have time to find anyone else. Anyway, he made the testing crystal flash brightly, more than anyone else.” She retorts.

Alex suddenly blurts. “Why’s it so dark?” He then looks around bewildered. “Where’s everyone gone?”

“Well Yana, I don’t like it as this could get us both killed. And why is he still conscious?” Sam growls.

“I don’t know why! I’ve slapped a knock-out patch on him, but it didn’t work.”

Alex’s gaze locks on a ramp directly in front of him. “Why’s there a ramp here that goes nowhere?”

“Well slap another on then!” Sam snaps back.

“You know I can’t do that. He’s already had a roofie as well as the patch. If I do another it might kill him. Then we’ll definitely be one short.”

Suddenly there is a flash of light and a loud crackling sound, then a huge circular hole appears in the wall in front of the ramp. Alex cries out, “What’s that awful smell? It’s like burning wire and chlorine. It’s disgusting!”

Two figures emerge from the hole in the wall, pulling a metal plate, which they connect to the ramp. Four more figures appear out of the hole and each carries a folded wheelchair. They place the chairs on the ground once they clear the ramp. Then they all disappear into the darkness behind the trio.

“Yana, this had better work out,” Sam mutters.

A final figure emerges from the hole, looks around, and focuses on the trio. The figure walks over and it becomes apparent that it’s a man wearing some form of combat armor. He stops facing them and folds his arms. “What are you doing with this male?”

Yana glances at Sam then forces a smile. “Master Syllen, always a pleasure to meet you. I felt it opportune to bring you this remarkable commodity for your consideration. This man has shown exceptional results with the testing crystal.” Master Syllen looks disdainfully at Alex and sneers.

Alex abruptly blurts. “I don’t believe it! You look like a classic elf from an anime. Well, except for the teeth.”

Master Syllen lashes out with his fist, making contact with Alex’s jaw. Alex’s head snaps to the side and he slumps. Yana grunts in surprise, as she tries to keep the now unconscious Alex upright.

The figures start returning from the darkness, three with wheelchairs that contain hunched over women and two are carrying a crate. They are moving rapidly towards the hole when one of the figures breaks away from the group and approaches Master Syllen and bows. “Taraes, saesi eisi olia si. Shar pai o shor sai pai?”

Master Syllen frowns and responds. “Saji sor oli.” The man bows again and quickly goes to the stack of wheelchairs; he picks one up and returns. He moves behind the trio and snaps the wheelchair open, then he grabs Alex’s collar and pulls him backwards. Yana and Sam twist to lower the unconscious Alex, and when he is in the wheelchair they step back as he is wheeled over to the hole in the wall.

Master Syllen turns to Yana and Sam. “I require six at the next tenday.”

Yana’s eyes widen in surprise. “Six is going to be very difficult, Master Syllen. We’ve had problems getting these four due to the increased police presence. It's getting really risky since the feds showed up investigating the disappearances.”

“That is not my concern. You will be paid double for your trouble.” Master Syllen retorts as he throws a pouch to Yana, who catches it. “Don’t disappoint me again.” He then turns and walks back through the hole, which promptly flashes and disappears with a clap.

Yana turns to Sam with a smile. “Told you it would be alright.”

“I don’t like it. Six is too many.”

“We’ll just move to another city. It’s getting too hot here anyway,” She approaches the wall where the hole had been and looks at a glowing metal sphere, the size of a soccer ball, sat on the ground. She reaches out and touches its surface. “I can’t get over that this creates a hole to another place.” She then bends down to the ground and touches a small gem embedded in the top, then the sphere flashes and goes dark.

“That there is some freaky tech. I don’t get why they trust us with it.”

“I heard that the last person who tried to sell it disappeared. Along with virtually everyone they knew. I just plan to make a load of money, then dump it in a lake somewhere, and vanish. Now, can you get it for me?”

“Sure,” Sam replies as he walks over and picks the metal sphere up. “This thing only weighs about five kilos, you could pick this up yourself you know.”

“Why would I do that when I have a big strong man? Now come on, load those wheelchairs in the van and let’s get out of here.”

***

Alex awakens on a cold floor feeling confused, aching all over, and with his stomach churning. He licks his dry lips, and then groaning closes his eyes again. When he feels his stomach settle, he opens his eyes and looks around without moving his head. Frowning, he eventually lifts his head to briefly look down at his body and groans again when he sees he’s naked.

After a while, he pushes himself up into a sitting position to better look around. He’s in a plain white room with smooth walls, there’s a deep shelf at waist height along one side, which he suspects is for sleeping on. There is a door inset in a black wall that appears to be made of a different material than the rest of the room. As he continues to gaze around, he discerns a hole in the far corner with a nozzle embedded in the wall behind it.

He takes a deep breath and raises a hand to rub his face and then stops, whilst he gazes at his arm. He moves his head to stare down at his legs; he notices that there is no hair visible. He rubs his chin and confirms there is no stubble. With a sigh, he then brushes his hand across the top of his head and again finds no hair. “That’s just great,” he mutters.

Alex suddenly lurches to his feet and moves rapidly to the hole in the corner. He leans over and retches a few times before finally vomiting. This continues until his stomach is empty, then he slumps against the wall, exhausted. Abruptly water squirts from the nozzle in the wall, dousing the hole. He quickly stands and cups his hands to catch the fast-flowing water, then drinks deeply before sitting down again. Shortly after his head slowly slumps forward as he falls asleep.

Alex jolts awake when the door bangs open and two men appear. The men are tall and bulky in matt black armor, wearing full-face helmets with black glass. The armor consists of five different pieces, one for each limb, and the torso. They are also carrying thick batons that are half a meter in length.

Alex looks at them blearily as they enter, “Who are you?”

The first man growls. “O myr caer eil myrn vaeraes.”

Alex slowly shakes his head. “What’d you say? Where am I?”

The man strides over, whilst the second remains by the door. “Mal o mes.”

Alex furrows his brow. “I’m sorry I can’t hear you clearly. Who did you say you are?”

The man steps forward and prods Alex in the shoulder with his baton. Alex hears a buzz and feels a burst of intense pain as his entire body stiffens, and then he loses all motor skills. He tries to open his mouth to scream, but no sound emerges. However, he is completely cognizant of what is going on, it’s the strangest feeling.

The man takes a step back, “Tysti ol, tyli.”

Alex takes a shuddering breath as feeling suddenly returns to his limbs, which are now stinging. He holds up his hand, “Okay, take it easy.” Then commences shakily standing up.

The man waves the baton towards the door and shouts. “O car shaeraes kaer ei tyli ol.”

Alex holds up both hands in a placating manner. “Okay. I can’t understand a word your saying.” The man raises his baton again and takes a step forward. “Okay, okay, I’m going,” Alex says as he quickly shuffles around the man trying to keep his distance, whilst edging towards the door.

The second guard grabs Alex unexpectedly from behind and pulls him backwards. The second guard shouts to the first. “O eisi kaerol mys. Ber kar cos eil jhaer’r kaer sor olaes shor.”

The first guard grabs Alex’s arm, whilst the second grips his neck from behind. The guards then drag Alex roughly towards the door. “I’ll come peacefully. There’s no need for violence.” Alex exclaims.

As soon as they clear the door, two more guards jump on Alex, causing him to fall headfirst into the wall and bust his head open. He feels the blood pouring down the side of his head, which rapidly covers his face, obscuring his view. He then collapses as his legs fold, stunned.

“Kaer cor jhael.” Shouts the second man, as he grabs Alex’s other arm. The two new men quickly grasp Alex’s knees and lift him off the floor. The four men then manhandle him down the corridor, dripping blood on the floor, whilst he tries to focus.

Alex, who is only semi-conscious, is carried down dark corridors. They emerge into a large courtyard with formal beds of blooming flowers around its boundaries. The men carrying Alex move towards a heavy high backed chair positioned in the middle of the courtyard. Master Syllen and a second Elven man are standing in front of the chair, next to a one-meter tall pedestal that holds a crystal.

Master Syllen calls to the four, “Por o cali sai pastandri si taesalori?”

One of the men carrying Alex shouts back, “Ci vaeroraer.” The men then shove the dazed Alex into the chair and restrain his head, limbs, and torso before stepping well back. Master Syllen extends his hand toward Alex, which briefly pulses with blue light, before a jet of water erupts, hitting Alex in the face causing him to splutter.

Alex shakes his head before gazing around. “Who are you guys? And where am I?” When no one answers he pleads, “Answer me! What am I doing here?” Master Syllen nods to the man next to him who taps on the device he is holding. The crystal on the pedestal begins to hum and the arms of the chair glow red. Alex looks down and notices that in the red glow there are designs carved into the chair. They were unlike anything he has ever seen before.

The hum and the glow began to intensify as Alex starts to feel his arms tingle. “What are you doing?” He calls. There is a loud snap and Alex finds he can no longer move his hands or arms, then small blue arcs of lightning flicker from his fingers, into the chair. He glances at the two figures by the pedestal and notices the crystal begins to dimly glow. Then he screams as he feels as if his entire body is being set on fire. He thrashes in the chair, trying to arch his back and lift his arms for the next few minutes until he falls unconscious.

Master Syllen, looks at the brightly glowing crystal, then turns towards the man next to him and speaks in Elven, “What are the results?”

The man is looking at the device in his hand and responds in the same language. “They are outstanding. His prana generation rate is two hundred and seventy-five and his prana output capacity is six hundred and eighty-seven. He of course has no core, so there is no prana volume. His pain tolerance is acceptable.”

“Good. Take him directly to the lab and complete the core procedure.”

“It’s a little early for the procedure, don’t you think? He will need to complete at least the tenday preparation or he may not survive.”

“I don’t have time to wait. He has been thoroughly examined by the lab team and they are confident it will be successful. You will complete the procedure today, is that understood?”

The man bowed to Master Syllen. “It will be done as you request. May I know why it’s so urgent?”

“You may not. Just let me know when he is ready for the next stage.”