Chapter 9 - Taken

20 February 2041 - Lyndhurst Hospital, City of Keri, Demeter

Previously on Hunter Markell

18 months had passed and nothing had changed. Sasha didn’t want to give up. One day as she arrived at the driveway entrance to the hospital, she saw a white van parked outside with the label MediVance. Then she saw Darron and Lashell watching as Hunter was wheeled onto the back of the van by LGH staff and two armed men.

A BMW led the procession out of the hospital and as they turned, three other similar vehicles came to life. One of them took a position at the front of the BMW while the others tailed the white van. Sasha didn’t know what was going on, but she felt as if she had missed her chance to say goodbye.

She stood there at the entrance to the driveway, tears flowing down her face as she watched the cars drive into the distance, taking Hunter with them.

***********

Collecting herself, Sasha leaned on the wall of the hospital driveway. She wanted to ask Lashell what happened but didn’t have the heart to do so. Catching her breath and eventually calming herself down, she wiped her tears and walked back the way she came.

‘I’ll make sure to speak to Lashell in the next coming days. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind having a catch up.’ she thought. Sasha and Lashell over the last 18 months had bonded closer than before. The incident brought Sasha extremely close with the Markell family and they too saw her dedication and obvious love for their son. What Sasha didn’t know, was that the Markells had decided to leave Demeter to journey to the Institute of Blades.

Deep in thought, Sasha isolated herself from the outside world as she waited for the next bus that will take her within walking distance of her home. She didn’t notice the silver sedan parked near the end of the street, nor did she notice the three men dressed in navy blue suits that were intent on watching her.

“Target in sight.” radioed the driver to some unknown. “Copy that. Moving in to acquire target.”. The driver then radioed another of his co-perpetrators. “Big Bad Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood is a go.”

Another man, this one wearing jeans, a sweatshirt and sunglasses crossed the road towards the bus stop where Sasha stood. Standing next to Sasha as if waiting for the bus, the man waited for the sedan to arrive. At this time in the afternoon, there were quite a few people walking in and out of the hospital and along the stretch of road. The vehicular traffic was relatively light however.

As the sedan stopped next to Sasha, she came to herself. She didn’t think anything of it. Suddenly, a hand covered her mouth with a cloth, rendering her unconscious. A passerby, seeing the clear intent to kidnap a young woman, rushed to help. One of the suited men stepped out of the car and shot him with a silenced weapon once, twice, three times. Two shots to the chest and one in the head.

Unceremoniously dumping Sasha in the back seat, the sedan drove off.

The evening news reported the story of a murder outside of the hospital. There was also a report of a kidnapping, although witnesses weren’t able to describe in detail the young woman that was taken.

“It happened so fast, I think everyone was shocked at the man being shot that no one really noticed the young woman afterwards.” said one bystander speaking to the news reporter on site. “There definitely was a young woman though. She was very pretty with long black hair but as I said after that the guy got shot down.”

**********

21 February 2041 - Blackford Residence, City of Keri, Demeter

The following morning, the Blackfords had simply thought that Sasha was staying over at a girlfriend’s the previous evening and figured Katherina was out gallivanting as usual. When they were unable to get hold of either of their daughters, they started to worry and panic.

Their fears were confirmed when none of their friends knew of their whereabouts. One friend told the Blackfords that her last message from Sasha was that she was on her way to Lyndhurst General Hospital. Another friend had said that Katherina’s last message was that she was on the way home.

The Blackfords were beside themselves with grief intermingled with confusion and anger. “Why isn’t there any ransom demands!?” the father asked the detective. “And why!? Why would they do this!?” he continued.

Fear that their daughters had been kidnapped to be sold into prostitution or worse raped and murdered had the Blackfords in extreme distress. A phone call made by the perpetrator earlier had demanded only one thing - keep away from the media, or Katherina and Sasha will be killed on video and shipped in pieces. They were then sent a picture of their daughters, tied and gagged but ‘safe’.

“Sir, are you aware of one Carl McKinsey?” asked the detective.

“Yes. Yes we are. Carl is a very good friend of my daughters. Why are you asking about him? Is he involved!?”

“Sir, I just got a call from my colleague. Carl McKinsey is also missing. He was due to meet his parents for dinner last night. The McKinsey’s last contact with him indicated he was on his way. That was already in the evening after the incident with your daughters.” said the detective, eyebrows furrowed.

“I don’t understand it. What’s going on?” whispered the mother.

“Sir, madam, we’ll need to know who your daughters are particularly close to and other known acquaintances. This officer here will take note of everything.” the detective gestured to an officer. “We’ll do everything we can to get to the bottom of this.”

**********

23 February 2041 - MediVance MV, Luminous City, Demeter

The lack of media coverage had kept the kidnappings of the Blackford sisters and McKinsey under wraps. Meanwhile, the police and a team of special investigators have been working on connecting the dots on every known person to have had any kind of relationship with the missing people.

“Detective Vanlith, I think I may have found something.” said a tech specialist, pulling up several files on a large screen. The files were of the car accident 18 months ago involving the three missing persons and one other student named Hunter Markell. It also detailed the Hunter’s condition and his latest admittance to MediVance three days ago.

“Have we tried getting hold of the Markells?” asked Alec Laux, Augustus Vanlith’s partner.

“Sir we have. The Markells have left the country and flight records show they are now back in the Empire of Nevrione. Sources at the LGH as well as their Nanny have confirmed that the same day they agreed to MediVance taking custody of Hunter, the family decided it was best to leave Demeter.

“Curious, now why would they do that…” Vanlith asked no one.

“We have spoken to a Doctor David Kenney at LGH who was present at the time of the signing. He said that one of the conditions that MediVance had included in the agreement was that the Markells will not be allowed to see their son until they either succeed or fail.” added the tech specialist.

“Harsh..” said Alec. “What are the other conditions?”

“Just that the Markells are also not allowed to discuss their son’s case with the media and that all medical files related to Hunter Markell will be retained by MediVance.” finished the tech specialist.

“Looking at these files and the vested interest MediVance has on Hunter Markell, I can’t help but feel it’s related to this incident 18 months ago.” pointed Vanlith at the file currently displayed on the screen. “These undisclosed medical supplies, do we know what they are?”

“No detective, there are no records available on the NET regarding the contents.” said another tech.

“Curious.. hm. Alec, let MediVance know we’ll be paying them a visit. If they block you, tell them about their possible involvement in a kidnapping and murder case.” said Vanlith.

An hour later, Augustus Vanlith and Alec Laux strolled through the main doors of MediVance MV. Flashing his badge at the reception, one of the young women smiled and said “Detectives Vanlith and Laux I presume. Please follow me, I will direct you to President Carrick’s office.”

The express elevator took 90 seconds to reach the 148th floor of the building. ‘God damn, what a view..’ thought Alec, as they were presented with the city wide view from nearly 2,000 feet up. Exiting the elevator, the young woman led them to the reception.

“Detectives Vanlith and Laux, here to see Mr. Carrick.” said the young woman to the receptionist. “I’ll take my leave here detectives. This gentleman will lead you the rest of the way.” bowed the young woman before departing.

“Detectives, please follow me.” said the gentleman, leading them to another elevator that took them up to the 150th floor.

***********

“Gentlemen, Weston Carrick, a pleasure.” said Carrick as he held out a hand to the detectives. “Please have a seat. So, what can I help you with?”

Shaking Carrick’s hand, the detectives took a seat. “First of all, we appreciate how you have been so cooperative so far. Not many in your position would pass up the opportunity to give guys like us a hard time.” said Vanlith.

“I don’t see how doing that would have helped either of us.” said Carrick. “I’m also not in the business of wasting time so I wouldn’t think of wasting yours.”

Vanlith nodded his appreciation. “We’re here with regards to Hunter Markell. More specifically, regarding his friends Sasha Blackford, Katherina Blackford and Carl McKinsey.”

“Mm. Yes. We know of them from the files. They recovered fully after the accident yet Hunter did not. But that is about the extent that we know of them.”

“Did you know they were missing?” asked Alec. Vanlith was studying Carrick’s reaction.

Carrick, having not known was visibly surprised. It wasn’t something that could be faked under Vanlith’s scrutiny. “Judging from your reaction this is news to you.” said Vanlith.

Eyebrows furrowed, Carrick asked “Are you able to share with me what happened?”

“We can do that much, provided you keep it out of the media.” said Vanlith. As Carrick nodded his agreement, Alec summarized the incident.

“Hmm.”. Carrick calculated how this could be of use. He decided to be upfront. It would be useful to have the authorities on his side. “I have a suspicion as to why, but I have no proof.” he started.

“Is that so? Please, do share.” said Alec.

“You’ve no doubt read Hunter’s file. While we haven’t managed to fully identify the medical supplies in the van, we have identified the anomaly as some kind of modified virus. My research team is working on it as we speak. They say that the construction is flawed, as if the person doing the modification didn’t have the knowledge to be tampering with it. We’re not sure how yet, but this is somehow preventing Hunter from awakening.” explained Carrick.

“Are you suggesting there is a possibility that we’re dealing with a possible biological attack?” asked Vanlith, now leaning forward, eyes piercing Carrick’s.

“The possibility, yes. This morning, the CEO of MediVance in Barad Tori informed me of several similar cases. I have already asked the board to convene an emergency meeting as soon as possible to ascertain if this is happening elsewhere in the world.”

“Holy shit…” whispered Alec. “But how do you think this ties to the kidnappings?”

“Four of them were in that accident. To an extent, they were all exposed yet three recovered.” said Carrick, leading them to their own conclusion.

“So whoever it is wanted them alive in order to figure out how they managed to fully recover….” Vanlith followed the trail.

Carrick nodded. “That’s what we think. However, until we have fully diagnosed this anomaly, this is just speculation on my part. So far it doesn’t seem contagious or particularly aggressive, so if this were an attack, we’re at a loss as to what the intended effect is supposed to be.”

Vanlith stood up. “Mr. Carrick, thank you for your time and I appreciate your cooperation. You’ve left us with much to think about and a new angle to approach the case.” he held out a hand to shake.

“No detective. I’m happy to help. I assume you will want to be informed of the findings on this anomaly?” said Carrick.

“Yes, that would be very helpful. Thank you.” answered Vanlith.

“I’ll inform my Head of R&D for Medicinal Advancement. His name is Erich Wyse. He is supervising the team responsible for this case. You can speak to him in future if you need help.”

Vanlith and Alec nodded their thanks and left the building.

Downstairs in the parking lot, Alec asked “Don’t you think he was a little too cooperative? I mean, most of the these types we’ve dealt with have been so stuck up. They always liked making us miserable.”

“I don’t doubt he has some vested interest in this case. However I feel he is being genuine. No matter what the media and NHO says about MediVance, they’ve always tried to put humanity’s advancement first regardless of what it cost them.” said Vanlith.

Perhaps he was a little biased, but MediVance was after all, responsible for saving his wife from a neurodegenerative disease. If it wasn’t for their technology, which the NHO battled against for years, his wife would have died.

“Don’t forget Alec, if we’re facing a biological attack, MediVance is the only real chance we’ve got to save the rest of us.” said Vanlith.

**********

23 February 2041 - Unknown Location, Demeter

Cold. Hungry. Terrified. Sasha Blackford had no idea where she was. When she woke, she was in a bare stone room with only a ceiling ventilation and no windows. 12 ft by 6 ft, the room literally was a shoebox. Ever since she was kidnapped three days ago, she had only had the bare minimum of food. A rectangular hole at the bottom of the door allowed a tray of food to pass through. It was usually stale, but was better than nothing.

Sasha found out she wasn’t alone shortly after she woke. She could hear a girl screaming incoherently. She recognized the voice as belonging to her sister Katherina. A third voice joined in, also familiar. It was Carl. Upon hearing familiar voices, Katherina’s screams subsided. The walls echoed with their conversation, trying to keep each other strong.

Today it was different. The door to Sasha’s cell unlocked and she instinctively withdrew to the furthest corner of the room. A woman entered, wearing a dirty white lab coat, a surgical mask hiding half her face and a white hair net holding her hair in place.

Two armed men in gray uniform and military boots wearing a black ski-mask approached Sasha. “No, no, no, no, please, no.” she pleaded.

“Take her up but don’t hurt her.” commanded the woman before leaving.

Minutes later, Sasha was forcibly strapped onto a surgical table. “Nooooo! Let me go! Fuck you! Let me gooo!” she struggled against the bindings. A man, dressed similarly in a dirty white lab coat, injected her with a clear white liquid.

“Hush now. This will help keep you calm.” he purred. Sasha’s struggle slowly ceased and she had a dazed look in her eyes.

**********

“Sasha!? Sasha! You bastards! Let my sister go! Sashaaaaa!” yelled Katherina through the iron door. She could hear Sasha screaming and crying. She could picture how her sister is struggling against her captors and she couldn’t do anything about it.

Minutes later, silence once again reigned supreme. “Carl? Carl are you there?” said Katherina.

“Y.. yeah.” croaked Carl. It seems that he had cried himself hoarse in the past couple of days.

“Carl, when they took you up there yesterday, what did they do to you?” she asked.

“I.. I don’t know. They stuck me with a needle to calm me down and before I knew it I was back here.”

“Carl… are we ever going to get out of here…?” she asked and the silence answered. Katherina slipped down the stone wall, hugging her knees in the pitch darkness.

She didn’t know how much time had passed. It could have been hours or it could have been far less than that. Katherina heard a door unlock and lock somewhere. She could only hope Sasha was alright.

“Sasha? Sasha are you there?” asked Katherina, willing her sister to give some indication she is alright. Sorrow and despair enveloped her when silence, once again replied.

**********

23 February - MediVance MV Level B5, Luminous City, Demeter

“I see you’re progressing well with the reconstruction Hunter.” praised Lara.

“Thanks. If it weren’t for your help I wouldn’t know how to begin Lara.”. The construction of Second Reality was still in the early stages, but Hunter had taken to it like fish to water. Lyndhurst Public School and the surrounding areas now resemble its real world counterpart, down to the smallest details. It was painstaking work and would not have been possible without Lara’s access to anything connected to the NET.

He now had access to various blueprints and camera angles, material types used as well as the different shades of colours. Everything was done to perfection. Lara uploaded these data to Hunter in bits and pieces to avoid overloading and causing his brain to go into severe shock. Hunter then examined, visualized and constructed the replicas using his mind to carve the details onto the white canvas.

As Hunter translated the images to reality in the white space, Lara in turn absorbed the information and translated it into programming code for the humans to use. It was a monumental task.

‘I hope everyone is doing well..’ Hunter thought. “Lara, since you’re connected to everywhere on the NET, is it possible for you to tell me what’s happening outside?”

“Of course. If they are within reach of anything that is connected to the NET, I can tell you whatever you wish.”

Hunter’s eyes widened. ‘Shit! Why didn’t I think of that earlier.. she had already mentioned that she was everywhere there is tech that is online.’ he berated himself. “Tell me about my family, Sasha, Katherina and Carl in that order.” said Hunter.

“Your family had left Demeter 3 days ago. They are now back in the Empire of Nevrione. The last known destination was the Ironwood Kingdom. Delving into your family relations, I can assume that they have entered the Institute of Blades. I’m afraid there aren’t many tech hardware online there, so I do not know more.

Sasha was taken 3 days ago by a group of unknowns. They entered the Plains of Bothua and headed for the Ash Mountains. I’m afraid there is a lack of tech development in that region of Demeter. What I can tell you is limited. The last transmission from Sasha’s mobile device was near Kinbaram.

Their hardware must also run locally, so unless they connect to the NET I will be unable to access any further information. Katherina and Carl have similarly been taken and likewise their mobile device last transmitted near Kinbaram. From the same results I received when locating Sasha, I can conclude that it is the same group of unknowns.”

Hunter was shocked. Firstly because he didn’t think his parents would ever go back to the Institute, let alone bring Arron and Darell with them. Now he’s trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his friends had been abducted and not even Lara could locate them.

‘What the fuck...’ he thought. Anger threatening to consume him. “What’s stopping you from locating them if they have their mobile devices? Can you not assist the authorities in locating them or something? Can’t you tell the guys here at MediVance?” he asked, frustrated.

“Aside from the lack of tech advancement in the region, it seems they have either deployed a device that blocks signals or they are very deep underground.

I cannot help the authorities Hunter. Erich Wyse and yourself are the only humans that are aware of what I am yet not even he knows that I am truly sentient, a God among AI’s if you will. Revealing myself at this stage will do more harm than good. For everyone.” explained Lara.

“God dammit! God dammit! What do I need to do to get the fuck out of here Lara?” raged Hunter.

“By completing Second Reality, I can help increase the speed at which the researchers find insight into this anomaly. I too am currently analyzing it. I feel we can help each other here Hunter. Your mind may be my chance to visit the real world.”

“Are you talking about possession? Because you can go fuck yourself.” he fumed.

“Not at all. However I feel there is a chance to modify the existing anomaly into a form of a transmitter that will allow me to piggyback off you. You would in return, be able to utilize some control over any tech, as I will always be with you.”

“I see. Still feels like I’m selling my soul.. or in this case my mind, to the devil. But I don’t think you mean harm..” he looked at Lara. “Let’s increase the pace. I need to get the hell out of here.”

“You will be exposed to extended periods of pain. This will greatly disturb your vitals and it will reflect on the human’s computers. If you wish, I can create false readings to indicate that everything is as is.”

“Fine. Do that. How much pain are we talking about here.” asked Hunter.

“The closest definition would be a migraine. Though in this case, it will be continuous and far more painful. It can break you Hunter. If your mind breaks, then it’s over for both you and me.” said Lara.

Gritting his teeth. He remembered his father words. “Act decisively. Strike if you decide to strike. Run if you decide to run. Do not tarry in between, it can be just as dangerous.” he quoted. “I need you to keep an eye on everything related my family and friends as well as this virus. Can you do that?”

“Done. I have some of my servants working on compiling the data.” said Lara, waiting for Hunter’s final decision.

Breathing in deeply, he said “Then let’s do it Lara.”.

Lara cupped his face in her hands and smiled, “Persevere Hunter.”

The pain exploded and his brain began to go into shock.

**********

Author’s Notes

-Harven