Rune
This cell wouldn't hold me for long. Already I had caused a dent in the door. My knuckles were bloody, my body drenched in sweat, but I kept hitting the metal door. I had to get to my mate. She was out there, alone, without me to protect her. So I punched and punched, painting the silver blue with my blood. Art made of sorrow, despair and pain.
The pain I felt in my hands was nothing compared to the pain in my heart. It even eclipsed my burning mating axe. My body hadn't realised yet that I may never make use of that mating axe. No, I wouldn't let that happen. I had to get to her. Find Laurel. Claim her. Make her mine. Protect her from anyone who'd try to harm us.
My mind was getting foggier. Pieces of broken memories drifted in the darkness. It was hard to make sense of them. What exactly had happened? Where had my mate gone?
It didn't matter. I had to get to her.
Punch.
I howled with pain and anger. I'd get through this door. I'd do it for my mate.
Punch.
She was waiting out there, somewhere. She was relying on me to find her. The pain didn't matter.
Punch.
Crack.
I felt my bones break. And I kept attacking the door, that piece of skitr separating me from my Laurel.
I didn't notice the fog until it was too late. I breathed it in, thick white mist streaming from hidden vents. My mind turned as white as the fog. My legs buckled underneath me and I collapsed to the floor. Only half conscious, I clawed at the door, but it was too far away, too far...
Laurel
I had to admit that the Scottish Highlands were beautiful even in the rain. We'd had drizzle, heavy downpour and windswept bursts of rain on our drive north. I bet they had Gaelic words for all those kinds of rain. When we finally passed through the tiny town of Kingussie, the clouds parted to let a few rays of sunshine poke through. For some reason, I wanted to cry at the sight.
I'd been close to tears ever since I'd woken up from my restless sleep. I was probably getting my period. It made sense considering my breasts felt heavy and I couldn't satisfy that throbbing need. I'd tried to bring myself to climax in the bathroom, but for the first time in my life, I'd been unsuccessful. It was frustrating.
"Now we head further north until we get to Loch Gynack," Jenna announced cheerfully. She was driving after we'd switched seats about an hour ago. Driving had distracted me somewhat from the emotional uproar inside of me, but it had returned with a vengeance as soon as Jenna had taken over. Every time I closed my eyes, Rune's face flashed in front of me. I was craving him. I wanted to know what he was doing. I wanted to touch him again. Feel his arms around me once more.
It was ridiculous. I didn't want to feel any of that. I just wanted to forget about him and get on with my life. Get the evidence we needed, celebrate my success, hopefully get a pay rise or a better job offer from another paper or magazine, then move on to the next story.
But he wouldn't disappear. By the time we spied a huge manor house in the distance, I was ready to cut off my own head just to make the thoughts stop.
"That must be it. I'll park here so they don't spot us, then we can approach on foot." Jenna sounded very excited. I gave her a tired smile and grabbed the binoculars we'd bought before leaving Glasgow. The intern had also brought a camera with a massive telephoto lens, which should help us in getting our evidence without the aliens ever being aware of us. If this was the house they stayed in.
We sneaked through a pretty forest, with ancient birches and beeches witnessing our approach. Moss covered the ground, slippery from the rain. Jenna slipped on a tree root once but caught herself just in time. I was glad for my alien-made shoes. They seemed entirely waterproof and the soles gave me perfect grip even on the most slippery roots.
Both of us were drenched by the time we reached the clearing. I felt reminded of yesterday, when I'd been just as cold and wet. I couldn't wait to be back in my cosy flat in London. It was tiny, but at least it didn't rain in there. And maybe being back in my usual routine would take my mind off Rune.
We found a spot that gave us a good view of the manor, while at the same time we were being concealed by bushes. Hopefully, the aliens didn't have any surveillance technology that would alert them to our presence.
I scanned the manor with the binoculars. It was an old building, but well looked after. The gravel surrounding the house was clean, the gardens tended to. Someone clearly lived here, or at least took care of the estate. That was a promising sign. I looked at the windows, hoping to see a glimpse of a Vikingr, but there was no movement. Jenna wasn't having any more luck.
After a while, both of us began to shiver. The rain had turned heavier again, drenching all memory of the sun. We were miserable.
"Should we check out the other building?" Jenna asked at some point, voicing my own thoughts."
"Yes. We can always come back here later, if the second place turns out to be abandoned."
By the time we stumbled out of the forest, I was close to giving up. Why hadn't I thought of the technology the Vikingar had access to? Surely, they wouldn't let anyone approach the house they lived in. Maybe they had some sort of deceptive tech that would hide them from view. After what I'd seen on the spaceship, I could imagine anything. I'd been beamed up there, for fuck's sake. I should have anticipated that they wouldn't want a random walker to come across their home.
Our last hope was the other house, a fifteen minute drive from here. Jenna wasn't in the best mood either, so I drove while she muttered about what a mistake it had been listening to me and how she'd much prefer to be back in our London office. I agreed with almost everything she said, except that I had to find the aliens. I needed proof. Nicole hadn't believed me, and she'd known me for years. How would anyone else trust my story?
This time, we were even more careful in our approach, leaving the car a mile down the road before proceeding on foot. Jenna complained every minute or two, until I was ready to throttle her. Without forest cover, we were exposed. Gorse and heather grew along the road, but I didn't really want to get scratched by the prickly gorse. So we stayed on the road, hoping to find a footpath that would get us closer to the house without being seen.
No such luck. The house came into view, an imposing mansion with turrets and an iron-wrought entrance gate. A high fence surrounded it, separating it from the gorgeous scenery around it. Rolling hills as far as the eye could see, with some of them so high their summits were wrapped in clouds. For a moment, I understood why people would want to live in such a rainy country. The rain certainly made everything green. Every shade of green met the grey of the sky.
Not a blue sky like the colour of Rune's eyes. Ugh, I was thinking of him again. I had to get him out of my system.
"Let's stay here for a bit and see if we can spot anyone with the binoculars. If not, we can walk once around the fence."
Jenna didn't look happy, but she pulled out her camera again and got into position a few yards away from the road. We stood there for at least half an hour, scanning the windows for any sign of movement. The wind was picking up, making us shiver in our wet clothes. I persisted for as long as I could, but when my teeth began to chatter, I decided it was time to move a bit. Maybe we'd be luckier on the other side of the mansion.
But luck wasn't on our side. With darkness fast approaching, we had to concede defeat. I was glad Jenna didn't say anything. Facing Nicole in London would be bad enough. It was time to look for a new job.