The hour was still draped in twilight when the first sounds pierced the tranquil cocoon of Jeremy and Laura’s slumber. A distant clattering reverberated through the house, like thunder rolling across an ominous sky. Jeremy stirred, feeling a creeping unease crawl up his spine. He blinked, trying to shake off the remnants of the dream - the haunting visage of The Black Queen fading into the shadows of his mind.
Just as he reached for Laura, a shattering crash echoed from the living room, followed by hurried footsteps that thudded against the wooden floorboards. His heart raced; instincts honed from years of watching thrillers on late-night television kicked in. Something was wrong.
Laura’s eyes fluttered open, wide and terrified. “What was that?” she whispered.
Before he could respond, the bedroom door burst open with a force that sent it crashing against the wall. A group of fierce men surged into the room like a dark wave, faces obscured by balaclavas and eyes glinting with cold intent. They moved with the precision of a well-rehearsed dance, converging on the couple with an unsettling efficiency that sent Jeremy’s heart plummeting into his stomach.
“Get out of bed!” one of them barked, his voice hoarse and commanding. The man gestured wildly, revealing the gleam of a weapon tucked beneath his jacket. Panic ignited in Jeremy’s veins as he threw himself over Laura, shielding her with his body.
“Don’t you dare touch her!” he shouted, adrenaline surging through him as he glanced around for anything to fend off the attackers. The room felt small and suffocating under their sudden presence, the walls echoing with an impending sense of chaos.
But the masked men were relentless. Two surged forward, grabbing Jeremy by the arms and dragging him away from Laura with an authority that left no room for argument.
“You’ve been messing around with things that don’t concern you,” another man growled, pointing a revolver straight at Laura’s head. “You’re coming with us now! Try to resist and it will not end well for you.”
With Jeremy powerless, Laura got up and said, “Leave him alone! He’s got nothing to do with this,” but the assailant disagreed.
His eyes narrowed, revealing a flicker of something dark and predatory that sent a chill through the room.
“If that were true, we wouldn’t have caught you sharing a bed. No, Miss Hawthorne. Everything you’re involved in leads back to him too,” the second masked man sneered, tightening his grip on the weapon as if it were an extension of his own malevolence. The shadows in the room seemed to converge around them.
“Laura,” Jeremy’s voice was strained, a desperate plea tucked within those two syllables. He struggled against the iron grip of his captors, panic clawing at his throat. “Don’t…”
“Shut up!” A third man barked, his breath hot as he slammed Jeremy back onto the bed. “You’re not in charge around here. You’ll do as you’re told. Put some clothes on and let’s go. The boss is waiting.”
“The boss?” Jeremy muttered.
“That bitch you had dinner with… Who else?” Laura retorted. “Forgive me, Jeremy. This is all on me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive. You were right and I was wrong. There’s a bloody conspiracy going on here!”
“Enough!” the lead assailant snarled, his patience fraying at the edges. “Get dressed, now!”
With trembling hands, Jeremy and Laura exchanged a look that spoke volumes - fear, confusion, and an unyielding determination to protect one another. There was no time for questions. They had to comply even if every fiber of their being screamed to fight back.
As they threw on some clothes, Jeremy’s mind was in turmoil - a chaotic swirl of thoughts battling against the primal urge to escape. He felt exposed, both physically and metaphorically; the very foundations of their lives were crumbling beneath them. He caught a glance of Laura - the way her brow furrowed in concentration, her fingers fastening her jeans despite the tremors that coursed through her body. It ignited a flicker of hope within him. They would get out of this together.
Just as they finished getting dressed, a sudden commotion erupted outside, a cacophony of voices rising in alarm. The men exchanged glances, their expressions hardening with annoyance, and for a fleeting moment, Jeremy felt the grip of fate shifting.
“Get moving!” the masked leader commanded. “We don’t have time for this.”
They were dragging Jeremy toward the door when the unmistakable sound of heavy footsteps approached from the hallway. A neighbor’s voice filtered through the chaos, muffled but clear, calling out to him with concern. Panic spread like wildfire among the intruders, their confidence wavering for just a second.
“Knock him out,” said the leader to the second in command. “and let’s get the fuck out of here!”
Before the command could echo in the stillness of the room, Jeremy’s heart raced as reality blurred into an instinctive haze. He seized the moment, shifting his weight and twisting away from his captor’s grip. The sudden movement caught him off guard, and Jeremy didn’t hold back. He punched the first man in the jaw and glanced at Laura again, their eyes locking in silent determination.
“Get down!” he shouted just as the second man swung his fist at him. The blow missed its target by a hair’s breadth, and Jeremy rolled to shield Laura from any further strikes. He hit the second man with a furious kick in the shin, but it only made him mad.
They were outnumbered and time was slipping away like sand through fingers. Jeremy screamed in pain as the assailant he had just struck lowered his booted foot onto his groin to inflict as much damage as possible. A heavy thud was heard outside the room and the sound of concerned footsteps was no more.
Gasping in pain, Jeremy was dragged out of the house, with Laura behind him. They walked past the knocked out neighbor and were led downstairs to the parking lot where an unmarked black van was waiting for them. The vehicle loomed ominously, its dark windows reflecting the dim glow of the surroundings, as if it were a predator waiting for its prey. 
The second assailant pushed him inside the van, causing him to stumble and scrape his shoulder against the cold metal. Laura was forced in behind him, her eyes wide. The interior smelled of leather and something metallic, like blood or sweat. It was stifling inside, all angles and edges, a prison waiting to swallow them whole.
The lead man climbed in after them, followed by the other two who lingered outside for just a moment longer, scanning the parking lot as if expecting an ambush from every shadow.
The moment the door slammed shut, they were plunged into darkness save for a flickering overhead light that buzzed with irritation. Laura grimaced as she felt the cold metal pressing against her back. They were wedged in, knees knocking together.
“Drive!” the leader barked at the driver, who remained obscured in the darkness of the van’s cab. “We’ve wasted too much time with this shit already!”
As they sped away from the crime scene, a blur of streetlights and buildings passed them by. Jeremy’s heart thumped in his chest, echoing the frantic rhythm of the tires racing over cracked asphalt. Each bump in the road sent jolts of pain through his body, but he forced himself to focus on Laura beside him, her breath shaky yet steadying. The sound of their captors arguing above them faded into an indistinct murmur as Jeremy slipped into a mental cocoon, wrapping himself in thoughts of escape. 
“Don’t panic,” he whispered to Laura, though he could hear the tremor in his own voice. “We’ll find a way out of this.”
“I’m not worried,” she nodded, her gaze fierce despite the terror swirling around them. They were alive, and that was enough for now.
Outside the van, city lights morphed into streaks of color as they veered through alleys and side streets with reckless speed. Wherever they were taking them, they were making sure to avoid all main pathways to escape the traffic cameras’ detection. 
The driver made a sharp turn, tires screeching against asphalt, and Jeremy could hear distant sirens beginning to wail. However, they weren’t after them and faded into the background answering another call for justice. He clenched his fist behind his back, still reeling from the pain applied to his genitals. He would get his revenge but until then, they needed to be patient, and see what dangers waited for them at the end of the road.
Time ebbed and flowed in the confines of the van, each moment stretching for longer than it should. Laura leaned against Jeremy, seeking comfort from the warmth of his presence despite their dire circumstances. The hum of the engine was a relentless reminder of their captivity, vibrating through the metal shell that surrounded them.
The driver maneuvered the vehicle with ease, as if he had made this journey countless times before. It was a long and monotonous trek, and, after a while, they both stopped paying attention to what surrounded them. Laura dozed off while Jeremy struggled to keep his eyes open. 
Suddenly, there was a jolt, and they were thrown against one another as the van hit a pothole hard enough to rattle their bones.
“Watch where the fuck you’re going!” the leader of the group screamed, still upset. The operation hadn’t gone as smoothly as he hoped for, and the boss hated unforeseen circumstances. Still, they had secured the targets. Whatever happened next was out of his hands.
About twenty minutes later, the van stopped. The engine sputtered into silence, leaving an eerie stillness in the air. Jeremy pressed his ear against the sharp metal as he tried to hear anything coming from the outside. The weight of anxiety pressed on him, but he could sense the vastness beyond - an emptiness that was palpable. 
“Where are we?” he thought.
The door swung open with a shuddering creak, and a gust of damp air rushed in, bringing with it the scent of decaying leaves and something acrid that stung his nostrils. A dim light spilled in, illuminating the masked features of their captors. They were silhouetted against a backdrop of towering trees, their gnarled branches twisting into grotesque shapes under the pale light of the morning sun.
“Get out!” the leader ordered, and with no choice left, Jeremy and Laura stumbled forward into the wilderness.
They were no longer in the city, but in a secluded area that could pass off as another world. An expanse of shadowed woods stretched before them, thick and tangled, as if nature itself conspired to keep their secrets hidden away.
The lead man pressed a gun against Jeremy’s back, warning him not to try anything funny again. He had no intention to. In such a remote area, his body would take forever to be found - if it was found at all.
Led by their kidnappers, Jeremy and Laura stepped onto a path obscured by underbrush, cracked earth, and withering roots spiraling like ancient veins beneath their feet. It was a simple yet treacherous trek that led deeper into the bowels of the forest.
“Do you have any idea where we are?” he mumbled to Laura who was taking on the view with utter confusion.
“No clue. How long were we in the van?” she asked.
“I’d say about an hour, but I’m not sure.”
“Hmm,” she thought, trying to put her overactive brain to good use. She poured through a multitude of maps in her mind, hoping to pinpoint which parts of the country were within that distance. A couple of guesses flashed behind her eyelids, but no certainties at all without a well-known landmark to guide her.
“We already know they don’t want to kill us, otherwise they would have done it already, so what do you think will happen next?” he clicked his tongue as they continued to walk.
Laura looked at him with righteous indignation. “You’ve read The Black Queen’s stories, Jeremy! It’s obvious what they’re going to do. We know too much by now, so what better way to silence us?”
It was a terrifying thought for sure, but could it be done? He still had some doubts despite seeing all schematics and the snippets of info in them. A conspiracy was one thing, but a full-on brainwashing and mind control plan using a video game as a cover? The concept remained as ludicrous as ever! Deep down, he yearned for something else - and for the visions of The Black Queen to disappear forever from his mind.
As they trudged onward, the dense foliage closed in around them, swallowing sound and light. The path twisted like a serpent, each step shrouded in an unsettling silence that was only broken by the occasional rustle of leaves or the distant call of some unseen creature.
Suddenly, their captors halted. The trigger-happy man pointed ahead where a thick cluster of ferns parted, revealing a peculiar sight: half-buried in the earth was a square metallic hatch that had been painted green and brown to better blend in with its surroundings. 
“What is that?” Jeremy murmured as they all took a step closer. The hatch was new with no signs of scratches or rust. It couldn’t have been there for more than a couple of months, perhaps less.
“The entrance to an underground lair,” Laura scratched her forehead as if she had seen it all. “There’s always an underground lair, remember?”
The leader of the kidnappers stepped forward, his black combat boots crunching on the dry ground as he reached for a control panel affixed to the hatch’s side. He pressed a series of buttons, and the air hummed around them. A resounding beep reached everyone’s ears, followed by a hiss as the hatch began to slide open with an unsettling smoothness, revealing a darkened abyss below. Two sets of lights turned on, parting the blackness, and a flight of stairs became visible.
“Get in,” the man growled, gesturing with his gun. Jeremy and Laura exchanged worried glances; the unknown depth promised something far worse than mere captivity.
As they descended the narrow flight of stairs, each step creaked underfoot. The walls were lined with metal panels that hummed with energy. Strange machinery whirred beyond the threshold, an orchestra of mechanical sounds playing a melody of dread.
At the bottom of the staircase, they emerged into a cavernous room that led to an elevator. It stood like a silver monolith against the ominous chamber, its sleek surface contrasting with the ruggedness surrounding it.
“Are you ready for this?” Jeremy whispered.
Laura took a deep breath, steeling herself. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she replied.
With another brusque gesture from their captor, they stepped toward the waiting elevator. The interior flickered to life with sterile blue lights illuminating their faces and revealing a touch screen. He pressed his palm against it, and they began their descent. It was a quick ride, but still unsettling, and when the shiny doors opened again, they understood the gravity of their situation.
They were in an expansive laboratory unlike anything they had ever seen. Bright white lights cascaded from above, illuminating a vast array of high-tech equipment that seemed plucked straight from a science fiction film. Lab benches were strewn with gadgets that buzzed and whirred, and machines covered in blinking lights hummed as if they were alive. Men with glassy eyes walked everywhere as if they were under a powerful hypnotic spell.
Standing by the elevator’s open door was Deirdre Quinn, with her raven hair and violet eyes, looking at the new arrivals with undeniable disdain.
“Oh, Jeremy…” she shook her head. “I wanted to be right about you, but you got me good.”
Then she turned to Laura and hissed like a snake about to attack,
“And here we have the hacker herself, who didn’t know when to quit. Welcome, Miss Hawthorne. My name is Deirdre Quinn, but you may call me The Black Queen.”

((to be continued))