The Box

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. But then again there had never been anyone like her either.

The box was small and uninteresting as it sat on the thin lightweight trolley, and she couldn't understand why she had been called out of her classes to deliver it on foot to the airport. The University had delivery people, and now she was missing vital information about her finals for this ridiculous task.

She looked at the box that she was pulling behind her as she joined a queue to get through the airport gates. “why do I have to walk it in?” she muttered, the man behind her lifted his head to look at the box and then her face. “What's inside?” he asked. As her eyes came up to his she was slightly taken aback by his handsome face and the warm voice that it had produced. “I don't know” she answered simply “but it's so annoying to have to take it in.....couldn't even take a taxi.”

“That does sound weird, My names Bastian by the way”. His smile radiated happiness and she found her mood start to lift as their conversation moved away from the box to more general topics of studies and the upcoming break.

Having moved successfully through the checkpoint she realized that Bastian was no longer with her. She paused to look around each of the streets on this side but couldn't see any sign of him. With a sigh, she slumped slightly as she looked down once more at this nuisance of a box and started on her way again. It was crazy to feel like this after only a few minutes of conversation she told herself but she realized that she had started feeling a connection with Bastian, feeling safer than normal while they had talked.

Finally, she started coming up to the customs building where she was to drop off the box. It was an old building with different coloured bricks around the thin windows creating frames for them. As she stepped through the door she looked at the large number of people making the room feel crowded and messy.

As she joined the queue weaving through the strappy barricades her eyes moved continuously around the room's walls taking in the intricate carvings and a number of gargoyles. She laughed at the memory of being told the gargoyles were protectors.

“NEXT!” she started and looked at the tall solid man behind the counter and realized that this wasn't the first time he had tried to get her attention. She crossed quickly to his window and lifted the trolley onto the bench next to it. “It's from Dean Anderson for the Minister of Security in France. Here's the paperwork, Can I get back to class now?” He glowered at her as she finished her question and she realized she was stuck there for a while. As he started his checking process he peeled back a corner of the paper to reveal a metal box inside, she caught a flash of a radioactive signal before he pushed the paper back down onto the box and hit the bomb alert button on his console setting off an alarm and booming announcements from the speakers around the room.

“Bomb detected, please calmly leave the building through the nearest exit.”

Panic set in as the crowd all moved toward the front door at a run to escape. Molly turned to the room taking in this scene and the existence of a small door on the left that also led to the street in the briefest of moments but as she started to move forward a large hand wrapped around her upper arm pulling her body over the bench that had contained the box moments below. As she scrambled to get to her feet again she noticed that the customs clerk held the trolley in his other hand as he continued to grip her arm and lead her further back into the facility.

“What are you doing?” she gasped as she tried simultaneously to escape the tight grip of his hand and keep her feet at this frantic pace. The look on his face was determined, with the slightest edge of concern? No that was fear at the corner of his eyes. Her eyes jumped then to the walls changing colour behind him, looking even older than before, and she realized that the corridor they were speeding down was a lot longer than the one she had seen from the front room. He was, however, ignoring both her struggles and her questions.

Coming upon a windowed door he put the box down opened the door and moved her into the room ahead of him as a yanked the trolley inside. “It's essential you stay with the contents of this box from this point on” his voice sounded harsh, his request confusing. She started looking for some way out of the room. As if noticing her panic for the first time he placed the large hand that had been holding her arm on her shoulder “We'll do everything we can to keep you safe”.

There wasn't a confused look in the world that was strong enough to match how she felt as she allowed herself to be seated in a chair next to the desk that the box was being put down on. He removed the box from the trolley and quickly removed the brown paper from the outside. She couldn't read his face as he paused, looking at the box. Looking up at her though it settled for a second on compassion before racing through mixes of emotion, awe, fear, surprise, and delight. “I know you're scared right now but we'll protect you I promise. I have to repeat though that you MUST NOT get separated from the contents of this box.” He then returned his attention back to the box sitting there between them and started to examine the box very closely. “It's not a bomb.” he added suddenly remembering “it won't hurt you at all in fact”. Feeling far less than convinced by this she watched his hands examine the box thoroughly as she tried to figure out what was going on. Molly dismissed the idea of trying for the door, sure that those long legs would reach her before she reached the door. She turned her attention to the room around her instead, piles of dusty papers were stacked on every surface but the desk in the dimly lit room. What could he possibly mean, why should she stay with the meddlesome box, and right now she felt so very far from protected. Why did she need protection? Who could possibly be interested in her? Her mind skipped back to the smile from the boy in the line, and she caught her breath again with the happy memory.

“Why must I stay with this box?” she asked deciding to follow her academic training so she could try to get on top of this situation. Not bothering to look at her he absently replied “Because......”

There was the sound of an explosion further back up the hall. Clearing the space to the door in a couple of steps he had a quick look out the door.

As he re-closed the door he came straight up in front of her, “You and the contents of this box, are all important and MUST STAY TOGETHER!” He turned back to the door as a second closer explosion went off, pulling something from his jacket pocket. A 2nd man came bursting through the door and it looked like they almost shot each other before recognition calmed them. A big smile spread over the newcomer's face and he took in the room in a second.

“I see you've scared her all to hell” he chirped at the officer “they aren't very far behind, I'll take them and meet you later at the rendezvous point.” as he was saying this he crossed the room to the desk, smiling at Molly. Nervously she managed a little smile back, not sure she trusted him yet but sure she would be better off with this person instead of the officer.

With a large wooden stick, he tapped the case, there was an enormous bang and it opened easily. Turning the case towards her she couldn't see the contents as they had been wrapped in a velvety material. The officer gave him an uncertain glance as he moved to a position behind the door to keep watch.

“My name's Bruce and you need to grab that bundle and come with me. I'm certain Tom here has told you not to get separated from this so, LET'S GO!”

Another explosion just outside the door pulled her out of the chair and grabbing the cloth bundle, she let Bruce guide her by the arm through a door she hadn't noticed before as their plan reversed suddenly. Glancing back as they moved into the corridor outside she noticed Tom get knocked back by another blast and scramble back to throw himself at the intruders.

As they ran through the corridors Molly clasped the bundle tight to her chest, there was something solid in the material, another box or a book she couldn't tell. But a growing sensation inside her said that she would never get back to college, that indeed she would never get back to any of her life at all. But through the terror of those thoughts, she also knew that she would not let the men chasing them get the bundle.

They swung around a corner and went through a door into a large ornate room with a fireplace. Standing beside this fireplace was a figure dressed all in black who pointed a stick at Bruce. The resulting blow knocked Bruce out of the room altogether and knocked Molly onto the floor so hard that she dropped the bundle. Up until now, she had not understood what all these people were using as shots went back and forth. Now, as she looked up to see the bundle float across the room to the stranger, she realized they were magic wands. But magic wasn't real, her analytical mind was trying so hard to fight back against this information, while at the same time convinced that this would help with some of the gaps in her thesis. The dark man laughed at her on the floor as he started to move towards the velvety material now showing that this was indeed a book.

All of a sudden, and not entirely sure why she launched herself at the book. She managed to get there just before the dark man, just as the material came off entirely. As she grabbed the book and held it tight against her chest there was a massive flash in the room knocking both of them into opposite corners. As she blinked and started pulling herself up she realized that the dark figure was now between her and both exit points. He stared at her for a moment, “So it's true” was all he said before lunging to pick up his wand and unleash a blast. She moved the book to block the blow and it glanced off just before striking its target. Throwing a pillow at the figure she hoped to distract him enough to get past, to get to a door. She had no way of fighting magic, but the figure moved into her path. As she threw a punch at his face she heard doors opening. The figure glanced around quickly while trying to grab her at the same time. Despite the extra blows she was trying to land on him he managed to get an arm around her neck and move her between himself and the doors, now blocked by Bruce on one side and Tom and Bastion on the other. They were all pointing wands, all as serious as death. Despite this Molly spent a good couple of seconds focused only on Bastion, Why was he here? What was everything that had happened that morning? Maybe she was dreaming and if she could just wake up she could go on with her normal life as if none of this had happened.

Bruce was trading insults with the dark figure holding her, so she focused her attention on Bastion to try and calm herself, he looked worried and angry. Realizing that this standoff could go on for some time, that she was terrified and needed help and information fast, Molly suddenly swung the book up over her head with both hands hitting the man forcefully in the nose. As his grip loosened she lurched forward towards Bastion. Bruce and Tom suddenly let off shots towards the dark figure as he vanished into thin air and Bastion moved forward to catch her and pull her close as her world went black.