The Playing Fields First Draft

Chapter Eighteen

     Claire sat alone in a white room.

     So, this is what neutral smells like. Claire thought. There were no scents, not even her body, dirtied by everything she went through, produced a scent.

     Where's Mari? Claire wondered as she realized she was completely alone in the room.

     "You did well." A feminine disembodied voice said.

     "Who said that?" Claire demanded. "Show yourself!"

     "You already know who I am."

    "Donella."

    "You're a quick one!" Donella laughed.

    "Where's Mari?" Claire asked.

     "She's safe, like you are."

     Safe was a debatable term. The fae still saw Claire and Mari as playthings, and Donella could be a child who destroyed her toys when she was done with them.

     Claire began pacing back and forth, she couldn't keep herself still for any longer than a few seconds. "How do I know she's not dead?" Claire asked.

     "So much concern for another. Could it be that you have feelings for her?" Donella mocked.

     "She's a friend." Claire said. "Friends look out for one another."

     "Interesting, because she doesn't seem to be doing the same for you."

     The pain came back to Claire, the pain of being tossed aside like a rag doll, the pain of not meaning anything to another person. "No, I don't believe you." Claire said, her heart started to race.

     "I'm kidding." Donella said, lightly. "The one you call Mari has asked if you were safe as well."

     No wonder Rick hated them. Claire thought.

     "We're done here." Donella said.

     "Huh?" Claire asked before she was pulled from the room.

                                                                                                    ********

     The world was a blur as Claire's vision came back.

     "What happened?" Claire croaked.

     "It appeared that we won." Mari said, sadly.

     "If we did, why don't you sound like it?" Claire asked.

     "Because we're still in the Other World."

     The room the two women were in looked like a gray dungeon. The room was barely lit, and signs of previous inhabitants remained.

     "They're keeping us here until we die." Claire realized.

     Mari nodded. "No hope."

     Claire felt the tears water in her eyes, it wasn't fair. They won, and yet the fae were to keep them as long as they could. Claire wanted to scream in frustration.

     No, you knew this was going to happen. Claire thought, unhappily. You weren't the first to escape, Claire.

     The dungeon's door opened, revealing Donella walking through the door. She was a banshee in a long flowing dress that seemed to make her seem to float. Her blood red eyes chilled Claire's blood, as she stood to face the fae.

     "My, my, aren't you the brave one?" Donella chuckled.

     "We beat your game, why are we still here?" Claire demanded.

     "You escaped the Playing Fields, no one said that you could escape from us." Donella told Claire. "You get to play the game as many times as you can before death takes you."

     Claire shivered the moment she saw the banshee smile, and she wanted to fall back onto the floor. Wait, what about Anna? A small voice said in the back of her head. Despair filled Claire as she dismissed the idea. With all the death she witnessed, did Claire really think that she would be saved at the last minute? Was she that naïve?

     "Rest up, there's another game soon." Donella smiled, wickedly.

                                                                       ********

     Claire woke up to the sound of fighting.

     There was yelling, some of them were in the death throes.

     "What's going on?" Mari yawned on the other side of the room.

     "I don't know." Claire replied. "Sounds like someone's fighting out there."

     There was pounding on the door, and the two women jumped to their feet. A familiar voice called out from the other side.

     "Claire?! Are you in there?" Seanna Brennan yelled.

     Claire hesitated, was it another fae trick?

     "CLAIRE?!"

     The desperation in the voice snapped Claire back. "I'm here, Anna!" Claire ran to the dungeon's door. Sure enough, Seanna stared back at her from the eye hole. Claire could feel her heart explode with excitement.

     They were saved.

                                                                                    ********

     Seanna led Claire and Mari to where the captured fae were, among them was Donella. Claire kept down the urge to smile at the capture of the twisted banshee.

     "These were the fae who imprisoned you?" Seanna asked.

     "I only saw Donella." Claire said. "The others may have had their roles in it, but I didn't see them."

     "Same." Mari affirmed.

     Seanna frowned, she looked at the other paranormal hunters. "Get them out of here!" The paranormal hunters nodded and took Donella and the fae away.

     Claire noticed the disturbing smile on Donella's face, as the banshee watched Claire until the fae was gone.

     Seanna walked over to a priest. "Father Ernst, could you please relay to the Church that we know what happened to the missing church members, and that the fae responsible are under our custody."

     Father Ernst bowed with a pleasant smile. "Understood, my superiors will be pleased to know that this all have been taken care of." The priest turned toward the exit and left.

     Seanna looked Claire over, and frowned at her sister's dirtied form, the torn shorts, and the cloth that barely covered her breasts. "How're you holding up?" Seanna asked.

     Claire didn't reply, she could barely comprehend everything that had happened to her, all the death was finally catching up to her, and the last thing Claire knew, she was crying into her older sister's shoulder.