I bid you all welcome to my story. I really appreciate the fact that you have decided to read this. I just have a few comments to make first. If you really despised my story, please don't review. Constructive criticism is welcome, but complete, full out flaming is not.
I remain your most humble and Obedient Servant,
Phantom of the Shadows
Prologue- Safe?!
"Hand me the wrench will you," came a muffled voice from underneath a large metal structure.
Nick handed the wrench over to his friend. He stared apprehensively at the structure before him. For months now his friend had been working on this contraption. It was fairly large on the outside, but there was a room on the inside that would fit 4 people. His friend slid out from under her creation and stood up, wiping her hands on her pants and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She stood next to Nick and stared admiringly at her newly finished project. There were several wires that ran from the machine to a back-up generator, as well as several bright flashing buttons.
"So Nick, what do you think?" she asked looking at her friend.
"Um… Anna, what exactly is this thing?"
Annawhen gave a dramatic sigh before striding up to her machine and placing a hand delicately on the side.
"This my friend will be the newest type of transportation. It should be able to take us anywhere in the world."
"Anna, this is all theoretical. It is quite possible that this will not work," Nick reminded her.
"Oh Nick, stop being such a kill joy! I'm going to test this out now. I assure you that no harm will come to us."
"Us? Oh no! I'm not being your guinea pig, thank-you very much! I rather enjoy being alive and in one piece."
"Nick, I've installed safety mechanisms throughout the machine. Plus, I'm going to come with you!"
"Anna, it's night-time and there's a thunderstorm raging outside! What happens if there's a power shortage?"
"That's why I installed the back-up generator! It's completely safe and harmless. Just think of all that stardom and publicity you could get for being one of the first people who travelled this way!"
Nick looked uncertainly at the machine. Seeing that her friend needed just a little more persuasion, Annawhen gave it one last try.
"Come on Nick, we'll go to the Dominican Republic. Nice sunny war beaches and no rain."
Nick gave a dry chuckle. "Ah so that's why you told me to bring a suitcase of clothes… Oh alright, lets get this over with."
Annawhen started to flip switches and press some of the numerous buttons on the machine. She gave a small triumphant smile.
"That's a good man Nick! Bring your suitcase over and place it into the chamber inside. Could you also get mine? It's over by the window. Thanks."
After a few minutes more of pushing the buttons, Annawhen announced that they were ready for departure. She had, by this time, become very excited and was falling into her old habit of quoting movies and TV shows. They walked into the inner chamber of the machine and Nick grabbed the luggage. Annawhen turned around to face Nick.
"Ready?" she asked. When Nick nodded, a huge smile broke out on Annawhen's face. "All right then, off we go! Dominican Republic here we come! Beam us up Scottie!" And with that she pushed the final button. The machine whirred and clicked as it came to life. Just as the machine was in the process of sending Nick and Annawhen to their destination, lightning hit the wires and reached the machine. The machine began to spark and short circuit before the screen started flashing "Error!"
"Anna, what's going on?" Nick yelled above the noise.
Annawhen was frantically trying to abort the trip, but it was too late. "Nick, hang on!" she yelled before they were thrown forward into darkness.
Annawhen slowly got up off the muddied ground and looked around. It was still raining outside and the area was deserted. Not finding Nick close by, Anna started to panic.
"Nick? Nick where are you?" she bellowed into the storm.
Hearing a faint groan, Annawhen ran towards the sound. Not to far off she found her friend curled into the foetal position on the ground, groaning. Annawhen stared in shock at her friend. His chocolate brown hair was plastered to his head, his face was covered in mud and, on closer examination, his left wrist had been sprained. As Annawhen helped him up, he shot his friend a glare.
"Oh yeah, it's completely safe! Bullshit! Anna, this isn't the Dominican Republic! Where in hell are we?"
Annawhen hung her head in shame. "Nick, I'm really sorry. I was positive that it would work. Come, let's get out of the rain, this isn't healthy."
Nick nodded and the two friends slowly made their way towards a large structure. As they neared the building, Annawhen stopped dead in her tracks, staring up at the building in shock and wonder.
"Um Nick? I think I know where we are," stated Annawhen in a small voice. Lifting a shaking hand, she pointed towards the script carved into the stone above the doorway. Nick raised his eyes to the script, having a hard time reading it. As the lightning streaked across the sky, Nick was able to read the inscription.
Opera Populaire.
Nick turned to face Annawhen and smiled. "Well, at least we know where we are now. We're in Paris!"