Amber rolled over in bed, attempting to smack the alarm clock so she could snooze for another few minutes. She rolled back over onto her right side, away from the weak morning sunlight. But the set of four paws walking over her, then her ribs, refused to let her get that extra five minutes. Finally giving up to persistence, she rolled onto her back and stretched in bed. She opened her eyes again when the four paws walked on her stomach this time. Focusing her own vibrantly green eyes on the red furry face and set of golden orbs before her, she smiled ruefully.
"Alright Pippin, I'm up." She grumbled and plucked the animal from her abdomen. The reddish cat, Pippin, mewed once and put his front paws back on her leg as she sat up. "Enough already, you great fuzzy mass." She replied, still not exactly awake yet. She ruffled her long brownish gold tresses and swung her legs over the side of the bed, planting them on the deep carpet. Feeling the deep pull the bed still had on her, and knowing she had to go to work even if she didn't want to, she slumped in her flannel nightgown over to the kitchen. It seemed cold outside, given the window was foggy, so why not have a cup of hot cocoa? After all it tasted worlds better than any coffee she'd ever had, there was no point in switching to the galling stuff now. She sliced and warmed three rolls in the oven, then, once they were properly toasty, she buttered each carefully, so as not to get it all over her hands. What she really wanted, and it was almost nauseating to admit it, was to just pick up and quite her damn job. Lord knows she wouldn't be so constantly irritated, since there would be a lack of perverted boss-man around. An angry sigh escaped her. She didn't need this situation damn it, she was still only 18, only old enough to vote, smoke, and buy porn; not that she wanted to really waste her money on the latter two. And she certainly could afford to, since her parents had left a hefty sum to her as the only living family member they liked. A slight smiled curved her lips as she though about one thing that had gone right since them. Although the many relatives she had had tried any number of tactics to win her wealth, Amber was no slouch at staying on her guard. She knew precisely what they were after, since they otherwise kept a healthy distance from her parents during their lives. They had no other reason to contact her, as the sole beneficiary. At least her lawyer, formerly her parents' lawyer, had done his job well and easily beat down the few attempts at lawsuits that some cousins and even a grandparent had thrown her way. She had sold the house because it stung like fire and ice to stay there, with all those memories. And now, here she was, in a condo of her own, with no one else, alone. Well, maybe not entirely alone, after all there was still Pippin the cat. All this past year she had become rather antisocial, not that that was all that new. She listened to her headphones as she worked, and kept her eyes glued on her computer screen to tell anyone who bothered her to get lost. Somehow, pretending that she could neither see, nor hear them seemed more tactful that just flat out telling them to leave her be. Besides, she though with a sigh, They probably wouldn't get it anyway. They'd try to drag me out to the pub and get me drunk, or maybe get me laid… Idiots. She sipped at the cocoa and glanced at the clock on the stove. It was slightly past the point where she should have been dressed. Oh well, being late once wasn't going to kill her. About ten minutes later, she was slipping into her long green skirt; white peasant-sleeved blouse, and knee-high black leather boots. She didn't even bother with a coat, since she knew an almost entirely indoor route to her office. So, snatching her purse off the coat-rack and making sure the door was locked, after Pippin was released for the day, she tucked her keys away and began the long stride to the last building on that block. The half a dozen buildings she passed through were crowded today, most likely due to the chill in the air, but Amber didn't care. She could handle crowds as long as that didn't include trying to communicate with them. As she passed through the last set of doors on the sixth building, she walked briskly, but had to stop a moment. It felt like something was stuck to her foot and she looked down. Just as she was wondered who on earth would mix and pour cement in this kind of weather, her foot sank even deeper, though her weight was on her opposite leg. But both her legs were now sinking deeper into the thick substance and she couldn't pull up out of it. She waved her arms and called, calmly as she could, for someone to give her a hand, but no one even turned a head, or glanced her way. "Hey! Are you all deaf or something?" she actually yelled, now very worried since she was shin-deep in the stuff, whatever it was. "Goddammit OPEN YOUR EARS!" she screamed when she was now nearly up to her chest, and feeling constricted. Clawing at the sidewalk around her seemed to do nothing, except maybe quicken her sinking Now up to her throat, then suddenly her chin, and then just her eyes. She tried to scream but noting came out and she could feel what must have been the weight of an entire world sinking down on her, swallowing her, though by now her senses seemed completely cut off. And she sank down…down…down…
It was too bright this morning. And the bed was far to stiff and hard for her liking. Amber moved gingerly to roll over onto her side, and felt something grainy against her face, like a nail file only much bigger. Something else was wrong too; it seemed much warmer than it really should have been, why? For that matter where were the covers? And now acknowledging the presence of all these odd questions, she did open her eyes. But she had to shut them tight again, because the light was more than enough to dazzle her just then. She gave an incoherent mumble, most likely a curse, and slowly sat up. Again she made the attempt to see without much success and had to throw her hand up in front of her eyes this time. Once her eyes decided to work she felt sick with shock and disorientation again. There was sand all around and several yards to her right, there was some long coarse grass and what she supposed was a body of water, a river or something. There were a few people nearby, but Amber doubted they could help her even if she did ask, since they seemed to be speaking a totally different language. So, with one thing and another, she just stood up, trying to roll the soreness out of her shoulder and started walking. By all logic, if she stayed put, she might become ill from the intense glare of the sun, but if she moved around a bit, she might at least get somewhere and find some help, or figure out where she was and how she got there. It wasn't long at all before she noticed people around her constantly staring at her, not that she really gave a damn. But all the same, it was getting annoying, especially when they started following after her at a distance of about ten or fifteen feet. Something else occurred to her as she glanced back at the gathering of people shadowing her. They were mostly, if not all, men. She supposed that compared to them, she did look rather odd, since they were all of a tan colored skin, and she was so pale, not to mention the great difference of clothing. They were all bare-chested, with something wrapped around the waist, and wearing sandals. A few of them had thick bands of gold, or something like it on their forearms or biceps. Getting a distinct feeling of unease, and listening to it, Amber walked faster, trying to put some distance between them and herself. She could hear them muttering things to each other and to her surprise she caught words like, "Slave, Pharaoh," and "good." She didn't want to hand around to find out what exactly they might be planning for her, so what was the use in walking, when she was perfectly capable of running like hell? She took off not a moment too soon, as she felt a set of hands snatch at her, and just barely miss. But alas, she was not fast enough to outrun them, and there was nowhere to hide in this open terrain. They caught her easily and four of them held her, one man to one furiously flailing limb. She was certainly stronger than average, but not strong enough to throw them off. Thus, the was hoisted, and carried, in a most undignified manner into what seemed a city, or at least a town. It took the better part of an hour for her to finally decide to give up struggling, since it wasn't doing any good anyway. But when she was dumped quite suddenly into a vast expanse of water and hauled back out, her fury rose once more, and she lashed out using her long fingernails this time. Once or twice she snagged flesh and there was a little blood, but no more than that. And she made some rather unsavory remarks and protests as they practically dragged her through the city and paused at what seemed to be the pale stone steps leading up to a palace or temple or something.
A/N: Okay first chapter up. Let me know what you honestly think of it. All reviews and constructive criticism is welcome as are any suggestions for events/ idead for future chapters. All flames will be subjected to the ridicule of me and my little writing/anime/gamer buddies; or else used in this week's weenie roast. Luv Ya!