Kept From Love by Rebellion Of The Kat
1. Shadow Man
It was another dazzling spring day in the town of Manhattan. The sun splashed against the skyscrapers as they stood tall against the clear blue sky. Smells of fresh coffee and sharp suits were carried through the metropolis by a cool, city breeze. The streets buzzed with activity as people set about their daily duties. One of those people, was a beautiful, chicly dressed young woman who slid gracefully out of a yellow taxi-cab, and hurried across the plaza. She was Sarah Williams, a mid-twenties lawyer in a high powered, New York law firm. She had the look of confident, thriving entrepenuer with her slick coiffure and slender build. When people looked at her they never saw a feeble girl with doubts and insecurites..., they saw a winner!
Sarah paid the driver his fees, and tidied up her suit. She was late for work, again... but she was not worried. Her father, Mr. Robert Williams, was the law firm's founding partner, a prestigious corporate attorney in Manhattan. Sarah never had to worry too much about anything...
The elevator doors opened as Sarah stepped out into the offices of Williams and Koslow. An imposing recpeption area, with delicate lighting and fresh green plants, presented itself before her. She sashayed positively through the room in her stylish cafe au lait dress-suit and high-heeled shoes. A waft of sweet L'eau D'Issey perfume fluttered through the room stifling the nose of the company's secretary, to whom Sarah smiled at.
"Morning...!" Sarah beamed at the PA in an enthusiastic manner. She was the kind of woman that you either loved or hated, and those that hated her only did so because they were envious of her ability to be both rich and polite.
"Not anymore…" uttered the secretary, checking her clock. It was 12:05 PM!
"Picky, picky…" replied Sarah, who laughed casually, passing the receptionist who shook her head in disbelief... This didn't bother her in the slighest though, as she continued to stride down the corridor, blithely exchanging greetings with her co-workers...
When she finally reached her father's office she poked her head through the door and saw that Robert, a handsome, dark-haired man was sitting in his huge swivel-chair, talking on the phone. He waved his daughter in...
"Sarah…"
"Hi Dad…" Sarah strolled into her father's office. Robert had really hit the big time since Sarah was a child and his bureau reflected just that! The walls were swathed in certifcates, accolades that the comany had won. The large window at the back paraded the most incredible view of the city anyone had ever seen. Robert only ever wore upscale suits and no-nonsense ties now that he had a reputation to preserve. But Sarah chuckled at her dad's impeccable manner, for even though he was a man of business, to Sarah he would always be"father".
"Alex, let me call you back…" he said down the phone, before hanging up on his client...Then, Robert looked at his daughter and smiled. He seemed so proud of the successful woman she had become. She was finally in a place where he could understand her, for Robert was a man only knew how to talk facts and figures. No more did he have to put up with her wild flights of fantasy and childish games. Sarah had turned into a bright, young city girl who Robert was never afraid to spoil. "Alex Haywood's coming up from Atlanta tonight. Can you have dinner with us?" he asked, swaying gently on his tanned leather executive's chair.
Sarah shook her head.
"Mike's having a party for the architects of the new project. Another excuse to wine and dine the planning commission…" she answered, dully. Mike was Sarah's boyfriend, a young Robert Williams in the making. From the look of Sarah's expression, it was obvious she wished he would spend more time her than with his career.
"You can't miss that!" urged Robert, disregarding the fact that something was cleary troubling Sarah. Robert approved highly of Mike, assuming he was the perfect match for his daughter. "I used to be invited to these functions." he joked. "I should've thought twice when I handed you over to our best client…"
"You make it sound like a horse trade…" sighed Sarah, sulking at the fact that she had her father arrange relationships for her. As a young girl she had always dreamed of meeting her noble Prince Charming in a starry-eyed moment, like the princess's do in the movies, when they're suddenly caught in a mighty fine predicament and need to be rescued. Oddly, the prince always comes to save them seconds before they get swallowed away by a fire-breathing dragon! Robert winked at Sarah, never taking her crankiness seriously.
"You'll have to admit he's quite a guy. You could do a lot worse than Michael Swanson…"
"And have!" said Sarah, to which they both laughed. For, in reality she loved that her father took care of her. He had never really bonded with her as child, but now they were like the King and Princess of the land!
"What about dinner tomorrow night?" asked Robert.
"Let me get to my desk, check my calendar…" she said, walking over to him and kissing him on the top of his head. They smiled at each other before she headed off to her office...Robert blindly picked up the phone and began to punch in some numbers, not even recognizing the whisper of uncertainty that loomed in his daughter's eyes...
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
Later that night, a private party filled up an elegant restaurant in another part of the town. Guests delved in coversation as they wined and dined before the most high-flying businessmen of New York. An architectural model of a skyscraper and commercial complex was prominently displayed. At the centre of the action, working the room, was Michael "Mike" Swanson , a sleekly attractive man in his early 30's - a dashing New York real estate titan... People seemed to swirl around him, drawn by his power and charm.
Mike sauntered through restaurant., eventually stopping to find Sarah sitting at a far table, talking to an old college friend…Sarah was dressed in a classy magneta Laura Ashley gown. Her hair was pinned back and she looked radiant..., but Mike seemed to be annoyed at the fact his girlfriend wasn't even standing with him at his own social-gathering.
"I really thought my life was over. I mean he was my life. He told me to just pretend he was dead…" said the friend, who wept uncontrollably. Mike rolled his eyes as Sarah put her arm around her friend's shoulder. She didn't even look up to greet him as he hung over the pair like an unwanted shadow.
"Alison, I'm so sorry... Things'll turn around." Sarah comforted her, sympathetically.
Mike interrupted with a loud apparent cough. Sarah gazed at him, without smiling. Alison quickly wiped her eyes, not realising that someone else had been watching her cry. Mike leant over to kiss Sarah, to which she responded with a half-hearted peck. "How you doing? You all right?" he asked her.
"Fine. Alison and I haven't seen each other since college…" Sarah appeared to be very annoyed by Mike's rude disruption.
"We're just catching up…" said Alison, trying to gather herself together.
"Good…" he said dryly before putting an arm around Sarah. "I need to talk to you…" he told her. "Excuse us for a minute…" he said to Alison, as he pulled her up from her chair and lead her over to an alcove. Sarah was pressed against the wall as Mike pillared over her and glared intimidatingly into her eyes. "What's with you?"
"What do you mean?" she asked, innocently, trying to break free from his overwhelming control. Sarah despised nothing more than a man who tried to master a woman, and right now her boyfriend was reminding her of everything she purposely rebelled against in her teenage years.
"You've been sitting over there listening to her blubber, half the evening…"
"She's going through a rough time. We used to be good friends…" argued Sarah who full well knew that Alison was not the only reason she was staying away from him.
"I know her. She's a sponge. She was married to a sponge. She's a complete loser!" he declared, raising his voice. Sarah had to look round to check if anyone had heard. Coincidentally, Alison had just guzzled down another glass of champagne as they spoke, and began to pour herself some more! "See..." Miked stated, with a satisfied smirk on his face. "Come on now, stick by me, there's someone I want you to meet…"
"Mike, I'm just not into it tonight, I'm sorry…" she proclaimed.
"I thought I could count on you…" Mike found it hard to believe that his own girlfriend could be so unsympathetic.
"You can!...But it's a party -- it's not brain surgery. And frankly, I don't like being told who I can talk to…" she snapped, pushing his hands away and walking back into the room. She began to head over to Alison before Mike reached from behind and pulled her shoulder, jerking her backwards and forcing her to look at him.
"Then use better judgement!" he yelled, glowering at her with a meancing, but confused appearance. By now, the entire party had noticed they were arguing. Funnily enough, Alison was the only one who obliviously continued to drown her sorrows with drink.
"All right, maybe I should call it a night…" Sarah professed, heading towards the door.
"That's not an option…" Mike ordered, reaching out his hand as if he was trying to stop her leaving with sheer force. But Sarah reached for her purse, and without turning back she marched out of the restaurant...
She ran out into the gloomy night sky and hurried to the corner to hail a cab. Seeing one drive by she raised her hand. "Taxi...!" she shouted, raising her left hand, running towards the vehicle as best as she could in her killer-heeled stilettos...But she was too late! A couple just ahead of her hopped into the cab. Sarah sighed, but quickly perked up when another cab approached. She yelled out again, but, as if out of pure ignorance, the taxi switched on its "Off Duty" sign. "Great…" she muttered.
All of sudden, a tall stocky guy in a bomber jacket sauntered up to her and smiled. "You're not having much luck. I'll get you one…" he said, stepping off the curb, raising his arm and whistling loudly. "I'm an expert!" Out of the blue, a van pulled around the corner, and the door slid open. The hefty man roughly shoved Sarah to the van door..."Going home alone tonight, Sophie?" he asked.
"Hey...!" she cried. She tried to twist away but a pair of muscular arms reached out from within, grabbing her and violently, yanking her into the vehicle. The stocky man jumped in with her, and the van quickly took off...
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
As the driver cruised up Third Avenue, Sarah struggled with the man in the bomber jacker and a heavily tattooed punk in the back of the darkened vehicle. "No!... Not... Stop!" she stuttered, but they slammed her against the floor, trying to subdue her. Sarah choked as the burly men violently pressed down on her neck and stomach. She screamed in pain as the stocky guy began to hit her.
"Know what happens to little girls with big mouths..?" he said, pounding her chest as he spoke. The tears that streamed from Sarah's eyes prevented her from seeing what the men actually looked like.
"You're gonna find out!" said the punk, who also began to strike her. Sarah kicked him in the chest, and tried to break free. She managed to scramble to her feet and began to poundon the back window of the van.
"Help..!" she screamed through the glass. A car full of teenagers drove along in the next lane, laughing, grooving to the radio - oblivious..."Help me!" she cried, banging against the glass as hard as she could..., but the two attackers dragged her back down to the floor and begin to beat her into submission.
"About done with her?" called the driver.
"Just about…" said the stocky guy, who had her pinned down. "Hey Sophie, you gotta remember to keep your mouth shut from now on...
"I'm not…" Sarah gasped, but the punk hit her again. "You're gonna remember - every time you look in the mirror…" he said.
The stocky guy pulled a straight razor out of his pocket. Sarah began to fight with all her remaining strength. "Grab her hands!" he yelled to the punk. The punk held her hands down, and Sarah looked on as the razor blade raised over her face…
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
A few moments later, the van stopped at the side of the road. The two attackers dumped Sarah's limp form into a clump of bushes. They ran back to the van and in less than a heartbeat, it sped off into the night. Sarah lay unconscious, near death, sprawled in the shrubbery with her head face down. Cars whizzed by in the distance... And then, seemingly out of nowhere, a shadow fell across her body... A cloaked-figure came into the view and scooped Sarah up, as if she were a child. He wiped the dirt from her face then shuddered, just for a moment… Then, he carried her off, into the mist.
Bearing her over his shoulder, the cloaked-man descended a ladder into a steam tunnel, part of the elaborate network of tunnels and caverns which ran deep below Manhattan...He took her down a passageway to a lower level of connecting chambers... Steam escaped from the pipes as the walls dripped with sweat - an occasional bare bulb threw eerie shadows down the tunnel... A train thundered overhead as the figure moved quickly and surely along a narrow ledge, and then down another ladder...
Eventually, he found himself in an underground chamber - very strange. It's dimensions and arched ceiling give the feeling of a medieval knight's quarters - and yet it was filled with carefully selected cast-off items, the artifacts of modern disposable culture. The furnishings -- lamps, table, cabinets -- had been found or ingeniously assembled from salvaged parts. One wall was covered with a mosaic of photos cut out from magazines - photos of the great people of our time -- Einstein, Stravinsky, Ali, John Lennon. One got the feeling that this chamber was charged with the spirit of the survivor full of undaunted goodness...
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
A few hours later, Sarah woke up with a start. She found herself nestled in a bed fashioned of mattresses and blankets. Her head and face were bandaged, and so were her eyes! Sitting at the bedside was her cloaked rescuer whom she could not see. "No..! No!" Sarah cried.
"It's alright. You're safe. You're safe, now…" said a man's soft voice. He sounded familiar, but Sarah was in state of bewilderment and couldn't quite figure out who it was.
"Where am I?" she asked, in a frightened tone, stroking the bandages that suppressed her sight. Then she began to feel around, trying to touch the man who's words she had just heard.
"No one will hurt you. You're safe here…" he continued to say. He spoke so quietly, whispering, almost as if he was trying to disguise his true identity.
"Am I in a hospital?" she asked, hopefully. But, bleaky she knew that hospitals didn't usually smell like cesspools!
"No. You were bleeding, there was no time to take you to a hospital. But you're going to be alright…" the man explained.
"What did they do? Did they..? My eyes..?" she panciked, trying to remove the bandages. The man gently touched her arm and brought it back down. He caressed her fingers for a short few seconds. Immediately, Sarah felt more relaxed.
"Your eyes were not hurt. We made sure... Rest now." he told her. he tried to get out of bed, but his words were like magic as she instantaneously sank back into a deep sleep...
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
As she slept, she hazily felt another figure lightly touch her in different places...He was examining her, checking her pulse, and searching for any other wounds… All the while, her rescuer watched over her protectively. When Sarah awakened again, she heard the cloaked-man approach her. "Who's here?" she asked.
"I'm here." the man whispered softly.
"Who are you?" she asked, obviously not wanting to settle for him being just a helpful stranger. Suddenly, she shivered in pain and clutched hold of her chest. She felt like she had just been crushed to death and then brought back to life again just to feel the agony.
"I'm just a friend. We treated your injuries. You have broken ribs. You need to be still." he replied.
"We?"
"Yes, my, erm… other friend. Do not worry. We are here to help."
"Where am I?" she pleaded. Sarah had never been so frightened and alone. The man sounded caring, but how did she know that he wasn't really one of the bad men in disguise?
"Where no one can hurt you." he assured.
"My face -- was it...?"
"Tell me your name…" asked the man, trying to divert her attention from the pain.
"Sarah."
"Sarah…" he whispered tenderly, as if it was a name of some importance to him. "Try to rest, Sarah. If you need anything I'll be close by. Don't be afraid. Please, don't be afraid."
"I'll try... I'll try…" she said. She drifted back to sleep. The man drew the covers up around her and headed off, down an adjoining tunnel. Moving with speed and agility, he descended a ladder to a lower platform, then leapt from that platform - across to a steam-filled chasm - to another ladder which he climbed. The man, entered a vault-like room, two-stories high. The walls were lined with books, floor to ceiling - books of every description - a vast library of the city's cast-off books. The room was lit by oil lamps. In a far corner, seated in a tattered, over-stuffed chair, was an old bearded man, reading a book. His face and features were long and finely chiselled, and always in shadow. He had the appearance of a wise, sensitive man who had seen too many terrible things.
As the cloaked man entered the room the old man looked extremely upset. "Is she awake?" he asked.
The man nodded. "She's very frightened." he said.
The old man handed him a bottle of pills. It appeared that he was some kind of doctor. "Make sure she takes these -- to prevent infection."
"I'll make sure."
"I was saving them for an emergency, if something happened to either of us."
"Abe, this was an emergency - she would have died." the rescuer argued.
The old man sighed. "Yes, but do you know what they'd do to you if they caught you up there? Or found you down here? You've endangered all of us, but the risk for you is especially great. You'd probably die! How could you bring a stranger here?? To where we live??" he said, angrily.
"She's not a stranger!"
"What? But…you've never known any other humans before…except…" The old man gasped, suddenly realising who she was. "Is it really...?" The cloaked man nodded. "But, how does she not know it's you?"
"I don't know. It's been along time…thirteen years to be precise! From the look of her attire, it appears she has become somewhat of a successful businesswoman. It's inevitable she would forget about me…But, I couldn't just turn my back on her, could I?"
"Alright... Help her regain her strength. But the moment she's ready to leave, you must get her out! And Jareth, do not let her know who you are! She destroyed you once! She could do it again!"
"Abe, how many times! She did not destroy me!"
"Hmm…"
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
Later in the afternoon, Sarah sat up on her bed, her head and eyes still swathed in bandages. She seemed a lot less afraid than she had been earlier. Jareth was feeding her with a spoon. "Do you like it?" he asked, wiping her chin with a cloth. It was very heard to feed somebody when they had no idea when the spoon was going to come at them.
"It's good stew…" she said, taking another mouthful. "It's like nothing I've ever tasted! It's like…like magic. What's in it?"
"Oh, just a special recipe Abe gave me."
"Abe? How many other's are there here?" she asked, swiflty becoming fearful of the unknown strangers that lived with her in her temporary dwelling.
"Just a few..., but don't worry. Nobody else will disturb you. Abe is a very good friend of mine. He's the only other one I'll let see you. He's stern, but very wise, and he knows all about medicine and healing. He was the one who bandaged you up."
"And what's your name?" she asked.
After a short pause he told her. "My name is Jeremy" he uttered unsurely, still speaking in a hushed tone.
"Well, Jeremy can you please tell me where we are? I'm going to keep asking…"
"Where do you think?" he asked. Sarah heard a train rumble overhead and tried to figure it out.
"Somewhere there's an elevated train. Brooklyn? Queens?"
"No, not Brooklyn or Queens." he said.
"Am I still in New York?" she said, starting to panic.
"Yes, but we're below the city -- below the subways. There's a whole world of tunnels and chambers that most people don't even know exists. There are no maps to where we are -- it's a forgotten place. But it's warm and it's safe -- and we have all the room we need…so we live here, and we try to live as well as we can, and we try to take care of each other. It's our city, down here…"
"What are you doing down here? Why aren't you living aboveground like the rest of the human race?" she asked uncertainly.
The man took a deep breath. "...We were cast out of our land -- abandoned, left to survive in a city we were not familiar with... Luckily, we found Abe, who had also been ostracized from his home, many years before I did. Abe found us and brought us here, and we have dwelled underneath the city ever since." He spoke with such sorrow, like he was a man made of nothing but loneliness.
"Who are these "others"? And what kind of people get "cast out" of places…I…I don't understand!" she cried, overwhelmed by all the information.
"Shhh…" he whispered, placing his finger over her lips. "You don't need to worry about any of that. Just get well, and you will be able to return home as soon as possible.