Part Three: Home? - Chapter Eighteen: Torn

"Hurry Heart!" Duke called to me in a low whisper as we darted down the streets of Puck World.
It had been just a month since our last big adventure and the early signs of winter were showing over our home. Though there was usually snow on the ground of our ciry, during this season it picked up in full swing. This night in particular felt frigid even with my feathers and suit on. On my back was the pack I'd been given when leaving the hideout.
"We need ta find a new place ta rest after this one," Duke mentioned when I caught up to him.
I nodded my head, "It would make carrying things a little easier."
"Do ya need me ta take it?" He offered.
"No, I'm okay," I assured him.
We then looked to see the museum ahead of us. Duke looked back to me with a confident smirk over his face, "Ya ready my sweetheart?"
Beneath the moonlight Duke offered me his gloved hand that I willingly accepted as he pulled me close to him. I felt my heart beating fast with excitement as he kissed me.
Then we turned our attention to the task at hand. In moments we slipped in, found our prize without a hitch, and vanished from the building without a trace. For the first time in so long things felt as they should. Adrenaline rushed through us as we hurried from rooftop to rooftop. In the distance we heard alarms shattering the silence as authorities began searching for us. Duke quickly turned to me after securing his grappling hook and rope, looped an arm around my waist, and began to decend to the streets below.
As we made contact with the ground a blinding light showed in our faces as a disguised police car had been parked near by.
"Go!" Duke shouted as we dashed down the street with them pursuing us.
As we ran Duke looked ahead, but kept me close to him. After running like this we managed to evade our pursuers as we slipped into an alley. Keeping to the shadows Duke gripped my hand as we caught our breath.
"That was closer than I would have liked," Duke admitted as he looked to me, "Are you okay?"
"I think so," I said still catching my breath.
"We can't wait here long," Duke said, "Take another minute while I see if the coast is clear."
"Please be careful," I said to him.
Duke gave me a confident smile before kissing my cheek, "Of course my love."
With that he walked down to the other end of the alley to check for any sign of trouble. Finally I caught my breath and began to follow. However I was looking over my shoulder to make sure no one was following us, so I didn't see what was ahead of me as I stepped forward.
Suddenly it felt a little warmer in the city as I walked along. Also the alley had shifted as it became an open park with my feet stepping into soft grass rather than snow. Startled I looked at my surroundings to find a city park greeting me with it's bare trees and flowing fountain ahead of me.
"Where-?"
Then panic set in. Where was he? I looked around to see no way into the alley I had just come from. As I spun around, turning back, I noticed a sliver of light before me just as it vanished, sealing me where ever I was.
"Duke!" I exclaimed while trying to understand what had just occurred.
Again I looked around to see if there were any sign of him. Yet there seemed to be no sign of the drake I knew.
"Duke!" I called out again, this time with fear setting in.
I then began to run along the nearby sidewalk, trying to see if I could figure out where in the city I was. Yet the more I looked around the more I realized I had no idea where I had ended up. While still modern the buildings I could see from the park were not like anything on Puck World. The season, while still showing signs of winter, was much warmer than on our planet.
"Where am I?" I wondered aloud as I walked along the seemingly empty streets.
Then in the distance I noticed something odd. Three men were hanging at the end of the park street. They each had a bottle in their hands that they drank from frequently before shoving one another around. Yet the strange part was that none of them had beaks, or even feathers for that matter.
"What are they?" I asked as I drew closer.
"Woah, check out the chick...litterally," one of them stumbled when he noticed me.
His friends looked at me in what I realized was drunken bewilderment. One of their jaws dropped in a bit of shock when he saw me standing there.
"Excuse me," I attempted nervously, "Where am I? And have you seen anyone like me by any chance, someone dressed similar to me maybe?"
One of them grinned at me with a drunken blush noticable on his face?
"I've never seen a gal like you before," he told me as he sauntered up to me, "And I'm betting you've never seen a guy like me before have you?"
I stepped back cautiously while raising a brow at his bold behavior, "You're right, I haven't. The guy I'm with is much smoother."
"I don't see any guy with you," he retorted as though offended while he walked up to me, "Come on, I'd be happy to show a swan like you a good time."
"No thank you," I said firmly as the three approached me.
I don't know if it was shock, but my steps faultered on me as I tried to step back from him. He then grabbed my wrist with his sweaty hand.
"Back off!" I said glaring at him as I pulled my hand away.
He grabbed for me again, but this time I stepped to the side. This time he stumbled over and landed in the grass, "I think she likes me!"
My stomach churned when he said that. For a moment I was relieved to know that...Duke...No...Where was he?
Breaking away from the three of them who were too busy drunkenly laughing I ran down the sidewalk.
This brought me to a busy city street despite it being so late. Vehicles rushed in front of me on the long roads. Several featherless and beakless people walked by me seemingly not really noticing me in return. This gave some relief though as I was able to walk along with them hiding in plain sight. Looking into a window pane I watched the news as they talked about several cities, and even countries, that I had never heard of before.
Panic started to take over as I realized more and more that I wasn't even on Puck World. As I came to a billboard that advertised "Welcome to Anaheim, Home of the Mighty Frogs" it was made clear I wasn't where I should be.
"Great Mother, where am I?" I asked in fear.

Duke:
"Alright Heart, it's clear," I had said as I turned to offer her my hand.
"Heart?" I asked when I found her to be missing.
In the snow there was no sign of a struggle. In fact it looked like she had started following me when her steps seemed to vanish. Looking up and down the streets, checking every rooftop, every window nearby, I began a search in vain. No matter where I looked it were as though she had disappeared from the world itself. Only my knowing her indicated that she had been with me at all that night.
For once true fear gripped my heart as I continued my search long into the night. Even as the sun came up I was still scowering the streets for any sign of her. At one point I checked her childhood home in secret to find she wasn't there. Nothing about this made sense.
"Heart, where are ya?" I asked without words, but received no answer.
Finding myself at the Great Mother's temple I took a chance and looked inside. All I found were the same windows Heart and I had viewed together, including the one that had witnessed our secret wedding vows to one another.
"Please...where is she?" I asked her, "I was tryin' ta keep her safe. At least help me find her? Help me know that she's safe. Please?"
Yet there was still no answer. Giving into exhaustion I knelt down on my knees, taking refuge at the alter of the temple. Beside it I tried to figure out what to do, where to go, and who to turn to so that I might find her still.
"Heart...I'm sorry..." I whispered without words, then said aloud through frustration, trying to remain calm, "But I'm goin' ta find ya. Hang on where ever ya are?"
From there I forced myself not to break down as I wondered where she might be, and why she wasn't beside me now.

Heart:
I had continued wandering the streets that night trying to figure out what to do or where to go. I wondered how I had even ended up in such a place? The last thing I remembered before this was being in the alley with Duke. Then I went to follow him? I recalled the light I had seen in the air in front of me earlier.
"A doorway of some sort?" I wonderd, "But why? Why then? Why there?"
I looked up at the sky as it faded to a soft blue, transitioning from shades of dawn lingering in the distance.
"Please..." I said to the moon overhead, "I just want to know where he is?"
"Heart...I'm sorry..." I thought I heard him, yet spinning around I found he was no where to be found.
"Duke?"
I thought perhaps exhaustion was setting in. So I looked around for a place to try and rest a moment. This proved to be difficult as the shops were closed tight. Being in an unfamiliar land I wasn't sure what boundaries to test by breaking in. Eventually though I found my way to what seemed to be a familiar structure at least. A hockey stadium stood in the distance from the mall I was standing outside of.
Carefully making my way to it I found the doors to be locked. Breaking my original reserves I slipped a tool out from my belt and got the door open in seconds. Then I slipped inside locking it behind me with a slight smirk on my face. Then I made a nod at the cameras nearby, shutting them down temporarily.
"I guess it might be a good idea to change," I said tiredly as I found what I figured was a locker room.
Once inside I tossed my bag onto the bench and pulled out the shirt Duke had given me when I'd first stayed with him and a pair of black cargo pants. Yet I then found myself dropping the cargos for a moment and clutching his shirt close to me. It was burgundy as I knew him to usually wear. Without realizing it my hands were shaking as I clutched the fabric against my chest. Tears I didn't know I'd had in my eyes began to fall. Around my neck I felt the sapphire necklace he'd given me weighing down on it somehow. Where was he? Where was I? Now my whole body trembled as I dropped to my knees gripping his shirt as tight as I could. Why was this happening? It had occured so quickly, before I could even take a step back, I was trapped in this strange world without him. Without him...Duke...my thief...
"Please...steal me back..." I begged without words as though I thought I could reach him this way.
There was no answer. So instead I caved in there on the floor in a ball of sorts. In every way I found myself once again torn away from everything I knew. My family. My home. My very planet. And my thief.