A/N
In reply to the Somebody, I actually knew an information analyst, a colonel from an unnamed military intelligence (different country than mine). When I actually wanted to work for my country's intelligence after I finish school in the information analysis, he told me that it analysing information is just thinking all over and over. He recently had to return to service. It was actually a friend of my deceased father who was a soldier, just like my grand-dad. I was thinking of going to security and strategic studies at the college, but seeing it was humanities, I found it boring.
End of A/N

My sleep wasn't very pleasant. My emotions hit me like a shock wave after my mom died, and I cried. Memories forced me to cry, and a violent nightmare pulled me from my sleep.

I didn't even have a plan made up properly yet, I said the idea that first occurred to me when I was trying to act like a proper leader taking care of my loved ones again.
The nightmare was dark and violent. It was extremely alive when I slept, but it felt like fragments when I woke up. I saw blood, flesh, dark, and I felt like something was coming at me and touching me. I kept holding the amulet in my hand.

I was alone in the dark after I woke up, I didn't notice Claire went to me.

"Jim, are you fine?" She asked, dressed like when we went to school.

"No, I'm not okay. I failed. About everything." I said, sitting at the wooden bed attached to the wall. She sat down beside me, put her hand on my shoulder, and looked at me.

"I remember what you said on the phone. What happened? And Jim, you did your best it isn't your fault."

"Mom... mom..." I murmured with tears flowing from my eyes "After Strickler died it was probably too much for her. She stopped eating, she didn't even ate what I cooked her. Before she died, she had to do shifts with the wounded, civilians and soldiers in the refugee camp after the Arcane Order destroyed Arcadia. She didn't tell me much about it, but I'm sure what she saw there must have signed off on her, too. And in a few months... she.. she.." I stopped "died..."

I started to cry and Claire hugged me.

"I'm only telling you so far because I love you." I said as I felt her warm hands on my hand and continued crying into her shoulder "I c-couldn't even b-bury m-my mom!"

"Ssshhhh... ssshhhhh..."

She began to cradle me in her arms like the child she was supposed to protect.

"I had a nightmare too, it was so alive! I was in the dark, I could see pieces of bodies, I could feel something coming at me.."

I buried my head in her shoulder, squeezed her tightly during hug, and I kept crying. I felt her kiss on my forehead.

"I didn't have it easy either." She said as she stopped hugging me after I started calming down. We sat right now next to each other and I listened to her. "I had to stop seeing my friends from our former high school and explain that as long as they were meeting me, they wouldn't be safe and that the Secret Service would be watching. I told them to start all over again, get a happy life and go to college. You know how they do it."

I smiled a little after that while wiping the dried hot tears from my face, I looked at her and replied.

"Given what was happening in Arcadia.." I started and continued, still bit sobbing "I guess the CIA needed an army of satellites, agents and intelligence to keep track of the entire city. It was just a matter of time before that happened, and given that people here have been living together with trolls and aliens for a while, I think it was planned."

"Area 49-B were just hold-ups. If they didn't plan anything, they would raid the whole city already from the beginning."

"True, true.." I said, still bit sobbing.

"Claire?" I turned at her, still bit sobbing "I don't even have a proper plan. I said the first thing I thought, I can't run away from a fight like a coward."

"Jim, I think you need to take some time off to at least recover. Don't worry about the plan now, the plan will come up, just take some time off for your own good."

I got out of bed, I didn't even know what time it was. Anyway, I can't sleep anymore. I looked again at the beige's orange walls.

"Can I just ask where we are? When you dragged me in through the portal, I didn't even know where I was."

I looked again at Claire and I noticed she bit her lip.

"You probably won't be too happy about this."

"Why?"

"When you told me roughly what was going on on the phone, I did it so that everyone would be as safe as possible."

"So where we are?"

"In the Central Europe."

My mouth fell.

"America isn't safe, Western Europe is coming after you as well, Eastern Europe is on the brink of conflict and all dictators, Central Europe doesn't matter to everyone." She said.

"Wasn't this Blinky's idea?" I asked "I remember him telling me that the trolls were originally in Europe."

"That's why I came with Central Europe. From what I've learned about the history and mythology here, there could be some connection to all of this. Plus, the people here are kind of similar to the Americans, so it should be more like home. There is actually a large Heartstone Trollmarket under the city."

"In what country I'm?" I asked.

"Czech Republic." Claire replied.

I didn't know how to react. I'd heard a little bit about the country, but I didn't expect to visit.

"When the occult came out, and if you remember my interest in theatre and literature, you'll notice that a lot of writers or famous occultists have visited the capital. Lovecraft mentions Prague in The Call of Cthulhu, in Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials Prague is mentioned as the country of origin of the artifact that played a role in the book, in history there were also John Dee and Edward Kelly who are speculated to have been British spies. The legend of Faust also takes place here."

She then sighed and said "This is becoming more and more complicated even from the religious view. They hate Christianity for sure."

"Well considering, you and me are both Christian and it's values it also makes sense." I said.

"The irony is, this country is atheist compared to the US, they even waged wars against the Catholic Church when it cruelly ruled Europe. I don't want to go any further, the religious side of all this is terribly complicated, the political side can still be processed." She said and I nodded.

"I'm wondering what I'm going to do now. I can't sleep anymore. What time is it?" I asked.

"3 AM."

I decided to change my clothes, go for a walk outside, or practice fighting.
"I just need to drink water, my head hurts." I said and I left the room.

There was a small kitchen with a faucet and a sink, and I washed my face with icy water before reaching for a drink. I infused myself with a glass and drank heavily. I felt cold, I didn't even realize how sweaty I was after the nightmare.

I changed out of the clothes available here. My favorite blue outfit was dirty, so I dressed in gray.

When I left the underground complex for a moment, I saw that I was in the middle of a forest, on a hill, and in the distance I could see the shining city. Just like in Arcadia. I ran around, did some exercises and then decided to train. I took out the inside of the punching dummy and the boxing gloves and I trained outside. I was so angry that I smashed the dummy even though it was hard, and my hands ached. When I was hitting one hard punch after another, I realized how angry I was.

Finally, I knelt down beside the smashed dummy and took off my gloves. The skin on my fists was chafed, there was a little blood, and the skin in the area of the bloody abrasions turned red.

At first I winked at the cold air in pain, but then I buried my face in my hands and, kneeling, I started thinking about my life.

"Damn..." I said to myself.