Damarr stared in stupefied awe at the spot in mid-air where his stone had apparently struck some invisible force and then fallen to the ground. He turned about and quickly scoured the slope for his companion.

“Did you see that?” he exclaimed and then snatched up another rock from the ground beside his feet, his attention turned once more to the view that stretched out before him. It was the wild lands. One of the places forbade by the elders.

“See what? A load more rocks? Oh, come on Dee, haven’t we had enough for today? I thought we were only going a little beyond the pathway…”

He turned a little to watch as Bella made the last ascent to the top of the ridge where he was stood, her face flushed slightly as she fought a little to catch her breath. She spent too long in that lab of hers, trying to figure out the wonders of nature. He smiled a little.

“Over there,” he said in a slightly hushed tone, almost as if were trying not to scare the invisible thing away. He turned and pointed as Bella looked on and then outward to the flora and fauna which populated the wild lands, interspersed with a few trees and many, many rocks.

He launched the rock and it sailed through the air with apparent ease until… it didn’t.
It seemed to strike something and then fall. He turned and saw the deep frown of intense curiosity flare up on Bella’s face as she watched the whole scene distort and bend as if watched through the ripples in a pool of water when someone casts a stone into the pond. The trees, rocks and scenery all seemed to ripple and flow as the distortion expanded and then dissipated into thin air.

“What… was that?” She said on a deep exhalation of air.

He shrugged and turned to scour the floor for another rock as she moved forward, taking a few steps toward the spot where the rock now lay, her arm extended out before her and her hand outstretched as if trying to feel her way in the dark.

He snatched a quick glance at her, his brow furrowed as he turned back to his search.
“Hey, go steady now. We’ve no idea what that is out there…”
He heard her snort and then laugh, his attention drawn as she turned about and stared at him, her hands now placed on her hips as she stared back at him from her position slightly further down the ridge.

“Oh really? Says the one who urged me to try breaking the rules for once and got me to come out here, just so you didn’t have to be out here all on your own when they come to get you…”
She was right. He snorted and turned back to his rock hunt.
“I just think we should be careful…”

That was when the air seemed to ripple all around him as a blinding flash caused him to flinch, and he flung up his arms to try and cover his eyes.
He fell, and the ground rushed up to meet him, hard.
There was a crackle, a fizz and a bang. One after the other. Almost on top of one another.
He swore and tried to blink a few times as his face twisted into a scowl, his vision slow to recover as he tried to which way he’d been facing when it all happened, and pushed himself up from the floor.
“Bella…?” He called out, voice voice seemingly strained. He tried to swallow. “Bella?” He called out again, but with no reply.

He turned to his left, and then to his right.
His movements came in short, sharp bursts as he looked all around, his gaze sweeping the floor in the direction he thought he’d last seen her stand. He thought that he might see her body, lying there on the floor. Unconscious. Dear stars, he hoped she was just unconscious. Somewhere.

Then something. A sound. A low, droning hum from somewhere behind. Somewhere down near the bottom of the ridge. He whirled about and stood in sudden fear as the glider moved into sight, not too far below here he now stood on the ridge.
It was coming to a halt.

For a fleeting moment he was filled with panic. They’d found him in the restricted zone. He was done for, but then… then an almost euphoric sensation swept over him as he realised they could help him find Bella. Give aid if she was hurt, or help move her to safety. He turned to face them and waved.

“Stand fast and hold out for ident.” The voice instructed and Damarr turned to see an agent stood nearby, on the other side of the ridge from where the glider now waited, down below.
It was obviously a ploy to catch him unawares, the agent having deployed in advance to make is ascent while the glider caught his attention, probably just in case he chose to run or put up some fight against being captured. He had no such intention. He held out his arm so that the agent could wave the short, stubby wand over the back of his wrist to check his registered status.

He moved and gestured down to where Bella had been, his eyes fixed on the agent before him.
“My friend was over there,” he said and quickly swallowed down as he flicked a glance over to the spot he’d last seen her, but still no Bella. “She was stood there and talking, and then there was this flash and a bang, and now she’s gone…”

“Then your friend was… unlucky,” the agent responded in a voice that was level and devoid of all empathy. “There’s a good reason we tell folks to not venture out here, and that is because of what lies beyond.”

“Beyond…?” Damarr replied, and his frown deepened. “Beyond what?”
“The barrier, of course,” the agent replied. “The only thing that stops us all from being like them, and now your friend has gone to join them in the great beyond.”
“I don’t understand,” Damarr said as he turned around to stare at the spot where the rocks had fallen to the ground. “We need to help her… we need to find her…”

The agent whispered in his ear.
“There is no coming back from what lies beyond…”
Damarr tried to turn but the agent held him fast, his arm brought up behind his back to twist him around in any direction the agent so desired. The man had moved quickly. Quietly.
“…As you will now learn,” the agent concluded.
“What are you…?” Damarr snarled out at he felt himself propelled down the ridge, the grip on his arm tightened and twisted as he tried to turn and squirm away but to no avail. “You are meant to protect and serve!”

There was a final shove and the grip released as Damarr felt something hard impact the small of his back. A fist, or a boot maybe? He had little time to think before he felt himself submerge as the barrier swallowed his body, the sensation being not unlike going under the water in a warm lake until you were enveloped. Completely. Words followed him into the blackness, in those few precious moments before his conscious mind was swallowed whole.

“It’s what I have to do, time and time again. I’m protecting them from people like you…”

***

The agent stood in seemingly silent contemplation as the ripples died away and he was left along on the ridge. He glanced down and shoved one of two rocks to the side with the toe of his boot before he turned to make his way back to the glider, and to all those people he’d sworn to protect.
His job here was done, for now.

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