Prologue and Ch. 1

We meet Terra and learn a little about her past

Prologue

Mainly Gazette, July 12, 1975
--Staff reporter

Residents of the small town of Mainly were stunned today when the remains of 12 year old Neci Bagley were found outside a city park.  The state of the remains indicate that the child was tortured and sexually assaulted before her death, according to one source in the Mainly Law Enforcement who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

"Whoever got ahold of her was sick, just sick.  It looked like wild dogs got her...The medical report shows that things were done to this girl that shouldn't have been done...to anyone, ever."

Neci had been missing for 4 days, after being abducted from her bedroom on July 7.  Her twin sister, Terra, was in the room at the time as well, asleep at the time of the abduction.  Just yesterday, Mrs. Janice Bagley, Neci's mother spoke to reporters on camera, pleading for the return of her daughter.

"We will give anything, do anything, but please bring her back to us.  She is the sweetest child, and doesn't...doesn't deserve this. Please bring her home to her family."

So far, the police have no leads, though suggestions have been made that Terra Bagley may have awoken and seen or heard something out of the ordinary.  At least, at this point, law enforcement can only hope that she did, for the 12 year old is the only link to the perpetrator of this crime.
 

 

Chapter 1: April 23, 2007 

Terra’s textbook slipped out of her hand and onto the floor with a thud that seemed to echo in the quiet library.  Blushing, she stooped to pick it up, shooting an apologetic look at the study carol nearest hers.  She sighed, and set the textbook on the desk, rifling through the pages to the set of calculus problems she had been assigned for homework.

 

“Excuse me, Terra Bagley?”  a soft spoken voice from behind her murmured.  She turned, and her elbow knocked over her cup of hot chocolate.

 

“Oh, damn,” she muttered, but the man who had spoken stepped forward quickly with a handkerchief, cleaning the mess with a practiced swipe and uprighting the cup.  “Thanks,”  Terra said, blushing furiously. 

 

“No problem,” the stranger replied, pulling up a chair without being asked and sitting opposite her.

 

“Uh, can I help you?”  Terra asked, glancing around quickly to see if anyone else appeared to be being startled by businessmen. The man’s disarming smile widened.

 

“Actually, yes, yes you can.  My name is Dr. James Preda, and my organization is, in fact, in need of your assistance. Your country is, actually.”

 

“Sorry?”  Terra replied, blinking in confusion.

 

“I’m sorry, I’ve jumped ahead of myself.  My organization is dedicated to stopping domestic terrorism, in various, ah, flavors.  We have some very…unique tools at our disposal with which to do this, but we are always recruiting for people unique enough to use those tools.  Field agents.”  He paused, looking at her expectantly, and Terra snorted.

 

“So, what, you want me to point you to the ROTC building?” 

 

“No, Miss Bagley.  We want you to join our team.  As a field agent.”  He looked at her expectantly again, as though waiting for an answer to a request.

 

“Um, right. A field agent. Like, a scientist?  You guys must be scraping the bottom of the barrel if your recruiting college sophomores, but…”

 

“No, not like a scientist.  You would be responsible for tracking terrorists—as part of a team, and apprehending the suspects themselves.  Or…immobilizing them for local or federal law enforcement.”

 

“Okay, you had me there for a second, but frankly, I’m far more likely to ‘immobilize’ myself or any heavy machinery you put in my way than I am terrorists.  Did someone put you up to this?  Because it really isn’t funny.  I have a lot of work to get done.”  Terra was feeling impatient now, and more than a little embarrassed.

 

“Miss Bagley, I assure you, this is no joke.  This is a very serious matter.  Perhaps this will help?”  he pulled out a small identification badge, which looked official, had a magnetic stripe and a thumbprint as well as a name, but no organization name.  Terra rolled her eyes.

 

“I could have one of those made on campus for $25,” she said.  “Hell, I could probably make one myself.”

 

“Not like this, you couldn’t,” he replied holding it up to her.  He moved his thumb on the back of it, and a red light flashed in her left eye.  A moment later a computerized voice spoke from the card.

 

“Retinal scan confirmed.  Terra Bagley, age 21, physics major at—“

 

“Okay, okay, wow.  I get it.  Nice,” Terra said, leaning back, impressed despite herself. “Are you sure you don’t want the ROTC building?”

 

“Yes, Miss Bagley, I am,” Dr. Preda said, sounding a bit impatient himself now.

 

“Look, Dr., uh…”

 

“Preda.”

 

“Dr. Preda. You seem official enough.  And you seem to have some kind of file on me.  Which means you should be aware that you’d be hard pressed to find a less successful ‘field agent.’  I mean, you might want to look for one who can walk from here to there without tripping over her own feet or dropping something,” she tried to make it come out as a joke, but it fell flat, and she blushed again at how much of her own feelings her tone revealed.  She looked away, rubbing a drop of hot chocolate from a page in her text book with a thumb to distract herself from Dr. Preda's all-too-penetrating gaze.

 

“Actually, you are exactly what we need.” He waved a hand dismissively.  “We can take care of the clumsiness, the lack of coordination, and the lack of physical discipline or training.  We can get you in shape, and we can train you to do the work.  But the fact of the matter is, only about 3% of the population can do what we need you to do with the computers to get your job done.  And only about 1/3 of them are in the right socioeconomic status to even be considered.  That makes you…important to us.  And, as I said, to the country as a whole.”

 

"What, exactly, does your 'organization' do?" Terra asked, curious despite herself.

 

"We stop criminals.  Violent ones.  We have an impressive...network of information, unavailable to any other law enforcement agency, and we use it to stop violence--before it happens if possible, or to apprehend those responsible for it when needed."  Terra pondered his words for a moment, particularly the part about stopping violence before it happened.  She seemed to recognize by the set of his face that further questions about their "network" would go unanswered at this point.

 

"And you want to offer me a job?" she asked.

 

"Not exactly," Dr. Preda corrected quickly. "I mean, you would work for us, yes, but for the first 5 years, you would be in training, and there would be no pay.  Long hours, and I won't lie, the training is difficult, particularly for someone who hasn't had martial arts or high level athletic training before."

 

"And then after 5 years of unpaid, and no doubt painful training, you want me to work for your 'organization'?  Doing what sounds like very dangerous work?"

 

"Well, yes."

 

"And what would make you think I'd consider this even for a second?"  Terra asked, an amused smile on her face.  Dr. Preda was not smiling.  Grimly, he reached into his brief case, and pulled out a photo, which he slid across the table to her.  Terra stared at it for a long moment before she could find her voice.

 

"Where did you get this?" 

 

"That's not important.  We--"

 

"To me it is!"  Her voice cracked sharply, and a nearby studier glared over at them.  Terra lowered her voice by sheer force of will, clenching her fist on the table next to the picture.  "I don't even have a copy of this photo."

 

"I told you, Terra,"  his voice softened as he used her given name for the first time.  "We have a very impressive network of information.  We know how meaningful this...she is to you.  We thought you might like to do something to make a difference."  For another long moment, Terra stared at the photo, the familiar faces smiling up at her from it, and the one that would never smile again.  When her eyes met Dr. Preda's again, there was nothing of the self-deprecating, clumsy young woman in them.  They were hard, almost predatory.

 

"When do I start?"

Author's Note

This chapter may end up being later in the book instead, as a flash back or something. Some edits made based on first review.

Reviews

[Abigail]

First off, can I say that I love this? This is exactly the kind of thing I would pay to read, exactly the kind of thing that I would automatically buy in a bookstore. You put together words in such a way that I am just intrigued to read more. Great job! It's amazing!

Having that said, though, I do have some thoughts. There are times when you get a little too wordy, and others when there are grammar or punctuation errors that just kind of offset my train of thought. And when Terra first meets Dr. Preda, it seemed sort of awkward in my mind that he just walked up to her. If I was in her position, I would have been at least freaked out a little, maybe glancing around to see if anyone else was watching. And it did take me a little while to realize that she was 21 now, but in a way how you told it really does work. Amazing job! I absolutely love this!!

[Charlie.]

This is absolutely beautiful. I see every image described in here. Your words are intriguing and I can't wait to see where this story goes. Beautiful Job(:

[Steven]

Very nice, but perhaps a bit too much dialogue. It reads almost like a play rather than a novel.

[keszyd]

I like this! Terra is so approachable and intriguing at the same time. I definitely want to know what happens to her! My only suggestion would be to edit the very first part of the introduction a bit, the dialogue feels a little awkward. It irons out quickly though. :)

[Theresa]

The first paragraph sucks the reader in and the ending leaves you wanting more. I can't wait to read what you write next and I only hope that we learn more about Terra in the next few chapters. I'm kind of interested in how she dealt with the disappearance of her sister and then what she went through when she was found. Since they were twins you know there was an underlying connection that nobody else would understand. I'm curious to see how it develops, if you do flashbacks or have her talk to someone about that day. Again I just want more. Great job. Keep it up.

[bluessadmood]

Yes that was a great story you told here..I was really so engaged reading..the style and the way you
arrange the events and the one thing leading to the other,you dont leave any gap anywhere..only maybe you should have
told something some more about your character,Terra,you never said anything about her
you could have told something to give her more life and how should we expect her to react
other than that ,I must say ,this was really a perfect very thrilling write..I really would like to know
what happens next,how suddenly over a day maybe her whole life is going to change
I really would love to see whats coming up next..
lovely write..

[Thoughts]

plzzzz I am looking forward for more..........

[Jenny Nelson]

Really looking forward to future chapters. Certainly has caught my attention and left me wanting to know more.