9. Abbey

9

ABBEY

Mother's Day came and went, leaving both Abbey and Aunt Rose completely exhausted. But Abbey was relieved too—the big Monstrum who had claimed she was his "fated mate" hadn't come back. She still hadn't gotten any word about the exemption she had filed for, but she was hoping that no news was good news. He must have looked her up and found out she was exempt and decided to go bother someone else.

She hadn't had any more dreams of him either. Abbey told herself that was a good sign and of course she didn't miss waking up feeling terrified in the middle of the night.

What about the other feelings he gave you though—what about his scent? whispered a little voice in her head. Abbey pushed it away. She didn't miss that amazing, masculine fragrance at all—and she especially didn't miss the way it had made her feel so hot and bothered that she had to take care of herself before she could get back to sleep…right?

"Right," she muttered to herself as she ran her hand carefully along the shelf displaying vases, making sure they were in a straight line. "I don't want anything to do with him and I'm glad he's gone for good!"

"What did you say, honey?" Aunt Rose asked, her voice coming from across the store.

"Oh, uh, nothing." Abbey had a surge of irritation directed at herself. People were going to think she was crazy, muttering to herself like that! Thank goodness there were no customers in the shop at the moment.

She already had to be careful because some people had the idea that blind or visually impaired also meant mentally challenged. It irritated Abbey to no end when someone found out she was blind and then started talking really loudly or really slowly to her or praising her for doing simple, everyday tasks like tying her shoes—as though she was a toddler.

In fact, it had been scientifically proven that blind people had extra mental acuity—especially when it came to their memories. Abbey could attest to that—she had an excellent spatial memory—once she learned the layout of a room or the contents of a drawer or cupboard, she retained that knowledge effortlessly and flawlessly. She just needed to be "shown" once where things were and she would remember it forever. And as long as everything stayed in its place, she was fine.

"Well, it's almost lunch time. How about I run down to the deli and get us a couple of subs?" Aunt Rose asked her.

"Sure, that sounds good." Abbey nodded. "I'll watch the store while you're gone."

"I doubt you'll see anyone—maybe a few stragglers who didn't get their Mom something yesterday," Aunt Rose remarked. "Do we have enough stock left just in case?"

"I just checked—we still have enough American Beauties for two full bouquets and a few other varieties as well," Abbey told her. "And there's a fresh shipment coming from the Flower Power Nursery tomorrow, so we'll be fine."

"Good. Okay, I'll be back in thirty minutes," Aunt Rose promised.

Abbey heard a jingling and the whoosh of the shop's front door and then she was all alone in the store.

She took a deep breath and then found the stool behind the checkout counter by touch and sank onto it. The Mother's Day rush always took a lot out of her so she was tired but pleased. They had done really well this year, making enough to cover the rent on the shop for the next six months as well as paying for new stock from their local suppliers.

There might even be enough left over to get one of those Vision Pros—a pair of glasses one could wear that had extra mobility aides. Abbey had wanted to try a pair ever since she'd heard a blind YouTuber she followed reviewing them. They were supposed to be really?—

Her thoughts cut off abruptly as she heard the front door jingle.

"Hello?" She stood up from the stool and placed her hands on the counter. Looking in the direction of the door, she saw two large, dark shapes but couldn't make out anything else about them. "Can I help you?" she asked uncertainly. For some reason she felt a shiver crawl down her spine. Who were these people and why weren't they talking? "Hello?" she asked again.

The two murmured together for a moment, but their voices were too low for even Abbey's excellent hearing to catch. Then one of them spoke.

"Abigail Lennox?" he asked in an inhumanly deep voice.

"Er…yes?" Abbey's heart was pounding now, though she didn't know why. "That's me—who wants to know?" she asked, staring at the large dark blobs as they moved towards her.

"I'm Commander T'zorn and this is Commander Galen," the first one informed her. "We are agents of the Bride Draft and we've come to collect you. You have been officially drafted."

"What? No!" Abbey moved out from behind the counter and began edging towards the back of the shop. If she could just get to the back room where they kept the stock, she could lock herself in and call Aunt Rose to get a lawyer or the police or something. She could?—

Her thoughts cut off as her seeking fingers fumbled through her jean pockets and found nothing.

Oh no! Her iPhone wasn't in her pocket. Where was it? What was she going to do without it? More than any other mobility aide besides her cane, Abbey used her phone to help her navigate the world. Being without it was like being without her clothes. Where had she left it?

On the counter—it must be back on the counter. You were just thinking of listening to an audiobook, remember?

Trying to keep the large, dark blurs that were the Kindred Draft Agents in her field of vision, she began edging back towards the counter.

And that was when both of the dark blurs suddenly filled her field of vision and she felt large, hard hands gripping her arms.

"No, please!" she gasped, struggling against them. But she might as well have been fighting a brick wall—they weren't going anywhere and they weren't letting her go.

"Come with us, please," the first agent said.

"But…but where are you taking me?" Abbey demanded. "Please—at least let me go long enough to get my things!" She needed her phone and her cane if she was going to a new place she'd never been before. She would be helpless without them!

"Negative, you have already rejected your fated mate once," the second Draft Agent rumbled. "This has resulted in you being labeled a flight risk. You must come with us immediately."

"No! Please!" Abbey begged, but her pleading fell on deaf ears. She was dragged out of Rose's Roses and shoved into some kind of large, dark vehicle that was roomy inside and hummed quietly to itself.

"Please!" Abbey was crying now as one of the agents strapped her to the seat. "Please—my aunt! She…she won't nuh-know where I w-went! She'll think I was ku-kidnapped!"

You are being kidnapped, whispered a little voice in her head. You're being taken against your will—what else would you call that?

"If your aunt is listed on the Drafting Agreement as your next of kin, she will get an official communication to let her know you were taken in the Draft," the one buckling her in rumbled.

"An official communication? What…what does that even mean?" Abbey demanded through her sobs. "A ph-phone call? A l-letter? What?"

But the agent had finished buckling her in and he didn't bother to answer her questions. He simply shut the door firmly and then went around to get into the front of the vehicle.

At least, that was what Abbey assumed. She could hear the rumbling talk of the two huge Kindred somewhere in front of her and then the vehicle they were in lifted straight up, making her feel like she'd left her stomach behind on the pavement below.

"Oh! Oh my God!" she gasped. Her hands sought desperately for something to hold onto but all she could find were the thick straps that held her in place, pinning her to the large, plush seat she was sitting on.

Abbey gripped the straps tightly, fighting both tears and nausea as the Kindred craft rose higher and higher into the sky. What was she going to do without her phone and her cane? How could she let Aunt Rose know what had happened to her? She was going to be frantic with worry when she came back and found Abbey was gone!

She had no answers to any of her questions and no way to get away from her captors. She was being taken away to a strange, unknown location and she didn't have any of her mobility aides to help her. She was going to be helpless—at the mercy of the big Monstrum who had sent for her. He would be able to do anything he wanted to her and she wouldn't be able to stop him—wouldn't be able to run because she couldn't see where she was going!

Feeling sick and scared to death, Abbey dissolved into tears and sobbed for the rest of the trip.