The Meant to Be Collection

by Claire Highton-Stevenson

  “You made her do it.” His fingers wrapped around her scrawny neck once more. She had no idea what he was talking about as she clawed at his arms. His face contorted with a mix of rage and sadness, his eyes brimming with tears. “Because of you, she did it,” he half-whispered, half-sobbed as his fingers gripped tighter.

  The blackness came for her, as she knew it would. Her entire life she had lived with the blackness, the dark side of existence engulfing her before she had even had a chance at life. She had never thought it would come from someone like him though. He had adored her, fucked her because he wanted to, not because he was paying, though there were times he had paid for something more ‘special.’ There were many times under a man that she considered how her life would end. While they paid to thrust into her, she would take her mind elsewhere. Her thoughts would start off light: the idea of escaping it all, the addictions and the lifestyle that came with them, but eventually her thoughts would move towards the end. Her death would be lonely. Forgotten easily.

  Afterwards, when he was finished with her, when she was displayed just the way he wanted her, he set about finishing the work.

  The doll would be a reminder when they eventually found her.

  You can buy The Doll Maker in full here: http://getbook.at/TheDollMaker

  In Dyer Need: The First Chapter

  Chapter One

  London, on this bright early morning, would in any other moment be considered beautiful. The sun was shining for a change, though a darker cloud hung in the distance, and the flags that flew from the masts that lined Parliament Square flapped almost rhythmically in the gentle breeze.

  Tourists mingled with office workers around the area, taking in the sights as they stopped to take photographs or listen to a guide explain the history of the buildings that surrounded them. It was warm and humid, that cool breeze that blew through occasionally the only respite.

  All of that would change, in just a few hours.

  “Do we have any idea what the hell is going on yet, Jeremy?” Andrea Fielding was speaking quietly into the handset of the office phone that connected her directly to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Jeremy Benson. She swivelled clockwise and could see from her comfortable leather high-backed chair the view out of the window across the square towards the Abbey.

  Westminster Abbey had stood in its present condition since the 1200s, but there had been a church of sorts there long before then. It was a landmark of British history. More than just a building, it was iconic, as was the building she sat in right now. The Houses of Parliament. It wasn’t all that old in the grand scheme of things, the main parts of the building having been built around 1840-70. The great hall, around which the building was built, was all that was left of its medieval beginnings. It was the heartbeat of the country. Decisions were made, ideas voted on, and laws created, all within these walls.

  “The latest figures suggest that there is a serious issue with some kind of new psychotic drug being given freely on the streets, and it’s spreading quickly. Once someone takes it, they are under its influence,” he stated gravely. She continued to watch the growing crowds outside. A fight had broken out, but the police were dealing with it. These scenes were happening all too frequently, and as home secretary, she didn’t like it.

  “And as such, they have no fear, no conscience, and we have no way to stop them, other than to what?!” Several more police cars had arrived, sirens blaring she imagined. The blue lights were obvious, but the sirens were silenced by the distance and the impenetrable windows and dense walls that kept the sound minimal.

  “We don’t…” He sighed dejectedly, “We have no way to deal with them unless we send in the army and start shooting our own citizens on the streets of Britain, and it isn’t just here. Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, even Washington. The entire world is enduring this – I don’t even know what to call it. It’s carnage, just carnage.” He sighed again like a man resigned to his fate.

  She felt the shiver that shot down her spine at the first admission of what she had only, until now, suspected. She was the home secretary, so it was her job to ensure the safety of the British public on home soil, and she was failing miserably.

  She held the phone tightly in her left hand and scribbled a few notes on headed notepaper with her right as she listened to him continue.

  “We have a situation here, Andi.” His tone lowered another notch. “The predictions are that this is only going to escalate. Those that are infected by this drug are full of fury. They are killing each other out there. It’s no longer just a riot; its spiralling out of control, and—”

  “And?”

  “I am expecting the Dutch, French and German officials to arrive at your office within the next hour, try to come up with something, anything! The Americans are sending someone as well, but they won’t be arriving until tomorrow. I’ll be in meetings all day with the chief of defences, General Balcombe, and Air Marshal Proctor are already here waiting for me, so I need to go. We need a plan. Whatever it takes, Andi,” he instructed urgently.

  “Are you telling me we have carte blanche over this, Jeremy?” the Home Secretary asked, a rush of adrenaline shooting through her again as she digested exactly what was being said between the lines, and the fact that she would be seeing Marja Stegenga – something that filled her with excitement, and dread.

  The PM’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “I am saying, do what needs to be done, but make sure that we are in agreement with our European allies. If we are going to deal with this, it has to be together. We have to be seen to be as one on this; a united front, Andi.”

  Silence greeted her from the other end of the phone line. He’d hung up. She sat back in her chair and thought for a moment, considering her options. Were they really going to do what she thought they might have to?

  ~Dyer Need~

  Hedda Beck arrived first. Her golden hair was held rigidly to her head in a style reminiscent of a 1980s fraulein. She looked like the epitome of German femininity, but a no-nonsense woman with a hard face, until she smiled and her features would soften. The navy suit she wore today was fitted to perfection, with expensive heels that added an extra two inches to her already impressive height. Andi was always reminded of an Amazonian whenever they met each other.

  “Hedda, good to see you again, although obviously the circumstances are less than desirable.” They reached out and shook hands briskly.

  “Indeed Andi, we are at a loss as to what we can do to stop this.” No messing, straight to the crux of the matter as Andrea expected. She took a seat opposite her British counterpart and sighed deeply, nodding in response to the offer of a stiff drink as Andrea held the crystal decanter up.

  She poured two generous tumblers full and passed one across her to guest. They both took a moment to sip and enjoy the amber liquid; it was warm as it slowly made its way down her throat, numbing the path it took as they each compiled their own thoughts.

  “I am expecting Marja Stegenga and Thibaut Sabat to be joining us at any moment. Do you want to come through and we can go over some of the details from your end? I am told you were sent all the information we have?” They rose together and walked through a double oak door as they continued to talk.

  “Ja, we began to see a pattern just a few weeks ago amongst the…shall we say, more undesirable elements to our society, but in the last few days we have noticed that it is spreading. The drug is being handed out like candy, and in other circumstances swapped out. Teenagers think they are buying LSD or cocaine and instead they are being given this—“ She waved her hand at nothing in particular as she took a seat on the leather couch opposite her friend and equal.

  “So, the same practice as here, and I have no doubt that Thibaut and Marja will tell us exactly the same thing,” Andi answered. Hearing voices entering the outer office, she stood to greet her next guests.

  “Marja, Thibaut, please come on in. Drink?” She asked each of them. They each nodded furiously at the offer, and Andi
noticed the way that Marja held her gaze. She liked it and hated it all at once.

  “Something bloody strong too,” Marja said with a quick smile before turning her eyes across the room to acknowledge Hedda. Her dark curls, cut short around her neck, framed a pretty but serious face. She reached out to take Andrea’s hand and leant in for a formal yet warm kiss to the cheek. “It’s good to see you,” she breathed quietly into her ear, receiving a small nod in recognition.

  “Oui, this is not the time for soft drinks, Andi.” Thibaut laughed nervously. Nobody was taking this lightly, but at the same time there needed to be a small moment of normality. His hand was held out to shake firmly.

  Andrea passed around the cut glass crystal tumblers and then poured generously from the decanter once more. By the end of this day, the contents of the bottle may well be emptied.

  As they each took a moment to sip the dark nectar and contemplate the disaster that was imploding around them, Marja Stegenga took a deep breath before speaking quietly, but clearly. “As you know, we are a nation with a much higher tolerance on drug use than most of the other European countries. However, we have calculated that the rate at which this drug is spreading and therefore the effects that are taking hold of its user…” She took another breath as she prepared herself to finally admit what she had been reading in her reports all morning. “It isn’t just the user now that is affected. People are becoming vigilantes and they are taking to the streets, attempting to solve this problem with more violence. Our police force is now virtually incapable of stopping them. We calculate just days before…”

  “Before what, Marja?” Hedda asked urgently.

  “Before complete meltdown of the societal laws and orders as we know it.”

  “Are you joking?” Thibaut stammered, his voice full of consternation.

  “I wish I was. In terms of population, we are a much smaller nation compared with each of your nations. There are parts of our major cities, Rotterdam, Utrecht, and Amsterdam, that are now no-go zones. Our only option left is to send our forces in, but…” She ran her hand through her soft curls in frustration. “Even then we are in no position. Like you all, we have service personnel out in the Middle East with the UN. Our home side troops are severely depleted.”

  “We are facing similar problems in our major cities too,” Hedda announced quietly as she watched Andrea and Thibaut Sabat both nod in agreement.

  “It’s worldwide,” Andrea replied solemnly. “Each of us is at the same impasse. Troops on our own streets? Shoot to kill orders on our own people? Unless we can find the antidote to this drug and calm its effects, then we will have no choice.”

  There was a short rap on the door before it opened quickly and a dishevelled young woman in her twenties rushed inside the room. A look of complete panic and fear played out across her face as she wasted no time in gaining the home secretary’s attention.

  “Sorry to bother you, Minister, but I really think you might want to see this.”

  “See what, Kate?” she said standing, and moving towards the small television in the corner of the room. It was rarely used except for news events or catching a press conference.

  “No, ma’am, this!” Her secretary walked toward the window and pointed to whatever was going on outside.

  Andrea quickly changed direction and headed toward the window, along with her colleagues. What they saw now could only be considered a bloodbath. Hedda gasped, as they all crowed around the window together, eyes wide, jaws dropping.

  People in their hundreds, thousands even, were roaming the street outside. Cars were alight. Bottles were being smashed, and people were fighting each other. Buses, out of control, crashed into buildings and other cars. Tourists and those unaffected ran for their lives and were systematically chased and hunted by a ravenous hoard of people set only on slaughter and killing as chemicals rushed through their arteries and impaired them of any sense of right or wrong. The sight of bloodied human beings, beaten and murdered on the streets of London, was simply shocking.

  “This is impossible,” Thibaut said, reacting first. “How can this be happening so fast?”

  “Because it’s in the water supply.” A confident voice spoke clearly from behind them. They all turned in unison to see a tall, dark, short-haired woman in dark combat clothes, a side arm attached to her waist. She wore a bulletproof vest, and steel-capped boots adorned her feet. Agent Ren Dyer looked like a woman in control. “Or at least something similar that allows for a mass contamination this quickly,” she added before turning her attention fully to Andrea Fielding. “We need to leave now, Minister.” She spoke firmly as the other politician’s aides and security filed into the room with similar insistences.

  Andrea didn’t hesitate. Her personal security team were there to make these kinds of decisions and she trusted them; she trusted Agent Dyer implicitly. “Where are we going to go?” Andrea asked as she was taken by the elbow and led towards the door. “What about Kate?”

  “Kate will be fine; someone will be arriving any minute now to escort all other personnel from the building. You are my only directive and as such, we are leaving now.” It wasn’t Dyer’s job to be concerned about anyone else, and she wouldn’t allow it to affect her judgement, but Kate would be fine; they were evacuating the building as she spoke.

  “I’m not leaving anyone behind, Agent Dyer.” Andrea Fielding glared at her security detail and was relieved when, as the agent had suggested, other operatives arrived and began to usher the staff from the office.

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