Abducted

"The disappearance of eight-year old Ami Wong marks the disappearance of the thirteenth child in Erie, Pennsylvania. Police, who are searching night and day for the missing children, say that it is quite possible that all thirteen disappearances are, in fact, carefully orchestrated kidnappings. It seems unlikely that the number of kidnappings could have been commited by a single person, so the authorities have begun searching for persons unknown to the area; roadblocks have also been set up so that the authorities may stop and search any high-capacity vehicles capable of transporting thirteen missing children."1

The television sat in the corner of an old, dreary hotel room, with greyed wallpaper peeling away from the sheetrock underneath, and cobwebs hanging thickly from every corner. The television was in terrible shape as well, however, despite the large hole through the center of the screen, the picture it provided remained crystal clear, and the audio sharp and crisp.2

"Inspecter Malcom Carter of the FBI has publicly announced that the disappearances bear a strong resemblance to other cases that have appeared all over the world, including: Istanbul, Turkey, Rabat, Morocco, Reykjavík, Iceland, and even our own New York City. Inspecter Carter went on to say that each of the amazing twelve countries this has occured in, the case has been the same: thirteen childreen vanished over a course of thirteen nights."3

Snow slowly overtook the once clear picture, and white noise drowned out the audio; smoke poured from the hole punched through the television, and it finally died in a flurry of sparks, which ultimately resulted in a small fire contained within the television case.4

Opposite from the television sat an old, worn down bed with yellowed, moth-eaten sheets hidden beneath years of dust and dirt. A figure sat upon the bed, all features hidden in shadow save for the unnaturally long hands covered with ancient black skin, tipped with pearl white claws, and two long, jagged mandibles which protruded from the shadows cast over the figure's face by the hood. Behind the figure lay a sack - a sack no larger than a large blanket folded in half - which writched and pulsed constantly as something within fought desperately to escape; with the death of the television, the screams and cries of children resounded throughout the room.5

"It was not Reykjavík," The sandpapery, genderless voice oriented from beneath the hood, accompanied by the clicking of the toothy black mandibles, "It was Jökulsárgljúfur."6

The hood shook, seemingly from agitation, and the figure turned to take the sack by the thick knot at the top. As the cloaked figure stood, rising to a foreboding height of over seven feet, it effortlessly lifted the bag which, though it hardly seemed large enough, contained within precisely thirteen children of varying race and gender - this was evidenced by the fact that the things which made the sack thrash and bulge were in fact dozens of tiny hands and feet fighting desperately to escape.7

"Hush, little babies," the creature cooed as it stroked the sack affectionately, "you will not stay there long. Soon, you will be in my home, where you will be very happy indeed."8

The figure laughed mockingly, a sound not at all dissimilar from that accomplished by dragging fingernails across the face of a blackboard, before it approached the only window in the long abandoned hotel room.9

Beyond the window, the street could be seen, illuminated by the red and blush lights flashing atop of a speeding police cruiser; the lights reflected off of the cold rain, casting an eerie glow across the entire city block. Unconcerned by the presence of a police car, the Kidnapper lifted the rickety old window - but the scenery made a drastic change within the square portal created by the opened window.10

What should only have been the rain-soaked streets of Erie was, in fact, a dreamlike paradise: soft, green grass, towering golden fountains spouting crytal clear water, groomed shrubberies bearing alien fruits of brilliant color - all dulled by the purple shadows beneath the beautiful midnight sky from which brilliantly shining stars hung, all seemingly arranged to form countless magnificent constellations.11

"Very happy indeed..."12

Like a shadow darting away from the light of a candle, the robed figure darted through the open window and into his divine, terrifying dreamscape. The window slammed shut behind the Kidnapper, banishing the eldritch world, and leaving only the world of wet and gloomy Erie, Pennsylvania.
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