Spinning around, you try to pull your moves. Does it work out? No, of course it doesn't. You learned karate in 7th grade. He grasps your wrist powerfully and drags you in towards him. For some reason he didn't pull the trigger when you tried to attack.
He asks, quietly smiling, "Do you think I'm here to harm you?" His smile disappears as he adds, "Because I'm going to harm you if I have to, and what I need to do is going to harm you one way or another." He looks like he has more to say, but a big van pulls up skidding on its side. The man pushes you roughly towards it and says, "Get on. That's our ride."
Hesitating, you ask, "An ambulance. You have an ambulance?"
He cuts you off in a hurry, "It's not mine. It's the Alliance's. Get in now before I have to force you." He opens the back door without letting go of your wrist. The inside is no ambulance. The walls are metallic and reflective with empty seats that go along the side. You go in obediently and sit down. The seat is cold. The man slams the door shut from the outside. You run to it and bang on it, shouting through, "Hey! Aren't you coming with me?"
A voice comes in from the other side, "I'm staying here. I have a couple more of your kind to recruit." The ambulance jolts to a start. In the process you bang your head on the inside of the door. It throbs. The ambulance must be moving incredibly fast. You feel pressed against the door, but the inertia begins to shift from the middle of the door to the floor.
Someone calls from the front, "Are there no seat belts back there? Sorry, I must have forgotten to install them. . . You're alive right?" You crawl around the floor trying to get into a comfortable position. Slowly you manage to get up. The driver speaks again, "Oh yeah, kid, don't get up okay? I'm going to step on the break right now."
The vehicle jolts to a stop right as he finishes speaking. You're flung again, but this time to the front of the vehicle. You fall slamming your face on the wall. You feel dizzy and your head aches. Shortly after, a sound that resembles a large vacuum cleaner takes place as the doors open behind you. You see a gigantic man in an astronaut suit holding the door for you. He motions for you to come out, so you do. You're half floating as you walk out. The ground looks like flour, and as you slowly step on it, a cloud of dust rises slowly like the sand in the ocean floor. The sky is black except for the horizon, where there is a faint glow of purple that lashes through the sky. You stand there marveling when in a panic you realize you don't have an oxygen tank.
You look at the astronaut and yell, "How am I breathing?" However no sound is heard. You keep on trying to communicate, but it is useless. The astronaut just stands there watching you.
Then you hear a voice from behind you, "Hey, welcome." How could it be? How is sound traveling? You turn around to see another guy looking quite cheerful. Perhaps a bit too cheerful. He's about your height and has different colored hair. What strikes you is that he is dressed casually like you without any oxygen tank. He is for sure genuinely pleased to see you.
He continues, "This is the best! What's your name?" You look at him unable to hide your astonishment. He looks at you questioningly, and his cheerful countenance disappears for a moment. Then he lets out a laugh clearly hinting at his good-nature. "Ah, I understand now. You are probably shocked. Don't worry, you'll get used to it, and your voice box will adjust to speaking too." He comes up and puts his hand on your shoulder, and as he does so, he says, "I mean it."
He asks, quietly smiling, "Do you think I'm here to harm you?" His smile disappears as he adds, "Because I'm going to harm you if I have to, and what I need to do is going to harm you one way or another." He looks like he has more to say, but a big van pulls up skidding on its side. The man pushes you roughly towards it and says, "Get on. That's our ride."
Hesitating, you ask, "An ambulance. You have an ambulance?"
He cuts you off in a hurry, "It's not mine. It's the Alliance's. Get in now before I have to force you." He opens the back door without letting go of your wrist. The inside is no ambulance. The walls are metallic and reflective with empty seats that go along the side. You go in obediently and sit down. The seat is cold. The man slams the door shut from the outside. You run to it and bang on it, shouting through, "Hey! Aren't you coming with me?"
A voice comes in from the other side, "I'm staying here. I have a couple more of your kind to recruit." The ambulance jolts to a start. In the process you bang your head on the inside of the door. It throbs. The ambulance must be moving incredibly fast. You feel pressed against the door, but the inertia begins to shift from the middle of the door to the floor.
Someone calls from the front, "Are there no seat belts back there? Sorry, I must have forgotten to install them. . . You're alive right?" You crawl around the floor trying to get into a comfortable position. Slowly you manage to get up. The driver speaks again, "Oh yeah, kid, don't get up okay? I'm going to step on the break right now."
The vehicle jolts to a stop right as he finishes speaking. You're flung again, but this time to the front of the vehicle. You fall slamming your face on the wall. You feel dizzy and your head aches. Shortly after, a sound that resembles a large vacuum cleaner takes place as the doors open behind you. You see a gigantic man in an astronaut suit holding the door for you. He motions for you to come out, so you do. You're half floating as you walk out. The ground looks like flour, and as you slowly step on it, a cloud of dust rises slowly like the sand in the ocean floor. The sky is black except for the horizon, where there is a faint glow of purple that lashes through the sky. You stand there marveling when in a panic you realize you don't have an oxygen tank.
You look at the astronaut and yell, "How am I breathing?" However no sound is heard. You keep on trying to communicate, but it is useless. The astronaut just stands there watching you.
Then you hear a voice from behind you, "Hey, welcome." How could it be? How is sound traveling? You turn around to see another guy looking quite cheerful. Perhaps a bit too cheerful. He's about your height and has different colored hair. What strikes you is that he is dressed casually like you without any oxygen tank. He is for sure genuinely pleased to see you.
He continues, "This is the best! What's your name?" You look at him unable to hide your astonishment. He looks at you questioningly, and his cheerful countenance disappears for a moment. Then he lets out a laugh clearly hinting at his good-nature. "Ah, I understand now. You are probably shocked. Don't worry, you'll get used to it, and your voice box will adjust to speaking too." He comes up and puts his hand on your shoulder, and as he does so, he says, "I mean it."
The End
-Lewis T. Castle
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