around here, but there are thousands more around the world. The pay’s not great, but the company’s good. We want to create a world where people like us can share our abilities with the world instead of having them suppressed out of ignorance and fear. The only thing standing in our way is Order.”
Vicky leaned back, pausing to let her words to sink in. Hugh took another drink, staring down at the almost-empty glass and weighing his options. When he looked back up at her, her eyes were bright with anticipation and her lips were spreading into a smile.
“Are you in?”
“Do I have twenty-four hours to decide?”
“No, not this time. It’s not easy to arrange a public meeting like this. And if you join Order, we won’t contact you.” She held his hand between her palms, squeezing it lightly and looking into his eyes. “It’s now or never. Are you in?”
“Okay.” Hugh finished his drink and smiled at Vicky. “I’m in.”
“Then it’s settled.” She rose to her feet with a grin, holding him by the hand and enticing him to stand. “There are some people I’d like you to meet. Come with me.”
Hugh and Vicky left the pub, walking down the street at a brisk pace. Vicky’s eyes darted back and forth, scanning the street for anyone watching or following them. After walking several blocks, she suddenly ducked down an alley, pulling Hugh along with her. As they approached an aging silver sedan, she turned to face Hugh.
“Here, let me put this on you.”
Vicky reached into her pocket and pulled out a black silk handkerchief. Hugh felt a mix of excitement and fear as she blindfolded him, tying a tight knot at the back of his head and giving him a quick kiss.
“There you go. Don’t worry, it’s just a precaution for new people. Once you’ve met everyone, you won’t need it anymore.”
Vicky helped Hugh get into the car. He listened as she closed his door, opened the driver’s side door, and started the car.
“Here we go!”
Vicky shifted the car into gear and pulled out of the alley. Once they were on the street, she held Hugh’s hand and drove toward their destination.
“Almost there.”
It had been two or three minutes since Vicky had helped him out of the car and started leading him by the hand. He couldn’t see anything, but he was pretty sure that they were already in a building. He could also feel that she was at least as excited and anxious as he was. The steady tick of the metronome in her mind kept him from reading any specific thoughts, but her excitement was palpable.
“Now turn here.”
Vicky led him slowly through a left turn. Once he had taken a few steps forward, she walked around him and stood behind him, guiding his hands onto the back of a chair.
“Go ahead, have a seat.”
She kissed the back of his neck lightly, stepping back to give him room to move. After a few moments of feeling the back and seat of the chair, he moved in front of it and carefully sat down.
As soon as he sat down, he heard a door close behind him.
“Vicky?”
The room was silent except for the slight buzz of fluorescent lights and the sound of someone breathing.
“Vicky?”
Hugh expanded his awareness outward, searching for any signs of consciousness nearby. He felt Vicky’s presence receding. There were, however, three very willful, disciplined presences in front of him. As he intensified his attention, he realized that the person in the middle seemed very familiar. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he untied the blindfold and saw the face that he was afraid he would see.
Dr. Pratt was seated at his desk with his hands resting on the desktop before him. Two burly men dressed from head to toe in black body armor were standing at attention on either side of the caduceus painting. In addition to wearing bulletproof padding and wielding assault rifles, they each wore a special helmet with thick goggles and headphones.
“Mr. Travis.”
“Dr. Pratt, I can-”
While Hugh spoke, he tossed aside the silk handkerchief and stood up. As soon as he rose to his feet, the men in black raised their assault rifles and aimed them at his chest. Hugh immediately froze in place. Dr. Pratt raised a hand to interrupt Hugh, motioning for him to sit down. Hugh looked at the guns, then back at Dr. Pratt, sinking slowly down into his seat. Once he was seated, they lowered their guns but kept them ready.
“Mr. Travis.” Dr. Pratt tapped his fingers against the desktop several times, studying Hugh’s expression with cold detachment. “I haven’t been entirely straightforward with you. The telepathy inventory that we performed earlier today was merely a formality. Our sources had already confirmed your uncommon abilities. All that was required to secure your entry into Order was a different type of test. Specifically, a loyalty test.”
Dr. Pratt placed his hands firmly on his desk. He leaned forward slowly, staring Hugh in the eyes for several long moments.
“You did not pass that test.”
Dr. Pratt picked up his silver tablet, swiping and tapping to enter some new data. They sat together in silence for several moments until Hugh spoke.
“That’s it? Can’t I try again? Do something else to prove my loyalty?”
Dr. Pratt shook his head slowly. “No, Mr. Travis. Before we adopted this test, almost half of our field recruits defected during either the choice period or the transition period. They were usually approached before or after recruitment by an Anomalous person of the desired gender. Eventually, we put two and two together and developed a simple loyalty test that was more effective than any interview or inventory.”
Hugh sighed, shaking his head and frowning slightly.
“So now what? I suppose I understand why you don’t want me to work for you. Am I stuck with Option B?”
“No, Mr. Travis.”
Dr. Pratt finished typing on his tablet. He set it down on the desk beside him, looking at Hugh with a sly smile.
“You’ve chosen Option C.”
Hugh sat on a steel chair facing a steel table in an otherwise empty 10 foot cube room. The floor, walls, and ceiling of the room were glossy white surfaces broken only by a handleless steel door behind him and a bright fluorescent light fixture overhead. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit and his hands and legs were bound together with steel shackles. The only object on the table was a black tablet that was turned on but currently had a blank screen.
Hugh stared down at the tablet with a sigh. He never liked it when they brought him into the reading room, but it was better than the long periods of time he spent in a very similar room with a mattress and toilet instead of a desk.
As Hugh focused on the sound of his breath, a bright white “O” appeared on the screen of the tablet. Hugh put his palms on the table, closed his eyes with a sigh, and waited.
# # #
About The Author
Thank you for reading Strange Beginnings! My name is Treesong. I'm an author, poet, naturalist, philosopher, teacher, and Real Life Superhero. I live in Southern Illinois, a little-known nexus of power and possibility that has been home to many strange beginnings.
For more information on my latest adventures and publications, visit my personal website at treesong.org and my publishing website at cranncheol.com.
Books By The Author
If you enjoyed Strange Beginnings, please rate and review this book on your favorite book sites and anywhere else you talk about books. I'm an independent author, so good reviews from readers like you will really help new readers to discover my work. I also invite you to read my other published books, Change and Goodbye Miami. I've included brief descriptions below and sample chapters at the end of this book.
Change. Sarah Athraigh, an environmental activist from Southern Illinois, stumbles into the midst of a hidden war between occult factions that are grappling with the root causes and dire consequences of climate change. As she goes on the run, she soon finds herself on a journey of discovery, searching for the unusual al
lies and innovative ideas that will help her to make a difference for the better in a dangerous world.
Goodbye Miami: Tales Of An American Climate Refugee. Kass, an American climate refugee, flees Miami in the wake of a hurricane that leaves most of the city underwater. After moving in with her cousin in Southern Illinois, Kass struggles to deal with her displacement. She hopes to find a way to return to the city that she loves. But thanks to global warming, that city is now underwater. What starts as a search for survival quickly evolves into a struggle for the future of Miami -- and the world.
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Sample Chapter: Change
“Death is in the air.
Chariot out of control.
Change is awakened.”
— Bertram Muhnugin, The Death of Birth
Sarah opened her eyes and rose out of her crouching stance.
It had all happened so fast. An aging silver Dodge Dynasty had come crashing through the railing of the overpass and into the crosswalk below. Sarah had reflexively thrown her arms in front of herself and ducked down, knowing full well that she couldn't stop the several ton hunk of metal hurtling in her direction.
But