For The Truth

Chapter 1- Initiation

Back on that first day, I had no suspicions that anything was amiss. My talent had not shown itself yet, I was starting a new job, and I would soon become one of their top employees. Life was good, so I had no reason to suspect much.

When the signs first started showing up, I never really paid much attention to them. Certain things they said while announcing should have rung a bell. There was always a delay between the announcer's mouth moving and hearing the words. But being the ignorant new guy that I was, it meant nothing.

I should have listened to the warning from the beginning.

••••••••••••••••••••

I stand with the other soon-to-be-workers, anxiously waiting for my name to be called. It's cold in the lofty hall, but my palms still manage to sweat. Rubbing them off on the light mesh fabric of my forest green pants, I stifle a yawn. There are only about twenty of us, but the ceremony still drags on.

We all stand in the Atrium, which is the central complex of the Time Keeping Agency Headquarters. The ceiling is fiberglass and stretches thirty feet above our heads. Its light weight and functional design make the material ideal for constructing public buildings. You can't walk two steps in the city without seeing something made out of fiberglass.

A large plasma mosaic stretches to my left. The beautiful dark green quartz makes up the pattern of a clock. Tiny molecules of plasma gas charge the stones and make it seem as if it is ticking. Feats such as this are aesthetically pleasing but not complicated to pull off, considering the technology we have available.

I break my gaze and turn to look at the man who is droning on and on. He stands with perfect posture on a podium. Two crowds surround him- those who have been initiated, and those who are still waiting.

Sunlight spills through the windows, illuminating the eager faces in shades of pale gold. It's midmorning, so the sun is just high enough to peek into the fifth floor room.

"Ray Vane." Ray, one of my friends during training and the person who just so happens to be just before me, strides to the front of the podium. He prepares himself and launches into his mission.

During the initiation ceremony, each prospective worker has to use time travel to accomplish a certain task. This is given to them before hand. I know mine, and I am extremely nervous for it.

Within a few seconds, Ray is back. He holds up a dead chicken and grins. The announcer nods, and a visible wave of relief passes over the initiate. He has been accepted. He takes his oath and joins the men and women on the other side of the podium.

"Maxx Vasser." It is my turn. I take a deep breath and start to walk over there. Before I go too far, a strong hand reaches out and grabs my arm.

"Don't do this," the stranger whispers. He has a close cropped beard and penetrating violet eyes.

"Excuse me?" I respond, shaking my arm free.

"Don't trust them. Their purpose is darker than you think," he elaborates. I eye him skeptically and continue on towards the announcer and my task.

"I tried to warn you!" he yells at my retreating form.

I shake my head and focus. Once I've entered the time stream, I will have only a split second to find my destination point. If I'm lucky.

"You are familiar with your task, I assume?" the announcer asks. I nod. All I have to do is stop someone from accidentally drinking poisoned tea. It won't be hard, but what the TKA is really testing is control of the time stream.

"Whenever you're ready." I take a deep breath and press the button on my armband. I automatically disappear from the Atrium. Millions of colors, words, faces, and sounds blur around me until I feel like screaming. I drop fast through layer after layer of time and space.

My eyes narrow, searching for my tiny pinprick of a destination. May 26, 1732. One Elisabeth Hidgen drinks her afternoon tea and dies from it. I simply need to dump the tea out before the maid gives it to her.

I watch as the years flick past. 1800. 1750. 1740. 1735... And then 1732. I rip myself out of the time stream, landing in a lush English garden. It takes me quite some time before I am able to stand up. Time travel is very disorienting.

Footsteps and laughter drift towards me from my right. I creep through the bushes and flowers until I spot a table, set out with tea and biscuits. I wrinkle my nose at the fanciful traditions of years past.

"Miss Elisabeth! Do come back. Your tea is ready," a young maid calls to an even younger girl, who sits on the lawn playing with a doll. She smiles an leaps to her feet, allowing the maid to lead her to the wash basin.

Now is my chance. I dart forward and grasp the tea kettle firmly in a hand. Throwing it with all of my force, I fling it at the ground. The flimsy porcelain shatters into thousands of pieces. The tea spreads out of the kettle and seeps into the ground. My work here is done.

I press the button again, bracing myself for the force of time. Nothing happens. No! I groan to myself.

Elisabeth rounds the corner and screams. "Sally! There is a stranger in the garden!" The maid rushes to the girl's aid.

"What is your business here?" she demands hotly. Seeing the shard of porcelain I'm still holding, she shrieks angrily. "Don't mean to tell me that you broke the Mistress' favorite tea kettle!"

She charges at me, and I back directly into a bush. I slam the button down one, two, six times. She's almost to me now.

I turn and run. The edge of the garden, a low hedge fence, is approaching, and fast. I leap into the air in a jump, but before I can land the time stream does its work.

The numbers and colors swirl as they did earlier, and before long I'm back in the Atrium.

I blink a few times before I remember what I'm supposed to be doing. I hold up the tea kettle shard and try to catch my breath. The second in between my action and the announcer's nod is the longest that I have ever experienced.

"Repeat after me. I pledge to uphold honor, bravery, and intellect to preserve the unity of mankind. I pledge to support my fellow Time Keepers in their quests. I pledge to be a Time Keeper myself, in the fullest sense of the word," the man intones. My words match his as I echo them.

He nods again. "Welcome to the TKA, Maxx."

••••••••••Author's Ramblings••••••••••

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed chapter one. Updates should hopefully be every Saturday night (or Sunday morning... Depending on how late it gets.)

Special thanks to BexiLee for making the awesome cover for me! You should go check out her stories. She's pretty cool.

Also thanks to QuetzalQuill for all of the support and brainstorming sessions (it was only like three messages, but still. I appreciate it.)!

That's all for now. Have a good night!