For The Truth

Chapter 6- Doubts

The first place I started to experience different things was midair. At first it was just subtle things, like an extra person in a room, but it grew gradually until it became overwhelming.

They say ignorance is bliss. I wish I could have that privilege back.

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The wind rushes past my ears, making my eyes water and drowning out all other sounds. For the first few seconds it felt as if my stomach was dropping, but now it has leveled off into weightlessness. I used to spend a lot of time in the zero-g simulator as a kid. It was my form of a video game, but even that couldn't have prepared me for this moment.

"Vasser!" someone yells from above. I only hear part of it, but I know that it's Greydon.

Wait. Did I really hear that, or was I just imagining it? Now that I think about it, I can't prove that I heard anything. The wind is loud and could have easily distorted things.

Suddenly, someone shouts, "Vasser!" in hundreds of different ways at hundreds of different times. I see the form of Greydon next to me for a fleeting second, but then he's gone. It's as if time and space have been pulled apart at this one point.

Then it's over as quickly as it started. The ground is only two hundred stories away, and though I'm falling slower than the elevator does, I can't stop myself.

I've only seen the ground twice before: once on the hovercraft here and once in my youth. It is a strange thing, all mottled greys and browns. We were told that plants used to grow in something called the soil, but frankly I can't see how any living thing could survive without the highly regulated conditions we have now.

The ground is right there, and I'm going to crash into it in a split second. I brace myself for the bone-jarring impact.

It never comes. I am suddenly yanked upwards by an invisible force. I hang suspended in the air for no good reason, still shaking from my near-splat experience.

"Greydon," I mutter under my breath. He has just employed the latest in freeze ray technology. It won't be long before I'm back up on that balcony.

Sure enough, the tugging starts only a minute later. I'm pulled up, up, up for a good five minutes. It's an awkward sensation, especially since there is nothing connected to me.

I squint at the dying sunlight. It's probably around eight o'clock, meaning there isn't much daylight left. The red and gold hues glint off of the city, spreading their warm light to the people on their way home from work.

I don't have much longer to enjoy the view, because then the edge of my balcony pops into view. I sigh and prepare myself for the confrontation that's sure to come.

Someone hoists me over the edge, and suddenly I can move again. I groan and stagger to my feet, attempting to fix my windblown appearance in the process.

"That was a nice little stunt you pulled there, Mr. Vasser," Greydon sneers. "And now, if you would be so kind as to accompany us, your presence is requested at Interrogation." He's won this time. I'm all out of options.

One of the police members steps forward and handcuffs me with a circle of seemingly ordinary white plastic. Once he's not looking I try and tug my hands out. A fierce shock rips through my body, leaving my hair standing on end. I bite back the exclamation that is rising on my tongue.

"That certainly didn't take very long," Greydon smirks. "I'd discourage that kind of behaviour." He shakes his head. "Let's go."

I turn around to face the buzzing sound that has just started behind me. A hovercraft similar to the taxi I took this morning hangs in midair just outside my window. If this doesn't cause a complaint from the neighbors, then nothing will.