The Clinic
We have been ruthless in our quest to keep knowledge under wraps. It has been a difficult but rewarding journey, for we have the right to say that we are the Watchers of Peace and Justice. We have entered a New Age where Man need not resort to barbarism and violence to achieve his goals, but merely focus his mind’s intent upon what he desires and it shall come to pass. Despite the overwhelming odds against our Crusade of Light, we will prevail in the end. To quote the Holy Book: "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"
Chapter 1: Identification, Please
Shawn Billard
Tapping the ballpoint pen against the wooden desk offered no comfort to Shawn’s rising anxiety. Things were about to change dramatically in the Clinic, and virtually anything could happen. Having been briefed, debriefed, and giving procedures on operations at the Clinic over 5 times in one day, Shawn was becoming aware of how serious this line of work was. Fortunately for him and his arriving co-worker, Shawn had the greatest opportunities and rights anyone could possibly want at the Clinic. There was no room they couldn’t enter, no patient they couldn’t observe, and no experiment they weren’t allowed to try.
Doctors were completely free to perform whatever actions they desired, except for anything that could endanger the physical well being of their patients and the staff. Any researcher would be willing to kill for that position at the Clinic, but the only requirement to work there was one that was not only very difficult to achieve, but almost always life-threatening if revealed to the general public.
Shawn was gifted with the ability to observe locations great distances as if he were actually there. “Remote Viewing”, as it was called, was a hypothetical psychic ability that granted its user the power to break down any barriers created by distance or physical objects. Shawn possessed this ability for sure, but that was not the true reason he worked at the Clinic. This was his first day officially working there, and once his patient and co-worker arrived, his true purpose at the Clinic would be revealed. Even so, Shawn still had time to spare before Charlie would arrive. Why not kill some time and remote view a nearby city? Las Vegas? Phoenix? Salt Lake?
Charlie Souza
“I hate deserts...”
Charlie adjusted her glasses at every bump and shake the van took as it bustled its way down the nearly indistinguishable road. The air was hot and dry, making the ride quite unattractive to Charlie. Watching the driver from the corner of her eye, she began to peer into his mind. Ever since the young man had picked her up from the airport in Phoenix he had been silent and emotionless, in ways that was unnerving even for Charlie’s cold and sophisticated tastes.
The sound of repeated rumbling and tumbling in the large space behind the front seats went on for hours, as the young man was also assigned to escort the “packages” in the back. Apparently the Clinic had little time to perform transportation services due to the strict watch from other “organizations”, so agents acting quickly and discreetly were a common sight for Charlie. Even now, the agent transporting Charlie and the packages in the back was being controlled and directed by an unknown psychic source from the Clinic.
The masterful planning the organization that employed the Clinic impressed Charlie, mainly because of their intelligent gathering and communication systems, which relied not on artificial technology but on paranormal forces that resided within the minds of the agents themselves. They were capable of communicating with each other subconscious on a telepathic level so deep that it was a challenge even for Charlie to invade that psychic plane and communicate on a conscious level in ways that agents had been trained to do inherently for less than a year. Sighing, she ceased her mental infiltration and observed the natural wasteland around her.
Robert Vienna
The sound of rubber sliding across a round metal frame and against the gravel and stone of the mountain road went in sync with the symphony nature presented. The sound of birds in the stately trees echoed all around, singing as an unofficial choir one magnificent piece of music after another. The weekend was an amazing thing for Robert, as this was one of the only times he could actually enjoy the world in all its regal beauty. College was fraught with stress and disturbances, and Robert understood the importance of leisure time. Without true balance and order, the human psyche was bound for negative thinking, which always led to collapse if sustained too long.
Robert whirred down the mountain road, enjoying the view and serenity of a world protected from the greed and mischievousness of man. Glancing left and right at each clearing, the young man began to feel an odd emotion rising: paranoia. Was it the air? Had he been riding too long? No, this was not a trick of the subconscious. Something was here with him, but what?
Robert, not by thought but by impulse, instantly halted the bike, only to wonder why he had just done so. Looking at the clearing before him, Robert’s eyes widened at the terrifying sight before him. A dark black figure vaguely resembling a small child stood in the clearing silently, staring directly at Robert with dark red eyes. An innocent giggle tainted with mystery and hidden intentions echoed through the clearing and around Robert. Without even thinking, Robert’s subconscious commanded him to climb his bike and leave the clearing instantly. However, some deep, unusual thoughts urged him to stay, to remain in his very location. Before he could even challenge these bizarre urges, everything went black.
Dante Fulke
“...WaKe Up DaNtE!”
Dante lay on the padded floor of a dark cell as his blood-shot eyes opened wide. The smell of sweat and dirt filled his lungs as he took in a gasp of breath. He had awoken for nothing, but was he truly awake now? Looking around his location, Dante realized he was still in the holding cell he had seen in his dream. It was made of thick concrete and was padded on all four walls and the floor. There were no windows but there was a rectangular dent in one corner, which one could easily determine was the door.
If he was still asleep, this was by far the most detailed and realistic dream he had ever experienced in his entire life. Even the padding itself smelled consistently of sweat, dirt, and other foul liquids produced by humans. For some reason Dante was willing to accept that this was reality, and that he had somehow been kidnapped and placed in this cell. But, such a theory would certainly bring up some serious questions. Why had he been kidnapped? Who was the kidnapper? How and when did they actually pull it off?
Any attempts for Dante to delve into his memory had been fruitless, giving him no answers but only a sharp headache instead. He was still aware of the passage of time, so Dante could determine this was the second day of his captivity. His clothes were still in good shape, but they were stained and quite dirty already. His next move would be to find some answers to his questions and possibly an escape plan as well.
Jewel Ellis
The rumbling of the vehicle was so strong that it shook Jewel out of her deep sleep. Without even having to move her limbs about, she realized that she had been bound, gagged and blindfolded. Thoughts raced through her mind, thoughts of where she was, what was happening, and how she had come to this situation. Stereotypical thoughts of kidnapping, rape, murder, or even other events that occurred in cliché movies and fictional settings she had learned of drove her imagination wild.
Random thoughts and ideas cycled continuously in Jewel’s consciousness, and she began to imagine herself being kidnapped by Jason Statham, in the trunk of a BMW E38, driving through France. However, it was the distinct odor of salt that snapped Jewel back to reality, and she realized she was not in a small package, nor was she in the small trunk of a luxury car. Hell, she was probably in some beat-up van driving alongside of a beach or something. Well, there was no “ocean” smell, but there was the smell of sand.
Shuffling around a bit, Jewel began to feel the texture of the floor, and could feel and hear the sensation of sand rubbing against something. The bizarre twist to this whole ordeal was that Jewel didn’t live anywhere near a large body of water, nor did she even live near a lake. Moving around a bit more, Jewel’s head brushed up against a solid mass, one that felt like another person. Look’s like she wasn’t the only one being taken somewhere by the kidnappers.
Nathaniel Martinez
Beyond the glowing haze, Nathaniel could see a bright orb above him, staring without emotion at his paralyzed form. He felt like his arms were twisting and turning into his body, going in positions unimaginably painful. Fortunately for Nathaniel, a bizarre numbness was spreading from his toes and fingertips, and it was traveling up his limbs towards his torso. He did not have to experience the aberrational sensation of his body acting like play dough. Was this sleep? No, it felt too strange...too different to be called that. In one moment, Nathaniel’s senses died completely, and he entered true sleep.
Nathaniel then entered another state of mind, one he probably never experienced naturally. Without warning, his eyes began to flutter, and a new, strange world formed around his body. Scenes flickered before his eyes, moments in his life that had no meaning, no purpose to his waking life. Then, all of time froze as a wave of emotion too irrational to define came over Nathaniel. He felt like a weight was pressing against his chest, and a presence behind him was just standing there, watching him. Terror was all Nathaniel could process in these moments, for fear is the only emotion man understands when confronted by the unknown.
Then, all the chaos and confusion ceased with one utterance, one motion. Nathaniel scuffled about, trying to get a sense of rationale in a world of hallucinations and fantasy. Looking for his hands, Nathaniel brought them to his face, only to see them bigger than they truly were in reality.
“Am I...dreaming?” Nathaniel asked himself, unsure of what was happening.