《The Fragile World》 V1 Prologue- Disjointed Davids Pov- As soon as I walk into the lounge, I immediately find myself staring at a familiar site. Seeing my disheveled receptionist Sarah glaring at me while fuming, I quickly realize this will be a long day. "You''re late" "My power went out so my alarm didn''t go off" Sighing "Anyways we can reschedule my 10 O''clock" "You know it''s difficult dealing with an angry patient right? Especially one so prone to mood swings." "Eh ill make it up to you okay? How about it I''ll pay for lunch for today." "Eh, I say you pay tomorrow too" "Sure Whatever, also when Mr. Larson gets here let him know just to head on into my office" Slumping down into my chair I quickly check my watch *10:37*. Good looks like I have time to reschedule. Logging into my computer looking for the phone number for the patient I missed. I hastily dial the number and put the phone to my ear expecting to hear a dial tone but get nothing. Setting the phone back onto the receiver, I fiddle with the phone cord a bit impatiently. I accidentally elbow yesterdays coffee off the desk, fumbling hoping to get lucky and avoid having to clean up yet another mess. However... What happened next was not what i expected. No... What happened next makes me wonder if I should be the one getting treatment in my office. All I can do is stare at the perplexing scene before me in confusion, as what I clearly see is a cup of coffee in utter defiance of gravity frozen in midair. Finally braking my trance I dash into the lounge while screaming like a mad man. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. "SARAH! SARAH! I just found something unbelievable you got to see this" Not waiting for her answer I hastily grab her arm and try to drag her with me. But... She doesn''t budge. I continue my struggles for a few seconds realizing that it''s futile, I take a close look at her. Looking at her motionless figure while noticing something. Noticing the lack of something... Sound, I can''t here a single thing. Not the sound of her breathing, nor the noise of moving vehicles outside. Taking a look at the unmoving clock on the wall. Finally after a few long seconds it dawns on me. Something unbelievable has happened. Time has stopped..... V1 Chapter 1- Now What? OK so now I know what''s going on. But now what? What the heck am I supposed to do while everything''s frozen in time. Don''t panic me, In and out... OK now let''s take a look at the fact''s so far everything around me is frozen. First let''s see if that includes the outside to. While attempting to exit the building I have come to another conclusion. I can''t exit the building. Figures that anything frozen includes the door. OK now I have a reason to panic, noting that if time doesn''t restart without water I''ll die from dehydration. Hold up... realizing something, everything is frozen so how come I can still breath? Obviously even though time is frozen for some reason that doesn''t apply to everything. Now that I think about it, why doesn''t it apply to me. Recalling an old scifi movie I watched, I begin to develop a theory. Looking at the clock which says 10:43, and then my watch which reads 10:48 I decide to try something. First things first, find something that when unfrozen will be obvious. Looking at Sarah "Here goes nothing" I place my hand on her wrist to feel for her pulse. OK if my theory is correct then in 5 minutes I will be able to feel her heartbeat. My hunch is that the reason for resistance when attempting to move something frozen is not because time is frozen but instead because I was simply disjointed from it. Simply put the reason I couldn''t move the doors or Sarah is because me being 5 minutes ahead in the future, It''s obvious I would be unable to change something in the past. Naturally this didn''t apply to things like air and light sense being in constant interaction with me they have already caught up to me. On that note... Sarah finally catching up to me jumps out of her chair in shock... "What the hell, you were.... How... David sense when were you a god damn wizard.¡± "Not quite what''s going on, well actually I am not completely sure myself what''s going on but so far I am pretty sure I don''t have magic." "You teleported..." "Perhaps it''s better to show you then to explain it, come with me" We both just silently stare at the floating cup of coffee in my office, and finally Sarah breaks the awkward silence. "I am not sure what to say... So I''m assuming that I am not dreaming or insane. So what the exactly is going on, seeing as you seem to have some explanation." "Well simply put it seems everything with the exception of us seem to be 5 minutes behind in time, and the only reason you aren''t is because by being in contact with you for an extended period of time caused you to catch up to me." ... "Which is also why I suddenly appeared in front of you, what was 5 minutes to me was instantaneous for you" Sarah Pov- After David went to his office, I went and decided to place the call to reschedule the appointment (AN- Remember how David didn''t get a dial tone this is why). After hearing the dial tone for sometime a woman answered the phone. "Hello this is Andrea speaking, can I help you?" This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. "Yes this is Sarah from Kaso''s Mental Outpatient Program. We are sorry we missed your sons appointment do you intend you reschedule for this week?" "Ah no don''t worry about it we will come by next week sorry about how rude Jacob was. Things happen." "No problem, I''ll inform the doctor we will just see you next Tuesday then. Feel free to call if you have any troubles." End Call Leaning back feeling exhausted, with a headache coming on I can only groan... While reaching for my purse to get my bottle of ibuprofen, my body suddenly freezes up. Panicking trying to figure out what was happening I tried to scream out hoping someone would here me, apparently the world or god answered my call by giving me sudden waves of dizziness. Strangely after a several minutes of this which felt like forever it suddenly stopped. What happened next shook me to my core, as David suddenly appeared out of nowhere and somehow suddenly had my wrist in his hand. After jumping up an almost tripping over my chair I said the first thing that came to my mind while wishing I could take it back. "What the hell, you were.... How... David sense when were you a god damn wizard" Still having a hard time believing what I am seeing when he answered me I could only feel relief. "Not quite what''s going on, well actually I am not completely sure myself what''s going on but so far I am pretty sure I don''t have magic." "You teleported..." "Perhaps it''s better to show you then to explain it, come with me" Not sure what to expect, I followed him into his office. I froze at the scene in front of me. This doesn''t make any sense!! OK teleportation is insane in itself but at least to a certain extent I can understand it. At least with science we can explain teleportation. But this completely defies common sense!! Seeing as I have been completely mind raped, I may as well admit it. I''m completely at a loss. Breaking the silence hoping for some answers I say. "I am not sure what to say... So I''m assuming that I am not dreaming or insane. So what the exactly is going on, seeing as you seem to have some explanation." "Well simply put it seems everything with the exception of us seem to be 5 minutes behind in time, and the only reason you aren''t is because by being in contact with you for an extended period of time caused you to catch up to me." Once again having no idea what to say I just urge him to continue. "Which is also why I suddenly appeared in front of you, what was 5 minutes to me was instantaneous for you" Staring at each other for a moment we suddenly here a loud yet jovial voice behind us... "Yahoo Hiya let''s go have a nice chat at my domain so I can explain what exactly is happening" "Why can''t we get our explanation here?" I ask turning to the direction of the voice but seeing nothing. "Mainly because if the world time continues with you guys five minutes ahead of everything, you will both cease to exist. I assume you don''t want that right?" V1 Chapter 2-Construct Davids Pov- After the strange feeling of having everything distort around me, the scenery changes. The surrounding''s which used to be my office is now completely devoid of anything. After several seconds trying to get comfortable with the feeling of floating in nothingness, I finally notice the being in front of me. I stare silently at this enigma before me, as it sits in a weird cross legged position leaning back on it''s hands. Even though he lacks any kind of discerning features or form somehow he still appears humanoid as if the void around him seems to avoid that one spot. Hearing that strangely jovial voice again which now slightly teasing. "You know even though I can understand how appealing I am, it''s still rude to stare you know." Ignoring the jibe I ask. "Where''s Sarah" "Currently she resides in a pocket dimension while awaiting for time to catch up, I delayed it a bit to speak to you alone first" Pausing a moment he then said "Well to tell you the truth she originally wasn''t supposed to be a part of this however that''s not important. But before we get to that... I know you have questions so ask away." "What exactly happened back there and who are you?" May as well ask the obvious first... "Obviously I stopped time and as for who I am... I guess you could call me God." He replies Eh... What did he just say? The second part I pretty much expected... After all this, I mean what else could he be but god. Yet I am pretty sure he clearly said that he was the one responsible for stopping time... What the hell! Make up you''re mind man, you are either the good guy or the bad guy. As if reading my mind he spoke. "Unfortunately to avoid multiple paradoxes, I had to stop time and make some changes due to... An Unusual problem" So why am I an exception... "What does this have to do with me?" "Hmm Were to begin... I am sure that you have at least once considered the possibility of parallel worlds." I nod in affirmation and he continues. "Contrary to the original belief, these parallel universe''s are not separated by space but instead time. Countless universe''s overlap one another, always remaining separated by the event horizon... Until now. What should have been impossible has occurred, at least two universe''s have merged so to avoid the utter destruction of said universes I had to intervene. However despite averting the immediate threat, I was unable to keep things from falling through." "You still haven''t answered my question, What does this have to do with me." "Everything... You see the reason that you were unaffected by my having frozen time is because the multiverse itself had changed some variables." "Meaning?" "Because of the fact that there is now two of you in the same timeline the multiverse made changes to resolve the paradox, in this case it ejected both you and you''re counterpart from the event horizon. If you think of a universe as a construct within the multiverse then you essentially became a construct within a construct. Considering how that may affect things in the long run, I''ll be observing you for a while... This probably won''t be the last time we meet either." If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.In silent resignation not sure what to think about the idea of having god as a stalker, Nor keen on the idea of staying here any longer "Can you send me back my world?" Immediately after I said that everything once again distorts around me and I am back in my office. Checking my watch 4:30pm. So time flows differently there eh? Thinking to myself. Cleaning up the now spilled coffee, I decide to check my phone messages to find out everybody mysteriously canceled the appointments today. Score one for god. Heading into the lounge I find Sarah sleeping. Chuckling a bit while thinking "Time for a little payback" I shake her shoulder a bit to wake her up. She half opens her eye''s a bit mumbling something to herself clearly having not woken up." "Sleeping on the job eh? Guess I won''t be buying lunch tomorrow after all" I say as she realizes what''s happening and flushes while trying to defend herself. "I am so sorry, lately I''ve been having trouble sleeping because of my kids" "Don''t worry about it." What kids thinking to myself but decide not to mention it. God you are a horrible liar. Speaking of which she always is happy to give me a hard time while having a short fuse on the receiving end. Since it''s almost time to leave and nobodies coming today anyway. I decide it wouldn''t kill me to leave a little early. Heading out into the parking lot, I get into my car which happens to be a brand new 2014 Black Ford Fusion. Not bad if I do say so myself and relax as I breath in the scent of leather. Quickly hitting the expressway. While thinking about everything that has happened I role down my window and grab a smoke. Arriving at my house I now find myself with new problem. I left my house key at work! Staring at the door with a sinking feeling, I reach for the doorknob hoping by some dumb luck I left it unlocked. Grasping the handle while thinking here go''s nothing. "Click" As I walk into my house feeling the relief roll of me I soon find out this is short lived however. As I suddenly feel a horrible stabbing pain in my head I can only fall to the floor and scream. It feels as if somebody is gouging my eye''s out with a red hot poker. As the pain just keeps getting worse I scream louder and louder until I can''t anymore. After what seemed like forever but was really just a few seconds I feel something snap in my mind. Then....... I black out. V1 Chapter 3-Lost Opening my eye''s, to the ring of my cell, on instinct I reach towards where my alarm would be. Finding myself on the floor, I push myself off the ground and take a peek at my phone. Seeing that it''s Sarah probably trying to let me know she''s got my key''s, I send her a quick text while falling into my chair. "Hold on to my key''s. I''ll pick them up tomorrow." Setting my phone down, I flip on the TV to 7 o''clock news. Grabbing a can of pop from the kitchen while listening to the guy drone on about something political BS with Russia. I hear someone loudly banging on my door. Opening the door a crack, I see two people In front of me. One of them is a cop dressed in the traditional attire just short of 6 ft tall, with short dark brown hair, blue eye''s and a bit of hair on his chin. Seeing a bit of gray on the edges of his hair I assume he''s in his late 40s or early 50s. The other is a woman having light brown eyes, long black hair hanging just below her shoulders while dressed in a dark blue sweater, black jeans and to top it off a trench coat similar to what you would see in the navy. She looks young while having a sharp gaze as if dissecting my every action, and gives off the feeling of ice cold maturity. This woman has a story I think to myself. "I am Detective Matthews and this is my Partn.." -Detective Matthews "Oi Oi... Karen come on now I can introduce myself. My name''s Andrew Moore. Just call me Andy. You mind if we talk inside? It''s kinda chilly out here."-Andy Opening the door... I motion them to the couch. "I generally prefer to keep a bit of prof." -Karen "Let''s just skip the titles, you call me David and I''ll call you Karen. Besides do you really want to call me Dr. Nowak." I quip shutting her up, causing Andy to chuckle. "Can you two please stop interrupting me?" Turning back to Karen expecting to see irritation, but what I saw made me go cold. Looking at the smirk on her face and those eyes... Those eye''s completely empty of any emotion at all. The eye''s of a doll. My heart can only bleed for the poor guy that ends up her lover. "Ya sure... What exactly do you two need anyways?" Grabbing a smoke and standing by my window. "You''re telling me you haven''t heard?" Karen asks wide eyed. "Heard what?" I ask confused. "Between 11am and 4pm, over 100 people were reported missing. We have been asking around to figure out if anybodies seen anything. I thought that information would have gotten around more." -Andy Unable to keep the horror off of my face. I recall what god told me about the ramifications of having one your doppels existing in the same universe. Now coming to the realization that the multiverse to avoid a paradox completely erased over 100 people I drop my cigarette. Karen interrupting my thoughts. Pulls a file full of photos. "Take a look at these pictures, if you see anybody you recognize pass me the photo." Going through them silently while finding it depressing as I even find children in this list. I find my old college professor in this list. Holding my professors photo in my hands I feel my heart clench. This man has done so much for me. If not for him, I wouldn''t have got my scholarship and I would never have been able to start my own practice. I can only shed silent tears knowing that his kids are now without a father. He didn''t deserve this. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "Do you know this man" -Asks Karen interrupting my thoughts. "He was... Somebody I owed quite a bit." I answer trying to keep the strain out of my voice. "Can you tell us if he has any enemies or if he was involved in anything illegal?" -Andy "That man would never do anything like that! Besides what the hell does this have to do with the fact that over 100 people have vanished off the face of the earth without a trace? What kind of enemy or organization would have that type of power?"-Me "You sound as if you are set on the belief that the cause wasn''t of human origins. Didn''t take you for the superstitious type Doc " -Karen "Not normally" - I admit "Andrew can I speak to him alone for a bit?" -Asks Karen He looks at Karen then me, shrugs his shoulders then walks out wordlessly. Karen is silent for a moment then asks a question while she finnicks with her smartphone. "If I show you something private can you keep it to yourself?"- Karen "I am a psychologist and that''s a pretty big part of the job." I say jokingly She looks like she was about to say something but decided it not too. Handing me her phone, I take a look at it a moment finding the video app open. Pressing the play button I see a young man in his 30s, he is kneeling down on the floor and playing around with a golden retriever. Unable to hear anything I try and turn up the volume. Karen noticing this says. "The camera that took this doesn''t have audio. The video was taken by a security system that was installed in case of burglary." -Karen Turning back to the video I notice something odd that I almost missed. Surrounding him was a bit of nearly completely transparent energy with a color that I could not determine. It seemed to be getting more transparent as time goes on. As the color around him fades I continue to watch this phenomenon. When the last of it fades I expected him to vanish but to my surprise it didn''t happen immediately. Slowly but surely his body started fading now. The hand he was using to pet the dog completely passes through. The dog stands up and walks away like he no longer exists. Then finally the man completely fades out of existence. I look up at Karen now that it''s finished. "Any idea what could do something like that." -Karen asks "It isn''t something you can fight nor is it something you can reverse." I said watching her reaction. "I see, if you decide to tell me whats going on please let me know." Karen says solemnly as she hands me her number while getting up to walk out my door. "Who was he." I ask She freezes at that then turns towards me. I look into her eyes now no longer that cold gaze nor the emotionless doll like state she held earlier instead I see tears streaming down her face. "My brother" Before I even have a chance to consider a response she has already left. Fuck me... Now feeling like crap I get into my bed after setting my alarm and for the second time today I pass out. Side Story-Karans Woes Karen''s Pov- Thinking of my brother''s sudden disappearance over once more; I can''t help but curse the world for it''s cruelty. First forced to watch my mother slowly deteriorate in front of me due to cancer, never giving up the hope that somebody could save her. Yet no matter how many doctor''s we went to they all just told us the same thing. "Sorry but there is nothing we can do." After my mother''s death, despite all the grief counseling it was never the same. My father became distant, eventually quitting his job and shutting himself into his room. When the unpaid bills started pilling up every month, eventually me and my brother had to find a way to keep ourselves fed. We eventually found a job, unfortunately school and working a full time job was just too much for a high school student. Having noticed this my brother dropped out and decided to take the burden of keeping us afloat on himself. Two years passed like that. After getting accepted into a university, I managed to use financial aid and food stamps to have to somewhat stable life living with my brother. Another five year''s passed and I finally got my master''s degree in criminal justice. I also learned that my father took his own life shortly after we left. Through the help of one of the teachers there, I managed to get into a position assisting a detective. I spent two years with this man before I got my badge. I picked up many things from him. I learned how to pick up on the subtle hints people give off unconsciously and a bit about what people call the criminal world. You would be surprised how many of us in law enforcement, have connections to the criminal world. The system works for the most part. By working with some of the guys on the bottom we can keep the guy''s up at top from disturbing anybodies daily life. While that might seem wrong at first, it makes sense. Personally I would rather let a few common thieves go to catch a killer. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Using those rule''s I became quite well known in my line of work. Anytime there was a case people had trouble with it was common knowledge for them to ... "Toss the file on Karen''s desk". I was fine with that. Until today... Not only does the case in question personally involve me but it also knocks common sense out of the ball park. The sad thing is I know that I am on a wild goose chase, but I can''t do a damn thing about it. The guys up at top are pretty much oblivious to whats going on around them and despite having evidence of the supernatural it just isn''t enough. Even when the truth is right in front of them still nobody wants to admit the possibility that we may just be sitting in a playground for something far beyond us. So what do they do? They completely deny whats in front of them even if it slaps them in the face. Then they make excuses. The video is fake they say or go see a doctor you are seriously ill. The worst one is the so called "Gods Will". So I am forced to do the only thing I can... Play along. So naturally hearing David express the same views I have, I jump at this opportunity. Only to have my hope crushed once again. He even admitted he knows whats going on! So why won''t he tell me? Feeling betrayed yet again however sadly I can''t even feel anger towards him. Still I can''t help but question. Just what kind of force is it. What kind of force instills a fear so great that you can''t tell somebody who literally is submerged in it''s nature? V1 Chapter 4-Who? David''s Pov- 9:35AM Next Day Stepping into the lounge, feeling a bit generous today I give Sarah the cup of coffee I bought her. ¡°Sleep well?¡± I ask unable to keep the smirk of my face. ¡°I thought you weren''t going to hold it against me.¡± Sarah says pinching the bridge of her nose. ¡°I''m not but that doesn''t mean I won''t bring it up. It''s nice to see you make a blunder once in awhile. Next time think twice about giving this poor doc a hard time.¡± Chuckling as I turn around to head to my office, I feel a sharp pain in the back of my head. ¡°Speaking of blunders, here you can have your keys back.¡± Sarah say''s shaking obviously trying to suppress her laughter. Looking at her a moment as I rub the back of my head. I pick the keys up off the ground, shove them into my pocket and then head into my office. When I hear her let out the laugh she''s been holding in, I rub my temples trying to keep the irritation off of my face. Thankfully I only have two appointments today. Then all I have to do is take emergency calls, which can be done on my cell. My first patient today is a fifteen year old just getting into high school. His names Mark. He''s the type that gets targeted by bullies a lot, not having a handle on his emotions he tends to violently erupt randomly at the slightest provocation. While I don''t usually take cases like this as they tend to work themselves out. Unfortunately instead usual of manning up, getting into a fight and then working it out with each other later after being taken care of by the school nurse. He bottles it up then tends to lash out at the first person to pop his emotional balloon in a way. In this case it''s usually his family. He was referred to me after being hospitalized for overdosing on Tylenol then telling his mother after regretting his decision. So when he get''s here we just talk about what''s going on at school before we descend into small talk. I figure as long as he has somebody to express himself to it won''t be a problem. Anyways if I find that he isn''t in the right state of mind then I can always call the school and work something out. I do naturally encourage him to talk to more people at his school as being a thirty nine year old man I can''t exactly be his friend. The next patient is a twenty four year old woman. She is pretty much the definition of childhood sweetheart having gone horribly wrong. She has known the guy since her second year of high school, developed some type of friendship and then later became a couple. Not a bad start at first. However the had guy become an alcoholic and this lead to abuse. The man in question was offered services to help work out his addiction but he refused. Stolen novel; please report.Normally, you would expect her to kick him to the curve and move on. Unfortunately having developed a sort of emotional dependence on him it wasn''t that simple. This woman will likely never totally recover from this relationship and it will have an impact on her love life in the future. I doubt there is a man with the patience to spend the next few years fixing what her ex had broken. Because of that she will spend her love life hopping around between different men. With luck she won''t end up finding herself in another abusive relationship. Having no more patients to see today, I finish up any paperwork and check my email. As I scroll through the list other then the usual spam there are also five that look like they are important. Karen managed to find my public email address and sent me one. Apparently even god uses the internet as there is even one from him but I ignore that one since I am pretty sure if he needs to see me that he will find other means to contact me. Clicking on an email from a name I don''t recognize, going by the name of Nona it reads. ¡°Be careful, in whats to come you will have few friends. In this email is an attachment. It contains a way for me to give you further instructions securely, a small sum of money and the first thing you need to do.¡± When I open the attachment, my computer freeze on a white screen. Having pressed the power button on my laptop with nothing changing, about to pull the plug, a small plastic bag appears in front of me and falls into my lap. Looking through the contents of the bag warily, I pull out a cellphone and a prepaid debit loaded up with five grand. Slipping the card into my wallet, I fiddle with the cellphone. It''s looks like a normal smartphone other then the fact instead of a password to unlock, it uses my fingerprint and that there is no brand name . Strangely my prints were already preregistered. Looking through the messages on the phone, trying to find out what my so called benefactor wants I see a single text. It reads... ¡°Bring Karen Matthew''s into your fold. You will need her in the future. In one week arrange an accident for Andrew Moore but do not kill him. Await further Instructions.¡± What the hell! How on earth am I supposed to arrange for a veteran cop to have an accident. No why am I getting these demands anyways. I try sending a text to back but get no response. Well I guess I have time to think it over. I guess I could meet the requirements for the first part. Perhaps I should mention this to Karen? No I prefer to avoid that for now, at least until I get more information. With that I decide to make a call... V1 Chapter 5-Brained Pulling Karan''s cell number out of my pocket, I input her number into my new phone, thankful that I don''t have to go through the activation. Waiting for her to pick up I take another look at my computer which is now showing me a BSOD. "Hello this is Detective Matthew''s, can I ask who is calling?" -Karen "Can I speak to Karen please? Just tell her it''s from David." -Me "That''s me, so what is it you want Doc?" -Karen Oh yea, forgot her last name was Matthews. Well it''s not like I was planning on meeting her again anyways. Although I probably should stay on her good side at least until I figure out whether I can trust Nona. Switching to speaker phone I say. "I was planning to shead some light on what''s going on. However I prefer not to speak about it with anybody around. Can we meet sometime at your office?" -Me "No, unless you have a way to deal with the media. Cockroaches could learn a few things from those guys. It''s getting to be quite annoying." -Karen Oh crap, I didn''t even think about what would happen when the media got ahold of this scoop. All the media is going to do is cause a panic. Especially once the feds realize they can''t find the cause for all the unexplained disappearances, and put the blame on some poor guy making him a scapegoat. Scapegoat... I have a bad feeling about this... "I would say my place. However as I don''t want the media anywhere near my house, on the off chance that they take it upon themselves to follow you. I know a cafe we could go to? Hopefully we will just look like a couple so they will leave us alone." -Me "Isn''t a cafe pretty much the opposite of private?" Karen replies skeptically. "Nah, as long as we avoid morning''s they are usually pretty empty after five. Anyways it''s better we have a few retired men think we are crazy, then having my life anal probed by some guy with a microphone." -Me "Then lets meet tommorow at five thirty. Text me the address. See you then." -Karen After hanging up, I grab my jacket and step out of my office almost kissing Sarah in the process. Taking a step quickly back I say. "How long have you been there?" -Me "About around the time you started talking about the media. Who was that and what do the media want with you?" -Sarah "Nothing, don''t worry about it." -Me As I turn around to leave she grabs ahold of my wrist. "David if you are going to have media worthy secrets then I want to know them." -Sarah "Sarah... None of what you overheard has anything to do with you. It''s best you stay out of it." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.I try to pull away from her but she grips tighter. "What makes her so special! What does she have to do with this? David Answer me!" -Sarah I wrench my wrist from her grasp forcfully. Suddenly feeling a headache coming on. "Sarah enough of this! It''s best you just forget everything you heard and leave it alone." -Me "Understood." Sarah replies in an empty tone. I nearly fall over as my headache practically doubles in its intensity but despite that I manage to make out what she said. Sarah as if snapping out of a trance reaches out and grabs me. "Hey! Are you ok? Do you need an ambulence?" Sarah say''s as she reaches for her phone. I reach out stopping her from making the call. "No need." I reply, then I dash out into the parking lot, get into my car and slam the door locking it. I lean back against my head rest and close my eyes waiting for the headache subside while hoping that I don''t pass out again like the last time. After spending a few minutes like that I feel it lighten up enough to let me think. Although it still lingers. Thinking back on what happened, it would be very stupid of me to think of this as a coincidence. Sarah was never this cooperative before so I doubt she would suddenly do so now. Mind control... Huh how fitting for me a psychologist to be given the ability to control minds. Actually it seems that whatever this is may be more then just mind control, considering the incident with the lock on my door. Unfortunately having no idea what ability was used during that time perhaps it''s best to find a way to subtly practice my mind control. Considering it didn''t have any lasting effects on Sarah it seems that it doesn''t totally destroy the person it''s used on. My concious shouldn''t bother me as long as I keep it simple and don''t turn anybody into my mind slaves no matter how tempting. Hopefully after contant use the headaches won''t be as debilitating. Actually what better way to practice this ability then in a session with my patients tommorow. But to avoid screwing up lets find something less human to practice on. I would imagine a cat or dog would be easier to manipulate anyways and I can learn the limits a bit. My stupid self accidently skipped all the baby steps and went straight for the gold. With that thought I took a pit stop to the pet store before heading home. Authors Note: Tracy if you''re still unable to make an account just send me a text review. I''ll set you up later. Everybody else move along. V1 Chapter 6-Playing With Fire I stare at my two pets. One of which is a black lab, his name is Mako. The other is a snow white cat with streaks of black fur, her name is Miki. Having no idea how to do this yet, I try giving a simple command, first. "Mako Sit, Mako Roll, Miki Come." Changing my approach as they are not following any of my directions. I single out all the differences between now and the incident with Sarah. The biggest difference was physical contact. It''s possible that I first need to be in brief contact with the individual to establish a connection. I start by laying my hand on Miki. The moment my hand makes contact I feel a slight pressure on my head. Instinctively I know that this pressure is my mind feeling the foreign presence of Miki''s. When I do the same to Mako instead of feeling the presence of both of them, I feel the connection with Miki snap. I can''t link to more then one person at the same time. Well that kills the idea of having my personal army of mind slaves. Not like I wanted to anyway. Another thing I just realized is that even with the connection if they can''t understand my command they will not follow. Luckily through telepathy I am still able to send thoughts through in the form of pictures. The part I find the most interesting though is that I also have the ability to access it''s memories although it is difficult to make sense of them as our perspective is totally different. How Mako sees the world is just too different. I decide not to use that again unless it''s on a human. I briefly considered what would happen if I tried this on god. I highly doubt my chances of success, but if I did and my head didn''t explode from the upcoming migraine. I would be the closest thing to omniscient that I know of, well besides the multiverse itself. It almost makes it worth the risk luckily my sanity is intact... I think. After an hour or so inside of my pets head I decide it is time to try at least one human. I want to test how long a command lasts. Personally I also want to see if survival instincts take precedence over my command but unless I find somebody who truly deserves it, I am not about to command someone to die. Besides the possibility that god will interfere is to high. I can''t afford to be careless. Speaking of which I wonder what my counterpart is doing. I assume that he managed to grab these powers as well considering things as they are. Paying a visit to the Cafe I am going to see Karen at tomorrow. I walk up to the register and wait for one of the staff who are currently dealing with another customer. Eventually a young dark skinned lady makes her way over to me. If I recall her name is Kim. "Hello it''s just me today. I will need a menu." -Me "Been a while since I have seen you here, write this way sir." -Kim She brings me to a table and then holds out a menu for me to grab. I intentionally brushed her hand lightly with my own, when she hands me the menu to establish a connection before I sit down. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon."Can I get you anything to drink."-Kim "Just get me a Coffee with Hazelnut cream and sugar on the side."-Me I can still feel the pressure on my mind even after she leaves. Distance doesn''t seem to matter. Oddly while the pressure I feel is certainly more intense then when I connect with Mako it isn''t painful. Well unlike Sarah this woman isn''t about to blow a casket. I wish I had a way to filter out intense emotions. It''s a bit of a double edged sword in a way. Overpowering the emotion''s Sarah was giving off, forcing her to go against her own nature and then erasing her memories must have caused quite a strain on my mind. I would imagine that the only reason my mind trumped hers is because she never consciously fought back. For my purposes I only placed a simple construct into her mind. As long as it''s in place anytime I visit the first coffee of the day will be free. This is test how long a construct lasts. I doubt she will get in trouble for it. Well I could always place a construct on the manager as well in that case. After taking my order while dropping off my coffee I then dive into her memories. Despite having complete access to all her memories it''s not as simple as a looks. There is no life time playback. I actually have to know what to look for. I can''t change any long term memories by the looks of it. Although apparently I am able to add new ones into a blank time slot. While that does mean any sleepy time is fair game that also means that creating something abnormal it would likely just be interpreted as a dream. While moving deeper into her mind I hit some kind of blockade. I lightly probe it and pay close attention to any reaction. I don''t want to hurt her. I begin to burrow a hole through his blockade. It''s an incredibly difficult process. It''s feels like the mental equivalent of digging a hole through a brick wall with a spoon. Luckily as this all occurs on a mental level it is much faster. Breaking a small hole through the wall and finally moving beyond it. I completely understand now why this wall was in place. It separates all conscious and autonomous functions of the brain. I am glad that I didn''t destroy the wall completely. Giving somebody complete conscious control over all functions of the human body would be disastrous. I quickly withdraw and seal that wall up as best I can. Leaving the cafe with my new insight into my abilities I am beginning to question my humanity. After all having the ability to stop somebodies heart with my mind would more or less make me a monster. AN-{The next chapter release may be delayed until Saturday. I will try and update it but have some things going on Friday. Thank you for your understanding and Cheers.} V1 Chapter 7- Moving Forward There was many things I planned to do today. So many things to try out having this ability. But the scene before me disregards all of that. I stand before the remnants of my office, and just watch as the paramedics carry away a body so burnt up that I can no longer call it human. I can scarcely overhear the police saying something to me in my shock. So when the officer decides to forcefully remove me from the scene I quickly make a mental connection with him. I forcefully rip through his mind trying to extract any information I can. Releasing me, he falls to the ground screaming attracting the attention of everybody else. Two more officers rush over trying to figure out whats going on but before they do anything another officer who I recognize interrupts them. "Escort this officer off the scene, this guy is with me."-Andi Grabbing my wrist he drags me aside away from all the commotion. "You okay David? I didn''t think I would see you again." -Andy "No I am not okay! The place I work has been burned to the ground and somebody I have known a while most likely died an extremely painful death." -Me "Oh sorry... You shouldn''t have been able to see the body. Even some of our younger guys had to leave because of it. When it''s that bad we usually zip the body bag right up and ship it right to the medical examiner." -Andy "Sorry it''s just a lot to take in" -Me "Don''t worry about it. Actually the fact that you''re not upchucking all over the place says a lot about you. What did you do to that guy though? Not a scratch on him but screams like he lost an arm."-Andy "I don''t have a clue what happened. Maybe the scene was to much." -Me He looks at me disbelievingly by lets the lie pass. "You know, for once I am getting sick of the unsolved mysteries. First the disappearances, then somehow a fire starts without a cause, and now this." -Andy "Fire without a cause?"-Me "The fire was so hot that being even near the building would cause us to start cooking. On top of that nothing we did had any effect on it. When the building collapsed it eventually burned itself out. We don''t even know what kind of fire it was."-Andy This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. While listening to him I spot a young woman off to the side wearing a white mask that completely covers her face. Being dressed in all black I do find her suspicious but yet at the same time can''t help but feel drawn to her. Entranced by her every movement as she looks at me and makes a subtle motion with her hand as if trying to say something. Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out a phone identical to the one I have holding it up for me to see. Giving me a peace sign, she places the phone back into her pocket and then completely vanishes from sight. When I turned to Andy to ask if he saw her I find that he has the expression of somebody mind controlled. In fact looking around I notice everybody is slowly coming out of a trance. Placing a hand on Andy I make a mental connection. Trying to figure out what exactly she did to him I can actually feel her connection is still in place. Following the link back to her, I connected directly to her mind and snap her connection with Andy. "Are you enjoying yourself" I hear in my head. "Did you do this" I think back. "It was a necessary evil." She says "Why" I ask "Because there are more important things to prepare for and your career was simply holding you back." She says "Why did Sarah have to die?" I ask "So you can move forward, when the time comes." She says. "Are you Nona?" I ask "Are you David?" She asks Finding this conversation going nowhere I snap the connection between us. I doubt I would win if I decided to have a mental battle with her and leaving myself open like that isn''t any better. I got a lot to talk about with Karen tonight... V1 Chapter 8- Fate, Link, and Soul Stepping out of my car. I walk into the Cafe. Upon my arrival I am immediately greeted by Kim. Who drags me to Karen''s table. "I didn''t know you were dating. You should just get married already." -Kim "I just choose not to get married. I just have no interest in having a family. Well I am more or less just not the fatherly type."-Me "Why, having children is supposed to be a rewarding experience?"-Kim "Ha! Tell that to every parent who''s son was in my care. Quite a few of them regret the decision to have kids. Besides there is nothing wrong with having a meaningful relationship without children or marriage." -Me Karen who was watching silently moments ago finally decides to speak up. "Anyways this is not a date. Besides why does this concern you?" -Karen "I am just trying to look out for David. Sorry for prying on the juicy secrets." Kim says winking at me. "Anyways what did you want for today?" Kim asks me "Just a coffee." -Me She leaves us and then I finally turn to Karen. "I am not really sure were to start with this chaotic mess so I''ll just ask. What do you want to know first?"-Me "Let''s start with what happened to my brother." -Karen I lean back into my seat and take a breath trying to find the right words. "Your brother... Most likely no longer exists in this world if at all. If lucky he may have fell into a parallel world. Worst case... He ceased to exist." -Me Looking at me a few moments, she sighs in resignation and says. "You better not be making any of this up. You know I will kill you if you are?" -Karen "I have no reason to lie to you. Besides you saw it for yourself." -Me "Yes I know. That''s the only reason I haven''t yet... What is the chance that he is still alive in a parallel world?" .... "Next to nothing... Even if he got dropped in the other world he would still have to survive the paradox. But sadly out of everyone that has disappeared so far because of the paradoxes only three have survived." -Me "So there are three people that survived this situation? Do you have names?" -Karen "Well from what I know. Besides myself there is another version of me out there doing god knows what. The third person is a woman who calls herself Nona. I know very little about her except that she possesses the same power I have but overwhelmingly superior." -Me "What is this ability that both you and her posses?" -Karen Looking at her again I weigh the odds in telling her. I decide that I can''t hide it from everybody. "So far I have the ability to search through memories and control minds. It does require physical contact and I can only do one person at a time. Nona has demonstrated the ability to control multiple people without physical contact, teleportation and probably pyrokinesis." -Me "Can you demonstrate? Pull up some memories of my past and tell me about it." She says holding out her shaking hand warily. Looking at her a moment I grab her hand making the mental connection. I can see memories of her brother Johann. I can feel the emotions surrounding him. I felt everything she felt during her mothers death. I place a construct in her mind that filters out the overwhelming emotion a bit to help lighten the burden. When I attempted to withdraw out of her mind I felt something odd. As if something was trying to keep me from pulling out of her mind. Every time I pulled back something gripped me and forced me forward. While fighting against that force I felt a part of myself tear off and replaced with a part of it. Just as I felt that piece of it fuse with me. I also felt that piece of me fuse with it. Finally as soon as that happened I could withdraw. Probing the connection I came to the realization that it felt off. I tried to snap it but no matter how hard I tried nothing happened. Finally opening my eyes I turn to Karen who was silently watching me. Kim startling us both decides it''s time to make her entrance. "I thought you two said it wasn''t a date?" -Kim "We did" -Me "Then why were you holding her hand and crying?" Kim asks me Rubbing my eyes I just realized I really was crying. Damn Karen''s memories really took a lot out of me. Grabbing my coffee from her I subtly make contact making a connection. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere."Please let it be..." I say mentally and out loud. She freezes up a moment before finally backing off. "Fine but this isn''t the end of it." Kim says before she turns and walks off. "What exactly happened there?" Karen asks brows raised. "I did subtlety suggest mentally to let it be. Nothing that will harm her." -Me "No I mean with me. As soon as you made contact with me you just started tearing up. Then I could feel something happening between us in our mind. Just before that feeling let off I felt a sharp pain in my head but it was gone as soon as it came." -Karen "I am not exactly sure what happened. When I tried to withdraw something pulled me back. That something managed to exchange a piece of myself for a piece of it. Probably the cause of the headache. The only real effect is I can''t break my connection with you." -Me "I will ask you not to mind control me. Also please do not look through my memories without my permission. Although I can''t really enforce it." Karen says blandly. "To be honest I don''t think I would need to go through your memories again. I pretty much experienced your entire life in an instant. Which is why I am like this. I would normally experience it in pieces. It was actually quite painful and unexpected to live your entire life as if it was my own." -Me "I am guessing that not everybody was a willing experiment?" Karen says sighing. "No, but with people like Nona out there I would rather be prepared... I won''t justify invading someones personal life. At the same time I avoid over using it. I am not a saint. I am just an individual that happened to get lucky. I will take advantage of it." -Me "I can''t exactly take you in. Not like anybody will believe half of this anyways. I want to make you a suggestion though so I can at least keep an eye on you. It would also allow you to put your abilities into practice. So hear me out." -Karan "Well my original plan was to use my ability in my practice but sense Nona decided to go arsonist I may as well." -Me "I should be able to get you a position doing psyche evauls for the department. I can even pull some strings and have you do interrogations. With me or Andi present of course. While your mental abilities may not serve in court I am sure we can utilize it. If you decide to take it I only have two conditions." -Karen "What would these conditions be?" I ask "My first condition is that we will set aside some time to meet every day and work on developing your abilities. That link between us could have some uses. I am hoping we can communicate through it. I also would like you to assist me in meeting Nona." -Karen "That woman is too dangerous. We have no idea what she is fully capable of and she is perfectly willing to kill for her goal. I myself want to know what goal warranted Sarah''s death. " I say not without a hint of grief in my voice. "That is exactly why. She is too dangerous to be left alone. She also seems to be quite confident in herself. Taking the name of a roman goddess of fate suggests that she either knows a lot more then we do or she is a bit to crazy to leave alone." -Karen "Goddess of fate huh? Adds more mystery to that girl then I would like. I guess in a way as long as she doesn''t turn hostile it would benefit us. Well Nona is the type to only show herself when she feels like it meets her goal. It also seems to involve me. Alright I''ll take you up on this." "Good tomorrow I will come by your house and we can work on these abilities of yours. Give me some time to deal with the formalities with getting your position. A few days at most." -Karen Looking at her a moment holding out my hand. She gives it a light squeeze before we get up. At the register when Karen offers to pay for my coffee. To which Kim informs her that it was free. She gives me a knowing smirk at that. Even though I don''t have my practice anymore that doesn''t mean I am poor. I saved up quite a bit. Then there is the money Nona gave me. I could live a relatively comfortable life for a couple years. So I pay for Karen''s meal with the card that Nona gave me before we leave. Side Story-Prelude to Panic ??? in Russia Pov- When I pull up to the entry gate I am stopped by the guards there. When I flash my ID they Nod me forward. It''s seriously annoying that I have to show my ID every time even though most of these guys know me. But it''s just protocol. Well it''s not there fault. They probably are just as strung up about it as me. The longer it takes me to clock in then the longer they have to wait for relief. Slinging my rifle over my should I step out of the vehicle and walk into the building. After I am done with clocking in I meet up with my lieutenant. While looking at her I can''t help think that she would be quite attractive if she didn''t cut her hair so short. She has quite a figure. I nod to her waiting for orders. Finally the other guy gets here. ¡°Alright lets go¡±- Lieutenant We silently follow her out the building. While on the way to the gate I can''t help but wonder what we need all this security to protect. Not only is the base itself a restricted area, even the land surrounding it about four miles out is considered private property owned by the government. While generally the police department turn people away if they get to close we still have to retain some type of contact with the outside. When we finally arrive at the gate the lieutenant lines them up, pats them down and sends them off. She finally leaves us to handle things here. I can''t but help feeling bored standing here. As usual the next time we will see anybody come through will likely be our relief. As it is my turn to do rounds I walk out the gate to make sure nobodies trying to climb the fence or something. While moving along the fence I find myself feeling uneasy. As I continue along that uneasy feeling quickly turns into fear. I don''t know the source so I swallow what I think is just paranoia. I spot a woman wearing black jeans, a blue shirt, a black trench and black boots. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. When I get closer to this woman something in my mind screams for me to turn around. But as she is unarmed I dismiss it and call out to her. ¡°Hey! Please step away from the gate¡± -??? When she turns to me as if completely oblivious she smiles and replies. ¡°How odd it seems fear had the opposite effect on you.¡± She says Finding her behavior a bit odd I point my weapon at her and reach for my radio. ¡°Ah! Perhaps now that you have a gun pointed at me I should release your mind so that you don''t get trigger happy and draw anybody else to us. Well it doesn''t matter anyways as it appears I was to late.¡± She says The moment after she says that I no longer feel that nagging fear or the urge to run. I decide not to radio in as both the meaning behind her words and the effect deters me. ¡°What do you mean by that.¡± -??? ¡°Does that matter?¡±- She asks While watching her unsure of what to do space suddenly seemed to distort around her. Even the ground she was standing on displaced causing her to now float a few inches above a crater. Completely surprised by what just happened I accidentally let off a round but the bullet seems to stop just short of hitting her floating in that space. Unable to make sense of why this woman surrounded herself with some kind of force field the last thing I saw was her looking at me with pitying eyes before a bright flash of light. AN- He was not killed by Nona. He died from the Nuclear explosion Nona tried to stop. Yes Nona did survive the Nuke. V1 Chapter 9-No pain no gain Davids Pov- When Karen said I would be experimenting with my abilities I didn''t expect to have to stop a bullet with my mind. So naturally when Karen pulls her gun out I do what every normal person would in this situation. That is to find the closest object to hide behind. Which in this case is the couch. ¡°What the hell! Isn''t this a bit much?¡± I screamed ¡°Don''t worry they are rubber and non lethal.¡± Karen Replied ¡°This is crazy! Aren''t these supposed to hurt like hell?¡±-Me ¡°That''s the point gives you all the motivation you need to stop it right?¡±-Karen She walks towards me smirking while holding the gun. I turn to dash towards the door but before I do. BANG! ¡°God dammit you shot me.¡± I yell Having no idea how to stop something that moves faster then I can see. I fall back on the only thing I do know. I close my eyes grabbing for the link hoping to stop her before the second shot goes off. BANG! Hearing the gun go off but feeling no pain I slowly open my eyes. I see Karen laying on the ground holding her knee. Looking at her in confusion. Then my own knee which has a nice red welt on it I manage to put the pieces together. ¡°Buahahahaha! This is perfect. I can make you feel everything I feel. Not much fun when you''re on that other end is it eh?¡± -Me ¡°If I wasn''t so surprised by the suddenness of it I wouldn''t be a whiny as you are. But maybe we should try something else. Think you can move things with your mind?¡± Karen says glaring at me while dusting herself off. ¡°Not when they are already moving faster then the speed of sound. But I can try a stationary object.¡±-Me Reaching into her pocket she pulls out a set of keys handing them to me. ¡°Start with this. If you can get them off the ground try and do something a bit more complex with them.¡±-Karen ¡°What the heck do you mean by that. It''s a set of keys. What do you want me to jangle them?¡± -Me ¡°No smart ass try unlocking and locking the door. Just because you can pick something off the ground don''t mean you can do coordinate fine movements with them.¡± -Karen Resisting the urge to smack myself I turn to my task. Staring at the keys I trying and picture them floating up. Having no luck after a good ten minutes I change my approach. I try to picture myself as the keys and float up. After another ten minutes of no luck I turn to Karen. ¡°I don''t think I can do it. No matter how much time I spend imagining them floating of the ground I doubt that will change.¡±-Me ¡°Why not try a more practical approach? Instead of commanding the keys to move maybe you just need to think of your mind as another pair of hands.¡±-Karen Why didn''t I think of that. Ah darn. Turning back to my task I try a imagine myself moving an invisible hand. I imagine the sensations as my mental hand comes into contact with the keys. When I mentally live it up I feel a tug at the back of my mind. Spinning them around a bit I try sort through the keys. However I find it difficult to do with only mental hand and can''t seem to manage two at the same time. I just lack the ability to process both hands at once. It''s possible but as usual if you multi task sometimes both tasks will suffer. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.¡°Seems like I won''t manage to do anything requiring both hands physically.¡±-Me ¡°It might be a good idea to see if you got a mental weight limit. Try to test the waters a bit. I would be careful. I doubt you can sprain your mind but you can never be to sure.¡±-Karen ¡°The irony being that even though I am a mind doctor I wouldn''t know how to treat it¡±-Me While mentally lifting different things I find that the limit is actually well above what I can normally lift. I ain''t about to go flipping cars but I could probably rip the door off the hinges with moderate effort. Interesting enough it seems my mental hand can take any shape I want and doesn''t need to stay connected to me. ¡°You know if everybody in the world had one of these, obesity would be considered anorexic and we would all need pacemakers or heart attacks would be the apocalypse.¡±-Me ¡°I would prefer zombies any day. At least then I would be able to take my anger out on something before it all ends. But I guess we should figure out what is ahead of us first. Nona left alone could devastate entire countries.¡±-Karen ¡°Honestly I don''t think Nona is the terrorist type. Right now if Nona really wanted to she could easily wipe out the human race if she plays her cards right and that''s just with the abilities we know she is capable of. All she would have to do is make those in power her mind slaves and control everything behind the scenes.¡±-Me ¡°That actually makes things worse. She hasn''t killed you so maybe she needs you. The way I see it is that if she isn''t after her own cause then she is trying to stop somebody or something else. That means we got may just have an enemy with power that she can''t take alone. We still can''t even measure the gap between the two of you.¡±-Karen ¡°The only two beings I can thing of that may trump her right now is the multiverse and God. The multiverse lacks any tangible existence so I doubt we could fight it even if we tried. The being that calls himself god could probably have killed us anytime he wanted to but he didn''t. Nobody else has had the time to develop there abilities.¡±-Me ¡°Nona seems to have had more time to develop. If Nona got her abilities the same way you did maybe there are two of her out their. But the only thing that bugs me is that if this is true then the incident we experienced was not the first.¡±-Karen ¡°We will just have to be ready for it if disaster comes.¡±-Me ¡°When disaster comes.¡±-Karen AN- Next Chapter will have a timeskip