Strap Yourself In [Fiction]

“Strap yourself in, Agent Fishe.”

I glanced at Carr White, head of interspace matters at the Aeronautics and Space Agency (ASA). He tilted his chin towards an electrical chair with leather straps hanging from the armrests and headrest.

I looked at the chair too. For a moment, I had doubts if I was making the right decision. The stakes were high, not just for me but for my world.

A hand rested gently on my shoulder. It was my friend, Darius Howard, a doctor on their medical team. “You'll be fine, man,” he said giving a firm nod. “I'm with you all the way.”

“Sure,” I muttered, exhaling, “Let's do this.”

Darius helped strap me in. Carr White slipped on his gloves, tapped my temples lightly and taped some wires to them. He turned a knob on a machine and I gasped as my world changed.

I was no longer in ASA but downtown, in the market area where I grew up. People milled about. Tricycles wove through the crowd. Traders shouted over their goods, haggling with customers. The sky was dull and cloudy like most days.

No one knew about this place, not even my office. It was supposed to be my secret, away from the prying eyes of the government. I clenched my teeth and growled. They had no right to access this part of my memory.

Then I paused…as did everyone. Heartbeats slowed. I looked at my wristwatch. The second hand trembled and froze.

The clocks had paused again.

Just as it did two weeks ago when I discovered and drew the attention of ASA to it. Hence this expedition through my mind. The goal was to discover why time paused, an anomaly unheard of.

I moved slowly through the frozen crowd. A woman's mouth was opened mid-argument, a boy chased a rolling tire with one foot in the air.

What could be the cause of this anomaly?

NEXT.....

I hope you enjoyed reading this short piece. It's inspired by the Freewrite #dailyprompt phrase "strap yourself in".

Thank you for visiting my blog.

^{_{Image credit: Geralt}}