A Strange Shift Part 1
It was a day like any other. Jonathan waited for his train. His eyes slowly blink from a lack of sleep he got the night before. He spent the evening cramming information for a presentation at work. Jonathan always hated presentations, but the cool breeze on his skin soothes his nerves.
He looks ahead to see the train slowly move towards him. Ashe waits, he glances at his watch. Suddenly he feels a strange shift as he lowers his arm, almost like the ground was water. The surrounding people notice this and hasten away from the shifting ground. Jonathan raises his hand and the shifting stops. People look at him, slightly confused. A man calls out to him.
“Did you do that?” the man asks.
“I-I don’t know” Jonathan’s voice trembles as he speaks.
Just as those words leave his lips, the ground shifts again, more violently. Jonathan slips and falls onto the train tracks. As Jonathan tries to push himself up, the tracks shoot up into the sky. He holds on for dear life as the tracks seem to climb the skies forever. His heart beats speedily as the track rattles and groans. With his eyes closed, Jonathan peacefully accepts his fate, whatever that may be. The track halts in the air, staying perfectly still.
Jonathan slowly opens his eyes, looking at the track and the gravel beneath it. He slowly turns his head and sees nothing but trees.
“Help! Can someone help!?” He cries as loud as he can.
His voice seems to echo into an unknown void. Jonathan turns back and rests his head on the track hopelessly and closes his eyes again. As he does, he feels the track shift again, this time downwards but slower. His arms ache as he holds on with all of his might. Eventually he feels the track steadily lower on the ground.
“Thank God.” Jonathan mutters to himself.
He slowly rises to his feet and stumbles backwards a bit, he then feels a gentle hand on his back help keep him stable.
“Easy,” a calm voice says.
The voice sounds feminine. He turns and looks to see a woman with long locks and dark skin. She’s not a police officer or a paramedic. He stares at her face. She looks strangely calm, almost like she’s seen all of this before.
“Are you ok” She asks with genuine concern, almost like a mother would.
“I’m fine, thank you.” He wipes the sweat off his face, his arms are shaking.
“Did you do that?” He asks.
The woman suddenly raises her finger against her mouth and looks around. There is an increasing sound of police sirens.
“We need to leave.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Now”
“What? Why?”
“Hold on to me.”
Jonathan, confused, slowly backs away.
“I’m sorry. I don’t understand what’s happening.”
The woman quickly embraces him. She holds on tight. Jonathan tries to move her away but can’t. Her strength is almost inhuman. There’s a sudden change in the atmosphere, like an aggressive wind out of nowhere. Jonathan looks down but sees his feet are no longer on the ground. Jonathan screams as he feels his body launched through the air. Before he can blink, he appears in a room; it looks like an office, surrounded by bookcases. The woman lets go of him. Jonathan backs away and collapses on the floor.
“What did you do!?” Jonathan yells, his body is shaking.
The woman calmly leans against the wall behind her.
“What did you just-”
“You found another one, Alicia?” A harsh voice speaks. He sounds American.
Jonathan turns to see an older man. He has grey hair and a messy beard. He crouches down and inspects Jonathan.
“Sure did Vince. He made train tracks stand up like a rollercoaster.” Alicia sounds amused.
Vince looks at Jonathan and chuckles. Behind him stand two more men and women.
“Looks like you’re one of us, kid.”
Jonathan looks as more people enter the office, ranging from adults to teens and young children.
“Us?”
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