I received an enormous amount of feedback regarding it, both here and at hitrecord.org. The main sentiment by everyone who read it was.....tell me more.
As many of you know, I'm a big music fan, and I live my life in a movie soundtrack. For this entry, I would like you to play this song by a band called Dead can Dance. It's an interesting piece that I think captures this narrative quite well.
So without any more yakking by me, I give you the latest chapter in this story.
Routine Procedure - Part 2
As she sipped her vodka tonic, she
looked down at the headline on the Newsweek
once again. It seemed so unreal, and yet when she looked out of her window from
the airliner, there it was. The planet seemed so close that she felt that she
could reach out and touch it through the glass. It made no sense to her. Why
now? What did it all mean?
“Scientists still unsure of the cause
for the planet’s appearance,” the article read.
“Three months ago, a bright orb appeared
in the night sky fascinated astronomers across the globe. What at first was
deemed a newly discovered comet pushing its way through our galaxy, has been
determined to be a planet. Lead NASA analyst, April Franke said, ‘We know that the planet’s density and
gravity match our own. In many ways, the planet appears to be almost identical
to Earth. What we cannot determine is the
cause of its appearance, and why its approach to Earth has stopped. All we have
discovered at this point is that it is sharing our orbit, and it shows no signs
of disrupting our gravitational pull.’”
April sipped her vodka again and sighed.
Her flight began its descent to JFK International. She received the call
yesterday that there had been a development, and that she was needed
immediately in Washington. Going to DC, especially at a moment’s notice was the
last thing that she wanted to do for her weekend. After being swarmed by the
press and being swamped at work, she had some well-earned vacation time waiting
for her in Montana with her boyfriend. He had been sympathetic of her increased
work hours and understood that she was unable to talk about the planet with
him, but this get-away at the cabin was something they were both looking
forward to.
The plane touched down and started to
taxi its way to the terminal. She looked out the window, but noticed that the
plane was passing the terminal where it would connect to the jet bridge. At
first, April thought nothing of it. “I guess we are going down some stairs the
old-fashioned way,” she thought to herself. She downed her drink, and put her
tray up. The other passengers on the plane grumbled because the inconvenience
as they all stood to get their carry-ons from the cabin hold.
“Uh, ladies and gentlemen, please remain
seated until the attendants give you instructions. Thank you,” the captain said
over the intercom. Passengers continued to grumble as they sat back down, and a
baby started to cry.
“Great,” April said, “That’s all we
need.”
A silence moved through the plane
starting with first class at the front. Despite herself, April shivered once
she noticed the silence. It was coupled by unease, a peculiar feeling that
people were looking at her.
The Secret Service was standing in the
aisle next to her, expecting her to go with them immediately.
“You know, you guys could have just met
me in the terminal and not held up all of these people,” April said shortly.
She grabbed her bag and walked down the
aisle. There were two agents in front of her and two agents behind her. The
amount of attention she was getting from the passengers as she walked made her
aware of the situation. She glanced to her left out the windows and saw the
five car motorcade waiting on the tarmac.
Once outside, a man in a grey suit and
glasses approached her.
“Miss Franke?”
“Yes. You know, this is all really
unnecessary. You could’ve –“
She was cut off by a sting in her neck,
a burning sensation that felt like an object was just put into her body. She
looked around and saw one of the agents holding a device that looked like a
syringe, but something from a movie.
They pushed her into a black SUV, and
the motorcade began driving.
“What is all of this? What is going on
here?”
“Miss, there has been a development, and
your research is compromised.”
“I have Top Secret clearance. I assure
you, I know more about my research than you do!”
“I doubt that, miss. We have some
questions for you.”
“Keep waiting. I only report to the
President, and I am sure that she is going to love this blatant ignorance and
misinformation!”
“You don’t understand April, it’s the
President that ordered this.”
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