Prologue
With reluctance, I let Soraya drag me through the revolving glass doors of a building far too formal for my taste. There’s a small audience just mingling around, and I’m thinking this is way out of my league. Her idea of an entertaining, virtual experience, is much different from what I imagined. A game room, 3D shades, oversized stereo gaming headsets, and a few quarters for the machine is more of what I had in mind. What I’m seeing rather, are fancy devices, stiff faces, and plastered on smiles. This is not what I consider a fun day out. But hey, we do what we must for the ones we love, right?
“Welcome to Paranormal Realms where you create the rules. Whether you’re in the mood for suspense, mystery, romance, or all of the above, we’ll make your supernatural dreams come true.”
The brunette who greets us is too smooth for my taste. People with personalities like hers were born for sales and can make a rock look like a diamond. It’s a good thing I’m not fronting the bill although I probably should have contributed something, considering it’s Soraya’s birthday. But on a librarian’s salary, I couldn’t even if I wanted to, which I absolutely do not.
Nervousness is in full effect and my heart is racing. I can’t believe I’m about to do this, but I made a promise, and I keep my word. Although, I’m starting to wonder if Soraya’s timing wasn’t calculated to play on my emotions. She knew I’d never let her celebrate her birthday alone, and she’s just broken up with Liam, her boyfriend of two years. Glancing over at her, she doesn’t appear torn about it now. Anyway, I’m here so I’ll go along with it.
We’re escorted to a couple of chairs scattered around the room. The poised woman in white who greeted us sits opposite us on the other side of the small table. The way she speaks, her demeanor, everything about her is calming, and she makes it all sound so reasonable.
She takes our names and swipes her finger over the tablet she’s holding. “I have you down for our 48-hour, paranormal virtual experience, with adventure, passion, excitement.” Her recap is spot-on with the exception of one thing.
“You can leave out the romance.” One bad relationship in a lifetime is enough for me. Whether it’s real or virtual doesn’t matter.
“I don’t think so, babe. I’m paying, and we agreed. I get to choose one element of your experience, and I pick romance. My birthday…my decision, remember?”
Sighing, I lean back in my seat and comb a hand through my hair.
“Fine.” Pushing myself forward, I point a finger at Soraya, my best friend and the deviant who talked me into this. “But you’re going to owe me in a major way.”
She gives me a sly grin, placing a finger to her lips.
The escort clears her throat. “Well then, shall we proceed? By the way, my name is Trinity.” Stepping aside, she extends her arm in the direction I assume we’re headed into.
With no urgency, I stand and wait to follow her lead.
I’m brought back first. Everything from the floors, to the ceiling, to the almost nonexistent wall décor, is white. I feel like I should be walking barefoot, and I’m careful not to touch anything, though the electronics junkie in me wants to. Some of the stuff we pass looks way cool but some of it looks outright scary. The mirrored walls make it impossible to see behind the closed doors. My imagination is running wild and I wish I could get a glimpse of what’s inside.
Trinity must sense my thoughts. “It’s all for privacy. The rooms are designed the same, in a way to offer comfort while giving you the best possible experience. Everything we do here is safe. We’ve been in business for years and have thousands of clients, all satisfied.”
Feeling a sudden chill, I wrap my arms around my upper body. “It’s cool in here.”
The farther we walk down the long hallway, the colder it gets. There’s a familiar smell. It’s not overbearing, only one I recognize because I’ve smelled it before—Iodoform. It was the same disinfectant used in the hospital where I volunteered as a teenager.
“Yes, it needs to be on the cooler side for the protection of the equipment, but you’ll be kept comfortable when you go under.”
Go under, shit! Am I really doing this?
In the past I’ve been talked into doing some crazy stuff, but this could easily go down in history as being the most insane of them all. Come to think about it, I hadn’t done anything yet, which means I could still leave now if I acted fast.
She continues with her spiel, while navigating the screen on her fancy tablet. In the meantime, I’m assessing the distance from where I am to the door, wondering if I can somehow make a break for it, maybe say I’m going to the restroom. The long walk from the front to the back, all the twists and turns, maybe this place was designed to trap people like me—skeptics.
I brush off the thought, knowing it’s silly. It wouldn’t fly with Soraya—she knows me too well, and is probably already anticipating me plotting my getaway.
Think of the devil, and she appears. She slides up beside me with her handler. I can’t see any reason why we couldn’t have just walked back together.
“Hey, girly, are you good?”
I narrow my gaze at Soraya. Is she for real? “I’m not the least bit good, far from it. This is crazy. How did you hear about this place anyway?” I ask again, as if her response will be different this time and clear up all my doubts.
Huffing, she places a hand on her waist. “For the tenth time, one of my regulars told me about it. They’ve been here twice and swear it’s worth it. Anyway, you promised you’d try it, so no backing out now.”
I raise a brow when I see the chair they want me to sit in. It’s a strange setup with straps and restraints for almost every part of your body.
“Are you ready for your customized adventure? It’s one you won’t forget.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat and give Soraya a harsh stare down. “But is it one I’ll want to remember?”
Soraya hisses.
“Of course,” Trinity says, helping me into the chair and proceeding with what she’s doing.
I look to Soraya for assurance as I’m strapped in, and wonder why she isn’t doing the same. Her handler is hanging out close by, playing on her tablet. “Why aren’t you getting tied down?”
The twisted smile she’s wearing gives hint to her satisfaction, and I can tell she’s more than a little pleased to have gotten her way.
“Because I know my friend. If I don’t see you through this, you won’t do it.”
“That’s because when you’re not around I use my common sense, which makes you a bad influence.”
She leans closer and whispers in my ear, “Well, honey, you think you’re the voice of reason, but some people would refer to it as having a stick up your ass. Now relax, and let’s yank that stick out. You’ll feel better, trust me.”
The attendant’s fixed expression softens when she turns up the corner of her mouth somewhat, to hide a smile. It’s nice to see a more human side of her which relaxes me a little. For a place selling adventure, they could stand to loosen up.
“I’m going to put this mask on you now.” Trinity guides my head back, crosses a strap over it, and places a mask over my nose and mouth.
“Is it too tight?”
“It’s fine.” My words echo inside the face cover. I glance over her shoulder at Soraya and give her an evil eye.
“Now count backward to one, starting from twenty.”
I do as instructed, silently. Within seconds, my eyes are getting heavy, and I can’t remember the last number, so I start over.
“I’ll see you on the other side.” Soraya waves.
It’s the last thing I see before drifting off into what I can only describe as the rush your body feels when a roller coaster suddenly drops.