Running Through Worlds

Kidnapped!

I woke up in the back of a white van with a severe headache. Obviously my first thoughts were "Oh crud I've been kidnapped!" and "Who the heck would want to kidnap me?" I had just left work at a job I was rather enjoying, thank you very much, when last I remember I was attacked from behind and a weird smelling cloth was shoved over my mouth.

I noticed I was tied to a gurney with leather straps. "What's going on here!?" I shouted to the driver, or whoever was in the van with me.

"Oh great, he's awake," a gruff voice said. "Well, knock him out again!", another responded. "I don't want him making a racket the whole way." 

"Where is that?!" I exclaimed in rising panic. "Shut up," the gruff voice said, slamming the cloth to my face again. I struggled weakly before blacking out again.

The headache was worse when I woke again. This time, I found myself in what I assumed was a cell. I was in a weird white jumpsuit that felt like it was disposable. The door was solid so I couldn't see past it, and there was a small camera pointed straight at me. 

I didn't understand. My family lived in a nice city that wasn't known for crime. We live in a small house, sure, but we were well off, living like most people. And I didn't have any enemies. I was clueless about this whole thing, and trying to figure it out was definitely not making my headache go away.

My thoughts were broken by a hiss and a click coming from the door. Two heavily armed men entered with a woman in a lab coat.

"Get up," one of the guards said. I had no idea what was going on so I complied. "What's going on? Why am I here?" I said as I was escorted from my cell down a white cinder-block hallway. "Hmph!" the lab coat said. "You'll know soon enough. Just be quiet so this can be easy. For us."

I was escorted into what looked like a clinic. There I basically took a standard physical, though when I asked why the guards told me to shut up. Although, a weird part was when the lab coat took a machine that measured my brain activity. You didn't have to be a genius to guess that, as the machine was connected to a bucket with sensors on the inside.

I still was clueless when the physical was over and I was escorted back to my cell. I asked one more time what the physical was for but got an indifferent answer. At least the guards didn't taze me or anything.

Timeskip a few days...

I was visited by another lab coat, except he seemed to be a senior executive or something. I noticed that no guards entered with him. "Hello my boy," he said in a voice that was too kind for the situation. I was on edge as he spoke. "Hi," I said. "My name is Dr. Schmidt. You are probably wondering why you are here." Finally, some answers! "I am here to tell you that you have been chosen for something extraordinary, Something that could change the world as we know it." 

I was already on edge, but even though I could tell this guy was a bit crazy, I was also curious as to what he was talking about. "What do you mean?" I said.

"Of course you would want to know. You, as far as I have been told, are a very inquisitive young man, Ethan."

"Wait, how do you know me?" I asked apprehensively.

"Of course, we have been monitoring you for a few months now," Months!? Who were these people!? "so we know quite a few things about you, namely your love of science as well as your active imagination. "That's why we've been led to believe you are the ideal candidate for our little experiment."

"What!? Are you saying I've been kidnapped to be your guinea pig!?"

"Nonsense!" Dr. Schmidt said. "Your safety is guaranteed. We've done our absolute best to make sure no harm comes to you."

"Hmph," I said. I was still apprehensive about this guy, so of course I didn't really believe him. "Well, you've already done enough harm as it is, with kidnapping innocent people to experiment on."

"Rest assured, if all else should fail, you will be released to return to your family, with no recollection of being here," said the Dr.

"I find that hard to believe," I said.

"Well, know that my obligation still stands, you have my word. Now, why don't I show you why you are here? Guard? Open the door please."

I followed Dr. Schmidt out into the corridor where a guard was waiting. I followed the Dr. down a different hallway into an elevator that took us down quite a ways. When we stopped, the Dr. placed an excited hand on my shoulder. "My boy, what you are about to see has never been conceived by the world before. Brace yourself."

I didn't know what I expected to find, but it certainly wasn't this.