Falling

By Annelie Janssen and Elizabeth G. Ellis

Confused. Disoriented. Falling.

Mimi wakes to complete confusion. Her memories are vague at best, horrifyingly stark for the most part. Where is she? What happened to her? Most importantly, why do her memories feel like they are not entirely her own? Will trusting the man who claims he wants to help lead her to the path of truth? Or will h

• Language: English
• Publisher: Butterdragons Publishing
• Release date: Aug 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9789493287044

Book preview

Chapter One

Mimi woke up in an unfamiliar room to the ticking of a clock on the wall. It was bare to the point of impersonal. She had no idea where she was or how she got there.

She sat up and realised she was fully dressed, and her shoes were next to the bed.

Mimi looked around and noticed a piece of paper next to her shoes. She reached for it and unravelled it. The paper contained a hastily scribbled message which she didn’t fully understand.

Mimi,

I’m sorry I couldn’t stay with you. If I had a choice, I would have. I really shouldn’t be writing this note, but I just couldn’t leave you here with no information.

I really hated that you got hurt. But I am glad I got to you in time, and I am glad I managed to get you to this hotel. The room is paid for the night and you can stay until 10 a.m. After that, you are on your own.

Good luck in finding what you are looking for. I wish I could see you again and I hope I will.

Love,

O.

It explained where she was but not much else, not even who wrote it.

She sat there for a few moments just looking at the words, trying to remember something. Anything.

She could vaguely recall that she was walking outside in the evening, and the streets were crowded.

She was with a large group of people holding signs, yelling, and chanting in front of a huge building.

She remembered men in dark suits, standing in front of the doors, looking down on the group of people and showed no other emotion but contempt.

A man broke away from the group and ran forward, trying to get up the stairs, towards the entrance doors. One of the guards extended a hand and lighting shot from his palm. Screams echoed through the crowd as he got electrocuted, not even reaching his goal halfway.

This caused the rest of them to rush forward as one and attack the guards. That did not go well, because the rest of the guards also extended their hands and started shooting lightning into the crowd.

Some of them got hurt and others started retreating, many fell onto the ground. A tall man standing in front of Mimi, crashed into her.

She remembered the fall and the force that caused her head to hit the ground hard. And then… nothing.

That must be the reason she felt fuzzy in her head. She touched the back of her head and felt a painful bump.

Mimi decided it would be best to stay in the bed for a little while longer, to get some rest and contemplate what to do next. She had no idea where to go anyway, or what was it she had to find.

She tried to fall asleep, hoping the morning would bring some answers.

*******

She was startled awake by loud knocking on the door, so she got up to check who it was. Mimi was being careful, but it turned out that it was just the housekeeping, informing her she needed to leave soon.

The clock showed it was only 8, so Mimi didn’t feel the need to rush. She still had no idea where to go, so she returned to the bed and sat down, closed her eyes, and tried to relax, open her mind, and will her memories to the surface.

After about twenty minutes of fruitless attempts, she was ready to give up, but then something happened.

The building! It was the Coalition – the ruling class seat – and the people were protesting inequality and the unfair treatment. Or at least that seemed a logical conclusion. They had power, others didn’t.

Mimi didn’t think she had any, that would be impossible to forget. But why did any of them think they could breach the security of that building was beyond her.

She felt that a lone person or even a small group of people could not do anything against the kind of power she saw the previous day. But something told her there was more to it and she was determined to find out what it was.

She decided to use the last few minutes of her time in this room wisely, so she took a shower. She only had the clothes she woke up in, so she redressed and put on her shoes. She tucked the letter in her bra to keep it safe.

It was time for her to leave the safety of the hotel.

Chapter Two

The moment she stepped outside, she noticed two types of people in the street – the well-dressed ones and the ones in very plain clothes, like those she was wearing.

As she kept on looking, she noticed all the people in the plain clothes looking down, not meeting anyone’s eyes, and getting out of the way of the fancy dressers, so she quickly adjusted her behaviour to fit in with the crowds, as she walked on.

She was momentarily frightened by being pushed aside by a man who nearly ran her over. She cowered in the corner while watching several suited men – resembling the ones attacking the protesters – chasing him. She overheard one of them yell ‘society’ in the passing, and then a thought hit her – it was them she needed to find.

She didn’t know where to start looking for the Society. So, she dusted herself off and kept on walking, melding with the crowds.

Wandering aimlessly, she didn’t realise she entered an abandoned alley until it was too late. Suddenly, she felt pain as her hair was being pulled roughly.

Look what we have here. I thought we had sampled all the Commoners down here, one of the men behind her said.

Seems like this city does hold some surprises after all, the other man said, laughing in a way that caused Mimi’s hair to rise.

Let me go! Mimi yelled, as she turned around. She realised she had nowhere to run. She was at their mercy and they looked like they were enjoying the fear they were provoking in her.

We have a feisty one here, the second one said between the laughs.

And what if we don’t? the first man asked, What are you going to do about it? We have you cornered.

I think I know why we have never seen this one, she must be from another city, the second one commented. Tell us where you come from.

The first man stepped closer to her, raising his hand as though to cup her chin. Mimi felt the touch even though his hand never made contact. In invisible force lifted her chin so her eyes met his, and the coldness in them made her shiver with fear.

She tried to scream and struggle. She called for help, but they were not deterred.

There is no one to save you here. You can scream all you want, but people will just ignore it and keep walking. We can do whatever we want with you and no one will stop us, the first man said so close to her face, she felt his spit.

Then he let go of her and moved away before she felt a similar force throw her against the wall so hard that it took her breath away. She was coughing and wheezing as the men stood there laughing.

Mimi heard a sudden loud crash as a sort of a vehicle smashed into them, sending them soaring down the alley to lie in a crumpled mess.

A man jumped out and ran towards her.

Come with me. I am here to help you, he said hastily, as he grabbed her hand and tugged it.

She nodded and he got her into the vehicle and drove away in the opposite direction.

Please put this over your eyes. I will take you somewhere safe. You can relax. I am not like them, he said.

Mimi looked at him, puzzled, but then she decided to do as he said. He just saved her, he looked trustworthy, she hoped that she hadn’t lost the ability to read people when she lost her memories. And besides, it wasn’t like she had a plethora of choices.

My name is Lucas. I have a place close by where I live with some friends. I will take you there. It’ safe. What is your name?

I’m Mimi, and I can’t tell you much more. It’s not because I don’t want to. I hit my head and my memories are fuzzy, she said.

Lucas nodded. Okay. We can try to help you remember. I can’t promise we will succeed, but I can promise that you will be safe with us, he replied.

Okay, Mimi agreed.

They drove the rest of the way in silence until they stopped and Lucas spoke, Please keep your eyes covered for a little while longer.

He walked around the vehicle and helped her out. He guided her up the stairs and she heard the door open. He guided he inside and once the door was closed, he said, You can remove the thing from your eyes.

So, she did.

Chapter Three

With only a slight pause, to allow her to take in the room around her, he led her deeper into the building.

It was a large hall that looked abandoned and it was full of machinery of some sort, which looked like it hadn’t been used in a while. The space looked dirty and unused. What did I get myself into? Mimi wondered as they walked deeper into the room.

Lucas turned to her and said reassuringly, Don’t worry, this is just for show. I’ll explain more once the doctor sees you.

Okay, she replied and wondered whether her entire vocabulary disappeared as well and got reduced to this one word. Fortunately, her lack of eloquence did not deter Lucas in his quest to help her.

They finally reached the door at the end of the huge space and Lucas turned his back to her while he entered some numbers in the keypad next to it.

The door opened, and she felt like she entered another world behind this door. Although sparsely furnished, it was clean and full of people.

Not in an ‘I live with some friends’ way as Lucas said earlier but looking like a full and busy combination of an office building and an apartment building.

Mimi turned and looked at him questioningly.

Okay, yeah, I understand your confusion. I’ll explain everything, I promise, Lucas sad and added, Let’s get you to the doctor first.

He led her to a woman behind the desk that looked like a reception.

Lynda, this is Mimi, she is our new guest. Could you please find her a room and get the doctor to check her? I think she had a nasty fall, Lucas asked and she nodded.

"Of course, Lucas.