“Oh shit,” was my immediate reaction. The very novelty that I was floating seven-feet off my bed. My nose barely brushing the ceiling was not lost on me. The single thought that scattered all sense of wonder in me was the sound of my mom traipsing up the stairs.

“Eli!” she called out, and I heard her nearing my end of the upstairs landing. The top of stairs branched out left and right. My bedroom was to the right and beyond that was the bathroom and a spare closet. To the left was mom’s room, another spare closet, a guest room, and a pull-down ladder leading up into the attic. Moms office.

“Yeah!” I called back and flailed like I was swimming through the air. I twisted about and floated towards a nearby wall, which I braced myself against.

“Did you order the pizza?” she called and knocked at my door. Now these sort of scenarios are usually seen in coming-of-age comedies. The parent or parental figure walks in on their child masturbating to livecams girls. Flaunting their fake breasts and teasing the immature boy on whether they were big enough to tame them with their naughty little beating sticks.

Purely conjecture in my case. Never at all had that… uhhh… happen to me. My situation was made worse when I managed to manoeuvre myself in such a way that I could float upright, my back pressed against the wall.

There on my bed was -in fact- my body. My eyes were open, brilliant white shinning orbs that glowed an illuminance that brightened the room. A tether of starry purple flowed sinuously out from the center of my self’s chest and into the back of my current floating self’s neck.

“Eli?” Mom called out, and knocked again.

“Just getting dress!” I called to her hurriedly. My breathing growing more rapid, and I realised that the words weren’t coming from my mouth. But from the mouth of my body on the bed. “This is so strange,” I said hoarsely.

“Well, hurry up -whatever- you’re doing and get downstairs. It’ll likely arrive soon,” she didn’t at all sound convinced that I was simply dressing.

I grabbed at the tether linking between my selves, and tugged on it. It went taut as I wrapped the umbilicus-like tether around my arm and pulled more forcefully.

It bore some corporeal substance, even though it seemed ethereal. I tugged harder and like pulling on a line I dragged myself back over towards my body.

A glance down at myself and saw no difference between my current self and the one on the bed. I wasn’t a ghost, that much I was certain.

So what the hell was happening to me? likely this was my super power coming into-affect. Some form of conscious projection.

The Arium collar was still around my neck, even in my projection form it was there. “Now, how do I get back in you?” I asked my body on the bed. “Poor phrasing,” I muttered a moment later.

I pressed my hand down against my chest, half expecting it to disappear through. Except it didn’t. Instead, the area that I touched felt solid. I felt the same pressure I exerted -pushing down- on my own chest.

“Okay,” I muttered and rubbed at my chin in thought. “Tricky. So ghost logic doesn’t apply. I’m not some of spirit.” I looked down at the tether still in my free hand and thought patiently. The cord was the link. Could I somehow pass my consciousness back through the tether and into my physical body?

I gave it a try.

I held the tether in both hands and as easily as breathing, sank my conscious mind into that ethereal cord. My minds flashing through in less than a heartbeat. I shot up in bed and gasped, clutching at my chest as I tried reorientate myself in my physical form.

“Whoa,” I breathed out after a moment of consideration. I wasn’t sure whether I had been dreaming or not. But the prospect of what I had just happened, was exhilarating.

“Eli! Pizza!” I heard mom called, annoyance lacing her tone.

“Right… pizza…” I nodded absently and quickly stripped down, and threw on my running shorts and a light vest.

~*~*~*~

I awoke the next morning feeling perfectly fine and wondered again at my sudden experience. I needed someone I could talk to, but all answers drew my mind to Patricia. She knew I was uncollared, knew of my starry-purple skin and white eyes and the like. Could I trust her with this new development. Could I help her?

I stopped and blinked, the bun half way to my mouth.

“No,” I decided and shook my head regretfully. I was sat in the academy cafeteria eating my lunch. Remembering my unfortunate play to sit in the shade outside yesterday. The cafeteria was usually empty at lunch hours, due to the perpetual summer heat. Everyone wanted to be outdoors.

I didn’t mind the sun, per say. I simply overheated far too quickly to be comfortable staying outside. “How would I even find her?” I muttered to myself and stuffed the last of the bun in my mouth as I chewed thoughtfully. Then it came to me. She was going to scout out Harry’s residence. Maybe I could find it somehow. I brought up my wrist-phone and tap the projected display for the internet search-engine.

I started by searching his name, Harry Nalsteader. There were forty-three people of that name across all three cities. Even records showing of nine Harry Nalsteader perishing in the sinking of Preyta.

“Popular name,” I murmured and decided on searching Bysons restaurant. That instantly brought results. A new article written by some independent indie journalist called, Natalia Cross. She had presented possible scenarios as to why the attack on the fast food restaurant had taken place. Some of her claims citing that William Byson Junior had criminal connections. As some of the property he owns and the fund in his accounts were illegally gained. He had far more money in excess than a simply fast food owner would warrant.

The journalist went on to describe the account of what happened, where she interviewed a collared woman who’d been present during the encounter.

She even went on to describe the criminals in question. The dead Neal Kline, and the collarless Harry Nalsteader who was still at large.

Followed by the brave collared employee who had stood up to the criminals and distracted them long enough to for the vigilante to arrive and kick their asses.

“So nothing conclusive,” I muttered. I wasn’t big on detective stories, it always seemed like a lot of shit-picking-work. This -an internet search- was as best as I could manage. Then I saw the small caption at the end of the article. “If any further information is available in connection of events posted, please contact this number,” I typed it into my wrist-phone and pulled out the small interconnecting ear piece, and waited as the line rang.

“Hello, you’ve reach the answering machine of, Natalia Cross,” started an automated voice follow by a woman saying her name. “Please leave a message and return number after the tone.”

“Hi. I’m in calling regards to an article on the Byson’ incident. And I believe I have some valuable information that could useful in your search. My name and number is…” I rattled it off and ended the call. Slotted the ear-piece back into my wrist-phone, and left the cafeteria.

“Elias!” A distinctively feminine voice called to me, and I half turned to see Karen waving at me. She was walking among her friends and smiled as they came closer.

“Hey,” I said plainly and gave them all a slight nod.

“You’re not going to class?” Karen asked me, as she and all of her coven sidled up alongside me. I noticed that one amongst them was a collared and I couldn’t help but sympathise with her. Karen was okay, if not overly familiar with everyone she met. Her friends on the other hand were airheads.

“Nope,” I replied curtly. “Where’s tall, dumb, and handsome today?” I asked her. I had noticed that the big lummox hadn’t been seen so far today.

“We had a fight. So he’s sulky and avoiding me,” she shrugged, and I saw that among the handbooks she cradled in her arms was a general science one.

“Nothing serious I hope,” I said with false concern.

“No. Nothing like that. His bouts of anger lately have been getting worse. Not because of you, this has been going on for a while.”

“Sucks,” I agreed, half paying attention. My focus turned to the person walking towards us. His form was fuzzy, blurring in a way that seemed unnatural.

“Are you okay…” Karen asked me, her voice trailing off as she followed my attention. I instantly recognise who it was, between all the distorted blurring of his figure. Harry’s face came into stark focus.

“Elias,” he greeted at nodded at me.

“H-Harry! w-what’re you doing here?” I asked him hesitantly. I stepped out and placed myself between him and the girls.

“Oh I’m not here for you. The leader has given you a probation. You’ll come to see things our way, I’ve been assured.”

“If not me then who?” I asked and dread filled my stomach. In the group of women behind me, one was collared. “You can’t have her,” I told firmly.

He laughed sadly, “that isn’t for you to decide I’m afraid.” Then he looked beyond me and over my shoulder. “Annabelle Becket,” he declared loudly. I watched as his form spread out and thinned. His physical body becoming incorporeal as he shifted into a black shadowy imitation of a humanoid figure. “It is time you threw off your chains of oppression and joined your brothers and sisters as Unbound.”

“Run,” I barked and twisted to get the women moving. They screamed and threw down their handbooks. Sprinting as fast as they could. The slim curly-haired woman with pale skin and an Arium collar around her throat, her eyes bulging wide with fear as black misty figure started to chase after us.

I caught her wrist and practically dragged her after me as we ran. I looked over my shoulder to see Karen sprinting directly behind us. Beyond her, Harry lashed with a black tendril of clipped the foot of one of the women running with us.

She went down and skidded across the floor. A shadowy tendril caught her up and slammed her bodily into the ceiling and then swung her into the wall. The girls screamed in fright and ran harder twisting around the corner as some fell and clung to each other. Harry hadn’t even broken his stride when he’d attack the woman.

“Elias! through here!” Karen called from behind me, waving her hand to a corridor we’d just passed. The other girls running ahead.

I turned and saw her gesturing towards the hallway that lead to the sport’s centre of the academy. The long glass walkway that bridged between the two buildings.

“Argh, come on,” I growled and dragged the unfortunate Annabelle behind me.

“Why does he want me?” she whimpered in terror. I turned to see Harry jogging lightly around the corner, spotting us before we followed after Karen.

“He doesn’t actually want you. Just what you represent,” I told her breathlessly as we caught up to Karen. The sporting centre was a good idea. Less people were in attendance today with the exams closing in. And that was double for those that chose sports as their specific field of study.

Less people. Less casualties.

“What does … that mean?” Karen grunted as barged her shoulder into a swinging door, knocking an unlucky student onto his ass. “Sorry!”

“Arium collars are malfunctioning,” I told her and shrugged as we ran. “The Unbound are a group of anti-oppressive terrorist’s. If Annabelle here,” I said and held up our link hands, “denies to go with them. They’ll kill her, and maybe her family. Whether or not she consents to having her collar pulled off.”

“How to do you even know this?” she asked me searchingly as we sprinted.

“I was told this yesterday,” I replied and saw that we were coming up on the glass pathway leading to the sport’s centre.

“Then what did smoky mean, by your probation?”

“I haven’t got a clue. We’re almost there—” I started when my foot was yanked out from under me, sending me sprawling, slamming my head face first into the carpeted floor.

“Elias!” Karen shouted for me.

“Keep going,” I waved drowsily and coughed roughly. My nose felt sore and out of place on my face.

“Why are you resisting?” Harry voice came from behind me, and felt a cold wriggling cord of muscle wrap around my waist and lift me bodily off the floor. “We don’t belong as their slaves, Elias. Why can’t you see that?”

“What did you do with, William Byson?” I asked avoiding his question. I agreed with him, if not his methods. I knew that if collared people began protesting peacefully for a change in society and laws. They would either be dismissed and ignored, or killed and disappear. When that approach is taken, failed, and then considered in hindsight. That leaves only violence as the available option.

“Byson?” he asked me with some surprise. His shadowy form failing briefly, showing me his disgusted face. “That miserable pig is dead.”

“Why?” I struggled as a tendril wrapped around my arms at the elbow. Locking them in place.

“You remember Cindy, don’t you?” he asked me curiously. Of course I did, but the fact he brought her up made me realise something. She had been found servicing the Bysons owner when his wife discovered them. Then she was shortly fired afterwards.

“You were seeing her, weren’t you?”

“Yeesss,” he hissed and the coiling tendrils around me squeezed on reflex.

“She… she told me about it. Told me how she couldn’t say no. How he held her job over her head. How there was nothing I could do.”

“But- agh- you did,” I reasoned.

“Too little, too fucking late, my friend. Cindy wound up death three days after being fired. Her pregnancy died also.”

“Bysons?” I guessed and grunted as the tendril tightened with even more tension.

“He died painfully, that I can assure you. Now I’ve had my revenge. The Unbound allowed me that much at least. Now I must follow their mission of freeing people, Elias.” His voice started harsh and coarse became distant and wistful towards the end.

“This isn’t how they should do it. Forcing people into the light and exposing them, isn’t how you free them from oppression. Your isolating them, that’s all your doing,” I reasoned and closed my eyes painfully as another tendril of his wormed its way around my throat.

“Now. This time they’ll be no vigilante to distract me from my task like it did poor Neal. No this time,” he voice trailed off as the tendril wove its way purposefully around my Arium collar. Then it started to squeeze. From the periphery on my left side, there was a sudden flash so bright that I all saw was the afterimage of lightning and the crackling appearance of a spear shooting passed in a blur.

There was a thunderous clapped and I fell myself go weightless. I looked down to see that I was floating, and somehow in my projection body as my unconscious form fell limp. I quickly caught a hold of the tether and kept myself suspended in mid-air.

The crackling spear—it was a spear—spun through the air behind Harry and drew to a stop as the shadowy man writhed in pain on the floor. Arcs of lights blazed across his form. His sinuous tendril writhed much the same on the floor beside my unconscious self.

It trailed a charred scent of smoke, and twitched fitfully like eels on dryland. Harry wasn’t fairing any better. His black shadowy form clouded over him sporadically as he was wracked with spasms. I did noticed however that two of fingers were missing. Their severed ends charred.

I turned to regard the crackling spear cautiously. “My life just got like ten percent more exciting, and more dangerous.” I heard foot step thumping from the direction of the sport’s centre. I turned just in time to see Karen glad in rather strange outfit.

Her torso was partially covered by a silvery breastplate, that was fashioned more like a corset than anything. As it showcased her cleavage and flat stomach. The bra-plate? extended down the middle of her stomach towards the point of the equally silvery armoured short’s she was wearing. A dark-red crimson skirt interwoven through the material of the armoured short-shorts. Her legs were covered by thigh-high stockings that gleamed with miniature chainmail links. The stocking’s tucked into her knee-high dark navy-blue boots.

Her arms were covered by slender armour plated vambraces and rerebrace’. Leading up to the pauldron’s that bore a cloud with a lightning bolt striking through it.

I noticed that she still had the slim fine leather choker around her neck, but it lacked the adorning silver lightning bolt.

“What in the shitting hell is going?” I asked. No one answered. “Is everyone I meet recently, some undercover Super vigilante?” Okay… I was whining.

Luckily for me, neither Karen the lightning spear slinger, or Harry the smoke person seem to notice I was still there at all. “Braken,” Karen said calmly, and the spear shot towards and slowed as it reached her out stretched hand.

“A-a-another of you sluts,” Harry growled harshly. His voice stammering as he shook from the lightning and the loss of his fingers.

“My associate dealt with your friend yesterday. You were arrogant in believing that this place wasn’t protected, Unbound,” Karen said calmly.

“Associate … Wait…?” I drew out the word. Of course both ignored me.

“We’re trying to protect our people, you stupid girl,” Harry argued and tried to stand up. His body kept rocking though, so he resigned himself to sitting on his knees.

“We know of the ASP Society,” Karen nodded confidently. Then her expression twisted in annoyance when Harry started to laugh a little madly at her admission.

“The- the Anti Super Power Society is not who we are protecting ourselves from, you idiot. The Exemplars are returning, after twenty-four years—”

“That is enough, Nalsteader,” said a deep all-encompassing voice. I twisted to see who had spoken, but saw no one in sight.

“Let the ignorant stay as they must,” the voice continued and suddenly a broad well-suited man of dark complexion materialised through the glass pane of pathway. The glass liquified as he phased through it seemingly from out of nowhere.

“My apologies Devotee. I simply wished to impart knowledge on the arrogant, they see our task as misguided and criminal,” Harry said, obsequiously bowing his shaky head.

“You are forgiven, acolyte. But only this once,” the deep voiced man allowed. Then his dark eyes turned to regard us. Or more so me. My unconscious body, I mean.

“You were ordered to leave this one be,” the broad man frowned down disapprovingly at the top of Harry’s shaking head. Then I realised that he wasn’t shaking because of the spear hit or the loss of his fingers any longer. He shaking because of fear. Fear of this man and disappointing him.

“Your agent has been disarmed,” Karen interjected before something could happen between the two.

The big man shook his head grievously. “He is but one of three acolyte’s assigned this task. We figured your ‘Sisterhood’ was watching him.”

As if to support his claim, there was a sudden loud shrill scream that dropped off abruptly. “No! You bastards,” Karen growled, and I pulled the tether between my bodies in anticipation.

“I am but devout in my labour,” the big man said simply. Karen spun her spear and it began to crackle with lightning along its length. Just as she completed her intricate spear spin, the big guy took several steps forwards and stomped his foot on the ground, rolling the floor out in a rippling wave beneath us.

He then swept his massive arm out and the glass on the right side of the pathway shot out in a mass of writhing and questing tentacles.

Karen blanched and spun away, her spear weaving in and out as she parried and struck each and very questing glass limbs. Each struck tendril exploded on contact with her flashing spear, sending glass shards ricocheting everywhere. Several small fragment pelted my body and lined scratches across Karen’s exposed skin.

I sent my mind into the tether and sat up, my head lulling left and right. The big guy walked back down the hallway. Harry following along like some faithful puppy.

“Extraction is complete,” the dark-skinned man said as he walked away. “All units withdraw immediately. SPBI are on the way.”

Shit, that wasn’t good.

I turned back in time to hear Karen grunt loudly and shatter the last glass limb. She breathed heavily, sucking in air with each panting breath.

“We have to go,” I said hurriedly and stood up shakily.

“I- uh…” Karen trailed off breathlessly when I looked at her.

“I know. Don’t worry about it. Right now we need to leave, SPBI are on the way.” Her exhausted feature paled and went slack with horror. Yeah, every collared dreaded the thought of being anywhere in proximity with them.

“I know where to go,” she said quickly. Holding her spear before her she raised it up, paused, and then looked at me. “Could you… uhhh… maybe turn around?”

“Uh-huh, sure,” I said agreeably, and turned around.

“Braken, return to thy possession,” she ordered quietly, and a wave of force swept pass me making me almost stumble forward off balance.

“You can turn around now,” she told me, and I did so. Her original clothing of tight dark blue jeans, brown boots with a thick heel, and a long-sleeve white crop-top that exposed her belly button and stomach.

“Did I mention that the SPBI was on the way,” I said dryly and cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Yes. why?” she asked me curiously, I noticed that the lightning bolt accessory had returned to her choker.

“You took the time to change your outfit in such a crisis,” I told her and smirked as she rolled her eyes prettily at me.

“Come on. We’ll take my car,” she told me.

“Good. We won’t have to take mine then,” I retorted sarcastically, and she nodded. The joke completely lost on her.

This novel is the work of Rhys Thomas. If you are reading this and it has not been published by Rhys Thomas, then this work has been stolen. Please report this to Amazon and me at email: [email protected]