*****
A doctor examined me and treatment was administered.
Later, as I lay relishing the effect of painkillers, a group of eight nervous Enforcers stepped in and placed me under arrest. I could not resist. My rights were dead. One of the men asked if I minded being given a shot, for transportation.
“It would just make everyone feel safer,” he said, “They probably just got some wires mixed or something, Clarence.”
I said I didn’t mind and a needle was inserted into my arm. The world turned to grey jelly…
I remember being in the back of a vehicle of some kind, watching the world melt past the window.
“It is a beautiful place, the city,” I told myself, “all those lights and buildings. All those people, all that life… Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful…”
At some point the car journey ended and I was sad, having greatly enjoyed the endless scenery. Men put me on a wheelchair and started pushing me inside. I told them I was fine, I could walk. But they ignored me. That made me sad, but I said nothing.
The wheelchair was pushed through the interior of a building I thought I recognised. As if I might have been there at some point before. But I couldn’t recall when. The people seemed to recognise me. Faces everywhere turned to stare. Some looked horrified, others devastated. One even burst into tears. I thought I knew her, that girl who cried so hard. Blonde hair and a little tiny body. I had met her. But where I wasn’t sure.
Eventually I was wheeled passed a gate. We stopped for a moment and a man wrote in a book. A large woman was there. She looked at me and shook her head sadly.
Then, at last, I was pushed into a small room and the door was closed. It was quiet for a long time. I looked around and saw a sink.
“How thirsty I am. A drink would be nice.”
But, I could not reach the tap.
“I should stand up,” I said to myself, “And step over to the tap.”
But I didn’t. And eventually I forgot I was thirsty and it didn’t matter anymore. I slept for a bit and when I opened my eyes again, I was somewhere different. A man was standing before me, and the blonde girl was with him. I knew him too, but couldn’t place my finger on where from. A balding man. So many medals on his chest. They spoke for a while and the blonde girl cried again. And then she left. The man looked at me.
“Why, Jet?” he said, “What the hell happened? We need you. Now more then ever. Why would you do this to me now?”
He was very sad and that made me sad. A second person stepped forward and looked in both my eyes. She rested her fingers on my wrist, poked around inside my mouth, and then nodded.
The world started moving around me and I was fascinated. How could this be happening? It was like I was flying. Wait. I’m in a wheelchair. How strange. Why was I in a wheelchair? I could walk.
I came to a stop in yet another room. Two people were waiting for me, a man and a woman. They talked for a while. Then the man leaned forward and looked into my eyes. He had funny eyes, that man. Magnified by thick spectacles.
“Now don’t resist, Mister Clarence,” he said, “Don’t resist. It will be much easier if you don’t resist…”
I had no idea what he was talking about. And had no idea why I would resist. I looked into his eyes.
Balance - Book 2 Page 68