Glitch

28

Chapter 1

Click! Went the gas pump. The tank was full. Eric Ross gazed at the bright red and yellow gas station sign while the gas flowed from the pump to his tank. The combination of the sights and sounds of the moving liquid, the colors of the signs and the passing traffic put him into a subtle trance state. It always did. Then the glitch feeling came over him. It was like a quiet wave that he felt in his chest. His skills were so refined that he knew he needed to act on that feeling. What should he do he wondered? How about a scratch ticket? He hadn’t planned on going inside because the station was busy, and he didn’t really care for being around so many people. It was one of the drawbacks of being a psychic prodigy since he was a kid. He could feel peoples’ thoughts and emotions all around him.

He had taken those skills and developed into a remote viewer, or psychic spy and intelligence collector, for the black budget Psy-Ops division of the government. At least he thought it was the government. It was more like a shadow government. A pretty cool job if you could project your mind to various locations and collect data. He took a few deep breaths and quieted his mind as he held onto the feeling in his chest. Because, if he wasn’t ready he was going to start feeling all the people inside if he let his guard down. He stood a few feet away from the counter, silenced his mind, and observed the scratch tickets while holding the glitch feeling in his chest at the same time.

After a few seconds there it was just like clockwork. It was the twenty-five-dollar ticket and it was the third one in on the roll, so he would have to buy three of them. He wasn’t concerned he had felt the glitch and he knew he’d be getting more than his money back. He got in line and the reality of the store began to wash in around him. The quiet faded away as it always did. The small murmur of sounds around him became more defined and he could also feel himself getting more annoyed as he could feel the pettiness and insecurities of the people around him. He was one of the few that could see right through the false fronts that people put up and feel who they really were inside. Most people were filled with fear, doubt and were scared. He actually felt bad for them and didn’t wish them any ill will, but he didn’t want to be around them and get saturated by their negativity.

Can I help you? The gum chewing cashier smacked, asking him probably for the second time, he wasn’t sure. He was a space cadet, at least that’s what he’d been told numerous times over his life. It was okay, he could live with it, especially since it was true.

Yeah, he answered unconsciously checking out her cleavage that she was practically sticking in his face. He looked up into her sparkling blue eyes and he could see that she was proud of her girls and was giving him one of those looks that said. They’re not too bad, are they?

He smiled at her, a real smile from the heart, and he could see that she felt it and gave him one back. He couldn’t believe that they were actually having a moment. The old lady behind him coughed snapping them both out of their moment and he was suddenly embarrassed for holding up the line, but, that didn’t stop him from glancing down at her cleavage one more time.

Can I get three round-about-roulette scratch tickets? he asked.

Oh, big spender, she said flashing a pretty damn sexy smile at him that made him think he would be coming into the store a little more often in the future.

That’s me, Mr. high roller, he answered. He couldn’t help watching her walk to get the tickets. She wore skin tight black leggings and the view from the back was just as good as the view from the front. ‘What the fuck was she doing working here?’ he wondered to himself.

Then it hit him - because he was a psychic of course. She really enjoyed people ogling her body and flirting with her. It made sense the way she was dressed - she wasn’t leaving much to the imagination. But, he was happy to fill in the blanks.

Here ya go, honey, she said handing him the tickets. That’ll be seventy-five big ones, she said giving him a wink.

‘Oh, she was a naughty one,’ he thought and slid his debit card into the machine and paid. He quickly glanced at her name tag and he thought she was a Carmen. The name fit. He grabbed his tickets and couldn’t help feeling the aggravation of the old lady behind him. He looked at her getting ready to give her a smile but her eyes were daggers. He almost took a step back because of her intensity.

He got out of there, went back to his car and drove across the street to Lowe’s and parked in an out of the way spot in the shade and scratched the first two tickets for shits and giggles. He was happily surprised he had made two hundred bucks already, bonus. Then he held up the one that had caused the glitch feeling.

Come to Papa, he said and scratched off the silver covering. Oh yes, it’s my lucky day, he said holding it up and just taking it in.

The glitch feeling hardly ever failed him and this was another one of those times. He wondered what he would do with the extra twenty thousand dollars he just made. Would he have to tell Emily? Probably, the lottery would also have to notify the IRS of his winnings because they have to get their pound of flesh too. Didn’t everybody? He checked the time. Shit, he was going to be late for work and he was sure Chan was there early and couldn’t wait to bust his balls about it.

He put the ticket in the glove box and drove to the industrial park. Traffic was light so he was only five minutes late. He pulled into his spot and went into Evans Wholesale Lighting Fixtures, went to the secret back room, put his face on the ID screen, and stepped into the elevator when it opened. He held onto the bar and, whoosh he had descended twenty floors down into the Earth in a matter of seconds. The door opened and two secret service agents, or more like Gorilla’s, made him look into the face ID again and checked his fingerprints. They never said anything, which was fine with him. He wasn’t much of a small talker either. When they were done, he gave them a nod; and they nodded back; and he walked down the fluorescent lit hallway to the lab. Again, he had to do the face ID, and he sauntered in trying to be nonchalant - but there was fucking Chan waiting for him.

Hey Melissa, look who finally decided to show up for work. said Chan.

You’re an ass, Chan. Eric responded and looked over at Dr. Melissa Moore, the project director, and his once friend with benefits. She made her face look annoyed but he could tell by the sparkle in her eyes that she was happy to see him. Then everything changed. The strange looking back wall began to rumble and turn into energy. That could only mean one thing. They were coming and when they came it was never good. It even caused Chan to zip his lip, and that’s saying something.

The wall crackled with energy and out they walked from wherever they came There was always three of them. They were tall, thin and bald and wore dark black suits, black ties and crisp white shirts. The Men in Black, or the S Triad, as these guys were called, had arrived and that meant something wasn’t right. He knew better than to ask because he was on a need to know basis, and if he needed to know then he probably would.

Dr. Moore, they said in unison. It was funny because they always felt like a single organism with three parts to them and he knew he was right about that.

We need to talk to you and Ross in private, they said.

Eric felt his heart drop. ‘What the fuck?’ he thought. This can’t be good. This was unprecedented. He even felt Melissa swoon a bit and she was tough as nails.

Me and Ross? she stammered.

He tried to swallow but his mouth had gone dry and pasty, and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Melissa looked at him and he could feel her nervousness in his chest. He could also see that son of a bitch Chan trying to hold back his shit eating grin. It made Eric feel like hauling off and punching him right in the teeth. That thought quickly faded as the S Triad walked, or actually glided, past him and went right into Melissa’s office. They all submissively followed.

This wasn’t like following the military brass into a meeting where you could summon some bravado and display some piss and vinegar to try and persuade their decision and even maybe save your ass. No, this wasn’t that kind of meeting. With these guys you sat down, shut up and listened to what they had to say. Then you did what they told you to do or you and your entire family disappeared and nobody even noticed. Melissa gave him a knowing nod with a very concerned look on her face that made him think she knew what might be happening. That had been one of the things that he loved about Melissa. For some reason he couldn’t get in her head and right now that’s all he wished that he could do. The one thing he was pretty certain of was that if the S Triad didn’t want you around then you were gone - end of story. There was no discussion.

He followed Melissa into her spacious, posh office which he felt was how it should be because she spent most of her time in the lab and she was on the highest end of the pay scale. He thought it was the least they could do for her for all that she did for them. The S triad asked to please close the door and take a seat when they entered Melissa’s office. They were always so fucking polite right before they were going to kill you, weren’t they?

We’re only going to ask you this once, Ross, said Stan, the leader of the S Triad. All three of their names began with the letter S, hence the S Triad. It freaked him out communicating with them because he didn’t just hear them there was also an echo within his mind as if they were communicating from another dimension as well. It also put him in a position of weakness because he could block everyone else from his mind but not these fuckers. He did his best to stay strong even though he was about to shit his pants.

Ask away, he said glancing over at Melissa and seeing the far from confident look in her eyes that made him think his life could quite possibly end in the next few minutes. He could feel their energy attempting to invade him. It felt invasive and wrong and he did the best he could to hold them at bay but it was three against one and their abilities were just flat out stronger than his.

Have you been in contact with an alien consciousness that’s just entered the planet?

‘Are they serious?’ he thought to himself. He actually felt a sudden sense of relief as the one thing that he knew was that he hadn’t been in contact with any alien intelligences. He looked at Melissa and felt confident and sure with his decision. He couldn’t help noticing that she looked more scared than she had earlier. He shook it off and looked the S Triad straight in their eyes and said.

No, I haven’t been in contact with an alien consciousness that recently arrived on the planet. He felt good about his answer despite the fact that Melissa had turned away from him and covered her eyes.

You’re out Ross, said the S Triad. gather your things your service here is terminated. Eric felt like he had been sucker punched in the stomach by Mike Tyson. He had no choice he did what he was told.

Chapter 2

It was Wednesday so that meant Eric had to stay fairly sober for a few hours so he could make his way to Vito’s Liquors and pick up his weekly supply. Of course, what used to be his weekly supply now only lasted for a few days so he had to get more. He had been just drinking four packs of Guinness but that was filling him up too fast so now he was adding whiskey and water to his diet. He had read somewhere about the amazing medicinal powers of whiskey, and everywhere he turned he was being told to drink more water. Sounded like a win-win to him as he plopped down two gallons of Jameson Irish Whiskey and three four packs of Guinness cans on the counter.

The soft spoken Asian Boy was always polite and never looked down his nose at him for being what he thought had to be a more than regular customer. He also wasn’t a boy; he was probably twenty-one but to Eric everyone was starting to look younger and younger. Or maybe he was just getting older? He paid and was back in his car pulling out of the parking lot when the glitch feeling hit him. It had been a while since he had felt it especially since lately he wasn’t being disciplined in his practices to keep his skills sharp. It was like muscle memory. He didn’t even have to think about it. His mind went quiet, and he waited to be shown what he was supposed to see. It didn’t take long, and there it was. He recognized it instantly. It was a shiny, old style, black sedan that appeared to be brand new. He knew who it belonged to.

What do they want? he wondered out loud. They sent him packing six months ago and now they show up out of the blue. Then the glitch feeling was gone and so was the black sedan - as if it had vanished out of thin air the second he looked away. A bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead. The one thing he was certain of was that this couldn’t be good. He knew they must be thinking he was hiding something and they wanted him to know that they were watching him. He looked over at the two gallons of Irish and three four packs of Guinness riding shotgun on the passenger seat and knew he would be breaking into one of them soon to calm his nerves a bit. Then every fiber of his being told him to stop. It was a green light and there was nobody around but he hit the brakes - hard. Two seconds later an eighteen-wheeler, pulling a big trailer went barreling through the red light. He thought the driver was actually looking at him with a surprised look on his face. Almost like he had expected to hit him. He could feel a set up. The S Triad hadn’t just shown up for the hell of it. That truck was supposed to hit him. He hit the gas and made straight for home as fast as he could.

Eric pulled into the driveway without further incident and got his ass inside the house. He put the bottles on the counter, grabbed his favorite drinking glass and filled it with ice. His black lab, Ganesh, came trotting up to him, tail wagging, with his favorite grungy tennis ball in his mouth. How could that not put a smile on your face?

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