Faster Than Darkness

A Door In The Dark

He fervently hoped that he was dreaming.

But judging from the pain in his wrists where his hands were secured by a couple of zip-ties, and the taste of blood in his mouth, and his squinting attempts to open his eyes against the single light bulb dangling above the small table in front of him, he doubted it.

And the cold also tended to kill his last hopes that this was all a result of one too many glasses of chardonnay last night.

A door opened somewhere, and footsteps clicked on the floor towards him. They stopped in front of the table and he squinted upwards towards where the face should have been.

All he saw was darkness. The bulb, with its small shade, revealed a perfect black business suit, blindingly white shirt, and a deep blue silk tie that appeared to shimmer with the rise and fall of the chest behind it.

But everything above the middle of the chest was black.

A deep, masculine voice issued forth from the darkness: "Dr. Bolert."

The doctor, never one to lose his sense of humor, squinted back."That's my name, last time I checked."

The suit didn't miss a beat."You have only one choice: make yourself disposable, or make yourself useful. And, of course, I might suggest that the former might not be beneficial for those you love, either-for Helen or Mike or Maria or even for your parents or your uncle Afiiri."

Bolert didn't even hesitate. "So what? You know where I stand- the greater good of humanity is more important than the good of the few. Even if those few do happen to be my family."

There was a moment of silence, then the suited body leaned forward, placing two white hands with perfectly manicured nails on the table. A square, clean-shaven chin and thin, bloodless lips lowered into the light, but the rest of the face remained invisible as the voice hissed: "We are all in the dark, doctor. And you were our door out of it. A way into the brighter world beyond. But instead, you force us to seek the light another way, leaving you in darkness like so many others. Like we shall leave all of those who rejected us when we finally find that exit."

The man stood up abruptly, taking the form of the suit and tie again. He snapped his fingers once and the light bulb immediately went out, leaving the room in utter darkness. His footsteps quickly retreated, seemingly not bothered by the absence of light.

A door opened, and Bolert was almost blinded as a tall figure was silhouetted by brilliant white light. Then the door closed, and everything was dark.

A few seconds later, a single shot cut through the darkness.