Star Revelations

You see your world with two eyes, but I see it with three. It’s time to open your other eye and there, beyond your mind, is a truth detector. It can pick up on the subtle inconsistencies of lies and deceptive subliminal messages. That truth finder is what the Controllers want to block. That is what you must protect.

A terrifying bedlam engulfed Diana. The noise swirled around her like she was in a tornado. Panicked, heart racing, she screamed and—

Sat upright in bed. The scream died in her throat.

What now surrounded her was a quiet as profound as the deafening sound had been an instant before.

She blinked and took stock of where she was. Warm, bright light flooded the room. She recognized the windows, the curtains, the surrounding bed. She was back in her luxury condo, dressed in her sleeping clothes—loose t-shirt and boxers—safe, comfortable. As she gathered her wits, the panicked sensation evaporated. Her heart rate eased.

Breathing easily, she relaxed. What kind of dream was that?

“Diana,” someone called to her.

She turned and saw Maggie LaClair sitting beside her bed. Diana stammered, “W—what are you doing here?”

“I’m helping.”

Diana noticed a bottle of medication on her nightstand. “What’s going on? How did I get here?”

“You collapsed,” Maggie said.

“What? What?” Diana groped for answers.

“Yesterday morning—” Maggie began.

“Hold on,” Diana interrupted. “I’ve been here since yesterday morning? Collapsed?”

“Let me explain. You collapsed in the stairwell of the Great Global Media Headquarters.”

The memories came back. Diana saw herself stepping off the elevator on the twentieth floor and heading for the stairwell leading to the rooftop helipad. She remembered the urgency of her task. To catch John Herald before…