ACT 3: PRESENCE

Carlos stood swaying slightly.

In front of him hovered a large spinning disc that seemed to pull at his attention in a way that felt difficult to resist. As it turned, faint lights shimmered across its surface in a repeating pattern that Carlos found strangely mesmerizing.

At first he thought he was fine.

But he wasn’t.

The longer he stared at the spinning disc, the harder it became to think clearly. His body felt distant somehow, as though the rest of the world were slowly fading away around him.

“Snap out of it, Carlos!” a girl suddenly shouted.

The voice cut sharply through the haze.

A redheaded girl grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him as hard as she could. Carlos blinked several times before finally tearing his eyes away from the disc.

“What?” he said weakly, still dazed.

Then realization suddenly rushed back into him all at once.

“I can’t move,” he blurted out. “Help me!”

The girl planted her feet and pulled on him with all her strength. For a moment Carlos barely moved at all.

Then suddenly his legs gave way beneath him.

Both of them collapsed hard onto the ground.

Carlos lay there breathing heavily for a few moments, still trying to fully gather his thoughts. Finally, he turned toward the girl beside him.

“Are you ok?” he asked.

The girl brushed a strand of hair from her face.

“My name’s Elizabeth.”

Carlos didn’t recognize her.

But for some reason, she felt oddly familiar to him.