“Thanks. I’ll be right back,” Miriam made her way to the ATM machine and withdrew a few hundred dollars in cash. Then she returned to the check-in counter, where Althea already had the room key and receipt ready.
“Room number is 402,” she said, handing the white key-card to Miriam.
“Elevators are to your right and down the short hallway. Check-out time is 11 AM. We do have a complimentary continental breakfast from 7 AM to 9 AM in the morning. If you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to call. Just pick up the phone in your room and dial 0.”
“Thank you,” Miriam smiled at Althea. This seemed like the first normal interaction she had had all day.
She was tired. She made her way to the elevators and pushed the button for the fourth floor. She stared at the light blue digital numbers displayed above the number pad as the elevator ascended the floors of the building. When it reached the fourth floor, it stopped with a barely audible ding, and the doors slid open.
Miriam looked in both directions along the empty hallway before stepping out of the elevator. A part of her thought she was becoming too paranoid. It felt silly, somehow. But the memory of her ransacked apartment was still fresh in her mind, and she would rather feel silly and be safe than be reckless and put herself in any kind of danger.
She found her room almost immediately. It was very close to the elevators. The room number was printed neatly on the wall next to the large white door: 402. Miriam slipped the key-card into the reader. It beeped once, and the little light on the key-card reader flashed green. She heard the door unlock. She turned the handle, pushed the door open and entered the room.
As soon as she was inside, she turned the knob to lock the door and slid on the door-chain. Then she made sure the window was closed and locked. She pulled the curtains completely closed. The bedside lamp was already on. She turned on the lights in the bathroom and the floor lamp. Then she sat at the desk and pulled her laptop out, plugging it into the power outlet on the desk.
She felt comfortable connecting to the hotel Wi-Fi, but still used the private VPN connection. Logging back onto the 2F forum, she sent Leah a message:
Hi Leah, just want to confirm our meeting tomorrow at Insomnia Coffee. 9:30 ok?
Seconds after she had clicked the “Send Message” button, she received a reply.
Yes! 9:30 is perfect, I’ll see you there. Really looking forward to meeting you! :)
Miriam looked at the message for several seconds, thoughts churning in her mind. She wondered if Leah knew anything about Daniel. But she didn’t ask.
She yawned, and realized that she was exhausted. The day had been tiring and draining — physically and emotionally. She decided that it was time for sleep.
Just as she was about to log off from the 2F forum, a new private message popped into her Inbox. Thinking that it must be another message from Leah, she clicked on it without looking carefully at the sender.
But it was not from Leah.
It’s late, get some sleep. It’s not as comfortable as your own bed, but the body gets used to what the mind directs. We will have enough time when you get here. — NP
Miriam felt a chill as she read the sinister words. She sat up in her chair, eyes wide, fully alert, staring at the screen.
Chapter 5
The cursor kept blinking on the screen, and the threatening, taunting message stared back at her smugly. Miriam felt her heart pounding in her chest. She was sweating. She got up and peered out of the curtains. It was dark and quiet outside. She walked to the door and looked out of the spyglass. The hallway was empty. She double-checked the lock and the door-chain, and then went into the bathroom. She stood before the mirror, hands on the rim of the sink, trying to calm her breathing.
Finally, she looked up at herself in the mirror. She remembered that Daniel was dead. Someone had murdered him. Someone had taken away the love of her life. Two months before they were going to be married. She opened herself up to the pain of that reality, and let herself fall into it, to feel completely the searing pain of her great loss. It came in an undulating wave that grew with each passing moment, until it completely engulfed her. She felt nauseous. Nothing seemed to matter. Daniel was gone. Forever. And she was all alone now, without the person that mattered most to her in life.
And whoever had killed Daniel might be the same person (or persons) who were threatening her now.
Her pain began to churn inside her, swirling and twisting and turning and morphing. Into anger. As it grew, it gained momentum. Unstoppable, like the lava rising through a volcano, it increased in intensity as it rose through her consciousness. Wrath.
She could not control it. It overpowered every other emotion inside her. She looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize the creature looking back at her. Whatever it was, it was formidable.
She walked back to the laptop. There was a new message from NP. A smiley face with a wink. He (or she) was having fun. Miriam typed a short message back:
See you soon.
— Miriam
Then she logged off.
She lay awake in bed for a long while, unable to sleep. She kept staring at the ceiling in the dark, her mind full of questions. What was the 2F movement really about? Was the man in the coffee shop the same as this NP? How did NP seem to know her whereabouts? Would it be safe to meet with Leah? Should she have contacted the police? Maybe she should have called Agent Dawn. Was she getting involved in something that she could not handle? Why did they kill Daniel?
She didn’t know when she finally fell asleep.
The morning sunshine streamed in through the narrow gap in the curtains, falling on Miriam’s face and waking her up. She blinked at the brightness, and turned to see the time on the little digital clock on the bedside table. 7:34 AM.
She yawned and stretched. Her body felt stiff, as if all the stress and tension from the previous day had somehow fossilized in her muscles and bones. She threw back the covers, then walked to the window and parted the curtains, looking outside for anything suspicious. But the parking lot and streets outside seemed normal. She walked to the door, checked to make sure that it was still locked, and the door chain was still where she had left it last night. She looked out of the spyglass and saw an empty hallway.
Satisfied that there had been no intrusions while she had been asleep, she walked into the bathroom. She slipped off her clothes and stepped into the shower. The hot water and rising steam, mixed with the fresh lavender scent of the soap, gave her a renewed and refreshed feeling. The sound of running water masked any other sounds.
While she was in shower, there was some movement of the door handle. Slowly, it turned. The door shook a little, but since it was locked, it didn’t open. Whoever was on the outside tried again, turning the door handle and pushing on the door. It didn’t open.
Miriam finished her shower and stepped out, wrapping herself in one of the large white towels. She got dressed, picked up her laptop and purse, and walked out of the hotel room.
Downstairs, Althea was at the front desk, looking fresh and bright, her uniform clean and crisply pressed. Miriam handed her the room key.
“Was your room satisfactory?” Althea asked, as she typed on the keyboard.
Miriam nodded. “Yes,” she answered, “it was fine.”
“Wonderful,” Althea smiled, “You’re all set. Complimentary breakfast is in the side lobby, just around that corner.”
“Thank you,” Miriam nodded, took the receipt that Althea handed to her, and walked to the side lobby. It was 8:27 AM. She still had some time before her scheduled meeting with Leah.
She had a piece of toast and coffee. There were a few other hotel guests in the lobby, quietly sipping on orange juice, eating cereal, eggs and hash browns, or toast. A large screen television was tuned to CNN with low volume. They were recapping the early morning news. Miriam watched as they switched from one news item to another. It seemed that life just went on. Nobody even seemed to know, or care, that Daniel wa
s gone. It was the cold, harsh reality of the world.
She tried not to dwell too long on it, realizing that she would spiral into feelings of depression and hopelessness. Instead, she finished her coffee and headed out of the hotel, focusing her thoughts on her meeting with Leah.
It was a short walk to the light rail station. Miriam didn’t notice that she was being followed. Coffeeshop Bodyguard had been standing outside, seemingly reading something on his smartphone. As soon as she exited the hotel building, he put his phone in his coat pocket and starting trailing her at a distance of fifteen feet. All the way to the train station, and onto the train itself.
It was a thirty-four minute ride to the University Place train stop. The Sun was bright and warm, and the day was beautiful. It was almost enough to make Miriam forget about her troubles.
She hopped off the train at University Place. Just one block down was Insomnia Coffee. She ordered a vanilla latte and took a seat in one of the small corner tables, facing the door. It was 9:13 AM. She was early.
She sipped on her vanilla latte and watched as people came and went. They were mostly students. Young, smiling, fresh faces. Full of idealism. And completely unprepared for the cold realities of life. Miriam wondered if Leah would be the same.
When she came in, Miriam recognized her right away. She looked just like her profile photo on the 2F message board: slim, brown hair past her shoulders, and black-rimmed glasses that seemed entirely too large for her small face. She wore blue jeans, and had a loose-fitting pink and white sweater on and a scarf around her neck. She immediately waved to Miriam and smiled excitedly. Miriam waved back and forced a half-smile. Leah quickly ordered a hot chocolate and then came to her table and gave her a hug.
“Hi,” she said in a high-pitched squeal, “Nice to meet you! This is sooo exciting!”
Miriam nodded slightly. “Yea,” she replied, “Nice to meet you too.”
She guessed that Leah might have been 19, perhaps 21 years old.
“Are you a student?” Miriam asked, as they sat down.
“Yes!” Leah replied, hanging her bag on the chair. “Political Science. Although, I’m not sure that’s really what I want to focus on, especially now that I’ve become more involved with 2F. So I might be looking into changing my major.”
“Lot’s of people are making big life changes related to 2F,” Miriam ventured. “Is it really that transformational?”
Leah nodded, sipping her hot chocolate. “Totally,” she replied. “It’s something, I don’t think I can even put into words just how amazing this experience has been. I have never seen anything like it in my whole life. It has totally changed everything.”
“How? It sounds almost like a religious experience.”
“It really does feel that way. But it’s so much more. I mean, when you get into the philosophy, it gets down to the root of so many things, you know?”
Miriam felt like shaking her head and saying no, but instead she grit her teeth and nodded politely.
“Tell me more about it,” she offered. “I really want to learn.”
Leah smiled warmly. “Of course,” she said. “How long have you been a seeker?”
“I’ve had an interest for years,” Miriam lied, “But as far as actively searching, reaching out, I only recently worked up the nerve to do that. Like, I just joined the online community.”
“I can totally relate to that,” Leah reassured her, “I was the exact same way. But trust me, you’ll find that this is a very supportive community.”
“I noticed how enthusiastic everyone is. Is it like that online only, or in real life too?”
“Oh, totally,” Leah said with a wave of her hand. “In fact, I’d say even more so. I have a few connections. I am in touch with some of the senior leadership, and I can tell you, the dynamics you see online are really a mirror of real life.”
Miriam nodded. She had noticed the comment about senior leadership. Now she had something to hone in on.
“I saw on the website that there are some events,” she proceeded cautiously, “Conferences, seminars. I was wondering about those.”
“Oh yes! Can you imagine the energy of a live event?”
“Have you ever been to one?”
“No, not yet anyway. They’re a bit expensive for what I can afford right now. But, if you are able to, you should definitely go, without a doubt.”
“I’ve been thinking about it,” Miriam said, “I think it would be a great way to learn by immersion. What do you think?”
“Totally! In fact, if you are seriously considering it, I could put you in touch with someone. She’s very senior in the 2F ranks, and I’m sure she could guide you much better.”
“Oh, sure,” Miriam tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, but her pulse had quickened. This was exactly what she wanted. This would be her chance to get to the bottom of what had really happened to Daniel, and to find out why he had been killed.
Leah fished around in her bag until she found a small scrap of paper. She wrote something on it and handed it to Miriam.
“This is her online id,” she explained. “You will need to use a chat app to be able to reach her. Have you heard of Tunnel2?”
Miriam shook her head.
“It’s like Facebook messenger in a way,” Leah said, “But it allows you to stay anonymous.”
“Oh?” Miriam raised her eyebrow.
“Yeah, can you imagine if you were someone very famous, or popular, and everyone got to know your phone number. You’d be getting calls every second! It’s kinda like that with Shivan. I’m so incredibly lucky that I have a direct connection with her. Not everyone has that.”
“That’s wonderful,” Miriam said, feigning joy at Leah’s good fortune.
Leah looked at her watch.
“Oh, I have to go,” she said with a sigh, “Class starts in fifteen minutes. And it’s all the way across campus. It was really nice meeting you, though! We should stay in touch. Let me know how the conference is. If you end up going, that is.”
“Nice to meet you as well,” Miriam said, as they stood. “Sure, let’s keep in touch.”
Leah hugged her before hurrying out the door, her bag in one hand and cup of hot chocolate in the other.
Miriam sat down and looked at the scrap of paper in her hand. There was one word written on it, a name: firstblessed. This was the online ID of the person named Shivan, the senior member of the 2F movement. This could be the person who knew what had happened to Daniel, and why.
Miriam downloaded the Tunnel2 app and installed it on her phone. She tapped the icon on the screen to launch the app. The login screen prompted her for a username. She stared at it for a moment, hesitating and wondering whether NP was watching this as well.
Finally, she decided that she had to proceed. There was no other way. But she would still try to mask her identity as much as she could. She glanced around, looking for some inspiration for a username. Two tables away from her, a girl sat with her grandmother, reading a superhero comic book. On the cover of the comic book was written in large letters “The Fantastic New Adventures of Nova Shock”.
Miriam typed in “Nova” and completed the sign-up process. The screen changed, logging her in and presenting her with the green and white chat interface. She tapped on the search button, and typed in “firstblessed”. Several search results were listed, with firstblessed at the top of the list. She took a deep breath, then tapped on the name and typed a message.
Miriam [Nova]: Hi, I am new to the 2F movement. I got your name through a contact (Leah) from the online 2F community. I am interested in learning more, especially the live events. Could we connect?
She sent the message and then leaned back in her chair. She wondered what she would say if she got to speak with Shivan in person. What would she ask her? Would she tell her about Daniel? While she was thinking, her phone buzzed. Shivan had accepted her connection request and replied with a message.
Shivan [f
irstblessed]: Hello seeker! Welcome and warm blessings. How long have you been on your quest? Have you been preparing for the mind cleanse?
Miriam blinked. What was a mind cleanse? It didn’t sound appealing in the least. She wrote a message back, carefully avoiding the question of the mind cleanse.
Miriam [Nova]: Thank you! I’m so glad to connect. I’ve had an interest for years but only recently started being more active. I’m so confused, I have so many questions, and I think 2F can show me the way. I just need more guidance, I think.
Shivan [firstblessed]: 2F is the way. Many have started where you are and have found the path. Everyone needs guidance. We do have a seminar coming up soon at our main retreat in California, if that is something you might be interested in considering.
Shock Treatment Page 4
