Outside the building, she welcomed the fresh air. She stood still for a moment, taking in deep breaths, hoping to relax. She looked around. People were scattering on the streets like the fire ants that used to seek safety from the garden hose she used to wield on in the backyard of her childhood home.
“There is no signal,” a young man said to her. He was waving his cell phone. “Do you have a signal?”
She shook her head, knowing full well that her cell phone was working fine. It was connected to a satellite and not on a regular cellular network. Harry had made sure that all the Truth Seekers were able to communicate with each other at all times.
A group of teenagers on the corner were pointing towards the sky. She tilted her head to see what they were looking at. Something was very different. Angry strokes of crimson red with charcoal rain clouds hung above them. What was strange were the streaks of lightning that were crisscrossing each other like an intricate woven rug. If she squinted, she could make out an image, almost like a painting. Odd, very odd.
She began walking down West 34th Street, hoping to find a cab. Abandoned cars were making the normally traffic congested street even more difficult for cabs to get through. She started picking up her pace. She was going to have to walk to GN, which was on Lexington and East 33rd Avenue. It was probably a good twenty-five-minute walk.
She walked past pockets of people. She noticed one thing they all had in common. Their eyes were opened wide, blinking fast as they raced past her. A woman with snow-white hair and clear blue eyes caught her gaze. She was walking towards her, clutching her black purse. Her shoes were black with thick heels. Each step she made was like a crack of thunder in her head. She covered her ears, but it didn’t stop the sound. Walk past her. Look away.
She tried to avoid making eye contact, but her eyes were drawn back to the woman. They were now face to face with each other.
“You. It was you,” the woman said in a quiet voice.
Standing in front of her now, the woman seemed fragile and small.
“I think you are mistaking me for someone else.”
She took a step to the side intending to walk around her.
The woman grabbed her arm.
“I saw you in my vision…when the earth was shaking.”
Cristal stopped and turned slowly towards her. Her skin felt like fire ants crawling up her arms.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, half believing her own words.
The woman continued, “It was you. There was a bright light coming down from heaven through your body into the earth.”
She clutched the gold cross around her neck with her left hand.
Cristal shook her head and said firmly, “No, not me! It wasn’t me.”
She yanked her arm away from the old woman and started running down the street. Her heart was pounding; her palms sweating. Her backpack bounced against her and the straps rubbed against her shoulders.
She kept running, oblivious of the people bumping into her. The words repeated in her head like a mantra.
“It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me!”
She looked up and realized that GN was at the next corner. She dodged traffic and ran across the street. As she ran up to the busy intersection, another voice entered her head.
“But it was you, darling.”
Do you love shows like J.J. Abrams’ Fringe and read books like Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones?
“Doubt” mashes fringe science, corporate espionage and paranormal encounters to catapult you into an out-of-this-world experience.
At 21 years old, Harry and Cristal are fresh out of university with their PhD’s. Labeled all their lives as being ‘weird’ and ‘geeky’, they find true friendships with other outcasts by playing online virtual reality games.
Harry Doubt, a genius programmer and creator of the popular online game ‘Truth Seekers’, has a personal mission of his own; to find his mother who went mysteriously missing while volunteering on a peacekeeping mission in Palestine. His gaming friends and followers inadvertently join in helping him find her; believing that they are on missions to find out what has happened to their own missing loved ones. During Harry’s missions, Cristal and the team of ‘Truth Seekers’ stumble upon things that make them doubt the reality of their own lives. As they get closer to the truth, they realize that there are spiritual forces among them both good and evil, but in learning this, they activate a chain of events that start the beginning of the ‘end of the world’ as they know it.
Doubt is Book 1 of the Among Us Trilogy. Among Us is a book series which delves into the world of the supernatural and how it intersects with the everyday lives of seemingly ordinary young people as catastrophic events on earth lead to the end of times. Among Us weaves the theme of a young man and woman, who while not fully understanding their ‘abilities’, are drawn together in their desire to find out the truth about the world they live in which is similar to themes used in J.J. Abrams’ TV shows Fringe and Lost.
What readers have to say…
As a big fan of the show Fringe, this book appealed to me tremendously. The writing was well done, and the way the “supernatural” forces were introduced was great.
A good, clean read for any age.
It was an excellent story that I’m sure both adult and teen urban fantasy fans will enjoy. You don’t have to be a gamer or know one to identify with the characters. They’re very well developed and definitely feel like people. I would definitely recommend it to a friend and I’m really looking forward to the second book.
…the novel is written in such a languid style, it moves on effortlessly and absorbs the reader into the story completely. Although the story itself revolves around the online gaming industry, one does not have to have an in depth knowledge as it is ably explained and discussed within the plot line.
OMGosh! I just finished reading “Doubt” INCREDIBLE! I couldn’t put it down.
˃˃˃ >>> Depth and Substance mashed up with Fringe Science. Will entertain young and old alike.
This book is intended for mature young adults and new adults. Ages 16 to 45 +
˃˃˃ >>Inspired by real Truth Seekers Aaron Swartz and Harry Fear
The main character Harry Doubt was inspired by Aaron Swartz, internet prodigy and activist, co-founder of the Creative Commons and Reddit, and Harry Fear, journalist, documentary filmmaker and activist whose coverage of the conflict in the Middle East was seen on UStream by millions of viewers.
Genre - Young Adult, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Thriller
Rating – G
