Doubt : Among Us Trilogy, Volume 1

By Vasquez, Anne-Rae

Book Id: WPLBN0002828917
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 2.12 MB
Reproduction Date: 11/13/2013

Title:	Doubt : Among Us Trilogy, Volume 1
Author:	Vasquez, Anne-Rae
Volume:	Volume 1
Language:	English
Subject:	Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Dystopian
Collections:	Authors Community, Fantasy
Historic Publication Date:	2013
Publisher:	AR Publishing

Member Page:	Anne-Rae Vasquez
Citation APA MLA Chicago Vasquez, B. A. (2013). Doubt : Among Us Trilogy, Volume 1. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
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.

Summary
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. Now they face the challenges trying to get used to their ‘adult’ identities. 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.

Excerpt
MISSION ONE ACCOMPLISHED. The next challenge was bringing in online gamers to join him on his crusade. How was he going to convince online gamers to leave the privacy of their virtual world to work with others in the real world? SERENA BENT OVER TO KISS her father good night. He barely moved, his eyes glued to his iPad, reviewing his notes from his consular meetings that day. "Good night, father.” He mumbled something that resembled ‘good night’, kissed the top of her head and returned to his notes. She straightened herself, turned and walked out of the room. Ever since the riot that devastated downtown Manila and the reports of hundreds of people who went missing a few weeks ago, her father had stayed past office hours at the consulate every night. Her thoughts raced as she walked down the hallway. Suddenly she felt a hand on her left shoulder. Parts of her wanted to start running but instead she froze in her tracks. The spicy scent of ‘Gucci pour Homme’ cologne enveloped her nostrils. She must have sprayed that scent on thousands of male customers last summer at her part time job during the ‘Shangri-la Plaza’s Back to School’ promotion. “Don’t be scared Serena. We need to talk,” a deep strong voice whispered in her ear. This clown was about to learn he was messing with the wrong girl. All she needed was an opening and her training would kick in. She nodded her head and continued down the hall. The stranger pressed his hand into the small of her back. She could feel his firm body through her pink cotton pajamas as he guided her down the corridor. She squinted to see her reflection in the twenty-foot mirror at the end of the hallway. Her short dirty blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, revealed her pale white skin. She appeared more like a bewildered child and not the confident twenty-two year old she was known to be among her circle of friends. As they walked closer towards the mirror, she could faintly see the outline of her captor; his hooded jacket hid his facial features. Possibly six feet tall, his frame overshadowed her mere five foot two inches of height. She made mental notes, so that if she failed to disable him and he got away, she’d have all the details to give to the police. “Let’s go inside your room.” It was more of a request than a command. Why did he sound so familiar? Who was this person? She opened the door into the darkness of the room. Her hand reached out for the light switch, an automatic reaction. He grabbed her hand and held it tight. “Keep the lights down for now.” The streaks of pale moonlight streamed through the open window onto her bed. Serena tried to think. She could have easily caught her captor by surprise and kneed him in the groin or better yet gouged his eyes out if she wanted to. Having taught self-defense classes at Global Nation for the past two years, she was not about to lose her advantage of her hidden talent till she ascertained what kind of weapon he carried. “Have a seat on the bed.” Unsure of what his intentions were and yet as equally curious, she sat down on the corner of her bed, obeying his request. Her eyes moved up his dark pants, up his jacket until it reached his face. He raised his arm. She held her breath anticipating a blow but realized he was only removing his hoodie from his head. Before she could react, he sat down beside her, removing the backpack on his shoulder onto the bed beside him. He fumbled for a minute and brought out a square object. He placed it onto his lap and then opened it. The bright light from the laptop caught her by surprise forcing her to rule out robbery, rape or kidnapping as a motive. He had to be the lamest intruder on the planet. Unable to contain herself, she jumped up. “What is this? Who the hell are you?” she finally burst out. He turned to her, his blue eyes piercing into hers. His lips curled into a smile, like a child who had a secret to share. “Harry… Harry Doubt. Nice to finally meet you in person, Serena. Or should I say Lioness? I have a mission for you. Many Philippine citizens have ‘disappeared’ or have gone missing in the last year.” “Are you nuts?” Serena sputtered. “You don’t break into peoples’ houses and say ‘Hi, I have a mission for you’. I want you to leave.” Serena stood, pointing at the door. “Perhaps I went about this the wrong way,” Harry said with a sigh. “Ya’ think?” Harry reached out to shake her hand in attempt to introduce himself. Serena grabbed it and made a swift classic ‘ippon seoinage’ judo move, disabling Harry with a one-arm shoulder throw to the ground. She pinned her foot over his throat and twisted his arm. That teaches you a lesson. “So talk to me. What’s this about?” she demanded. “Manila, Global Nation,” Harry managed to choke out. “Disappearances.” “So? Tell me something I don’t know. Global Nation has been offering help to the local police and army to try to find out about the disappearances.” She pushed her foot even more firmly on his throat. “In my front pocket, there’s a flash card. Take it.” She reached for the flash card and frowned. “We need you to find out what is on your father’s computer. We have information that GN is involved.”

Table of Contents
Part One Seeking the Truth Chapter 1 New York, 2008 Chapter 2 Bina Schwartz, Harry’s Mother Chapter 3 Global Nation, 2012 Chapter 4 Serena (alias Lioness) Chapter 5 Cristal (alias Mist) Chapter 6 Joanna Chan (alias Onyx) Chapter 7 Before all hell breaks loose Chapter 8 Questions that need answers Chapter 9 Who to trust Chapter 10 Earthquake or not? Chapter 11 Want some answers Chapter 12 What is this all about? Chapter 13 Kismet Part Two Nothing is what it seems Chapter 14 Land of milk and honey Chapter 15 In my head Chapter 16 Calm before the storm Chapter 17 Joanna makes plans Chapter 18 Agent is watching Chapter 19 What next? Chapter 20 Safe zone Chapter 21 This is not right Part Three If you only knew Chapter 22 In the flesh Chapter 23 Akko Chapter 24 ‘48 Chapter 25 Mind games Chapter 26 The Wall Chapter 27 Not so lucky Chapter 28 Beginning of the end Acknowledgements About the Author