Paul felt the adrenaline enter his veins as a car sped right towards him. He was sitting in his car at a stop light, there was nowhere to go. As the car got closer, he felt the rush of adrenaline intensify. Time felt as if it had stopped and left him here to watch as his life was shattered. The man in the other car had a look of anger on his face. He was staring right into Paul’s eyes. The last thing that went through Pauls mind before impact was how much he loved his family.

Paul woke in a dark van with a well-dressed man at his side. The man had an intense look on his face that did not look friendly at all. Paul was surprised to see the side of the man’s face riddled with deep scars when he turned to talk. They were not scars like those obtained from a clean cut. They were gnarled scars that left his face full of high ridges and deep valleys as if strips of flesh had been removed from his face.

“You’re going to feel a bit sore for a while.” The man said in a scary calm voice. “You were in a car accident, and we scooped you from the car wreck before EMS arrived on scene. We were following you when a car sped into the side of your vehicle. Drivers these days, they have no respect for other people.”

“Wait…. the wreck!” said Paul, maintaining as much cool as he could muster. “Why would you take me from the scene, and……. following me? Please let me out, I would like to go back and make sure everything is put in order.”

“I am afraid that’s simply not an option. You’re going to be coming with me, I am under strict orders,” The man said In a more commanding tone.

“I need to go back now! I’m not willing to go anywhere with you!” Paul said choking out fear.

“YOU HAVE NO CHOICE!” The man screamed. He proceeded to pull a silenced handgun from his side and put it right in Paul’s face. “You had your chance to do this the easy way, now you will do it at gun point.”

“H-had my chance? I only asked once; please tell me what we are doing. I have a family to go back to. Please tell me what you want from me.” Paul stammered his entire body shaking in fear. The adrenaline now coursing through his veins again caused time to slow slightly. His mind was racing trying to figure a way out of the situation.

The man began to talk in a frustrated slur of words. Paul had to work hard to focus on what he was saying.

“There will be time to ask questions, but now you will shut your mouth. I have had enough useless talk.” And with those last words, the Man stopped talking and pulled the gun away slightly, while keeping it carefully pointed at Paul.

Paul thought as hard as he could, time seemed to be standing still as his mind raced through the possible routes of escape. No route of escape presented itself to him; he was in a hopeless situation. He began to race through his life trying to figure why someone would want to have him abducted. He once had gambling debts, but those had been paid long ago. In college, he had played sports and not had much time to get into any real trouble. There was no logical reason for him to be abducted.

After over six hours, the van began to slow. They were in a field with only a single large barn in sight. The extreme flat terrain told him that they were somewhere in Eastern Montana, far from anything resembling the mountainous terrain from their starting destination in Colorado.

“Let’s go, and don’t try anything dumb. It’s about twenty miles to the next town.” With that, the man stuck the gun in his back and made him walk towards the massive barn.

The side door on the barn flew open and a man of very small stature came running out. In an excited and stuttering squeaky voice, he said, “A-a-gent 2 m-madam A is v-very u-upset with you.”

The little man disappeared with as much haste as he had appeared. The man in the suit, Agent 2 Paul thought he was called, was visibly upset at the brief appearance of the little man.

“Get inside and don’t say a word.” Agent 2 said jabbing the muzzle of the gun sharply into Paul’s sore ribs, his frustration was very apparent.

Upon entering the barn, Paul expected the dim lighting and slightly musty smell of most barns. He was met with quite a different scene inside this barn. The barn was very well lit and had a concrete floor that looked to be kept in perfect condition. The first thing that met the eye was the giant cargo plane that sat neatly in the middle of the barn. The plane was gigantic and nearly touched the top of the barn. The wings looked to be resting against the walls at the tips. To the back corner of the barn was another door. The short man was just disappearing into that door as the door behind them slammed closed.

“Go through the door back there and sit in the chair to your right as you enter.” Agent 2 said, clearly trying to control his anger. “Madam A will be waiting for you. I would suggest you not say a word until spoken to.”

Agent 2 escorted Paul to the door and disappeared into a small room nearby. Paul stood contemplating what to do for the next few seconds, as he began to feel the adrenaline pumping through his body. He could run for it, maybe make it outside, but then what? He did not know what to expect behind this door, maybe he could take this woman and use her as a hostage to get out. Even Agent 2 seemed to fear her, or at least, respected her very much. Paul decided to go through with this plan to turn the tables and capture his captor.

Upon entering the room, Paul was surprised to see the woman sitting behind the desk. He expected to find a well-dressed woman with a very commanding presence, but instead he found himself looking at a very odd young woman. She was about average height, and must have weighed about 130 lbs by Paul’s calculations. She did not even look up from the desk as Paul entered. Her hair was tied up directly on top of her head with what looked like a shred of a flower patterned tapestry from the 60’s. Her hair was falling like a fountain all around her head, In the front, she had tucked it behind her ears to leave her face exposed. On the bridge of her nose sat a thick framed pair of blue glasses. She wore a turtle neck shirt that was hot pink and slightly baggy around her body.

“Sit, I’ll be with you momentarily.” The odd woman said in a voice so calm and soothing that Paul thought for a moment that he could have been at a doctor’s office, or bank.

Paul sat and started to observe the room that was as odd as the woman sitting in it. Each wall had been painted a different color, red, yellow, blue, and Green. On the walls were many paintings that all carried the same unique style. It looked as if someone had created magnificent landscapes, using only bright colors. Paul almost forgot his situation as he gazed into each painting even recognizing the mountain ranges in some of them.

“They’re magnificent, aren’t they? My name is Madam Adlersflügel, but call me Madam A.” the woman said now standing a few feet from Paul.

Paul almost fell out of his seat as he had not seen her get up to come across the room. He stood, and began to re-run his plan through his mind. Now was the moment to act, and he knew he must do it quickly. The familiar adrenaline came rushing into his veins and time began to slow. He lurched forward to grab Madam A’s wrists and try to subdue her, but as he shot forward she was gone. He felt a gentle push from behind that was enough to topple him forward onto the floor.

“I really had hoped that we could do things a bit more civil than this, but I suppose Agent 2 ruined that chance.” She said now behind him.

Paul looked up at this strange woman wide eyed, “How…..you were right in front-”

“How is not important, why is the important part of this situation,” She said in a voice as calm as ever. “Now get up and sit back down, we have matters to discuss.”

As Paul got up from the floor, he noticed that Madam A was back in her chair in the blink of an eye. He thought his mind must have played a trick on him, what he saw was not possible.

Picking himself off the floor, Paul mumbled “How… you move faster than I can even think.”

“Yes, in a way I’m moving very fast, and no, not faster than you can think.” Madam A said calmly. “You’re the only other person in the world that can think as fast as I move, and I believe you can move this fast as well.”

Paul almost let out a full blown laugh but tried coughing to cover it as up he said, “You must be mistaken, I’m just a normal person, I have a normal life with a normal family, one that I would really like to go back to.” Despite Paul’s best effort, he just about started to cry.

“I know full well that you’re capable of moving fast, I have been watching you with very careful scrutiny. It has been years of watching and evaluating, measuring your speed in high-stress moments.” Madam A said with a giddy type excitement in her voice. “Think of your days playing college football, how do you think you seemed to get through piles of tacklers with ease. The NFL recruited you, but you turned them down. You wanted to study science and become a neural surgeon. They called you a fool and said you could have been the best running back to ever play the game. I know how you think, it was simply too easy, you wanted a challenge in life.”

“How long have you been …Studying me?” Paul almost shouted in an attempt to suppress the emotion now welling up inside of him.

“It’s been at least ten years now and that’s why I am so upset with Agent 2.” She seemed to just be remembering that she was upset with someone as the words came out of her mouth.

Leaning forward Madam A spoke into a microphone that Paul had only just now noticed.

“Cromwell! Please come to my office,” Her voice echoed across the entire barn as she spoke. “We have an urgent matter to discuss.” She finished and looked at me as if I was supposed to have something to say.

“Why have you taken me away from my family?” Paul asked taking care to not add the frustration he felt into his voice.

“You’re being recruited to help fight a war, one that has been going on far longer than you and I have existed.” Madam A spoke as if everyone should know this as a fact. “It is a war that not all people see, mostly because they do not want to see it. More important than the lack of people seeing this war is the fact that you are going to be right in the center of it. You are being sought after by both sides of this war. I am not the only one that has been observing you. There has been another group observing you, one that will exploit your weakness and make it look appealing to you. In the end, the other group will use you and then kill you.” She finished just as the little man from outside appeared.

“Cromwell, please prepare the plane for a flight, it will be a short training flight. We won’t be in the air for more than a few hours I would guess.” Madam A added hastily.

“Yes mam, I will start the preparations right away.” Cromwell was halfway out the door before all the words had ever even left his mouth.

Paul was very frustrated with the lack of answers he was getting. He stood waiting for madam A to make a move. He realized that she had no intention of making a move when she turned her back to him and began to gaze at a painting as if it were a window. Paul stood gathering his remaining courage to make a last attempt to leave.

“If I’m so important to this war that you say is going on, then why have I never heard of it? More important why is it that you have all of a sudden decided now was the time to pull me into it? Ten years ago, when you started watching me, I would have taken this as a grand opportunity. You waited too long, I am settled into a career now and have a family that I love very much. Either kill me or let me walk out and leave me alone.” With that, Paul opened the door and walked out.

Paul had only gotten two steps into the barn before he felt a sharp sting in the side of his neck. He tried his best to turn his head and see who had hit him, but his eyes fell closed and his world went dark.

Paul awoke to a thunderous roar that seemed to be engulfing him. The light was blindingly bright as he struggled to keep his eyes open. The gentle bouncing and a breeze blowing through his disheveled hair told him that he was on the cargo plane from the barn. He shifted his well-toned body to try and see who else was on the plane. He saw Agent 2 in a suit with a gun in his hand, it reminded him of his situation, he was this man’s prisoner.

He moved slowly and methodically to try and see who else was on the plane without letting anyone notice he had regained consciousness.

“I see you have awoken my dear Paul.” Madam A’s voice came softly from behind Paul. “There was a change of plans, and we are going on a mission. You will have to learn on the…. well fly.” She finished seeming pleased with her pun.

Paul sat up and instantly regretted that decision, whatever had knocked him unconscious made him feel extremely groggy and slightly sick. The side of his neck felt like he had been punched full force by a professional boxer.

“What did you do to me?” Paul croaked struggling to find his voice. “I feel like I got run over by a truck.”

“You were shot with a tranquilizer dart. You can thank Agent 2 for that nice sore neck you have.” Madam A said with a sideways glare at Agent 2. “He is a fairly new recruit to Phóteinos.”

“Phóteinos? I do not even know what that is.” Paul mumbled while rubbing his neck. “You guys have the wrong person; I don’t know what you expect me to do for you. I don’t have money, nor does anyone I know have money to pay you for my release. You say I am in the middle of some kind of war, but I live a normal boring life. Just let me go home, please, just let me go home.”

From the Shadows in the back of the plane, a deep gruff voice startled Paul. “You will see the light in this situation soon enough. Phóteinos is the name of our group of warriors, though we are less a group of warriors and more a small group of specialized agents. The name is Greek for Intense light, Our first members originated from Greece and thought the name would be fitting for the group fighting….”The voice was cut short by a sharp look from Madam A

“If you are going to talk, you need to come out of the shadows and engage in conversation face to face,” Madam A said in an almost parent like way. “We all know talking face to face helps you keep from rambling on too much.”

Paul was straining his eyes to try and see what the man, who was well hidden in the shadows looked like. He was more surprised by the person than he was with the mysterious voice as the man behind the voice stepped out into the light. His massive form was silhouetted against the dark shadows from which he just stepped. The man was by all standards a giant, standing at just over seven feet tall he must have weighed three hundred pounds. He was very muscular but had some sort of weird gadget strapped to his right arm.

“Hi, my name is Hans, and I am sorry for speaking from the shadows,” Hans said as took two steps and covered the ten-foot span that separated them. “I am still a little gun shy from my past experiences with…. people.”

Paul was almost surprised that his emotion towards this giant man was not fear. The man possessed a gentle demeanor that helped take the edge off his gigantic form. Paul looked at the gadget on the man’s arm and realized that it was a makeshift prosthetic hand. He soon realized that he was staring at this odd contraption.

“I lost my hand the day that Madam A rescued me from the clutches of the Shedim…our enemy.” Hans whispered gazing longingly at the makeshift prosthetic made from wood and what looked like nylon string.

Paul was confused on so many levels but was feeling less like a prisoner, and more like part of a weird team.

“What do you expect from me?” Paul said hoping that he could maybe accomplish something by trying to do what they asked.

“We need you to be committed to helping us fight the Shedim, and be willing to make sacrifices for the good of the world as we know it.” Madam A said with her motherly voice again. “The Shedim is an intensely evil force that is led by a single evil overlord. Some follow him out of fear, others do not even know that are doing his bidding. More on the enemy later, but for now it is time to train you how to use your adrenaline to help you.”

“Use my adrenaline?” Paul said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “Everyone has adrenaline, so why couldn’t you recruit someone else?”

Madam A stood and walked to the rear cargo door, she grabbed a mic off the wall and spoke something inaudible to the rest of the people on the plane.

“Hans, I need you back here please.” Madam A said as the rear cargo door began to open.

Hans walked to Madam A and got down to one knee so she could look him in the face to talk to him. She spoke into his ear and it looked as though they had a small argument. In the end, Madam A seemed to come out on top of the argument.

Hans walked over to Paul looking like he was really upset about something.

“Paul, please understand that this is not personal at all. I really like you, and hope we can be friends.” As Hans finished talking, he grabbed Paul’s ankle and lifted him in one smooth swipe. Paul hung suspended upside down in this giant man’s hand.

“HEY! What are you doing to me?” Paul screamed as Hans walked towards the open cargo door. “I agreed to work with you, why are you throwing me out.”

Hans ignored Paul’s struggling and protests as he lumbered towards the door.

“Go ahead and do it,” Madam A said convincingly. “Give him a big toss…..”

Hans gave Paul a somewhat labored toss towards the open door.

Paul felt his adrenaline once again begin to pump through his veins as he started flying out the open cargo door. Time was moving slower than it had ever moved during one of his adrenaline rushes.

“See, you are allowing time to slow as you are flying towards your death.” Madam A’s voice broke into Paul’s slowed thoughts. “You now have to choose to move in this slowed state of time. Turn your head and look at me now.”

Paul was surprised, even through the fear that gripped his heart, that he was hearing Madam A’s voice. He began to believe in that moment that he could indeed do something that most people could not. He tried to move his head and was surprised it came as easy as when he was not in a slowed state of time.

“How is this possible?” Paul questioned, forgetting for a moment that he was still flying through the air.

“You ask too many questions; let’s get you safe first, lesson one safe first question later.” Madam A said leaving no room for discussion on the matter.

Reality returned and Paul began to panic, he spun and twisted in midair trying to stop himself from flying out the air born plane.

“WHAT DO I DO?” Paul shouted as he frantically spun this way and that way.

“Lesson 2 is never panic. Always always stay calm and find your way of escape. Reach back, and grab Hans’s arm. Your momentum will pull him forward a step, but he will remain safe and you will be back to safety.” Madam A spoke quickly but remained perfectly calm.

Paul did as she said, and found himself being pulled back into normal time as he felt like he would be safe. Then in a flash, he was hanging from Hans’s arm out the back of the plane.

He realized that he was still in extreme danger and found himself again in a slowed state of time for a second time in just a few seconds of real time. He remembered lesson 2 and did not panic. He saw the edge of the cargo door just a foot below him. He grabbed it, and pulled himself in and ran back into the plane.

Hans let out a little screech that no one thought would come from a man that size.

“Whoa…what happened?” Hans shouted in fear as he stumbled back into the plane. “Where is Paul? Please tell me he isn’t falling to his death.”

“I am right here,” Paul said completely stunned by what he had just done. “I didn’t fall.”

Madam A was on the mic again. “You can go ahead and close the cargo door, Cromwell.” She said over the dull roar of air and engines that was filling the plane.

Paul walked to a seat at the side of the plane and sat down. He was trying to process what had just happened. He mumbled to himself, trying to justify how this was possible.

“Paul, you have been given a gift.” Madam A said trying to calm Paul down a bit.

“I don’t know if I want this gift, I am not even sure any of this is real,” Paul said in utter disbelief of what had just happened.

“I reacted the same way the first time Paul.” Madam A said sitting next to him. “I thought that I had gone off the deep end. I have always liked being unique, and everyone looked at me as the weird girl. But the first time that I experienced what I call the slow state, well I thought I was making up things in my head and believing them.”

“Who tried to throw you from a plane?” Paul shot back out of anger.

“I did not have the luxury of someone helping me the first time,” Madam A said slightly irritated. “I had to choose to move, and will myself to not freak out. I was at a concert when a man walked in with a gun. He took aim at my best friend and pulled the trigger. The moment the gun fired I found myself in the slow state. I could see the bullet moving one inch at a time. I stood frozen, just watching until I realized my friend was going to die. I screamed and was surprised that my voice rang out like time was not slow. I began to look around and realized everyone else was still frozen in place. I took a step forward, then another, and then I ran to the bullet in the air. I reached up to grab it, but it was like trying to move a thousand pound rock. I freaked out, I ran to the man who shot the gun and began to hit him in the face. I hit him maybe ten times and then sunk to the ground. I turned just in time to watch the bullet penetrate my friend’s chest. It hit its mark, right into her heart, and I had to watch it happen one inch at a time. I could have saved her had I kept my cool, I could have pushed her out of the way. I could have put something in front of her to stop the bullet. When normal time returned, the gunman fell to the ground unconscious from the ten blows he received so quickly that it felt like ten punches in one. My friend lay dead, and I just sat sobbing on the ground.”

Paul looked at Madam A and saw the tears now pouring from her eyes. He for the first time since being brought to her, felt compassion for her. He sat stunned by her story, but still struggling with his own battle of understanding. He figured now was the time to ask questions, and he had a great deal of them.

“I am sorry that you lost your friend Madam A. That must have been terrible, I can’t even imagine,” Paul said with sincere compassion in his voice. “I have lots of questions, can I please get answers?”

“I will answer the best that I can,” Madam answered now frantically drying her tears with her sleeve.

“Biggest question I have is when I can go back to my family?” Paul asked with a great deal of hope in his voice.

“As soon as this mission is over, we will discuss logistics and then take you back to your family.” Madam A said without hesitation.

Paul breathed a sigh of relief as his fear of never seeing his family again was relieved.

“What does this mission involve?” Paul said with nervousness apparent in his voice.

“There is a man that has been serving the Shedim, and he is about to be tortured and executed for failing to complete a mission. We are going to rescue him, and do our best to bring him into the light. He may have some incredible information that would be extremely helpful to us,” Madam A said as she stood. “You can ask a few more questions later, but for now, we only have a few more hours to teach you what took me years to learn.”

“No, I have more questions, so many more questions. Like, what is this war even about? Who is the leader of the other side? Why have I never heard of this war?” Paul blurted out the questions fast enough that no one could stop him.

“Paul, A man’s life hangs in the balance, and you can be a huge asset to saving him. We can talk about all of this another time. For now, we have more pressing matters to attend too.” Madam A said as she instantly moved in front of Paul. “I am going to do my best to help you control what throws you into the slow state. Stand up and walk into the middle of the cargo area.”

As Paul began to stand Madam A shoved him back into his seat. He looked at her surprised and slightly flustered at the rude gesture.

“Hey, why did you do that?” Paul said irritated.

“Why didn’t you do what I asked?” Madam A said clearly amused with the situation.

Paul slid to the side and stood quickly, but as he took a step he found his shoes were tied together as he fell flat on his face.

“You are going to have to do better than that Paul. “Madam A snickered at Paul.

Paul stood and was ready to scream at Madam A, but was not able to get words out before she was talking again.

“Now that you are furious, take all your anger and focus on forcing yourself into the slow state.” Madam A said so fast that Paul almost had to ask her to say it again.

Paul tried to force his mind into the slow state and felt it start to kick in, but it was a millisecond of changed feeling before things were back to normal.

“I tried, but I couldn’t get it to stay slow,” Paul said angrily, realizing she had played him to get an outburst of anger.

“But you got it to start?” Madam A said seemingly pleased with that fact. “Good, now try to do it without any rise of emotion.”

After about an hour of non-stop trying, Paul was able to enter into the slow state only when his heart rate was elevated. He could only remain in the slow state long enough to take three or four steps was all.

“Good I think that you will be able to do everything we need from you for this mission.” Madam A said as she again in an instant sat next to Paul. “You need to rest for the next hour or so. Rest your mind and your body, the slow state takes a toll on you at first. Your body is not used to moving this fast yet, and you will get sore muscles and some nasty headaches.”

Paul was glad to be able to rest for the first time in he didn’t know how long. He found a cot right behind the cockpit and plopped down tiredly. He pulled a picture of his wife out of his wallet and gazed longingly at it. Within just a few moments he began to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

“Paul! Wake up, wake up!” The frantic voice of Hans shook Paul quickly out of his slumber.

“Wha- what is going on?” Paul stammered as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

“Madam A just received word that our target was moved, and it is time to go now!” Hans said hurriedly “Get up and get back to Madam A, she is at the cargo door.

Paul ran to the cargo door and found it opened with Madam A standing right at the edge of the door. The ground was a few feet away and whizzing by in a fast blur.

“Grab my hand and Jump now!” Madam A shouted, “I will instruct you what to do in the slow state.” And with that Madam A grabbed Paul’s hand and forced him to Jump out of the moving plane.