Ruth looked up into the auditorium. Floating high up near the roof were two people, both looking scared. Their relief on seeing Ruth and the others was evident. Ruth moved up- it was almost like swimming- to greet them.
"What's happening?" asked one of the two fearfully. It was Claire, one of the technical crew. Like most of the techies, she came along to the odd society event in between shows, but only really spent much time with them as a whole during show week. As such, she probably wouldn't have come across the 'cult' or been brainwashed like the others.
The other stowaway was Agnes, a friend of Ruth and Tom's who had been part of the society a few years ago. Ruth remembered that she had been going to come to the evening performance. Presumable she and Claire had come into the hall just before the doors had been sealed, and then been trapped, wondering what on earth was going on.
"It's ok," she said automatically. The situation, in her opinion, was very far from ok, but since there was nothing they could do they might as well make the most of a bad job. The curtains around the windows at the top of the hall were floating up, and they could see the stars.
"You're not going to believe it," Ruth said. "It's...quite a story. We're in space- well, you can see that. Central Hall is actually a spaceship that was hidden on campus by two aliens who then joined G&S and hypnotised everyone so they could kidnap us." It sounded stupid. Agnes and Claire were staring at her, unsure whether to believe her or not, then they looked out at the stars, and remembered that they were floating, weightless, near the roof of the auditorium. They looked at Ruth and the others, and believed them.
"When the gravity went, and we suddenly started floating- we were so scared," Agnes said. "I'd met Claire outside and we came in through the fire exits backstage. We'd just come in when we heard a click, and the door must have locked behind us, and then something slid over it, like a seal. Anyway, we went up to the green room but there was no one there. We heard people in the auditorium and went to look but the building started to shake. When we got to the auditorium it was empty. Then the shaking got worse so we sat down and then...that must have been when it took off. And then after a while the gravity went, and we thought something had gone wrong..."
"It's just that the gravity generator takes up a huge amount of power- it's done with electromagnets- so we switch it off when it's not needed." Zoe had followed them up into the auditorium.
Ruth introduced them. "Agnes, this is Zoe. Although that's not her real name..."
"You can keep calling me it, though," Zoe said. "I like it."
"She and her brother Will- that's not his real name either- are the aliens who did this."
"Why?" Claire asked.
"We like G&S," Zoe said, lying back on nothing and relaxing. "I'd forgotten how comfortable zero gravity is."
"But...I mean, how do we eat? And sleep? And...wash, and stuff?" Ruth asked.
"You'll be surprised next time you go to the toilets," Zoe said, smiling knowingly. "There's some equipment you won't have thought of. As for eating, that's fun. Most of the time you can make do with just being careful and holding onto things. Or we can switch the gravity on just in the green room or the foyer to make things a bit easier. Sleeping," she lay back again, "well, you can either float free, like this, or we have these things that are a cross between hammocks and sleeping bags and you can tether yourself to something so you know you're going to wake up in the same place you went to sleep. Me, I like the sense of adventure from not tying it to anything. But it's up to you. You'll soon get used to it."
"But what about our families and housemates and stuff?" Agnes said. "If I don't go home they'll be worried, they'll phone the police..."
"They're not exactly going to be able to catch us, are they?" Claire said, depressed. "I'll never see my Andy again..."
"You'll get home eventually," Zoe said, sitting up. "I'd better go and check the autopilot." She floated off.
Ruth watched her go. "They say we needn't worry, that they'll get us home eventually, after we've visited their planet," she said. "I don't know if I trust them any more, but we've got to believe them. There's no choice but to hope." She drifted over to the window and looked back at the small bluey-greeny-white blob that was dropping further and further behind.
The story continues in Episode three...
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