Chapter 191: “Undercurrent”
A few months ago, if someone had told Jim McGuire that there existed a mysterious power in this world, he would have dismissed them as lunatics.
What a joke, Im a staunch materialist! Jim would have retorted. All those weird and mysterious things are nothing but deceptions from childrens fairy tales. Does anyone truly believe in evil spirits?
In such debates, Jim consistently emerged victorious!
Jim worked as a weather announcer.
His daily duty involved forecasting the upcoming weather for the public, a simple and enjoyable job hed held for over a decade.
However, everything had turned chaotic in the past few months!
A bizarre hurricane in southwestern Wales had nearly leveled a city and resulted in significant casualties.
Unprecedented forest fires in the highlands continued for over a month without abating.
The skies in many surrounding cities had reverted to the bleakness of the 19th century, with reports of meteor showers coming from Kent, Yorkshire, Dundee, and elsewhere nearly every week.
In the past few months, the UK had experienced more meteorological anomalies than it had in the past century.
As a consequence, the Meteorological TV station had received countless complaints, and the publics frustration had grown.
This added considerable stress to Jims daily routine.
However, the disturbances werent limited to the UK alone but seemed to plague all of Europe.
Monaco suffered a once-in-a-thousand-years super tsunami during the holiday season, resulting in heavy casualties among both residents and tourists.
Pragues Charles Bridge inexplicably collapsed in broad daylight, causing more than a dozen cars to plunge into the river.
A strange and highly contagious virus emerged in northern Italy, rapidly spreading throughout Southern Europe.
Reports of unexplained disappearances became frequent in Northern Ireland.
All these occurrences pointed to a year filled with unprecedented abnormalities.
If a higher power existed, it seemed to wish for humanitys destruction.
Or perhaps
Beyond the strange natural phenomena, what puzzled Jim even more was the response of the official authorities.
In the face of these frequent anomalies, the government took little action.
Even the final rescue efforts following the Welsh hurricane were initiated by private individuals
The most controversial move made by the Prime Minister in recent months was his call for comprehensive disarmament in all sectors.
Frankly, Jim thought the Prime Minister might be losing his mind.
Jim found it baffling that such a swift and drastic disarmament plan had been approved by parliamentary resolution.
Was the Prime Minister insane? Or were the hundreds of Members of Parliament in the House of Commons all equally mad?Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only
Then there was the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
He had been the Prime Ministers staunchest opponent, and Jim expected him to put an end to this madness.
Yet, inexplicably, the Chancellor of the Treasurer, who had always opposed the Prime Minister, seemed to have joined forces with him to support this absurd resolution.
All in all, everything seemed far too bizarre not to raise suspicions.
Such a sudden death seemed utterly irrational.
The only plausible explanation was that the pastor had disseminated certain truths that led to some organization killing him in a peculiar manner.
Those organizations, were they the wizards?
For the next week, Jim was tormented by nightmares. Mysterious figures would break in and silence him, someone who knew the truth.
But fortunately, such an ordeal never materialized.
It appeared that the perpetrators had no interest in small fry like him
Finally gathering his courage, Jim began contacting his neighbors who had also attended the church that week
They convened a small meeting
There was no denying that everyone was frightened; the pastors accidental death had put them all at risk.
They were eager to uncover the truth
During this meeting, a woman who appeared somewhat eccentric cautiously shared that the churchs pastors had been suffering a disproportionately high number of casualties lately, most of them ending in sudden deaths without any apparent cause!
Even the Pope himself hadnt made any statements about it.
In fact, he hadnt been seen in public for months. Reports of sudden deaths among pastors had never made it into the newspapers.
It seemed that the top echelons of European governments had become shrouded in mystery!
Could it be real? Jim asked incredulously, that they exist
Just before he could utter the word Wizards, the woman urgently silenced him.
Dont say that word! she whispered. Ive heard that anyone who mentions that word meets a dreadful fate!
Jim knew well what dreadful fate entailed, and he obediently closed his mouth.
Could there be individuals who are unmentionable he cautiously inquired, Whats their objective?
They aim to dominate and enslave us the woman explained patiently. Theyve infiltrated the government and can manipulate minds All the media outlets are under their control. Anyone daring to speak the truth faces punishment
What what should we do? Jim stammered. They seem incredibly powerful, and we appear utterly helpless
We must unite! the woman declared, her expression grave.
With that, she produced some flyers from her pocket and distributed them to everyone present.
The content of the flyers closely mirrored the pastors speech that day.
They briefly introduced the existence of wizards, their intentions, and the high-level government manipulation that had gone unnoticed
Thank you so much! Jim carefully tucked the flyer into his pocket.
Remember to share this news with as many people as you can the woman reminded them. Only when more people learn the truth will we have the strength to rally against them together!
I understand! Jim nodded.
As a weather broadcaster, his job was well-suited to spreading news to a wide audience. Although it carried significant risks to speak out directly, Jim felt he could find a way to subtly convey the message
The gathering slowly came to an end.
By the way, maam, whats your name? Jim asked as he was leaving, curious about the woman.
Dursley You can call me Mrs. Dursley, she replied with a smile.