Alien Abductions

On a beam of light as in the fog of dreams, a hundred human beings of all ages and walks-of-life find themselves standing on narrow pedestals in a strange auditorium filled with noxious, frigid liquid. With no room to sit or recline, they cannot rest or sleep. They can only shift from foot to foot atop the pedestals, standing for hours then days, their fears unresolved and their fate unknown. Only one man among them, a hardened felon zapped out of solitary confinement, seems to have any answers to their questions.

They disappear all over the world and some of them eventually return home, but what becomes of the missing in the meantime? An insightful short story.