Chapter Twenty Three - Lost Reality
Project 86Chapter Twenty Three - Lost Reality
The bright flash carried over from the memory into reality burning into Yoona’s eyes. She instinctively recoiled feeling the warm fingers of Sinuhe part from her forehead as cold sweat ran down her hair and cheeks. She fell back onto the smooth stone floor of the little garden the two had been standing on. Her eyes couldn’t see anything else but the bright light, and she blinked a couple of times hard trying to somehow lessen the shine.
“Are you alright?”
She looked up towards the source of the sound and her eyes were slowly beginning to lose the bright glow and a hazy image appeared to her retina, shadowed outlines slowly forming more detail.
“I… was you…” Yoona gasped, her breathing still very rapid and shallow and her eyesight still adjusting to her recovery. “There was so much blood…” Yoona shuddered at the memory, the last moments of Sinuhe’s life before becoming an Anchor now etched into her brain. The terror, horror and absolute anguish burned to the very core of her consciousness. All the blood so deeply ingrained that it felt like it was still on her hands.
“I’m sorry you had to see all of that, but it is necessary,” Sinuhe said offering his hand down to help Yoona up. She could barely see but noticed the shadow of an arm reach down and accepted the help and pulled herself up. As she did she could still see the red mist that had just permeated the temple room. And in her eyes Sinuhe looked like the outline of Chimalmat.
“I can’t see well right now, everything is a gray blur and like a shadow and… I’m still seeing the blood. I can still see Chimalmat. I think it was the orb and bright light that did this,” Yoona said looking in the direction that she assumed was Sinuhe’s face, her eyes squinting hard in an attempt to see better.
“Your mind is still rearing from the memory. It must’ve had a very deep impact on you,” Sinuhe looked at Yoona apologetically, although the latter couldn’t distinguish any facial features yet. “Your sight will return. Come sit down and rest. Let your eyesight return to you and your mind organize and process what you saw. If you have any questions I will answer them all. Hopefully this will make your next step easier.”
Sinuhe guided Yoona by her outstretched arm to the few stone seats at the edges of the alcove that they were in. Sitting down she breathed in slowly and purposefully even if there was no oxygen here. It was all in her imagination and a force of habit, however just the act of breathing deep did help calm her down.
At the tip of her tongue she could still feel the tangy iron sensation of blood and she spat from , as you do when you get some fluff on your tongue. This still didn’t remove the taste.
“I can still taste it,” Yoona looked at Sinuhe whose outline had finally turned from that of Chimalmat to his own, “the blood.”
“Your mind thinks it was physically there and felt all the things that happened. It will pass in a few minutes. It… doesn’t taste good does it? It was horrifying in there right?”
Yoona nodded. “I know exactly how you felt, but at least for me I can immediately categorize it as not a reality but for you to have to life through that… I’m sorry Sinuhe.”
“It was what it was. We’ll strive to avoid that here.”
her lips a few times Yoona noticed that the blood on her tongue was finally disappearing and her eyesight had now regained colour. Instead of dark gray blurry shadows she could see blurry colours and shapes.
“That orb really does a number on you.”
“Yes it does,” Sinuhe chuckled, “I was so lost and blind for the first day after it happened.”
As the details of the world slowly returned to Yoona the two sat quietly for a while, listening in on the wonderful song of the birds, the rustle of the trees in the gentle breeze and the soft brush of the water in the canal against the stone bank. The calm a stark contrast to what she had witnessed, what she had lived just moments ago in her mind.
It made her think how easily people would dismiss something that happened in your head, in your dreams; she did that. Now she knew for certain that all she saw happen to Sinuhe was in her head even if she felt like she lived through it herself. That knowledge of it being in her head didn’t make her disbelieve it this time however, and in the future she would be more open and likely to accept strange memories than before. Of course it didn’t mean that everything was a reality but, maybe she was a little more open.
Next to her Sinuhe was staring out into the distance at all of his creation. His face was still creased in brows of apology and a mournful look. His skin dark from tan and scars he had bore from those final days as a human still on his skin. He had clearly decided to retain everything he was then as a reminder.
She didn’t know if this transfer of memory forced him to relive it all or remember the events better. Maybe as an Anchor he couldn’t forget any of it anyway and Yoona felt sorry for him. She knew he would never share that burden with her; he was too kind and responsible for that. Maybe when all of this was over she could talk to Sinuhe in the dream world, let him know what’s up and how things are even if the communication was only one way and Sinuhe had no way of responding to her. Maybe at the very least she could help a little with the loneliness.
“So… what happened after you touched the orb of light? What happened to Chimalmat?” Yoona finally asked breaking the few minutes of silence.
“Upon touching it I gained all the knowledge of the past Anchors and what it meant to be an Anchor. However, having been an anchor for the past three thousand years and counting, that isn’t the most common case.”
“What is?”
“Usually when the dream world is damaged and the Anchor is still intact, like in our case right now, a potentiate like you merely assists the Anchor to restore everything. Only when the dream world is irrevocably shattered and the Anchor location itself has been destroyed will a new Anchor actually be required. In that case the potential new Anchor and the old together touch the orb. In that instance the old Anchor sacrifices the last of their power and passes on all knowledge to the new Anchor.”
“And that’s what happened with you. Chimalmat became a part of you? Is it always an orb?”
“Yes. She became a part of me,” Sinuhe said with sadness in his eyes and looking out into the distance. “But that is the extreme rare case. The restoration as far as the past Anchors memories can be trusted has always been through an orb.”
“What happens after that?”
“Once the dream world has been restored if a new Anchor wasn’t required, the same Anchor stays and keeps working while the potentiate gets to live their life back in the real world with the added knowledge that they saved the world,” Sinuhe said with a smile,” I have high hopes that this time as well we can do that.”
Having held her breath without noticing Yoona let out a loud exhale and sigh as Sinuhe told about the potential sacrifice that would have to be made. She was also finally beginning to see properly with only a little bit of haze at the edges of her vision, no more than one would have when they have just woken up in the morning.
“This has happened to you before?” Yoona asked, since if the usual case was not the total collapse of the Anchor and sacrifice of the old, then the other option must have happened before.
“Yes. Three times before actually. Twice it was a minor instability and not full collapse. Once however the dream world did collapse like it has now…”
“Yet you still managed to restore the dream world without a new Anchor?”
“Yes. All three potentials lived full lives afterwards, although one of them went a little… over the edge in his later years. You might have heard of a fellow called Nostradamus and his prophecies?”
“No way! Nostradamus was a potential Anchor?”
“Yes, he was a great fellow in his youth but I think the events he went through got to him in his later years culminating in his writings.”
“Wow… I would’ve never believed it.”
“Nobody does.”
“But how come nobody remembers any of this dream world nonsense? If it has collapsed so many times before, why is there no mention of it in history actually? Besides Nostradamus’ ramblings,” Yoona realized that she had never really read of it in history books. If the dream world had collapsed before wouldn’t people remember it?
“The majority of people in the world, maybe a good 98 to 99 percent of people fall to a deep sleep. They only see the aftermath of what happened but don’t know it as a dream calamity since to them everything was a dream,” Sinuhe explained, now standing up from the stone seat and taking a walk around the statue and the alcove.
“Also until now, we haven’t had so many intricate machines and things that could get destroyed the moment they aren’t manned by someone. So in history most things stayed intact and there was little damage to the surroundings, this time will be very different. Cars, trains, airplanes; so many different vehicles on the move not to mention all the machinery that requires supervising. I wonder how it will be explained, especially since video footage from people and the CCTV cameras that are still operational are recording everything happening down there as we speak?”
He turned to look at Yoona with an amused and pondering look, but the amusement was short lived as he knew the real chaos that the situation would cause for the foreseeable future.
“So, this time people might actually believe the one percent who stay awake during all this.”
“I’m afraid so. This is a whole new situation for all of us and there are many unforeseeable outcomes from this.”
“I need to lie down,” Yoona said stretching herself out on the stone seat she was on. Sinuhe walked over and sat on the seat next to her letting silence take the air for a moment and to let Yoona contemplate on everything that was happening.
The consequences of this dream collapse and the potential aftermath could be catastrophic and that thought scared Yoona. If people now don’t forget what happened, then the whole world would be turned upside down as the very fabric of what they thought was true would be changed. If they figure out that it is all linked to dreams and the dream world then would there be more dream research? Would the risk of another collapse just increase with more people poking at the dream world and these things would happen more frequently, maybe even within her own lifetime once again? Was there anything she could do to stop any of this?
“So, if everyone can remember what has happened once we wake up, do I have to start policing the dream world?”
“Maybe. It’s hard to say but you, your friends, and anyone else around the world that is similarly inclined will be at the crux of this. You might have to become protectors of the dream realm; you might become hunted for your abilities…”
Eyes widening in shock Yoona quickly sat up from her lying position focusing on Sinuhe. They could become hunted?
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you, merely present to you a possible future. Something you should prepare for.”
Everything had been happening so fast lately that there had been no real time to actually think about the consequences of all of this. To know what was waiting for them on the other side after everything was resolved. If everyone knew about her kind, would they really be test subjects?
“Is there any way to stop that from happening?”
“I can’t say. Seems… unlikely. I’m sorry,” Sinuhe gave a faint apologetic smile. “I wish I could help you more in that area.”
Yoona nodded and sighed, knowing that the Anchor was tied to this place, to the dream world. Sinuhe was doing everything he could. He was probably at this very moment straining himself to extremes trying to keep the Anchor from collapsing all the while entertaining Yoona and helping her. She couldn’t imagine the struggle he was going through.
“Well then let’s start with the things you can help with,” Yoona said as she sat up straight focusing back onto Sinuhe.
“Indeed,” Sinuhe said moving over to sit next to Yoona on the same stone seat. “I must warn you this will be painful to you and you can lose your mind in the process, lose yourself in your memories. Do your best to hold onto something or someone in the present, someone important to you now.”
Immediately her mind latched onto the image of Seohyun. A wave of sadness and worry washed over Yoona not knowing what was happening to her, if she had survived the dream collapse or not. Even though it had been only a couple of days, so much had happened that it felt like weeks since she last saw her. But for now all she could do was hope for the best and hold onto the thought of Seohyun to keep herself sane.
“If all goes well you will find the memories that will unlock your powers, maybe not fully but enough to allow you to wake up in the real world. If things go poorly you’ll be stuck here and… well I will do my best to fix anything broken if I can,” Sinuhe let out a heavy sigh.
The knuckles of Sinuhe were clenched tightly showing white as his nerves were betraying him. The procedure they were about to attempt was risky and not something he had personally done before, he merely had the know-how from previous Anchors memories, from an Anchor thousands of years ago who had done the same. He knew the theory, now to put it into practice.
“Are you ready?”
Yoona nodded. Sinuhe placed his fingers once again on Yoona’s forehead and gave her a confident smile.
“We can do this. Now… open your heart. Open your mind.”
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A drive that was supposed to take an hour had stretched to what felt like eternity to Seohyun. Having left the garage of Omnicorp the city was filled with haphazardly stopped cars and passed out pedestrians on the road. Every ten metres or so in the city centre she would have to all but stop the car to chart out a path that avoided running over people, and every couple of blocks had to physically get out of the car to find a way through the streets. This was not counting the horrors that blinked into existence at random.
From the beginning Seohyun was afraid of rampaging animals and weird creatures she saw as she exited her workplace garage. On top of keeping an eye out for people she constantly kept a vigilant look at all the insane events that were unfolding around her. Dogs with snake heads, statues that floated in the air, an amalgamation of a cockroach and a peacock asserting their dominance. Things that should have never been combined, like some disturbed necromancer’s wet dream.
Sometimes she wasn’t even sure if a person lying unconscious on the ground was actually real or a figment of whatever was happening. Increasing this uncertainty was that sometimes these things and phantoms would just pass through cars and buildings, other times they would crash into them. There was no way of knowing when one of these weird ghosts manifested itself physically in the world and when it was a mere mirage, so she found it safest to just avoid everything and anything.
The amount of pedestrians lessened as she got closer to the outskirts of the city and closer to the highway. The visions and dreamlike entities seem to also lessen with less people around, which made Seohyun wonder if these things were tied to the passed out and comatose dreaming people, whether they manifested and were dependent on a dreamer.
Cars however were still littered everywhere and she was faced with a new problem; cars completely blocking all the lanes. She would get a couple hundred metres maybe a kilometre at best before she would be forced to stop, get out of her car, get into one of the cars blocking the way and drive it out of the way. It was hard and tiring work too as she would need to move the driver to the passenger side of the car so she could fit into the driver’s seat. A few times she just sat on the person's lap and drove like that instead, as her arm muscles were burning from the lactic acid and exhaustion.
Repeating these procedures she assumed that it had taken her a good three to four hours to just reach the outskirts of the mountain, although it was hard to tell the time as the sky was constantly gray and the sun was hidden. Additionally all time keeping devices had been messed up; the clocks and watches showing random figures and numbers. In fact it reminded her of how in a dream one could never tell the time. Luckily the drive from the base of the mountain to the shrine wasn’t too long, as long as the roads weren’t blocked.
The last time she had been here there had been some sun on the road and although a lot of it was covered by the dense canopy it still was inviting. Now the oppressive gray forms of the sky had turned this pleasant drive to one of paranoia, dark and brooding. She could see weird creatures eyes poking in the night and swirls of what looked like spirits and floating animals and creatures of fantasy now inhabited the woods. It truly felt like an enchanted forest from a fairy tale story, and she now understood why people in those stories usually feared them.
Although the roads seemed to be clear she still kept to the habit of driving relatively slow, not knowing what could come behind the next tree bend, not knowing if a wild rhinoceros could come charging from the bushes and slam into her car.
There had been a few close calls earlier where a pack of what she could at best call half sheared sheep ran past her. She managed to break and avoid any collision however almost immediately following she clipped something that appeared a rock golem. Luckily this time, it seemed that the creature’s leg merely slipped through her car and she felt a horrible cold tugging sensation on her soul as the leg passed through her body.
The darkness of the canopy and thick leaf trees became particularly oppressive as Seohyun e final bend and had to drive through the last tree tunnel before finding her way to the shrine. At the end of it she could see a little light, but only a little as the sky was still dark and didn’t help much. But even that little light felt comforting, getting out of the darkness of the forest into the light.
She drove up the little curve and over the small crest that lead into the parking lot of the shrine before immediately hitting her breaks as hard as she could, lurching forward in her seat.
Before her there were two big black vans, Mercedes Sprinter types, and three black SUV’s all of them parked at the edges of the parking lot leaving the centre and path to the stairs open. The doors were all flung open and there were people armed to the teeth strewn about across the ground in varying positions having similarly passed out as everybody else in the city. There was no movement from anyone, but she couldn’t be certain that all of them had passed out. Some of them could’ve even made their way up the shrine already.
Seohyun turned the car’s engine off and waited for a solid five minutes, looking out to see if anyone had reacted to her arrival. Nothing but flashes and images of ethereal nature skirted the edges of the parking lot and silence reigned. When there was no reaction from any person she looked over at the sleeping form of Yoona, brushing the few strands of hair away from her face.
“I’ll be right back.”
Getting out of the car she approached the closest open van to her on the left. The backdoors were flung open and at the foot of them was one armed man slumped over halfway into the van. She peeked inside and there was another man in there also passed out. Carefully she walked around the whole parking lot examining each person making sure that they were all unconscious. There was even one person who had been standing a few metres up the steps before passing out. Luckily for him he was wearing a helmet and was protected from any devastating head injury.
These mercenaries and armed men were all unconscious now, but there was no telling that they wouldn’t wake up and continue what they were doing. From the corner of her eyes she could see more ‘forest spirits’ bouncing around but they were avoiding the parking lot and staying away from her. Right at the peripheral, the edge of the parking lot where the forest lined the sides she could see them. Yellow and red peering eyes floating in the dark underbrush of the forest, staring at her unblinking. It was a constant struggle within her to keep her head cool and not freak out.
Her body was still aching from the experience in the machine and from all the hauling of people she had to do on her way here, but she decided that she would have to try to bind and tie these people in case they wake up. She couldn’t have them come after her or go and report to their employers.
Moving around through the various black bags that were in the cars and on the ground she rifled through them, trying to find things to bind them with. She found some very large cable ties enough to bind feet and arms and some heavy duty duct take. With these she could bind the arms and legs of everyone, double wrap so there was no escape.
With how tired her body was, she decided to save the moving and tying of everyone for a little later. For starters she would gather all their weapons and equipment into the back of one of the SUV’s so that they would be well out of everyone’s reach.
The sky cracked with thunderous roar and Seohyun’s eyes shot up, as the dark swirls were ever present. The peering eyes from the forest and darkness had increased now, with even more staring at her every move without getting closer. As much as she wanted to just run up the shrine to see how everyone was she couldn’t leave Yoona behind in the car, and with her unconscious there was no way she could drag her up the steps fast. She couldn’t risk being caught with her halfway up the steps with the mercenaries waking up. She had to secure the parking lot first.
By her feet was the first weapon, a rifle. She carefully picked it up not wanting to accidentally trigger anything and placed into the back of an SUV proceeding to search for all the rest of the weapons.
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