Chapter 2 The Strange Sightings And The Souls Turned To Ashes

I remember that one day the news announced a series of catastrophic events that happened throughout the planet. Natural disasters, supposedly. None of that was so natural since the wrong people put their hands in the right places. But what was truly alarming about these disasters was their coincidence with the activation of a certain antenna that was in the laboratory, and a series of strange sightings occurred as the days went by:

During a dive to some submerged ruins in the Sea of Japan, two divers spotted what appeared to be a woman swimming without any diving equipment and at a great depth. One of them even insisted on pointing out that she wasn´t wearing clothes either.

Near an active volcano in Hawaii, while a team of geologists filmed the magma that erupted, a mysterious human figure walked briefly above the lava. When the images hit the internet, many called it something paranormal, or an "error in the matrix".

An entire team of tornado chasers caught sight of what appeared to be a human silhouette standing in the path of the storm. They yelled at her to move, but the sound of the wind was so loud she would never hear them. They couldn´t believe their eyes when the figure opened its arms as if receiving the tornado just before being swallowed by it.

In the middle of the snow, while stopping under a ledge to catch their breath, two experienced climbers not given to superstition were startled to see the "banshee" of a young woman who raised her arms to the sky and uttered incomprehensible words. They looked at each other, confused; and when they looked again, that strange apparition suddenly screamed and an avalanche was unleashed from which they were only saved by a small hole that served as shelter in the rocks of the ledge.

Those and other times different people thought they saw the mysterious lady who walked naked through impossible places. Some believed it was an angel, while other people thought it was a demon, a ghost, an alien and things like that. But I made so many trips to "Wonderland" without thinking about time or space that at some point someone managed to videotape me.

I know, I know: I was clumsy; but keep in mind that at the time I had no idea my actions in that dreamed dimension would have consequences in our world, and it would turn into my world. To my surprise, a video leaked onto the internet led many people to think it was a sign of the end of times. Well, there is really nothing I could say to them. I can´t say they are wrong, but I think they overreacted.

The technicians I use to see in the dining room, and from whom I used to find out what was happening outside those walls, made fun of the fanciful titles of those tabloid newspapers. I would have liked to reveal to them who was responsible for those sightings; that way they would know what we were doing had scope far beyond what anyone would think. But it probably would have been a red flag for the base chief. Also, teaching them the actual power of that technology? What do you think would they use it for? To improve the quality of life of the world´s suffering poor people? To end hunger? Repair the damage humanity has done to nature? Or would they use it to upgrade their military and to help their business friends make more money? Humanity has never been allowed to advance at the rate it truly could, and I don´t think it would´ve now.

Everything was beauty, but a force was taking me beyond the mountains, crossing several rivers and the most exotic regions that I could imagine; until a gigantic black and grayish stain appeared on the horizon. The ashes spread for thousands of kilometers. I almost went mad at the sight. The heat around me increased again, and I fell to my knees with a mixture of pain and sadness. None of it was supposed to be real, but it was like I lost my whole family. Also, the pain was real, and I felt like someone was ripping shreds of skin from all over my body. Soon the light dimmed and I was surrounded by darkness and death. My skin was stained as I crawled on the ground, and as I stood in the moonlight, bathed in mud and ash amidst that decay, I seemed like a spirit wandering through a region inhabited only by pain.

My feet dragged until they reached the course of a river that now carried dark substances and remains of vegetation. I dropped into the water completely exhausted. It was the first time that something similar had happened to me in such daydreams. Without meaning to, I fell asleep. When I woke up, instead of being inside the capsule, I was still there, floating in the water of my supposed imagination; and I had a hard time opening my real eyes and seeing the lab staff. My skin was still stained, and they had to change the liquid in the capsule. The men looked at me silently, as if they knew something I didn´t.

While the capsule was being cleaned, the doctor and I went through our daily routine of chatting while I worked out and took a shower, and then continued in the dining room. I sighed long with my eyes closed, while he thoughtfully chewed.

"Are you stomach sick?"

"No. Just tired."

"Well... I´ll give you something to make sure."

"Make sure of what?"

"You know... that you don´t have... another accident. At least, inside the capsule."

"What accident?"

"Well... in case you didn´t notice... there were leaks. Come on! You saw it. Your skin, the liquid... contaminated... everywhere..."

"Oh, that. No. That wasn´t... You think that was shit?"

Giggles could be heard from two tables away, where two of the technicians were chatting. I looked at them without much interest, although my curiosity would increase considerably when I saw the newspaper they had on the table. But I´ll leave this for later.