13 The Dream

Woop!

I materialized from thin air and stumbled almost falling off the edge of the cliff I was standing on right now.

Holy!

I couldn't stop lamenting 'cause my heart skipped a beat. I crouched to catch my breath and looked around to familiarize myself with the new surroundings. The view was devoid of any color. It shocked me out of my wit's as I started thinking.

'Am I dead?'

'Is this what afterlife looks like?'

Everything was colorless. I pinched myself just in case to know that my pain receptors still worked.

Ouch!

I bit my lower lip to keep myself from making a sound. After all, death was something extraordinary. It was beyond human understanding.

What was death anyway? I am sure everybody has asked this question at least once in their lifetime.

I am afraid for this to be my new norm. Everyone is, except for the one who created us. I can say death is a spirit and a spirit is like a flame. You can only see it but you cannot get a hold of it. It is like the wind which can uproot a tree and hurl it far but has no substance. It is like lightning which is seen in many places at once but is in none. Yes, it is like the essence of man which makes him all that he is yet departs from him quietly and suddenly leaving only a dead image.

"You are always gorgeous. I can't figure it out, you always look like you are getting younger with every passing day."

"Oooh! Don't flatter me. We need to focus on the Mission Objective or we will lose our window. And in fact, we live under the same roof, how is it possible for I to be getting any younger than you."

"Saying that makes me think."

"Think about what Max, stop being naughty."

"No, it's not that... Maybe am just overthinking it."

"Spill it out, don't let it bottled up it will be fatal in the near future."

"Okay. I think you possess some supernatural abilities."

"Oooh! Stop being absurd, but thank you. And it's because we are both young... You are the best man I have ever known on this planet Earth. You always make me feel calm in every tense situation that we encounter."

"That's good. It's almost time."

I turned when I first heard that there were people behind me talking. My jaw dropped so low it could touch the rocky terrain under my feet. I couldn't believe it as I knew one of the two people.

One of them is Maxwell Butcher. As in a more precise way, it was me. I was looking at myself. The other one was a beautiful woman, I could tell with just a glance though she was devoid of any color, she was emanating a strong essence of life. It was so vigor that no one could miss it. By the look of things, it seems we were well inured with each other.

It looked like we were on a mission but I couldn't tell if it was a recon or an elimination mission.

They were... No! We were clad. Fuck! This is stressful. And weird at the same time. I mean, I was literally seeing my past self in a second person view. I admired how they were dressed so I walked in their direction hoping to get some answers as to how I was here without any knowledge of how I got here.

I had this weird feeling. It was easy to strike a conversation with anyone as I wasn't the self-absorbed type, but how could I speak with myself.

This was hard than anything I have ever faced. I had conflicting thoughts, so I decided to talk with the lady.

...

"Take a wipe and clean up his wound." Aya told Rue as a blue-colored liquid in a test tube popped out of the dashboard slowly. "Use this."

Rue who was in the middle of cleaning my wound with an antiseptic, stopped and looked over the dashboard to find a test tube containing a blue liquid inside. Many ideas crossed her mind at that moment but decided that they weren't a priority and pushed them aside for later.

Opening the lid, a pungent smell attacked her nostrils making her face tinge a bit. Her other hand acted out of self-response and covered her nose. This time around she didn't lament and asked Aya to roll down the windows so as fresh air could enter. She then dipped a ball of cotton wool with the blue liquid and continued dressing my wound. After a minute she couldn't help but ask.

"What is this substance Aya, it smells awful."

"Just an upgraded version of an antiseptic serum which allows the increase of cellular regeneration to a certain extent on the part being applied."

"You mean like... Fast, self-healing?" Rue asked her voice sounding shocked.

"Yes, in a way you can put it like that." Aya's voice had a sense of pride this time.

"You keep amazing me Aya."

"Don't worry, with me around everything is possible."

"A second serum is ready, please administer it directly in his chest. It is for encountering the poison, possibly slowing it down and at the same time mending his organs."

Rue covered the test tube and took a syringe-like test tube with a needle on one end and a button on the other. She looked at it and wanted to say something but Aya bit her to it.

"Just pierce his chest with the needle and press the button, that will release the liquid inside."

Rue pressed the button after piercing his chest and the liquid inside was reducing with every passing second. Then she took it off and instantly saw the obvious changes my body was undergoing.

...

"What's so urgent that I had to come in person." A smooth and feminine but authoritative voice was heard.

"Chief, It's just that the car in front of us isn't responding to any of our requests. And it gives off a weird vibe, so I called you."

The Chief looked at the car maybe two hundred meters away and admired it. It was a piece of work so she was only showing her appreciation. Looking at the Supercar in front of them, the Chief said.

"It probably belongs to a rich playboy. They always think that they are above the law. If they don't cause any ruckus let them be."

The whole street was clear as if no one knew that there was another exit through this area. As most of the people flocked to the main entrance, all the other exits were without any cars.

The Chief looked at it and gave it more thought. Before long, she called someone via her cellphone.

"Hello!... Yes, everything is under control here... I called as something is off in front of us. There is a Supercar in the middle of the road, it's just there and its occupants aren't responding. I thought you might wanna know... Yes, it is silver in color... Yes, I get it."

She ended the call and then turned to her men.

"Call in more backup to seal the road properly. That car shouldn't pass through here and it should be under our watch if they decide to turn around."

All of a sudden, radio calls were being made and not long several Sedans and SUV's police vehicles covered the whole road in front of them.

We are to observe only and wait for the professionals to take over. They are three minutes out." The Chief briefed his men as they had complicated faces, not understanding the situation.

Inside the Hypersport two people were seen, a male and a female. One had fair skin and the other had slightly darker skin which was covered with sweat though the windows were open and a cool breeze came inside the car. An injection was seen being administered to the male at the side of his neck by the female passenger.

"Ouch!" The person let out a painful cry.

He had his eyes open now and looked calm. But Rue couldn't help but notice that Max was still in a daze. He was still in his own world but progress was clearly seen indicating that Aya's three substances were taking effect.

...

"Hello." I said not sure if I sounded a little soft as she didn't respond in any way.

I decided to call out to her again but this time a little loud and I was rewarded handsomely.

"Max, don't do that again it made my skin crawl." The woman said while looking through the scope of a sniper rifle to the distant town down the slope.

"What?... I haven't done anything." Max said back. He was also holding the same sniper rifle as the woman next to him.

I decided not to bother them 'cause I don't want to jeopardize their operation and also because I have been feeling like someone was doing acupuncture on me as this was the fourth time I felt someone pricking my body with a needle.

The world devoid of any colors in front of me started to disintegrate and disappear into nothingness. But before it could completely fade away, I turned to look at my past self and said.

"Max, I hope that you can hear me. I am you... from the future."

"( Hahaha! Haha!) How absurd that sounds."

"I just wanted to tell you that... Get out and find a life. Probably get married and have children."

The world was gone just like that. I focused my eyes only to see Rue staring back at me. And before I knew it, I subconsciously said.

"May God have mercy on our enemies, because I won't."