Chapter 3: Here and Then

Author's note: this chapter takes place after the events of the Prologue.

August 26, 2034 Undisclosed Tropical Island

I woke up to the sound of a familiar song. I slowly opened my eyes to the sight of a beautiful lady clothed in simple rags. While singing, she was running her fingers through my hair with her own spilled around my head.

I smiled at her, "That song, it sounds familiar. I can't quite place it."

She stopped stroking her fingers and said, "That's because you taught it to me long ago. How are you feeling now?"

I thought for a bit, "Surprisingly great! I don't feel any pain." "That's good. I did what I could while you rested. The only area where I couldn't look inside, was your brain," she said looking relieved.

Though I felt I could trust this person, I didn't want to alarm her any more than I had to. Inside my head, I could hear a distinctive ticking sound as if a mechanical clock was held to my ears. The troubling thing was that I first noticed the sound before I left for Atlantis Station but now it sounds ... closer. I continue to enjoy the paradise and watched the scenery as birds flew by.

I asked, "Did I die?"

"No, but people can still dream even in death. They just never wake up."

"So this could still be a dream then," I said as I pulled myself off her lap. "If this is death, I don't mind staying here forever." I paused and asked, "I hope I don't insult you but, do we know each other?"

"Instead of hearing a long story, I can show you," she said as she placed her hand against my forehead, causing my vision to fade out.

April 28, 2004 Southern China

The sound of screaming roused Lana from her slumber.

<Don't open your eyes Lana!> her father, Karl, whispered urgently into her mind.

<Don't open them! I don't want you to see this, > he repeated urgently.

Scared, her eye muscles trembled in fright as she realizes her body was immobilized. She was wearing nothing but her undergarments and her hands and feet were spread out and bounded to metal rods on the ground. Suddenly, someone pulled her hair roughly, causing her to scream in pain.

Her father, who was restrained to a nearby beam, shouted, "Don't touch her! Just let us go, we won't tell anyone!"

A man standing in the center of the room turned to her father, "You hid your family well, Mr. Laue, it took us more than a year to track you down. Rejoice! You weaklings are finally of use to us."

As Lana came to her senses, she saw that they were in a large abandoned warehouse with other families held inside by a group wearing ornate red and white robes. A large intricate circle was drawn on the floor of the warehouse with smaller circles drawn in positions of time on a clock. In each circle were other girls restrained in a similar fashion as she and also scared.

"If you're a virgin, you will be bestowed the great honor as being the prime sacrifice to our great lord!" shouted the leader as a woman checked each girl. Lana started panicking as her father's face went pale. He demanded, "Why are you doing this? We never done anything to you, we don't know you!"

"Blame the churchmen. They have driven us from our lands. Now we have little options but to summon the assistance of our lord," he smiled when a woman beside Lana nodded her head to his direction.

He walked to Lana's body and caressed her stomach, "Finish preparing the ritual, we only have five minutes left until it's a full moon."

Karl pulled on his restraints tighter as his face went mad, "DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER! I SWEAR I'LL KILL EVERYONE OF YOU FUCKERS IF YOU HARM HER!"

Someone pulled a gag around his mouth as the rest started chanting. The moonlight could be seen flooding the floor as Lana stared in horror as the clouds parted to reveal a full moon brightly shining. Finally, the chanting stopped and the leader approached Lana with a sword in one hand. Lana fought against the ropes with all her strength only to loosen her left hand a bit as he stepped closer and placed his hand on her cheeks. Tears were running down her father's face as he fought against his restraints similarly causing his arms to be rubbed raw by the motion.

"Be at peace child, this will quickly be over," the leader said.

He begins to rub a dark brown liquid over her gut. Once finished, he clenched his sword with both hands and pulled it over her. A loud scream could be heard in everyone's head as her father tried to delay the proceedings, causing most to cover their ears. The leader ignores the noise as Lana and the other girls continue to struggle and brought down the sword. At that moment, Lana freed her left hand and grabbed the tip of the sword a few inches above her. Her hand bled from the cut but the pain did not register. The leader looked into her eyes and smile as he put more force into shoving the sword down.

A terrible pain caused Lana to cease her struggles as she cried out, "DAD!"

Suddenly all the ropes were ripped off from Karl, the beam snapped in half as he freed himself, his face had a look of madness. The leader's head spun a full circle as the sword flew out of Lana and into Karl's hands. He screamed into the minds of all present as he ran the sword through the cult leader. Karl began to cut the cult members down individually, using both the sword and his mind, all the while ignoring his own wounds as the cultist defended themselves with guns.