15

His eyes would open only momentarily, witness complete blurriness, and hear faint sounds that were too distant to make out before drifting off once more. Dreams shifted from completely nonsensical things to violent and scary nightmares. It was the nightmares that would briefly wake up John, his mind swimming between consciousness and unconsciousness. It was like a bad dream mixed with a haze. Half-awake, half-asleep, he felt slight softness under his cheek and back, but a pain in his right arm. And so, he moaned and sweated, mumbling nonsense as all kinds of things visited his sleepy visions. There were dogs and gardens, angels with several wings, their faces covered in a green mask. Cats and kittens meowed in John's worst nightmares, as a red giant, bulging and angry, crushed the cats under its massive fists.

John awoke with a start. His head pulsated with an agonizing ache; although his vision was better, it was still a little blurry. Every inch of his body was stiff, and then…a massive pain shot in his right arm, making him sit up straight. He was panting and coughing, each breath renewing the unbearable pain in his broken limb. As John's gained focus, he saw a pair of big purple eyes looking back at him. John recoiled in fear.

"Hey, hey! It's just me! Calm down. You are safe here. Don't worry, my mother will fix you up in no time. MOM, HE'S UP!" screamed Ashley as she ran away from the room. As he regained his bearings, John was irritated by the shooting pain in his arm. He supported himself up by the other arm so that he was leaning against the soft pillow. John looked around to absorb his surroundings.

He was lying in a king-sized bed, with a plump and comfortable mattress; the sheets had flower patterns of violets and lilies. Something was pressed against his side. As John moved around his hands, he found a few sparkling diamonds beneath him.

This is what woke me up! But where did these come from? he thought. His mind was too tired to think, he looked around the rest of the room.

The flooring was wooden mahogany, with a chest stacked against the foot of the bed. A silk curtain fluttered smoothly and slowly as a gentle breeze came into the room. Sunlight was filtered by the drapes as it trickled onto the floor. As he turned his head, another diamond was flung from the curtain and struck the side of his face.

"Ouch," he mumbled. It was like the curtain had flung it at him. He covered the side of his face with his right hand. But nothing hit him again.

The walls were also wood-paneled, divided into rows of planks. There was a coffee table in the center of the room, on whose surface were spread some magazines with covers that John couldn't clearly see. But just as he was staring at the magazines, one of the cover pages transformed into gold right in front of his eyes! He kept staring, but nothing else happened. By now, John figured that objects of wealth appeared randomly and discontinuously in this place.

A plump couch, made of blue covering, had cushions of velvet lying on it. The lace on of the pillows transformed into a string of pearls. Finally, John looked up to see the ceiling. The top of his bed was covered with a thick sheet that fell sideways into curtains. He realized that they were parted for now because he had woken up. But then, his attention was diverted by the sound of footsteps outside the door. In walked Ashley's mother, holding a ceramic tray containing a bottle of milk and an empty glass. Ashley was right behind her, and John was again stunned by how much they resembled one another.

She placed the try on the side-table and looked at John's broken arm with her blue eyes. Following her gaze, he also turned his head to find bandages and wooden support keeping it in place. John was shocked out of his wits. And then, it all came back to him. Images flooded his mind one after another. The memories made him anxious and sweaty, of the park and the mayhem—the two masks, green and red, agitated animals, and crushing blows. He recollected the portal that had opened up in space, the tearing of space itself, into which the red monster had disappeared out of sight.

"Please, boy. Calm down. The very last thing you need is stress! Here, this will help," said Ashley's mother as she wiped away the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief she produced from her apron. Seeing her face close up, it was hard to believe that she had a daughter his age.

"By the way, my name is Judie. As you already know, I am this brat's mother!"

"Mom!" exclaimed Ashley, looking scandalized.

"I don't know what you kids have been up to. But one thing is for sure, she led you into trouble, didn't she, boy?"

Technically, she was right. Ashley had taken him to the Black-market, where Mr. Gudo had assigned them the mission of the depressed mask. If it weren't for that mission, none of this would've happened. But John shook his head, not saying a word. Besides, his throat felt itchy and soar. He was sure talking would make him cough violently once more. Once she was done wiping his face with the wet handkerchief, she drew back to throw Ashley a nasty look. John felt a cooling sensation on his face as the moisture evaporated on his hot face.

"Thank you, Ma'am," he said, coughing immediately. His voice had come out all rough and scratchy. Ashley moved forward and patted his back to relieve his coughing. She withdrew after seeing the displeasure on her mother's face.

"What were you thinking?" she asked her. John figured that she was referring to the events that had led to this awkward situation. She poured a small glass of milk for John, handing it over to him carefully.

"Drink up, boy. Be careful not to spill any of it. This isn't just your normal milk."

As John took a sip, he immediately understood what Judie meant. It was like the healing process speeding up because right in front of their eyes, the broken bone slowly began to mend. A weird sensation ran up and down his arm as he heard the sounds of shattered bone repairing on its own accord. His arm twisted and bent, slowly, back into its regular place.

"Wow!" exclaimed Ashley, as Judie looked at him with a curious expression.

"What?" said John.

"Look at your arm! It healed so fast! The healing milk works quickly enough, but not this quickly!"

John paid no attention to her words as he relished the feel of subsiding pain. Immediately, a torrent of questions flooded his mind.

How had they gotten here?

Where was the green mask now? Was it Colvo, the depressed mask, who had brought John into this…?

Which made him remember, where were they?

"Ah, where are we?" he asked, looking at Ashley and then Greta.

"We are in Zone Four, John. This is my home!"

"Okay, well, how did you get me here in the first place?" inquired John as his arm continued to be repaired. But before either Ashley or Greta could answer the question, someone spoke from the frame of the door.

"I believe I can answer that question."

They all turned to find Colvo hovering by the door. A faint sound of flapping wings drifted in the air.