Chapter 4: The dream revelation

Alex woke up to a strange sensation, his body feeling completely restrained. Countless straps held him down making sure that he couldn't move an inch.

Above him, blazing lights illuminated everything with a brightness that was too clinical and too white.

It burned into his eyes, bouncing off walls that stretched out endlessly around him. Alex blinked, dazed.

Where was he?

He strained to move, but the straps held firm in place. No matter how much he twisted, he was stuck.

After the failed attempt, he gradually turned his attention outward, forcing himself to focus.

Strange, long tables were scattered across the wide space, cluttered with odd instruments, beakers, and glass containers that were filled with liquid. Flickering fluorescent lights buzzed above him, casting a pale, eerie glow over everything.

Men and women in white coats moved around him. Their faces were obscured and blurry as though his mind couldn't comprehend them.

But there was tension in the way they moved—quick, focused, murmuring to each other as they hovered over machines and data screens.

The walls were lined with tall tanks—glass cylinders filled with things he couldn't name. Some glowed faintly, while others shifted ominously. A mix of something organic and mechanical swirled within them.

Where was he?

As Alex was busy with his observation, one of the scientists turned his attention to a massive screen, tapping in commands with trembling hands. The display blinked, showing distorted data and complex graphs that looked foreign to Alex.

Upon seeing this change on the screen the scientist muttered something in disbelief.

"Subject 20 is reacting. The cross-species hybridization is... unstable."

Stabilize the fusion sequence!" someone barked.

Another voice replied, "We're losing control of the subject. The hybris's strain is mutating too fast—it's rejecting the implants!"

Hybrid, Alex didn't know the term, but he could feel its meaning.

These people were provably mixing flesh with machines.

The other scientists who were busy tending to the other devices suddenly dropped everything they were doing and rushed towards the direction where Alex was.

But before they could even take two steps foward, a loud hiss suddenly echoed through the laboratory. The large tank closest to Alex rattled, and the glass began to crack.

Before any of them could understand what was about to happen.

The glass tanks suddenly shattered and from it a grotesque, monstrous shape stirred within, a half-man, half-beast creature.

It moved, thrashing against its containment.

Loud bells began to ring tirelessly through the entire laboratory.

The creature then roared, its powerful voice filling the entire room.

The scientist, once confident before, staggered back with fear apparent in their eyes.

The creature turned its predatory gaze towards them its gaze filled with malice.

The moment Alex saw the mutated creature,something clicked in his mind.

This creature resembled a mutated beast. He had heard rumors about them—stories whispered by unfortunate survivors.

They were said to be rare and only a relative few were unfortunate in encountering them.

"Shut it down!" a voice shouted, panic rising in the scientist's tone. "It's breaking free!"

No one seemed to here the order, or maybe they heard it but they weren't willing to to respond.

And out of nowhere the glass tanks shattered, and the creatures that had once been confined began to spill out one by one, hunting, thrashing, and clawing their way into the open.

The scientists—now at the center of this chaos stood helplessly as the monsters layed their gazes on them.

But before anything else could happen to them, a door suddenly opened from Alex's left, and a few moments a group of people clad in steel body suits rushed inside the laboratory led by a blonde charismatic man with hazel eyes and Raven dark hair.

The man was the only one who wasn't wearing a bodysuit.

He was clad in a long thick trench coat and donning a pair of red gloves.

The moment the man entered, the panic seemed to slow down and the scientist seemed to have their hope rekindled once again.

The man's gaze was calm as he scanned the room and a few moments later it landed on Alex.

And then —boom.

A deep rumble rolled through the facility all of a sudden.

The walls began to crack, while the lights shattered. Fires suddenly sparked and spread causing the ceiling to groan.

Explosions, one after another, began to unfold, as if someone was bombing the place from above.

Alex braced himself against the metal table, his heart pounding.

He winced , expecting for the ceiling to collapse on him, but however the expected pain never came.

Instead he later found himself standing in a darkened chamber, dimly lit by flickering lanterns.

And in this chamber he wasn't alone.

There was an old man infront of him and Alex recognized him as the same man he had met when he entered this fallen city.

He was no longer the gaunt, shadowy figure Alex had first seen before.

No now, the figure was clear, an old man, shriveled up and hunched. His green robes hanging loosely on his gaunt frame. His eyes gleamed beneath the mechanical model glasses perched on his nose, the lenses catching the dim light.

"We meet again, young one," the man's voice was now calm, wise, and strangely kind, though there was still a hint of malice in it.

Alex took a step back, unsure of what to make of this new version of the figure.

"I can't believe it showed you a perception of the world." the man continued, his voice reverberating with an odd blend of admiration and caution. "You must be favored by the gods, young boy."

Alex didn't speak at first, trying to process everything that was happening. His thoughts were scattered, but one thing was clear. This was not real, he seemed to be dreaming.

Although he never heard of a dream where one was lucid.

"You see the connection now, don't you?" The old man continued, his tone no longer terrifying but filled with a deep, unsettling wisdom. "What was once mankind's pursuit is still leading to its downfall.

Alex's mind spun. "So, it was the scientists. They're the ones who caused all of this?"

The old man shook his head slowly. "Its not 'they' nor is it 'was', for we are still in the present boy."

Alex couldn't understand what the man meant and could only reveal a puzzled look.

Alex's hands clenched into fists. "Why are you showing me this?"

"I didn't," the old man said flatly, stepping closer. "It did. I am merely… a witness, just like you."

"You will be a part of it, whether you like it or not," the man muttered, his voice lowering as if speaking to himself. "Your fate was sealed the moment you entered and interacted with this cursed place."

Before Alex could respond, the dream began to fade again. The old man's form blurred, dissolving into mist.

"Go to the library boy, claim the keynode for this stardome before anyone else can" the old man's voice echoed in the distance.

After that the world went dark and blank.

And a moment Alex sat up with a yelp, drenched in sweat, with his breath coming in gasps.

Around him, the other survivors stirred, glaring at him.

"Shut up," someone muttered.

Alex ignored them. His thoughts were spinning.

'So it was a dream, he thought. But it felt too real.'

His eyes flicked to the dark ceiling of the ruined building they had taken shelter in.

Something was wrong with this city. Something was deeply wrong.

"This city isn't normal," he whispered to himself. "Not at all."