No Turning Back

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Clairvoyance

But this dream felt different...

Kiana got up off the trolley and ignored the now distant feeling of dampness in her feet. She seemed to proceed without much care as to avoiding the conglomerations of filth and mould which carpeted the floor. These things no longer mattered if she was dreaming.

As Kiana took a few steps; she felt a sudden urge to look behind her. And as she did so - she let out an audible gasp. The same trolley she had jumped off of was now suddenly occupied. Kiana felt the all too real feeling of her stomach turn as she looked at the decaying corpse which had now taken her place. The torso of the deceased had been surgically opened like an autopsy. Kiana closed her eyes in disbelief as she realised that the surgical clamps still remained in place - leaving the body's rotting organs in full view.

The sight left her feeling extremely uneasy but she tried her best to compose herself. The deceased was far beyond help so Kiana turned back and proceeded to explore the room and learn more. Then, she spotted a shelf by the window which caught her attention. There were various jars whose contents were no longer viewable. The thick layer of dust and dirt obscured the mystery contents and even the labels had long since worn off.

Kiana seemed intrigued by the jars as she felt the need to confirm her suspicions. She took a nearby cloth which sat by the edge of the window sill and steeled herself. As the dirt and dust began to be removed; the yellowed glass became clearer. The first jar contained what appeared to be a human lung preserved in a solution of formaldehyde. Kiana then took the cloth and peered into the other jars whose contents had confirmed her suspicions. Every single jar she inspected contained human organs preserved in the same formaldehyde solution.

By this point, Kiana had deduced that the room was some kind of mortuary; though it was obvious that this had not been the room's original purpose. The trolley, the desk and the chair were not covered in the same thick blanket of dust as the rest of the room - which indicated to her that they had been brought in at a later point. Kiana also noted a glass display cabinet by the window whose contents were almost dust-free. This strange room she found herself in had clearly been deliberately repurposed long after it had fallen into disrepair.

Kiana then eyed the desk and impatiently stepped over the debris to reach it. There were piles of chaotic paperwork, diagrams and illustrations of various sections of human anatomy. She started with one pile and picked it up to begin flicking through the papers in search of any kind of clue. And once the first pile produced nothing - she continued to the next. As Kiana quickly skimmed the papers she soon noted a familiar symbol - the Group 935 logo.

But, it still was not enough for Kiana to confirm that this room was one of Richtofen's. She suspected the surgical precision and the fact that the autopsy had been carried out long after decomposition took place was the work of his hand. She doubted even Dr Maxis or the others in Group 935 would see any gain in analysing decomposing organs. But Richtofen did.

Kiana then scanned the desk for anything which might contain Richtofen's name. She then caught sight of some fragments of torn up paper which had been thrown in the waste basket beside the desk. She immediately picked up the pieces and methodically began reconstructing the torn document. Once a few pieces had been placed back together; it was clear that this was some kind of hand-written diary log. And then, Kiana thought back to the postcard that Richtofen left her when he left the group to go to Russia. She tried her best to recall his handwriting and any distinctions which may match the writing in front of her.

As she looked closer, she mentally compared the spacing of the letters and their slant - but also the distinct way the author had constructed their "i"s and "t"s. Each had an unusual flick on the tails which Kiana knew were the same as the writing on the postcard. This really was Richtofen's handwriting. Kiana felt a slight egotistical sense of glee that she had indeed been right from the start.

But, why was she here? If this dream truly was Samantha's doing then why would she be showing Kiana this room? There were still far too many questions which remained unsolved. So, Kiana decided to continue searching the room for more clues in order to gain a better understanding.

She scanned the room before another strange feeling pulled her attention back to the desk. There was a pile of paperwork which she had not searched that seemed to draw her to it. Kiana picked up the pile and began flicking through before she noticed a paper on matter transference. Of course, she knew Richtofen had been the creator of the teleporters but this paper went far beyond transferring matter between space - and it went even further than both space and time as well.

This paper seemed to document theories and hypotheses on what lay beyond the universe itself. There were paragraphs discussing how one could break through the boundary which contained all the possible universes - and what one would find were they successful in doing so. But, before Kiana could read any more of the document; a voice called out from behind her.

"Vell done... jou aren't as stupid as I zhought..." A low voice growled menacingly.

The sudden raising of decibels caused Kiana to flinch as she instinctively threw down the paper and hid it underneath the other papers. She then quickly composed herself before finally turning around to face the source of the voice. Kiana's breath hitched when she quickly swivelled around to see who was there. There was nothing. Whoever it was remained concealed in the darkness of the west side of the room.

"Have jou missed me?" The voice continued mockingly.

End of part twenty-eight...