Primis' mind began to awaken as the recollection of his past played out its final scenes. The memory of him watching the family house disappear from the rear window of the car began to slowly dissolve leaving only blackness. He began to become aware of his surroundings as his ears picked up the familiar howling wind that plagued the cosmodrome. Primis' body began to feel heavy and controllable again as he continued to float in the blackness of his mind.
His consciousness finally returned to him before he remembered where he was and suddenly sat up with a start. His breaths were ragged and a bead of swear trailed down his right temple. After a few minutes, Primis regained composure as his mind differentiated between his dream and reality.
He looked to his left as he instinctively turned to check on Kiana. She lay beside him tossing and turning as her face crumpled into a look of frustration whilst her eyes moved rapidly beneath their lids. Primis felt a strange feeling overcome him as if something was telling him not to intervene. Somehow, Kiana's discomfort seemed to be a necessary part of her dream. But, he still both wondered and worried about just what was causing such a reaction. He wished he could be there inside her mind - supporting her.
Kiana's dream began as a turbulent sea of mixed emotions and incoherent thoughts. But slowly, these images and feelings soon turned more sinister. The images slowly came into focus as they worked together to form a scene. The sea then suddenly calmed leaving Kiana laying on her back and looking up at the ceiling of a dimly lit room. This was a place she had never been in nor seen before.
As Kiana looked up in a panic; she eyed the decrepit ceiling tiles which were covered with mould and rot. She then realised she was laying on an extremely cold surface as it seeped through her clothing and into her body. The bodily sensation felt strangely numbed and dull - as if she was both in control of her body yet also spectating. Kiana moved her left hand confirming that the surface she lay on was indeed something metallic - yet there seemed to be an edge that lead to a drop.
She froze as she tried to assess the situation and understand her position in the room. Gingerly, she sat up whilst keeping her muscles taught with tension and suspense. As her head rose; she began to get a clearer view of the room. Her eyes slowly fell from the ceiling as they eagerly scanned the room. They hovered past the blackened ceiling cornice and down to the wall in front of her; which was just as dilapidated and shrouded in mould and rot.
Kiana looked down to her right as she quickly realised she was laying on top of a metal trolley - the kind they used in mortuaries. She felt her heart swell with fear as she hastily looked around the rest of the room to try and gain more information as to her whereabouts. Amongst the darkness she could faintly make out a desk, a chair and various papers strewn around the room. The floor was cluttered with debris and pools of water stagnantly lay scattered about.
Kiana slowly swung around her legs and got up off the trolley. She felt the almost vivid feeling of her shoes becoming drenched as she appeared to inadvertently step into one of the pools of water. But there was something off about the feeling. Just like the cold trolley; the bodily sensations she was experiencing seemed dulled or muted. Kiana could barely feel her limbs as they seemed lighter than normal. She tried to move her arms around but the movement felt slowed and cumbersome.
"This feels like a dream", she mumbled quizzically to herself.
"But, I'm consciously aware... this is some kind of lucid dream", she continued as she felt a strange familiarity about the experience.
"Oh no..." She sighed as she then realised when she had last felt like this.
"Samantha...?" She concluded with a tangible grumble.
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...