My eyes opened. It was still dark. Did I even sleep? I looked for my cell phone. I reached for the bedside table and my hand touched the surface much earlier than normal. I sat up in surprise and looked around. I lay on the floor, surrounded in emptiness. Am I dreaming? I got up from the "floor". I quote "floor" because I have no idea what it could be beneath me. There is nothing anywhere. Nothing but emptiness. I felt around my check if I hadn't become a ghost. Luckily not. I still have my clothes on. A light appears somewhere. A small but bright light. It looks so lonely and wrong. I thought briefly about whether I should walk towards the light or not. It's a dream... It has to be... Probably one of those lucid dreams. I heard that you have complete control over your dream. A few steps further the light became a little bigger. It is difficult to say whether the light moves towards me or I move towards it. When it reached the light it then disappeared again.
"…No, I can't do that…".
Some voice could be heard in the void. I was frightened. I turned around to see where it was coming from. Nothing... Nothing but emptiness can be seen.
"…my son…".
The voice sounds familiar….
"…he has nothing to do with it!…".
The voice disappeared again….
"Mother?" I asked into the void.
No answer….
"…I will do everything to… move forward… but leave my son alone…".
I stood there and couldn't understand everything... What does she mean...? What's moving forward...? Suddenly I hear a voice behind me. I immediately turned around and saw... a person... it was difficult to see because he was wearing a dark robe. I stood there in shock.
"What's your name?" the person asked me.
I stood there with my mouth open…. After a few seconds i answer.
"My name is… Ace… Ace Ackermann…".
The mysterious person just stood there and looked at me.
"I know you have a lot of questions and would like to have an answer, but I can't do that... maybe not yet".
I looked at him confused.
"What do you mean not yet?".
No answer.
"I sense a certain… power within you…".
Not a single word comes out of me.
"We will meet more often in the future… be it here or elsewhere…".
None of his sentences make any sense...
"Who are you anyway?" those were the only words that came out of my mouth.
The person just looked at me without saying anything.
"At some point… you will now…" he answered me.
"Continue your investigation."
My eyes got bigger.
"You know about it?".
Without answering my question, he continues.
"Believe what you see…".
The person slowly disappeared into the void. The light disappears and I stand alone in the void again.
"Fear not… I will stay with you and protect you".
Before I could answer, my eyes opened. I can feel my legs, I can also feel my blanket again. Before I could sit up, my alarm went off. I got up and turned off the alarm clock. Was that a dream...? What the hell was I dreaming... I got up and quickly got dressed. A few rays of sunlight lit up my room, the window tilted. It's a bit windy. I picked up my cell phone. 6:03 am. I went out of my room and opened the guest room. Casy is still sleeping. She looks so calm. I got closer to her to wake her up. I sit on the edge of the bed and shake her a little. A deep and tired "Hm?" was heard from her.
"Get up, we have to go".
Another "Hm?" from her.
My mother would have thrown me out the window long ago if I hadn't gotten up yet. I shook her a little harder. Suddenly she grabs my arm and pulls me towards her. She hugs my arm. I tried to free myself, without success. I didn't even know how to react. After a strong shaking, she finally woke up.
"Morning… Ace…".
She looks at me with her half-closed eyes.
"Good Morning" I said back.
Her eyes slowly went down to my arm. She suddenly blushes and loosens her grip.
"Oh… eh… sorry…".
Things became quiet for a moment between the two of us. Before we both sat in silence, I asked her.
"Did you sleep well?".
"Mhm…" she answers me back in a tired voice.
"Give me 5… minutes… I'll come down…".
"All right, tea or coffee?".
"Tea".
"Alright".
I got up, opened the curtains and went into the kitchen. Tea and coffee… what a combination. I hope we have tea. My mother and I only drink coffee. After a long search, I found some different types of tea. I turn on the kettle and the coffee machine. Casy came into the kitchen with messy hair.
"Slept well?" I asked her.
"Yes, did you get any sleep?".
Maybe sleep, but I'm still tired.
"Could be better but don't worry, what kind of tea do you want?".
She thought about it for a moment and answered.
"Fennel tea".
I looked for one and found a single bag.
"You were lucky, we only have one left".
She smiles. I poured the hot water into her cup and I poured coffee into my cup. We sat opposite each other. My mind just keeps whirring back to the "dream"… Who was this person…? Where was I...? He said he would protect me... of what? What worries me more is my mother's voice... What did she mean... and when did she even say something like that... I hear my name being called from somewhere. It was getting closer and closer. Suddenly Casy fans her hand in front of my face.
"Ace… Hellooo".
I came back.
"You looked so spaced out. Are you okay?" she looks at me worried.
"Eh… Yes, everything is fine. I was just trapped in my thoughts".
Bad excuse. She definitely won't believe me.
"You can talk about it".
"Everything is fine…really".
She still doesn't seem convinced.
"Trust me, I just couldn't get a good any sleep".
"Alright. maybe it was because we went to sleep late" she answers and laughs.
I laughed too. We both finished our tea and coffee and got ready for school. I stood at the front door and waited for Casy. I'm usually the one who always does everything at the last minute. I got this saying from my mother. She says things like that all the time when we're going somewhere and I still haven't gotten ready. After a few seconds she appeared. The girls' school uniform is slightly brighter than the boys'. These are just gray. Casy looks at me with a smile and says.
"And shall we go?".
I checked again to make sure all the lights were off and then we went out of the house.
On the way to school.
I was still deep in my thoughts... Maybe Casy noticed because she nudged me with her shoulder every now and then. The train was late, as always. I really hate it... The bus and train network really sucks. Buses come when they want and how they want. If they come earlier, they won't wait for you. Casy sat down on the bench.
"Do you actually like autumn?".
"Hm?".
"I asked if you like autumn?".
"Eh, oh so sorry… A bit, yes. But I'm more of a spring person".
She looks up at the tree that stands in front of the stop.
"Do you see that tree there? In spring it gets its leaves and blooms. It looks nice at this time but compared to autumn it's something completely different".
"What do you mean?".
"The leaves look so beautiful gold…".
"Yes, I like them too".
"Unfortunately, they fall from the trees towards the end of autumn. Things look most beautiful between the beginning and middle of autumn. It's not really cold yet".
I'm more of a spring person because I don't like the cold at all. Okay, you can say that spring can be just as cold but there are also days that feel like it's summer. She is still looking at the tree smiling. Did she manage to get me out of my thoughts? If that was their mission, then it worked somewhat.
"What about winter?" I asked her.
"Winter? Hmm… I think winter is quite beautiful. BUT only when it snows".
"You're right. Winter without snow isn't nice at all".
"But we're lucky that it snows here".
I nodded. The train finally arrived and we got on. I showed her a place where she could sit.
"Don't you want to sit down?".
"It's okay, you can sit down".
Thanks…hehe".
I could see that she was blushing a little, but only a little. The two of us continued to talk about the seasons and how one is more beautiful than the other. When we got to the stop we got out. There's so much going on at this time. I stayed very close to Casy so as not to lose her in the crowd. We still have a few minutes to walk to school from the crowd. Casy walked close to my side, just like yesterday. Before we reached the last intersection, I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. I was jumped and turned around.
"Morning Ace and Casy".
"Oh morning Haru… you scared me".
"Morning Haru hehe" she laughs.
Why do people have to sneak up on me...
"Did you get a good night's sleep?".
"I'm still a bit tired but I've packed some coffee in my bag".
Casy is completely full of energy.
"I slept very well!".
The three of us went to school. While we were running, Casy's shoelace came undone. She gets on her knees and ties her shoelaces back together. Suddenly Haru whispers to me.
"Look at your phone".
"Hm?".
On my cell phone? Haru texted me.
"I want to talk to you after school" it said.
I looked at him. His look became serious. Even though not a single word was spoken between the two of us, I knew what he meant. I nodded and his serious look disappeared.
"So there we have i," says Casy after she's finishes.
We continued on our way.
Arrived at school. We went into the classroom and sat down at our seats. We all sit in the corner and can always talk to each other during breaks. During the last hour I received a message.
"Did you read my message?" from Ethan.
Shit…. I completely forgot to answer him... I quickly take out my phone to quickly respond.
"I read the answer. I just didn't have time to respond".
I put the phone away again and wanted to focus on class, but then my phone vibrated again.
"I'm out early today. I'm coming to your school. I'll wait outside".
"You don't know what school I go to".
"Don't worry, i have my ways".
I have to inform Haru about this. Could it be that Haru also wanted to go into the city with me...? The bell rings to end the school day and I packed up my bag. While I grabbed it, Haru and Casy were already standing in front of me. Casy stretches and yawns.
"I hate Mondays".
Haru then replies.
"I can only agree with you".
She hits him on the shoulder.
"For the first time, Haru has the same opinion".
Haru adjusts his glasses and sighs. I had to laugh a little.
"Do you have anything planned?" she asks us.
Haru and I looked at each other at the same time.
"Yes we have. I wanted to go into the city with Ace".
"Oh! May I come with you?".
"Of course you can".
I immediately looked at Haru.
"I don't see any problem with her accompanying us" he said.
"Okay" I said quietly afterwards.
"Wait for me at the entrance, I still have to go to the toilet".
She disappeared before we could say anything to her. Anyway, we went to the entrance of the school and waited.
"Yo Ace!" someone called me.
I look in that direction and see Ethan walking towards me waving.
"Do you know him?" Haru asked me.
"Yes, I know him".
Haru crosses his arms and leans against the wall. Ethan came up to us and greeted us.
"Hey Ace… and you are…".
"Ha…".
"Wait don't say it… You must be Haruka. Is that right?".
Haru looks at him with a confusing face.
"Haru, this is Ethan. I helped the other night and we've known each other ever since".
"That doesn't explain the fact that he knows my name".
"Ace told me about you".
"About what?".
"Ace, haven't you told him yet?".
I completely forgot to tell him that too….
"I forgot… sorry".
"Whatever now" says Haru.
Haru turns to Ethan.
"What brings you here?".
"I wanted to meet up with Ace to go into the city".
Before any misunderstandings come up I'll jump straight to the point.
"Haru... Ethan is also investigating the accident".
"Excuse me what?" Haru shot at me.
"I think we all have the same goal" Ethan added.
"I was also able to find out some information".
"I was able to find some too" Haru replies.
The atmosphere around us became more serious. That doesn't mean that we're all going to beat each other up, but that we're all tense.
"Haru, tell us what did you find out?" Ethan asks.
"It's about that website... I was able to find the site's headquarters".
I was confused.
"What do you mean?" I asked him.
"Every site has a server somewhere. I was able to locate where the server was located".
Ethan looks very thoughtful.
"And where is it sitting?".
"He's probably using a VPN since the IP says the server is in the middle of Australia".
"Now I understand…. The site owner uses a VPN to hide his location...".
"Excactly Ace. But someone managed to hack into the server and added this blocking afterwards...".
"Wait a minute Haru, can you explain to me what's so interesting about the site or how it can help us?" asks Ethan.
"The content of the site is very suspicious. It reports about the accident and has also uploaded a few pictures about it, but for some reason this page is blocked after a few seconds and you can no longer access it".
"And if you try to access the page again".
"Won't work. You will then have to access the site using a new device. It's just a guess... but it could be that the server isn't blocking the IP address, but registering the device and then blocking it".
"Wouldn't it be better to block the entire IP address instead of just the device?" i ask.
"It might have been a better idea to do this... maybe the person overlooked it or didn't take it into account".
Could it be that we have made a step further….
"Alright that's all we know so far…" I said.
"There was an accident two years ago in a laboratory building in the city. During the accident there were several people injured but also a few deaths. For some reason no one remembers this accident. There is a website with reports and photos reporting on the accident, unfortunately it is blocked and hidden by something or someone. The location of the website is also unknown...".
We stood there, deep in our thoughts. The mood among us has not become any more relaxed. Before no one wanted to say anything else, Haru breaks the silence.
"We'll look at the accident on site and maybe we'll find something out".
"That was my idea too. It's also possible that we won't find anything" Ethan added.
"That could also be possible".
"I suggest we go there together right now".
"Not possible right now" I said to Ethan.
"We still have to wait for someone".
"For who?".
I can already see how Haru is starting to grin.
"We're still waiting for his girlfriend".
I hit him on his arm like Casy does.
"Does she know anything about this?" Ethan asked me.
"No, I want to keep her out of all this shit".
"Understandable but unavoidable" says Haru.
"What do you mean?".
"At some point she'll be suspicious of it, won't she?".
Ethan shakes his head.
"I think it would be even better if we get more people to help us. And Ace, nothing will happen to her".
I looked worriedly at the floor. Haru put his hand on my shoulder.
"You don't have to worry. Maybe then the investigation will go faster".
Who knows….
Meanwhile on the toilet.
"Was it really just a dream…"
She sits on the toilet, taking heavy breaths.
"I have to tell Ace…. But i can't…".
All that came from her was a shaky voice and heavy breathing as if she couldn't breath. She got up, unlocked the toilet and went to the mirror. As she stood in front of the mirror, she looked at herself. "Casy pull yourself together… you have to…".
She looks at her shaking hands.
"Is it really true… No it can't…".
Suddenly someone turn on the light and a girl comes in. Casy came back to her senses and acted as if nothing had happened. She walked out of the toilet and tried to forget and block out the previous thoughts.
"Casy is taking kinda long, I'm kinda worried" I said to break the silence.
"Ace, you know how long girls need to use the toilet or not?".
"But I still know…".
Suddenly someone pinched my neck. I turned around and there was Casy with a big smile. I sighed.
"Do you always have to sneak up on me like that?".
The others laughed. Casy looked over my shoulder.
"Wait a minute… I know you! What was the name again… Ethan?".
Ethan nods.
"What are you doing here?".
"I wanted to meet up with Haru and Ace".
"Since when do you know Haru?" she added.
Haru looked at Ethan. There was a moment of silence between the two.
"Ethan wanted to come by and wanted to met me. Haru then wanted to discuss something".
"Ah okay…".
Haru gives me a slight grin.
"So where did you want to go?" Casy asks.
"We wanted to go into the city".
"May I come with you?".
Haru was about to say something before Ethan interrupted him.
"Of course you can come with me if you want".
She nodded and decided to come with us. I have to agree with Ethan that the more people we have, the faster our investigation can progress. We went to the train stop and drove to the main street. Haru wrote me a message.
"We could split up. You can walk around with Casy while me and Ethan can look elsewhere".
"Ethan and I already have an idea about how we can separate. You can trust us".
I looked at Haru and nodded. He gave me a small smile back. We got out at the stop and gathered somewhere.
"YO HARU CAN YOU SEE THIS?" Ethan shouted out of nowhere.
"COME WITH ME!" he grabbed Haru and ran away.
I stood there with Casy and didn't know what just happened...
"What happened to them…?" asked Casy.
"I have no idea…".
Ethan texted me.
"I'll go with Haru to one end of the street and you two go from the other side".
"How about we get something to drink?" she asks me.
"Sure".
After we got something to drink, I thought about how we could get there.
"Hey Casy, how about if I showed you where my mother works?".
"Sure why not".
After walking for a while we arrived at the road. It looked like any normal street. Houses, trees and the asphalt have no damage from any previous accident or anything else. But there's something about this street... It's hard to describe, but somehow I feel uncomfortable walking around here. There had been a fence around the research center. It kind of looked like a prison.
"My mother works here".
Casy takes a closer look at the building.
"Why does it look like a prison?".
"I asked myself that too…".
We continued down the street until we came to an intersection. I got a call from Haru.
"Hello?".
"Ace please come to the entrance of the building… immediately".
"Did something happen?".
Haru hung up. I've never heard him once like this...
"Is everything ok?".
"Haru called me, he said I should go to the entrance of the building".
"His voice sounded kind of serious…".
"I don't know why, but we have to hurry".
We both quickly ran around the building. This building is huge. A few streets past and we arrived at the entrance. I don't see Ethan and Haru anywhere.
"They have to be here somewhere" says Casy.
It became even more uncomfortable for me than it had been before. I heard my name coming from an alley. I looked into the alley and saw Haru and Ethan.
"What are you doing here?" I asked them both.
"Just look at it for yourself, but be careful where you step".
"Why?".
"Take a look in the alley… don't you notice anything unusual?".
I looked deeper into the alley... Then I notice something... Something… floating there…. It looks like a reflection of light in the desert. It makes small waves in the air.
"What is that…?".
"I have no idea at all. Haru and I wanted to take a closer look at it but were thrown away".
I turned to the two of them.
"What's happening here…" Casy says nervously.
Haru turns to Casy.
"Don't you see that?" she says in a shaky voice.
She points in the direction of the light reflection.
"Yes, we see that too. We don't know what that is either".
She started walking towards it. Before she could continue walking, Haru stops her from going any further.
"It's too risky for you. It might hurt you if you get too close".
"Haru, let me take Casy and explain everything to her. Is that okay with you Ace?" Ehtan asks me.
I thought for a moment and nodded silently.
"Understood. Casy, I'll explain everything to you, okay?".
With her hands and legs shaking, she nodded and walked out of the alley with Ethan. Only Haru and I were left in the alley.
"Haru... what do you think it is?".
"I have no idea… it could be some kind of anomaly…".
"An anomaly? What is that?".
"An anomaly is something that is supernatural. In short, this thing is out of this world".
I looked confused.
"I have no idea what that is... but since it's near the lab building, I can only imagine it's probably has a connection to it".
"You said if we come closer it will throw us back".
"Correctly".
I was unsure, but I wanted to take a closer look. I walked a little closer.
"Be careful".
I walked slowly and carefully. The closer I got, the more it reacted. Now I could see some kind of sphere.
"I see some kind of… energy sphere".
"What do you mean?" Haru asked.
"Come over here".
He cautiously walked his way forward. As he stood next to me, he adjusted his glasses and analyzed it. The closer we got, the more we could hear rumbling.
"Do you hear it Haru?".
"Yeah… I ca hear it too… whatever that is… it has a ton of energy...".