On the island.
After its rest, the sun rose over the horizon at dawn. The doctor slowly opened his eyes, though the weight of sleep had not yet left them.
He stepped outside, where a blanket of mist still lingered in the air. Even though it was morning, the cold pierced into his head as sharply as needles.
The doctor walked over to Rose. When he reached the tent and pulled back the curtain, the doctor was startled by the sight inside.
Francis was sitting right beside Rose.
"Come in, Doctor. I've been waiting for you."
There wasn't the slightest trace of emotion on his face.
The doctor stepped closer to Francis. His eyes shifted toward Rose. She was sleeping peacefully.
"Doctor."
Francis's sudden call startled him. Yet, Dr. John already knew what Francis was about to ask.
"Why hasn't she woken up., I've called her countless times. I even splashed water on her face, but she never stirred. Yet, she breathes as if she were alive.
For the past two or three days, I've been watching you closely. At four in the morning, you always rise and go to Rose's side. After spending fifteen minutes there, you return to your quarters. I've noticed it all. Tell me what does this mean. What exactly are you doing to Rose? You must tell me everything, or else you will never see the light outside again."
Francis's voice was edged with severity.
The doctor lowered his head and sat in silence for a moment. His breathing grew heavy. Despite the chill outside, beads of sweat rolled down from the pores of his skin. He took the water he had placed for Rose and began to drink. Only after finishing it entirely did his lips move again.
"I will tell you, Francis. But once you hear everything, you will understand why I have done all of this. I have never tried to hide anything from anyone."
Francis leaned back against the Suitcase behind him. He closed his eyes and gestured for the doctor to speak. The doctor took a long breath, exhaled, and began to speak in a low voice.
"You already know about the condition of sleep paralysis that befell Rose. In order to escape it, she performed something. To be exact we made her do it. The passage into the spirit world."
"We" Francis's eyes narrowed. "I've only ever seen you alone. Who else was with you?"
"Peter. It was his plan."
It was the first time Francis had ever heard the word spirit world. His attention sharpened on the doctor's every word.
The doctor continued.
"To enter the spirit world, Rose performed astral projection. Do you know what astral projection is?" the doctor asked him.
"Yes. In some of the novels I've read, I've come across scenes like this experiments where one could bring their soul outside the body without actually dying."
"Good. Then I suppose I don't need to explain further. What she performed was Astral Projection. After countless attempts, she finally succeeded. She even overcame the state known as sleep paralysis. But the spirit realm did not let her go so easily. It began to kill her little by little. Those marks you saw on her body, when you removed the bandages from your wound, were the side effects of that very ordeal."
Francis still lay with his eyes closed, his face devoid of expression.
"As part of my effort to protect her from the spirit world, I wake at four o'clock every morning. Right now, Rose is trapped within the dream realm she created for herself. That is why, no matter how many times you called, she did not wake. It means her life still lingers within her body, but no matter how loudly you call, she will not rise."
"She will remain asleep here for three days, but in the dream realm, those days will stretch into years."
Doctor patiently explained to him every peculiarity of that mysterious world.
Suddenly, Francis opened his eyes.
"What,… years? Am I watching some kind of drama?"
"Yes… three days here could stretch into a century there."
What the doctor said was difficult for him to believe. Francis had assumed that perhaps some pill given by the doctor was the reason Rose had not woken up. But he never imagined he would hear something like this from the doctor's mouth. He did not reveal his disbelief outwardly. Francis leaned back against the Suitcase and closed his eyes. From the side, he picked up a small book and placed it over his face. For a while, he pondered the doctor's words in silence. Whenever Francis needed to think deeply or make a decision, it was his habit to cover his face with a book. Before long, he rose to his feet.
"I believe what you said, Doctor. But you must explain this to the others today itself. Rumors about you are starting to spread here. If something happens to her, on this isolated island you will be cut off from the rest."
Francis said this and stepped out of the tent. The thick fog had not lifted at all. It completely shrouded the sunlight. As usual, Francis lit a cigarette, inhaled the smoke, and released it into the air. The smoke quickly dissolved into the mist.
He then walked toward Robert's tent for the morning's refreshing tea. Robert was preparing it, with Daniel sitting beside him. As soon as Francis approached, Robert poured him a glass of tea. Francis flicked away the cigarette he had been smoking, took the cup, and began to drink.
"It's colder than usual today," Daniel said as he sipped his tea.
"If this cold continues, we'll need to start wearing thicker clothes," Robert remarked while pouring tea into the glasses for the others.
The group agreed with Robert's words. Francis, not lingering for long, finished his tea and stepped outside. Robert then asked Daniel to hand out the tea he had already poured into the glasses, since he was busy roasting meat. Without any objection, Daniel took on the task.
As he served each person their tea, Daniel also advised them to wear thicker clothes to keep away the cold. For those who didn't have warm garments, he suggested wearing two or three layers of whatever clothes they already had.
.....
Peter's Tent
Peter was completely absorbed in his new experiment. Suddenly, the tent's curtain was pulled aside and the doctor stepped in.
"What's this, Doctor? Is this how you barge into someone's place?" Peter flinched slightly in surprise.
The doctor gave no reply.
"I came to tell you something serious. This morning, when I went near Rose's tent, Francis was sitting inside. He asked me what was happening. He even said he wouldn't let me leave without an answer. With no other choice, I had to tell him," Dr. John said in a single breath.
"Did you explain it to him in detail"
"No. I only hinted at the matter. As soon as he heard, he went outside. He also told me that this needs to be explained to everyone today."
Peter paused his experiment and fell into thought for a moment.
"That's fine. I already knew that someone here would eventually find out. But when explaining it to the others, we need to figure out how exactly to do it. That means we don't reveal the steps of what happened just explain it as you told Francis." Peter shared his opinion.
Dr. John agreed. Not long after, he left Peter's tent, and Peter returned to his experiment.
.....
Time: 9:30 AM.
Daniel and Francis had gathered wood to light a fire. Since the cold showed no sign of letting up, they decided to start the fire early in the morning. Everyone sat around it to have breakfast. They were dressed in layers to keep warm; some could be seen wearing two or three layers at once.
Robert distributed the roasted meat to everyone. By this time, all the bread he had prepared was finished. No matter how long they stayed there, they would have to satisfy their hunger entirely with the meat and fruits available.
As the warm meat entered their stomachs, everyone felt a small relief from the biting cold. After finishing, Daniel stood in front of them, preparing to speak.
"I don't know why today's cold is so harsh. The weather none of us can predict even a single thread of it. Since the meat is enough for three days, there's no need to venture into the forest. That's for the best anyway. When this fog hangs like this, going into the forest is dangerous. No one should go outside much today. At the spot marked 'HELP,' build a fire. Two people can take turns guarding it. No one knows how long this cold will last, so everyone must remain cautious until then. Even after the sun rises, not a single ray of warmth reaches the island. If anyone has something to say, speak now," Daniel concluded.
Hearing this, Doctor stood up and moved to face the others. Francis kept his eyes on the doctor. Doctor John first apologized to the others, then proceeded to explain to them in detail what he had already told Francis.
"Now, what I am trying to figure out is how to wake her without harming her body," the doctor said. His carefully measured words gave the others more of a chill than the cold itself. None of them could immediately believe what he implied.
He did not explain to them the steps for lucid dreaming or how to enter the spirit world. That was on Peter's instructions. He knew that explaining such matters to everyone could lead to serious danger. That was why he had been told not to go into details.
After saying this, John returned to the tent without another word. A multitude of thoughts about Peter and the doctor stirred in everyone's minds. Once they realized that pondering over it would be of no use, they quietly rose and returned to their own tents.
Arthur and Barry were initially stationed at the spot marked "HELP" as guards. Daniel first went to Rose's side, because he still couldn't fully believe what the doctor had explained. As Daniel stepped inside the tent, he noticed the doctor sitting beside Rose.
The doctor's mental state was intense, almost palpable, and it was clearly visible on his face. Daniel quickly turned his gaze toward Rose. She was breathing gently, seemingly asleep. The doctor didn't even notice Daniel entering.
Daniel lightly tapped the doctor and called out. The doctor startled immediately, eyes widening in surprise.
"John, it's me, Daniel. You need some rest. Someone else can take over the watch here."
"No, that's not necessary. I'll keep the watch myself." The doctor's face showed clear unease.
The two of them spoke for a while. Daniel's reassuring words seemed to calm him, at least for the moment. Outside, Francis, puffing on a cigarette, walked toward Professor Charles' tent. The staff knew Charles was always absorbed in a book, so he didn't even notice Francis entering. Francis lightly tapped him and called out.
"Professor."
Startled, he immediately lifted his head from the book and looked at Francis. A man of little visible emotion, he remained composed. He closed the book and gestured for Francis to sit.
"So, Francis, you've come. Is there anything in particular?" he asked, glancing at Francis.
"Don't you understand what's happening here? I have an idea if we put it into practice, we might be able to wake Rose without causing her any injury. But I'll need your help to make it work," Francis explained as he settled in.
To be continued.....