— I'm better, Mom. Don't worry. I can go to class now.
Lying on the sofa, Ezkiel looked at his mother's face as she typed on her phone. His father was to his right, sitting in a chair, analyzing him with his small eyes.
— Should we take him to the doctor? — The burly man stroked his beard slowly while pondering his own question. His son never got sick, and it was rare for Ezkiel to have any kind of discomfort.
— Are you really better, son? If you're still feeling anything, we'll call an ambulance right now!
His mother seemed calm, but her hands trembled as she typed on the phone. Her eyes peeked from behind the device, watching her son's every move.
Ezkiel stood up. The dizziness had left his body, along with the dreamcatcher's tab.
— Yes. My blood pressure must have dropped. Or something like that.
He tried his best to keep his speech calm and paused, displaying a confidence he didn't have. He was terrified.
— Well... If that's the case, I'll just make a doctor's appointment.
Margareth stared at Daniel for a few seconds, confirming her action as the matriarch of the house. Like the good husband he was, he just nodded, but his expression betrayed a clear apprehension. The man stood up, placed his right hand on his son's shoulder, and walked towards the car.
Ezkiel looked at his mother one more time. She was already making the appointment.
"She's always been like this."
Regaining his logical reasoning, the boy felt the anxiety return as he remembered an important and fragile point in his life: Maeve.
Running outside, he saw his father putting a hand on the crying girl's shoulder. Her face was red and swollen, her disheveled hair mixing with the tears streaming down her cheeks. Her large, teary eyes were fixed on the ground.
— Hey, Maeve. — Ezkiel tried to sound as calm as possible, knowing his girlfriend was desperate.
The girl looked at her boyfriend. Her eyes lit up and she ran towards him, clinging to him as if her life depended on it. She tried to speak, but the words came out in desperate sobs. She babbled while crying, clinging to her boyfriend as if he were a lifeboat.
Ezkiel returned the hug, still shaken by the terrifying dream and the sight of the dreamcatcher's tab. The worst part was having to keep this madness to himself. His parents wouldn't understand him; they would probably commit him to some asylum "for his own good." His girlfriend, on the other hand, wouldn't be able to handle the truth; much less the truth that she was the one who had given him the catalyst for his current suffering.
He took a deep, slow breath, clinging to the hope that things would calm down. Maybe the madness of the dreamcatcher would pass if he just ignored its existence. However, it was hard not to think about it when the entire traumatic event followed him, and the pain in his body was a constant reminder of its presence, lurking between the steps of his day like the shadow of the night to come.
...
And so the beginning of class passed. He had arrived late and didn't have the mind to pay attention to anything. Maeve was in another class; her father had chosen her classes, even from a distance. Now, in that crowded classroom where he knew a few people, Ezkiel was finally alone, able to reflect on the events.
"Everything that happened... that whole bizarre dream could be real. If that's true, I'm going back to that place."
A shiver ran down his body, like a cold confirmation in his mind.
"It can't be true. How is that possible? A dreamcatcher..."
His face froze in terror as he remembered the last thing he did to open the tab. He just had to think of one of the suggested objects for it to appear.
Name: Ezkiel Arcs
Race: Dream Collector
Body: Human
Class: –
Dream Threads: 0/1000
Stage: Soulless
Rank: –
Talents:『Tortured』『Nuisance's Flaw』
Skills:『Collect Dreams』『Dreamer Analysis』
Dreams Collected: 『The Prisoner's Anathema』
Some information is not visible to the user.
His eyes were fixed on the interface floating in front of him. The anxiety returned like a whirlwind, but Ezkiel controlled himself as much as he could. He knew, deep down, that he needed to accept this new reality.
"Maybe I really am crazy. But if I'm not, I need to understand this. I feel like it's not going to end here... I can't deny it anymore."
The shiver came again, rising up his spine from the inside out. A confused confirmation that was beginning to become a pattern.
"These shivers... the dream UI appearing just by thinking about it. I'm connected to this system in a way I can't explain."
Ezkiel finally understood the integration messages he had heard upon falling asleep last night.
"Is this what it means to be a Dream Collector?"
This time, there was no answer. No shiver. Just the emptiness that accompanied the silence of this new existence.
— Yo, Kiel! Late today? You're really something else!
The voice snapped him out of his thoughts. A tall, black boy with short, dark, military-style hair smiled at him. The school's athletic jacket was the definition of Jason.
Disoriented, Ezkiel blinked, seeing the boy through the transparency of the tab.
— Ah... Jason. I felt a bit sick this morning.
Not knowing what to do, Ezkiel gestured with his hand in front of his face, as if swatting a mosquito. Obeying his command, the tab closed.
— What's with the long face? Classes are just starting! You know, right? The courts are gonna open. The new girls will be interested in the games. We'll be on the field... Ah, you get it! — Jason did the math with his fingers, demonstrating his advanced reasoning when it came to female attention.
— Dude, you know I have a girlfriend, right?
"The courts would be nice, if my body didn't hurt so much. I have too much to think about."
He lightly touched his right shoulder and a sharp pain, like an electric shock, spread through his bones, burning him from the inside. He held back the pain with a slight grimace while listening to Jason's sly laugh, with his usual goofy face.
— Maybe you broke up! — he shrugged, his bright smile wide with mischief. He tapped the table lightly, motioning for Ezkiel to follow him.
Even though he didn't like some of Jason's attitudes, he was a good friend. Ezkiel followed him to the other side of the room. At least the boy's company would distract him from the UI and his dreams.
— Jason, these classes are unbearable! You took notes, right? — a girl with blonde hair approached. Rebecca, a friend of both since the beginning of school and a junior tutor for the dance classes. She was more friends with Jason than with Ezkiel, but the two had known each other for so long that he had learned to accept her ways.
— I'll send you the picture as soon as I get home. The calculations are a bit messy, but the answers are all correct. The teacher corrected them. — Jason leaned over her empty notebook. Even though he didn't look it, he was an excellent student, better than Ezkiel, in fact.
— Get your act together, girl! How long are you going to keep copying from others? — Ezkiel teased her.
She was fiddling with her long, slightly curly hair, rolling her eyes with a crooked smile.
— Sure, Kiel, as if you study! What's with the dead look? Bad night's sleep with your girlfriend? — she elbowed Jason's arm, who laughed out loud. The two of them loved to bother Ezkiel about his love life.
— I still don't get how you're dating that girl. Nothing against her, Kiel, but she has nothing in common with you. — Rebecca opined as if the matter were her own, a right she gave herself for being a long-time friend.
— Don't even try, Rebecca! I've already talked to him. Kiel fell for the girl and won't let go!
— This again? I've already told you guys. You just need to get to know her better! You'll see how amazing she is!
— You talk as if we haven't tried before. — Jason looked at him, serious now. — Kiel, you've been with this girl for two years and she's never spoken to us.
— At most a "hi" and "bye." And that's a stretch! She doesn't even try to be friends with your friends. — Rebecca seemed indignant, and Ezkiel understood why. She had tried hard to become friends with Maeve in the beginning, but his girlfriend had always been closed off.
Ezkiel gave an awkward smile, running a hand through his hair.
— She's just very shy! She doesn't really talk to anyone! It's not your fault, it's just the way she is.
The friends looked at each other and rolled their eyes in sync. Rebecca opened her mouth to speak, but Jason cut her off.
— That just proves our point. You're the most sociable guy we've ever met. You're the one who made us become friends. Everyone in school knows you, and those who don't have heard your name. What do you two have in common, man?
Ezkiel opened his mouth, but then closed it. He knew he wouldn't convince them. Besides, this had been an important issue for him for a while. He had always liked Maeve, loved being by her side and listening to all the thousands of stories she knew about games and cartoons. But he felt that every day, he was growing more distant from others. Not out of malice, but because Maeve had no one else, and being with her demanded a lot of time. And he loved that.
— Forget it... I'm going to find my girlfriend.
He passed between the two of them and headed for the school corridor. Groups of students from the sports teams waved or greeted him; from basketball to American football. After all, he played at least once a month.
The girls, on the other hand, looked at Ezkiel differently. Most had been interested in him at some point, and others had been a fling at some parties when he was 15. But all of that was in the past.
Upon entering the programming room, one of the classes Maeve took, he realized it was empty. Which scared him. She should have been there, with her headphones on, watching some strange video. His heart raced.
"Could what happened this morning have worried her so much that she got sick? She might be in the nurse's office. Or did she skip class and go home? No... There's no one at her house at this time. Maybe she went to look for Jonathan."
Ezkiel quickened his pace, but his body protested. The pain turned into small electric spasms that worsened with the effort. Even so, the thought of Maeve being alone, crying because of him, gave him the strength to continue. Strength, but not endurance. He soon began to limp, grinding his teeth in pain.
He was on his way to the bathrooms by the courts, the farthest from the main classrooms, Jonathan and his group's hiding spot for smoking cigarettes in secret, when he heard a familiar laugh coming from the cafeteria.
Confused, he turned and saw the most peculiar scene since he had met Maeve. She was near the vending machine, laughing loudly with a tall boy with light brown, almost blond, hair and an impeccable uniform. She was showing him a random video on her phone, and the boy seemed interested, leaning in to get a better look.
— Maeve?
Ezkiel's voice made the two of them turn, surprised.
— Kiel! — Maeve shouted and ran to hug him with all her might.
The boy's heart calmed, but her hug made his whole aching body scream. A bitter taste rose in his throat, a strange feeling he couldn't identify.
— Oh! This is Carter, he's new in town. He started classes with me. — she pointed to the boy, who seemed a little out of place. His slender and firm appearance had an air of class that was slightly strange. But what was most striking was the unique way his eyes moved, judging Ezkiel completely. — I finally made a friend. — she whispered, with genuine joy in her voice.
— Nice to meet you, Kiel! Maeve has told me a lot about you. — Carter's voice was strangely formal, cordial, odd, but it carried an air of competitiveness. He extended his hand.
Still dazed, and now slightly annoyed, Ezkiel shook the boy's hand.
— The pleasure is mine, Carter! I'm glad you met my girlfriend. — he forced a smile, which faltered when he felt the strength in the other's handshake. Carter was stronger than he looked, he probably played some sport.
— Kiel! I was showing Carter that video we saw the day before yesterday, about the mannequins on the 10th floor. Remember? From that game I showed you... — Maeve seemed radiant with her achievement, while Ezkiel just stared at the boy, who was smiling at him with his white teeth.
The boy adjusted his uniform again, carefully folding his sleeves.
— I remember. — Ezkiel replied, his mind lost in the situation.
— Are you better? I forgot to ask you. Was everything okay in class? You must be hungry! Let's eat! Let's go! — Maeve ran towards the table without waiting for an answer.
Carter remained standing, waiting for Ezkiel to take the lead.
— I'm not hungry. Do you want me to get you something? — Ezkiel pulled out a chair and sat down in front of his girlfriend, watching her new friend's every move. Carter picked up a tray and began to choose his food, analyzing each item with methodical care. His hand moved, observing each of them while smiling politely at the lunch lady.
— He's nice, isn't he? — Maeve smiled, placing her hand on his and squeezing it tightly. Her large eyes shone, like a begging cat's.
— He seems nice. — Ezkiel looked at the tall boy again. — How did you meet him?
"The correct question would be: how did he get to you?"
— I was a little teary-eyed because of what happened this morning, and he came to talk to me. Then I told him you woke up scared because of the dreamcatcher and then fainted out of nowhere. — she gently dug her nails into the palm of his hand, pinching him affectionately. — Then we had the idea to look on the website. He helped me find it in my email. You know how my email is a mess because of game spam.
"Shit! The website! Fuck... How did I not think of that? There was so much on my mind that I didn't think of the obvious. Where did Maeve buy this damned filter?"
The issue with Carter was completely forgotten. Now, the focus was on something else. It was certainly more important than his girlfriend having a new friend.
— And what did you find? What's the website? — he grabbed her hand with urgency, almost knocking her over the table.
Maeve gave a small jump, startled, and showed him the phone.
— Sorry, Kiel, but when we went to check, the store was already offline.
The girl turned the phone screen. The screen showed the email message with the purchase receipt. It was a simple message, confirming the payment and a tracking link. No contact information, and the sender itself was a series of meaningless numbers and characters, probably a paid bot.
The only image in the email was a ruby-red triangle on a black background. A symbol so common it could be seen anywhere. It was too simple to attract attention. Maeve clicked on the link. The page loaded for a moment and then went dark, showing only the red triangle in the center and the message: "This site can't be reached."
— Shit! — Ezkiel slammed his hand on the table. His hand burned, and the pain reverberated from his shoulder to his spine. Maeve flinched, and small tears welled up in her large eyes.
Everyone in the cafeteria looked, but soon returned to their conversations. Carter, who had just sat down next to Ezkiel, was the only one who continued to pay attention. With a calmness that contrasted with the tension, he pointed to the phone.
— Look at the URL. There's a name written in it. We can search for other sites and news with that name. — he chuckled, spearing a boiled potato. — Even though I don't know why you care so much about a dreamcatcher. Do you really think you dreamed because of it?
Ezkiel ignored the boy completely. His focus was on the name in the URL.
— Tributes of the Web
The word echoed in his mind as he observed the reddish triangle in front of his eyes. Slowly, he began to notice other designs within the darkness of the site. A series of symbols, similar to what he had seen on the door in his dream, surrounded the triangle. They began to move, forming thousands of smaller paths that pulsed like living beings, weaving a giant web. His head began to throb. The sigils were so complex that they could move to infinity. The triangle spun, triggering a wave of movement through the other symbols, like the unlocking of a lock.
Ezkiel maintained his focus, trying to understand. The red triangle spun so fast it became a circle, and the thousands of symbols began to leak from the phone screen, devouring the environment like shattering glass.
When the ruby-red spider web was less than a meter from his face, Maeve screamed and grabbed him with all her might.
Carter was next to him, with a worried expression, but he was holding his own phone with a frightening naturalness. Ezkiel couldn't hear anything anymore. He couldn't think. He only saw the millions of sigils being engraved on his pupils, feeling on the verge of brain death.
Before he blacked out completely, he had one last vision: Maeve, with both hands bathed in blood.