"BZZZZZZZ," "KRSSSSS SK,"
"Huf....huf....huf,"
Two small children, maybe 10 years old, ran hand-in-hand through the woods. "GUSRAK," "AAAW," one of them, a little girl, tripped and fell.
"Celes!"
The small boy holding her hand immediately turned and rushed to Celes. He checked her bruised leg. He tried to help Celes stand, but "BLUGH," Celes fell again.
"I... I can't walk, Cole," Celes grimaced, clutching her leg in pain.
"Get on quick."
Cole turned and offered his back. Celes quickly climbed onto his back. Cole struggled, staggering as he tried to stand. Once stable, he gripped Celes's legs firmly and continued running deeper into the forest. Their faces were etched with terror.
But just as they were nearing the edge of the woods, about to break out, "BLAAR," car headlights suddenly flooded them from outside the tree line. Cole stopped, turned, and ran back into the woods. Celes looked back to see several people in military fatigues carrying firearms walking into the forest. She quickly turned back, hugged Cole, and squeezed her eyes shut.
"C-Cole, I'm scared," Celes whispered, clinging to Cole's back.
"We're going to be together, always, Celes," Cole replied, running and tightening his grip on Celes's thighs.
"Hey... they're coming this way!" several voices yelled behind them.
The soldiers immediately started chasing them. Cole pushed his speed, running faster, panting heavily, while a terrified Celes continued to hug him tightly. Suddenly, "GUSRAAAK," Cole stumbled and fell forward, sending Celes tumbling a short distance to the side. "CKREK," as Cole got up, he saw the muzzle of a hunting rifle pointed right at his face. He glanced over and saw that Celes had also been captured by the soldiers.
"GRRRRRRRR," Cole snarled. His teeth sharpened, his skin turned a pale black-gray, his eyes became red, and his arms looked like a yeti's. His red eyes stared at the soldier in front of him, exposing his spine-like teeth. But suddenly,
"La....la....la,"
A woman's humming, a song, echoed through the trees. Cole turned to see a woman in a doctor's coat with an indistinct face approaching, accompanied by a man in a suit and tie, alongside a woman wearing a blazer and glasses. Cole's body gradually reverted to its normal form, and his head suddenly felt dizzy from hearing the doctor-woman's humming.
Slowly, he looked over and saw Celes was already unconscious. He couldn't keep his eyes open, and finally, he closed them. But before his consciousness completely faded,
"Is he asleep now, Doctor?" the man in the suit asked.
"He is. They must not be together. I will take C-313-573 with me. You two, please take care of C-013-471 and raise him," the doctor replied.
"Understood. We'd be happy to," the woman with glasses said.
"Just leave it to us. But why did they try to escape? Explain, Doctor," the man in the suit added.
"It seems... they realized they were human," the doctor replied.
"BZZZZZZZ," "KRESSSSSSSK" Suddenly, everything went blurry and immediately plunged back into silence and darkness.
****
"WHOAAAAAH,"
Cole jolted awake, sitting up in his bed. His body was slick with sweat, and his breath came in ragged gasps. He looked over to see Celes also sitting up in the bed, both hands tightly gripping the blanket, trembling. Her breath was ragged, and sweat drenched her body. Celes slowly turned to look at Cole, her face pale.
"Cole... just now... did you dream?" Celes asked breathlessly.
"Y-yeah, I dreamed... and it felt so real," Cole answered, panting.
Cole turned, grabbed his smartphone beside him, and saw the time was 3 a.m. He looked over at Celes, who was also checking her smartphone.
"How about we just leave now, Celes?" Cole asked.
"Now? Hmm... well, it's all dark anyway, day or night," Celes replied.
"Okay, let's go. We'll get ready and leave," Cole said.
"But that dream... w-what were we running from? Soldiers? Humans?" Celes asked.
"It looks like it... but I clearly remember that little girl was you. So who took me and raised me?" Cole asked.
"I don't know... I passed out and didn't know anything. It looks like I woke up before you just now, too," Celes answered.
"Alright, let's go. We'll get the answers soon enough," Cole said, standing up.
"Okay, we'll take turns showering. You go first; I'll make something to eat, and... we need to feed so we have power," Celes said, stepping off the bed.
"Fine, I'll shower first," Cole replied.
They quickly showered and prepared to leave with their backpacks, heading for the research facility outside the city.
****
Two hours later, Cole and Celes, now ready, left Cole's house with their backpacks. They walked toward the bus stop near Cole's neighborhood, as the research facility they were aiming for was somewhat outside the city and quite remote. A bus arrived shortly and stopped at the curb. Both of them got on and took the back seat.
As the bus started moving, Cole looked out the window. His eyes once again took in the dark sky, despite it being daytime.
"Hopefully we can find some clues, Cole," Celes muttered, holding her nose and resting her head on Cole's shoulder.
"Y-yeah, hopefully, but... man, it stinks," Cole replied, covering his own nose.
"You'll figure it out eventually," Celes said.
They enjoyed their ride on the bus, which traveled nonstop along the empty road heading out of the city. After leaving the city limits, the bus entered a tunnel that seemed to bore through a mountain. The atmosphere instantly became dark, lit only by yellow spotlights mounted along the tunnel's walls.
Suddenly, Cole looked out the window and his eyes widened. He saw a huge eye, like that of a gigantic monster, staring at him from behind the wall. He looked around; none of the other passengers were reacting to the sight he was seeing.
The enormous eye seemed to track the bus's speed, watching him and blinking occasionally. Cole recoiled slightly, trying not to look at the huge eye outside the window. "SREEK," he pulled the curtain to cover the window.
"What's wrong, Cole?" Celes asked.
"Um... did you see that big eye?" Cole asked.
"Yeah... I saw it... I was trying to ignore it, haha," Celes replied, trembling.
"What is that, though? A Draugr? Or like that dinosaur-type Draugr from yesterday?" Cole wondered.
"I don't know, and I don't want to think about it," Celes answered.
"What kind of world are we actually living in?" Cole asked, curious.
"Hmm... I don't know. Check behind us once we leave the tunnel, Cole," Celes suggested.
"Hmm... okay," Cole replied.
They both stared straight ahead, not daring to look at the window, their hands linked, huddled close because they knew a monster was staring at them from behind the glass. Then, "la...la...la," Cole started humming the song to calm himself down.
Celes smiled and hummed along with Cole, linking her arm through his. The bus drove on without stopping until they finally exited the tunnel about 15 minutes later.
Cole opened the curtain again after they left the tunnel. They were now in a mountainous area with forest on the right and a valley on the left. The bus started climbing an ascending road. A few moments later, when the bus had climbed high enough, Cole looked down into the valley and saw the city where they lived.
Cole was instantly shocked because the entire city was covered by an invisible but tangible dome.
"W-what is that dome?" Cole asked.
"I don't know myself, but when I came here and cornered a Draugr before I killed it, he said that dome creates an illusion for the humans so they see a normal world," Celes answered.
"Oh... I see. Wait, so humans aren't supposed to leave the city?" Cole asked, still staring at the dome.
"Yeah, according to that Draugr, that's right," Celes replied.
"But how are we able to?" Cole asked, turning to look at the front of the bus and the three other passengers inside.
Celes immediately pulled Cole close and leaned her face near his ear, then whispered,
"Haven't you noticed all this time? Everyone on this bus is a Draugr. I've been holding my breath this whole time," Celes said.
"Ugh... you're right. I just smelled them....again. I was too distracted by that eye and too tense," Cole replied, covering his nose.
"They don't realize because they think we're one of them. So stay quiet and don't look surprised. It was the same when I first came to this city," Celes instructed.
"Okay, I get it," Cole replied.