As my right eye slowly opened, a sea of red engulfed my surroundings. The world had transformed into a crimson panorama, every object bathed in the vivid hue. While I’ve always held an affinity for the color red, this time, the circumstances were far from ordinary – they were unsettlingly different.
Time itself seemed to decelerate, emphasizing the gravity of the situation. I shifted my gaze from one corner of the room to another, taking in the peculiar alterations that had befallen the world around me. The once-familiar scene was now marred by what I could only describe as distortion and chaos.
These two phenomena were playing out in a surreal symphony. The table, typically grounded beside me, now defied gravity, hovering inexplicably near the ceiling. Could it be that gravity itself had taken a hiatus here?
My own reflection, previously crystal-clear in the mirror, shattered into fractured pieces. The spatial fabric seemed twisted, bent out of shape, yet here I was, alive and observing this enigma unfold.
In the midst of this bewildering ordeal, my agency seems restricted. My movements were confined to the motion of a single eye – my right eye. However, this limitation came with an unexpected boon. My perception was heightened, processing the world with unparalleled speed and precision, a silver lining to this crimson enigma.
Just when I thought I was beginning to grasp this newfound reality, the disorientation reached a crescendo. Pain throbbed in my head, aching unbearably. As I winced in response, time and reality themselves seemed to ripple and twist once more.
The world, saturated in red, started to normalize, returning to its familiar palette. The bizarre patterns and shapes that had manifested in the scarlet landscape faded into oblivion.
Yet, the abrupt shift wasn’t the end of the anomaly. A surge of energy, like a torrent of mana, surged into my body, seizing me with a sharp discomfort. The sensation contorted my features as I clutched my stomach, sinking to the floor in an attempt to quell the sensation.
“Hey, Loid, what’s happening?!” Professor Angelica’s voice cut through the air, laced with concern. She rushed to my side, a figure of support in this surreal tableau. Her hand reached out towards my arm, intent on offering assistance.
But then, something extraordinary occurred. My mind instinctively triggered a psychokinetic field, an invisible force that emanated from me. It was an automatic response, an involuntary defense mechanism against the unknown.
Professor Angelica’s approach was met with an invisible barrier, and before her eyes widened like a startled rabbit, the force propelled her backward with astonishing velocity.
*CRASH!
The sound of impact echoed through the room, a resounding crash as she collided with the wall. The barrier’s power had propelled her through it, rupturing the barrier between my hospital room and the next.
Stunned silence followed the abrupt disruption. Dust and debris floated in the air, remnants of the collision between Professor Angelica and the wall. As the echoes of the crash subsided, I struggled to regain my composure, my mind racing to make sense of the unfolding chaos.
“Professor Angelica!” I gasped, my voice a mixture of concern and disbelief. Shoving aside the lingering discomfort, I scrambled to my feet and hurried towards the breach in the wall. Through the jagged hole, I could see the adjacent room in disarray, a testament to the force of my involuntary action.
“Are you okay?” I called out, my voice laced with genuine concern. My psychokinetic field had acted on its own, a defense mechanism that had unintentionally caused harm. Leaning through the opening, I peered into the adjacent room, my eyes locking onto Professor Angelica’s figure as she stirred amidst the wreckage.
She groaned, slowly pushing herself up from the floor. Her lab coat was disheveled, her glasses askew. She blinked, attempting to clear her vision, and as her eyes met mine, a mixture of confusion and surprise danced within them.
“Loid… I’m not sure what just happened,” she muttered, her voice tinged with a combination of awe and bewilderment. “That force… It was like nothing I’ve ever encountered before.”
I extended a hand to help her out of the now makeshift passage between our rooms.
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” I admitted, genuine remorse coloring my words. “My abilities, they just… reacted on their own.”
Professor Angelica took my offered hand and pulled herself through the breach. As she stood beside me, the gravity of our situation seemed to weigh heavily upon us. The events of the past few moments defied explanation, straying far beyond the boundaries of conventional understanding.
Gathering herself, Professor Angelica straightened her glasses and looked at me with a mix of determination and curiosity. “We might not understand it now, but there’s something extraordinary about what just transpired,” she remarked
“Your abilities, that psychokinetic field… are out of control?” She asked
I nodded, absorbing her words and told her everything I know of. The world had momentarily transformed into an incomprehensible realm, and my involuntary response had demonstrated that my connection to this altered reality was more profound than I had ever imagined.
As we stood amidst the aftermath, the questions swirled in our minds like eddies in a stream. What had triggered this phenomenon? Was it linked to the red-drenched world I had momentarily perceived?
The enigma tugged at the edges of my thoughts.
Lost in contemplation, my head began to throb once more. I instinctively massaged my temple in a feeble attempt to alleviate the discomfort.
“Loid?… Is your head hurting?” Professor Angelica’s voice cut through the haze of my thoughts, concerned with etching its melody into her words. I looked towards her and nodded, acknowledging the return of the discomfort.
Without hesitation, Professor Angelica stepped closer, her presence both reassuring and unexpected. She gently intercepted my hands, guiding them away from my temples, and then tenderly placed her own hand against my forehead. The touch was a curious juxtaposition of clinical analysis and unexpected intimacy, an uncharted territory for our usually reserved interactions.
My gaze locked onto her striking blue eyes, mesmerized by the way they seemed to hold galaxies within them. For a suspended moment, time stretched into eternity, and the world around us seemed to blur into insignificance.
I stared into her captivating blue eyes, captivated by the intensity of the moment. Her proximity, her scent – it was a sensory overload that threatened to unsettle my composure.
‘C’mon Grey! you can do this,’ I silently cheered myself on, determined not to let my nerves get the better of me.
Her presence was magnetic, a force that could easily ensnare anyone in its allure. The passage of time seemed to blur as we locked gazes, an eternity encapsulated in a fleeting moment.
A faint cough shattered the enchanting spell we had inadvertently cast upon ourselves. We both turned our heads abruptly, our gazes shifting towards the doorway. The doctor stood there, an expression of mild surprise masking their features.
Flustered and caught in a moment that defied easy explanation, Professor Angelica and I hastily disentangled ourselves from the charged interaction. Our cheeks flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and realization, mirroring the chaotic maelstrom that had gripped our surroundings earlier.
“Apologies for the intrusion,” the doctor said, a faint smile playing on their lips. “I was just checking on the commotion from next door.”
The doctor’s inquiries about the commotion hung in the air, casting a shadow of unease.
As the doctor’s suspicion loomed, he narrowed his eyes and scrutinized my face, fixating on my right eye, which had exhibited the crimson hue. Just as he questioned it,
“What happened to your right eye?”
Seizing the opportunity, I hastily put my hand on my eye and replied, “Must be your imagination,” a weak attempt to deflect his growing curiosity.
I turned around faced Professor Angelica and we nodded in response as a gesture to do something about the situation
Though our eyes avoided each other as we sought to regain our composure.
The doctor’s skepticism was evident, but before he could press further, a distraction emerged, saving me from further scrutiny.
Professor Angelica interjected, her voice firm as she asserted that the eye was not red, placing the blame on the doctor’s own perception.
The doctor’s presence was a timely reminder of the world beyond our immediate focus, grounding us in the reality of the hospital environment.
The doctor relented, acknowledging his misjudgment with an apology before exiting the room. Alone once more, a sigh of relief escaped Professor Angelica’s lips.
As the doctor left us to our privacy, Professor Angelica cleared her throat,
*Ahem
She finally revealed the truth, admitting that the illusionary magic she possessed had made the sudden noise and even the aftermath of her collision with the wall.
her voice carried a hint of awkwardness.
“We should probably try to make sense of what’s happening. your headache, the psychokinetic response, and that red world… they’re all connected somehow.”
Her words brought me back to the enigma that had stirred this journey. I nodded, gratitude and determination flickering in my eyes. We might be stumbling through the unknown, but with Professor Angelica by my side, I felt relieved
The tranquility of the moment was disrupted by the voice of Professor Angelica. “It’s about time we set out, Loid. Six months without seeing the sun, if I recall correctly?”
With a lighthearted punch to my shoulder, she added, “Come on, let’s get moving.”
“Agreed, let’s get moving,” I replied, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips.
A sense of departure was palpable in the air, prompting her curious inquiry, “Is there anything else you need to take from here?”
Pausing for a moment, I scanned the surroundings, ensuring nothing was left behind. My focus settled on the table adjacent to the bed. Strewn upon it were letters, the majority of them bearing Angela’s name.
Observing my fixed stare, Professor Angelica’s brows furrowed with confusion. “What’s caught your attention? Gather those letters, Loid.”
Complying with her suggestion, I collected the letters in my hands, feeling their weight both physically and emotionally. As I turned around to face Professor Angelica, her countenance bore a knowing smile.
Noting my gaze upon her, she mused, “Welcome back.”
A reciprocal smile graced my lips, and I replied, “Thank you. It’s good to be back.”
ACT III: SHATTERED BOUNDARIES END
