DVD5 Movie Online Blind Eyes Opened
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About The Author Olawunmi Abraham
Resume: Beloved of God... Minister of reconciliation... I print @printcreativiti and I also hawk Ofada on these streets @ofadapot ..
Score - 32 votes Directed by - Geoffrey Rogers actors - Brook Susan Parker countries - USA runtime - 1hours, 55 minute. Never, ever drive off the road. That was the first rule I had written down. The road was bumpy and inhospitable. I held the steering wheel with such a feverish grip, that veins prominently bulged on my hands. I was driving on a narrow dirt road, full of potholes and fallen branches, a testament to its lack of usage. The trees on the side towered, encroaching above the road, effectively blocking any starlight from the dark sky above. It was pitch black and without the headlights of my car, I wouldn’t see anything. I drove slowly, because the meager excuse of a road curved every now and again, often disappearing under a thick pile of leaves, before I caught its trace again in the distance, hoping not to end up in a ditch which I wouldn’t be able to get my car out of. My headlights illuminated a thick row of trees ahead and I knew that the road had come to an end. I slowed down and then stopped my car entirely, scanning the area from left to right, to make sure there wasn’t a pathway I may have potentially missed. I turned the key in the ignition and the engine sputtered out of life, leaving me in eerie silence. The lights disappeared, leaving me in utter darkness, until I manually turned them back on. In the moment of being in pitch black, a shiver ran down my spine. I grabbed my wallet and pulled out the photo of Alina. She was smiling in it in such a reassuring way, that it could cheer up the gloomiest of souls. She was so energetic back then, so full of life. It was my favorite picture of her. She was blushing in the photo from the cold. We were on vacation in Iceland, a place she always wanted to visit more than anything else. It was her birthday and I surprised her with tickets. She was so ecstatic when I told her the plan, she spent the next two hours checking online the place I booked. She always appreciated small gestures and gifts, so something like this launched her to the moon. Two days later, we were on a night cruise off Reykjavik in search of the Northern Lights. It was Alina’s first time seeing the lights, so she was very excited. When she saw the shades of green and white stretched across the night sky in a shape that resembled a colossal beast, blending in with the infinite stars, she had a grin from ear to ear on her face. “Wow, look at that, David! ” She pointed over yonder, her cheeks blushing from the cold, as steady breaths left her mouth and disappeared in the air. She fumbled for her phone with the gloves and started snapping pictures. “See, aren’t you glad now that I got you those phone-compatible gloves? ” I asked. “Yeah, they’re so great! I don’t have to take off and put on my glove every time I see something interesting. Which, over here, is like every minute or so. ” She took a picture of me. “Come on, let’s take a picture together. ” She said. I put my arm around her and she pursed her lips photogenically, as she snapped a picture of us, with the Aurora Borealis behind us. I kissed her and she took another picture like that. “Let me take a picture of you. ” I said as I took her phone. Alina took off her winter hat and stood by the railing at the bow of the ship. She put her hands behind on the railing and slightly cocked her head, smiling at the camera. I snapped a few photos and I distinctly remember thinking how lucky I was to have her. I handed the phone back to her and we faced the green lights again, staring at the sky. The murmurs of the tourists around us filled the air, each group speaking in their own language. “Do you think we can come back here again someday? ” Alina asked, as she stuffed the hat on her head, clumsily pulling it down to cover her ears. “I thought you hated the cold? ” I grinned teasingly. “Please, Dave. It’s so beauti-“ Her sentence was caught off by a coughing fit. “You okay, honey? ” I asked. She nodded, clearing her throat. That was the start of our ordeal. I put the photo in the chest pocket of my jacket. I proceeded to pull out the wrinkled, folded-up piece of paper from my wallet. I unfolded it carefully and read what was written in sloppy handwriting: When you reach the end of the road, leave your car behind, but leave the lights on. Start your stopwatch and keep walking in a straight line until you see a narrow entrance to a cave. If five minutes have gone by and you haven’t found the entrance, follow your car’s headlights back and try again. I already knew the text word by word, because I’ve read it so many times. But I had to be sure. I can’t screw this up, everything depended on it. I folded up the paper and put it in the pocket of my jeans. I opened the glovebox and took out the flashlight. After a click to see if it works, I got out of the car, leaving the key in the ignition – no one would be stealing it here, not in this unfriendly forest. When I opened the door, I expected to be hit with the sounds of animal life, crickets and such. But there was nothing. It was so deafeningly silent, that I felt compelled to clear my throat, just to make sure I hadn’t lost my hearing. Something was terribly wrong here, I could feel it in the heaviness which permeated the air. I scanned the tree-line with my flashlight, just to assure myself nothing was lurking from behind a tree. Once my mind was calm, I turned to the direction my car was facing, set the timer on my watch and started walking. The shuffling of leaves under my feet filled the air, as I carefully strode forward, cautious not to step into a hidden ditch and twist my ankle. The beams of my car illuminated far ahead, but they gradually dissipated and then completely disappeared, leaving me with my flashlight as the only source of light in the devouring darkness of the woods. I did my best to resist the urge to look around, in fear that I would inadvertently start walking in the wrong direction. I glanced at the timer. 2:36. I have less than half time left. I hurried, striding through the thick layers of dry leaves and broken branches, my steady breathing joining in on the cacophony of shuffling and snapping. I suddenly remembered the hikes I often had with Alina. She loved the outdoors. “Wait, I gotta… I gotta take a break. ” I said while panting, in the middle of an ascent on a steep hill. Alina turned around to face me, looking like she was doing nothing more than light jogging. “Tired already? Come onnn. ” She put her hands on her hips and shifted her weight on one leg. “Guess I… I should have… should have gone jogging with you all those… mornings, huh. ” I chuckled breathlessly. “Twice a week is all you need. “Twice a week… that’s twice as much as I planned on doing. ” I said. She approached me and grabbed my hand, playfully gesturing with her head towards the top of the hill. “Come on, we’re close to a bench now. We can take a break there and…” She leaned in and whispered “…maybe kiss a little? ” Climbing the hill suddenly sounded a lot more attractive and in a matter of minutes, we were on an elevation, with our backpacks off, sitting close to each other on a bench. “Hey, I just wanted to say I really appreciate you doing these things with me. ” She said, as she put her hand on my thigh. “What are you talking about, babe? I’m enjoying this. ” And it was the truth. Anything even remotely unappealing was a lot more enjoyable with Alina, whether it be watching movies at home, visiting family members (which I hated), hiking or working out. “Well, you’ll have to train harder if you don’t want me to leave you behind for a bear to eat. ” She leaned in closer. “Hey, if I can survive living with you, I can survive a bear. ” I said, to which she gasped, faking shock. I brushed the hair from her face and kissed her. “Wait-“ She barely managed to utter mid-kiss and looked away. She put her hand over her mouth and started coughing. It was a dry, painful-to-listen cough, which made my lungs hurt just hearing it. “You’ve been having that cough for a while now. We really should schedule an appointment for it, seriously. ” She mildly coughed a few more times, after which she cleared her throat. “Alright, fine. I’ll do it first thing Monday, I promise. ” She smiled reassuringly. 4:13. Not much time left and I really didn’t want to spend five more minutes going back and then going through the same process once more. I trudged through the leaves, the feeling of unease growing inside me, threatening to take control of my body. 4:33. Nothing but the dark and endless trees. Wait, there’s something far ahead. The beam of my flashlight bounced off something at the end, rather than disappearing in the dark ahead. Reinvigorated, I quickened my pace and realized I was staring at a cliff wall. It was huge, its uneven and jagged surface taking up the entire view above and on both sides. As I moved my light a little to the left, I saw a small gap, slightly bigger than me, opening into a darkness that my flashlight couldn’t illuminate. It made my breath quicken, made me feel as if I could go inside and never find my way back out. I slowly approached it, inspecting it from a safe distance. Even from here, my light couldn’t penetrate the darkness at the threshold. I should have been able to see the adjacent wall on the inside, but there was nothing. It was as if my light was suddenly stopped at the entrance by an invisible black wall. My timer beeped loudly, startling me. I turned it off. I pulled out my paper again and read the next line three times, darting my eyes over the same sentence over and over. You have to be sure before you step inside, because once you do, there’s no going back. I already knew that of course, but a nagging feeling wouldn’t let me just rely on my memory. That’s why I had it all written down. I couldn’t allow myself to screw this up, I probably wouldn’t get a second chance. I approached the entrance of the cave, my light practically shining only inches into the black wall. I timidly ran my fingers across the barrier, feeling an unnatural cold. It was freezing. A moment of trepidation overtook me, before I blanked my mind and stepped through the veil, bracing myself for the unknown. I felt as if I had just gone over the threshold from a warm room into an inhospitably cold one. The temperature was much lower in here, and it wasn’t something of this world. I shone my flashlight around, glancing at the uneven surfaces of the encroaching walls which gave me just enough room to squeeze through by going sideways. I glanced behind, but to my amazement, the black veil was no longer there and I was instead faced with a solid rock wall. It was all part of the challenge and I knew this would happen. I faced the direction in which the passage lead. Go through the passage, no matter how narrow it gets. Don’t stop to listen to the noises in the distance. Don’t turn around if you hear them behind, either. I started making my way through the cave, the steady sound of droplets falling onto the ground permeating the air. The beam of my flashlight only illuminated the pathway to a certain point ahead, after which it merged with the darkness, giving me a distinct impression of walking through an endless corridor. Very soon I started hearing something that sounded like loud crashing, somewhere in the distance, like a rock plummeting to the ground. This occurred at various intervals and amplitudes, never in a predictable manner. It wasn’t long until other sounds started to join in on the already present ones. At first, I couldn’t tell what I was hearing, but the more I listened, the more I started to distinguish something that sounded like footsteps, sounding like someone steadily strolling through the cave. They were coming from somewhere far in front of me, but on some occasions, they would resound behind me. It took everything within me not to look behind, as I did my best to remember the note’s instructions. Don’t stop to listen to the noises. Whatever was making the noises seemed to dislike this, because before I knew it, they grew louder, closer and more frantic. What sounded like walking just before, was now frenetic running, like a child deliberately stomping his feet on the rock floor, to make sure he was heard. The footsteps behind me seemed to coincide with my own, right at my heels. And then the coughing started. At first, very distant, echoing throughout the caves, bouncing off the walls. But as I progressed, it gradually got louder, until it sounded as if someone was coughing right in my ear. I pushed on, breaking into a slow jog, while ignoring the combined sounds, my heart pounding in my chest. The coughing sounded very familiar, too. I knew because I was forced to listen to it every day. My thoughts involuntarily started drifting to the bitter times Alina and I spent together and I knew it was the effect of this place and not my own will. “Sir, did you hear what I said? ” The elderly doctor cocked his head, staring at me with a pitiful curiosity. I felt nothing. It was one of those moments when you get hit and you don’t feel the pain immediately, but it comes only later. The murmurs of the hospital staff exchanging information and patients talking amongst each other filled the hallway. I dreamily nodded to the doctor and said: “Yeah. Yeah, I heard you. I um… How long… how long does she have? ” I felt like I had something stuck in my throat while trying to utter those words. The doctor shook his head like a disappointed parent: “I’m afraid it’s not looking good. A few months at best. ” The pain came and it was so intense that I needed to put my hand on the wall to stop myself from keeling over. I felt sick to my stomach. Was this really happening? A few months? It was not enough time. We had so much to do. “Thank you, doctor. I’ll let her know. “Let me know if there’s anything else you need. ” The doctor put his hand on my shoulder sympathetically, before leaving. I stood there for a solid five minutes, before deciding to go back to Alina, my wobbly legs barely able to hold the weight of my own body. She was sitting on a bench in the waiting room between two old women. She was clasping a cup of coffee from the vending machine between her palms, the steam slowly rising from the cup. Upon seeing my figure in front of her, she looked up at me and smiled, as she brushed her hair from her face. “Hey. ” She said, but I could see the worry on her despite her smile “So, what did the doc say? ” The noises around me were so intense in that tight cave space, that I felt like I was in a crowded area, and they grew louder by the second. I was full-on sprinting as much as the narrow passage allowed me to, the beam of my flashlight bobbing up and down with each step I took. And then just like that, all the noises stopped. The footsteps, the coughing, the shuffling, all gone. The narrow passage opened up into a vast area inside the cave. I shone my flashlight around and saw countless nature-made pillars strewn around the area of all shapes and sizes, crude and uneven, some stretching as high as my flashlight could reach and as thick as trees, others barely half my size. I lowered my flashlight and looked around, unable to see anything in the pitch black. I slowly rotated to the right, trying to detect the faintest trace of something contrasting the dark and there it was – a tiny, barely visible white dot, a beacon of hope in the surrounding abyss. I steadied my breathing, as I put my hand in the pocket of my jeans and pulled out the note. Once the passage opens into a big area, look for the source of light. Follow it, while keeping anything around you at a distance with your flashlight. If your flashlight starts to flicker – run! I sighed and put the note back in my pocket. I pulled out Alina’s picture and looked at it under the light. In this dark and hostile place, her face gave me respite. I felt like I needed to stare at her picture for a little longer, to remind myself why I was here in the first place. I gritted my teeth and gently put the picture back in my pocket and started walking towards the small dot in the distance. Not even a minute into my walk, I heard the first batter of footsteps. It sounded like someone barefoot sprinting a short distance to my left and when I shone the light there, I saw nothing but the jagged pillars and darkness. I went on and heard another set of footsteps, again to my left. I quickly moved my beam again and this time, for a split second, before it disappeared behind one of the pillars, I saw a figure. I couldn’t tell what exactly I saw because it was such a short time, but it looked humanoid, skinny, with a backbone prominent against its stretched, grey skin. I hurried up and now heard the footsteps to the right. I turned there and saw a similar, grey figure running behind one of the smaller pillars. It crouched behind it, but since the pillar was too thin, I saw the shoulder and the foot of the creature sticking out cover, emaciated so much that it looked like it was nothing but skin and bone. A much faster batter of footsteps resounded behind me and I shot around, but saw nothing. When I turned back to face the crouching creature at the pillar, it was gone. The steady sound of my panting filled the air, making me feel like a sitting duck, surrounded by all these unimaginable monstrosities. I glanced at the white dot, which grew bigger in size, but just barely. I probably wasn’t even halfway there. I broke into a light jog, frantically swinging my flashlight around, at the footsteps that now seemed to intermittently emanate from everywhere, their echoes carried through the air, always the same distance away. I saw the skinny, grey figures getting bolder and leaving their covers more courageously, only to retreat behind the pillars when I shone my light at them. I heard a sprint of bare feet approaching me and I turned around just in time, to illuminate a short, emaciated monster, with tiny, black eyes and a thin slit for a mouth, full of sharp rows of teeth. The creature shrieked loudly, something that resembled car tires and shielded its face, immediately retreating into the dark. I ran, now in full-blown panic, fixated on the white dot. It was so close now and it was no longer a dot, but something that looked like a crude doorway. Faint, white light emanated from it, beckoning me and I needed no invitation to decide to reach it. The pillars started to thin out and eventually disappeared entirely and I knew that I had to sprint even faster. Once their cover is gone, the creatures will become desperate. Run towards the light and don’t look back until you are through. I listened as the dozens, hundreds of tiny footsteps followed closely behind, shrieks resounding so loudly that my ears hurt, their cries sounding like the bloodthirsty desperation of a predator hunting its prey. The flashlight started to flicker, but I ignored it. The white door grew bigger and bigger and before I knew it, I was through it. I felt the floor disappear from under my feet and felt myself falling headfirst into a watery abyss, while the sounds of my pursuers abated. A loud splash resounded and for an instant I felt cold all over my body, with everything around getting muffled. I felt cold water fill my mouth and the utter realization that I might drown in this place filled me with indescribable panic. I held my breath and swam in the direction that seemed the likeliest to lead to the surface, all the while praying I wasn’t diving deeper. In seconds, another splash occurred and the sounds around me were no longer muffled. I took a deep breath, gasping for air, more in panic than from drowning. I shone my light around, feeling the cold penetrate my body. I had to get out of there immediately. I saw solid surface close by, so I used my remaining strength to swim there and climb out of the water, slumping onto my back, panting. I was in temporary relief and I knew that I’d be safe for the moment, so I allowed myself to close my eyes for a second. Alina sat upright in her bed, staring out the window. The morning sun glared through the pane of glass and on her pale face. I sat at the edge of the bed. “What are you thinking? ” I asked her, putting my hand on her thigh. It felt much too skinny, even through the blanket. She looked at me and smiled. She had heavy bags under her eyes and her cheekbones were prominent on her sunken face. Despite all of that, the smile she gave was still the same as it was when she was healthy. Full of life, radiant with hope and positivity. “I was just remembering our trip to Iceland. ” She said with a hoarse voice. “Oh, yeah. It was around this time last year. “I guess… I guess we won’t be going back there after all. ” She forced a chuckle, the sadness audible in her voice. I choked. I didn’t know what to say. She sighed and said: “It’s a shame. I really wanted to see the Northern Lights one more time. ” I was suddenly overcome with an overwhelming sadness. “Don’t say that. ” I said “We could still visit Iceland this winter. ” She gave me a smile, which clearly said that she knew I didn’t believe it. She put her hand over mine and said: “I’m feeling tired. I should get some rest. ” I opened my eyes and sat upright, more distressed now than I was running away from those abominations from before. I pulled out the photograph from my chest pocket. It was wet, but still as pristine as before the fall, because I had encased it in plastic. Seeing her smile put my heart at ease and gave me the strength to go on. It’s a shame I didn’t go to such lengths to protect the note as well, because when I pulled it out of my jeans, it was soaked and ruined, the ink smudged into indecipherable letters. I tossed it away. It’s okay, I had it memorized. I grabbed my flashlight, giving myself a pat on the back for buying a water-proof one, and continued going. Just hold on, Alina. I thought, but in reality, was encouraging myself instead. After you swim out, there’s only one path you can follow. Go forward until you see a bridge. Something will be on the other side of it. It can’t see you, but it can hear you, so it’s important to get past it quietly. Don’t run, even if you are a good far from it. You need to put as much distance between yourself and it as you can before the next step. The glistening walls surrounding the cave chamber gradually closed in on me, until I was once again in a somewhat narrow passage. And then, they suddenly widened again and I was faced with an open area, which seemingly had no ceiling. I tentatively took a few steps forward and saw an old rope bridge, wobbly in appearance, with worn-out ropes and rotted planks. I pointed the flashlight down below, but was met with nothing but endless dark. I had to cross the bridge, there was no other way around it. I grabbed onto both sides of the rope, indecisively taking one step onto the old board, testing to see if it would collapse under my weight. I put the other foot in front of the first one and continued doing so, slowly and steadily. The bridge creaked with uncertainty, making me stop at every sound it would make. I expected the rope to snap or the board to break any moment and myself to plunge into my inevitable demise. I wondered how long I’d be falling before I hit the floor and if I’d have time to wallow in my own helplessness before death took me. Although the bridge seemed endless, I reached the other side much sooner than I expected. It felt great stepping on the hard surface of the cave rock, feeling stability once again. My relish was short-lived though, when the sound of wheezing filled the air in front of me. I raised my flashlight and darted the light around, but was only faced once more with the dark. It was hard to pinpoint where the wheezes were coming from, since they echoed throughout the cave. I stood frozen, as they gradually got louder. The wheezing was interrupted by a sudden coughing fit, before it continued. My thoughts inadvertently kept rushing back to my final moments with Alina. I wish I could say that we enjoyed those last minutes that we had, but that wasn’t the case. The chemo had made her increasingly agitated and being around her was insufferable. “Can you please not chew so loudly? ” Alina asked from her bed impatiently, slightly raising her tone. I stopped chewing my scrambled eggs and slowly put my fork down to look at her. She had lost all her hair and even her eyebrows had fallen out. Her face was white as a sheet of paper, thin and sunken, her cheekbones and eye sockets clearly visible against her face. Her body was frail and thin, as she weighed no more than half of what she used to. It was so difficult watching her become like this. A woman so lively, fit, full of energy, to become the exact opposite of what she was prior to getting sick and unable to do all the things she used to enjoy. She stared at me with a stern expression on her face, the plate of her food untouched on the nightstand next to her. “I’m sorry, honey. ” I responded in a docile way. This wasn’t her first outburst and it probably wouldn’t be her last, either. I had gotten somewhat used to it by now, but her words still hurt me sometimes. I tried to tolerate it as much as I could, but I spent less and less time with her in the room. I simply couldn’t bear to watch her like that. Over the course of the next few days, she became increasingly weaker, unable to eat, and later even speak. I knew that her time was almost up, so in those last moments I stayed by her side and held her hand the entire time, while she was in a limbo, falling in and out of consciousness, only able to wheeze while awake, neither truly alive nor dead. I spoke to her, but she was unresponsive. I don’t even remember what our last conversation was. She couldn’t even return the squeeze of my hand and eventually one day, she just didn’t wake up. I spent hours in the room with her body, holding her cold hand and staring at her, feeling numb. I was like a zombie. And then the flood-gates opened and I was hit with waves and waves of emotions which I could not contain. It was the worst I’d ever felt in my life and I begged god to give her back, to swap our places, to give me just one more minute with her. But of course, that never happened. The wheezing was so close now, that I expected something to jump out in front of me. It didn’t happen quite so, but I did see a figure emerge from the dark. I had to put my hand over my mouth to stop myself from audibly gasping when I saw what kind of monster staggered up in front of me. My flashlight illuminated a hunched-over woman. Except she wasn’t really human, from the looks of it. It had long and damp black hair falling over its face, almost halfway down to its chest. It was skinny, so skinny that I wondered how it was even able to stand. Its body was wrapped in a torn, brownish rag and as it made a step closer to me, I realized it was an old hospital gown. Its painful wheezes permeated the air, loud with each step taken. I was frozen in place, unable to move an inch from fear. The creature stopped, its chest heaving as it breathed and then it turned its head towards me. It was then that I realized it had no eyes. Where the eyes should have been, I saw skin stretched across the sunken sockets. It didn’t seem to react to my flashlight, which fiercely danced on the creatures face up and down from my trembling hands. I closed my eyes and held my breath, tears now flowing down my face. I had to be quiet. The creature turned left and continued walking slowly, each step it took looking like it had trouble moving its limbs, dragging its bloodied feet across the dirt and rock with a shuffling sound. As soon as it was some distance away, I daringly started tip-toeing forward, holding my breath along the way. I kept my light trained on the creature, while its now steady wheezing filled the air. In the panic that I felt, I accidentally kicked a pebble on the ground, which rolled away with an ominously loud sound. I stopped dead in my track. The creature gasped loudly with a simultaneous shriek, epileptically jerking its head in the direction of the sound. It started running, much faster than I thought it could with its frail body, all the while with shallower and much louder wheezing. It stopped exactly where the pebble had rolled over. It swiveled its head left and right with curiosity, clenching its fingers in a way that could only indicate that it was ready to attack with its long nails. The creature probingly sniffed the air multiple times, before it let out a groan of disappointment and staggered back to its previous position. I slowly exhaled, almost out of breath. I proceeded to walk forward, while the steady wheezing started resonating in the air once more. I got a surge of hope when I saw something that looked like a doorway, not too far ahead. I wanted to run, but I had to follow the rules. The creature was too fast. Slowly the breathing behind me faded and I silently thanked god for that. When I got closer to the doorway, I saw crimson light gleaming from inside, illuminating the interior with a sickly color. I stopped at the threshold and then slowly turned around. I pointed my flashlight back and saw the creature in the distance, facing away from me. I turned back to the doorway. Once you step through the doorway at the end, the creature will have noticed you. You will know this, because it will scream. Run. Run as fast as you can and don’t stop until you are through the next door. So that’s what I did. As soon as I took one step across the threshold, I started running for dear life. An inhuman shriek resounded behind me in the distance, followed by a rapid batter of footsteps and violent wheezing. The lights I saw before now glowed brighter, on both sides of the room, illuminating a pathway in the middle. I ran across, feeling the temperature rising. The scream was right at my heels and I was just about prepared to feel its hand wrap around my ankle and pull me back, but I refused to stop. The room changed as I ran through, the crimson light suddenly illuminated tubes, hospital gowns and IV bags hanging from the ceiling. I heard EKG machines beeping and murmurs of people who I knew were doctors, resonating throughout the chamber. And then I saw people in the distance, hundreds and hundreds of people, emaciated, sick, in patient’s gowns staggering like zombies forward, some dragging IV racks with them, others in wheelchairs, all going in one direction and disappearing far ahead in an amalgamation of what looked like giant, rotted black lungs. Sounds of respiration filled the air, as the lungs inhaled and enlarged in size and then exhaled, leaving giant droplets of blood on the ground in front. As I got closer I realized those weren’t lungs at all, they were people, all merged together into a pile that resembled lungs, new ones joining by the second and latching onto the other tormented souls. I knew that these were souls who tried to go through the same test as I and failed. I knew this is what awaited me, if I got caught. I couldn’t take it, I wanted to be out of there, but there was nothing in sight, just an endless pathway going forward. I had started to lose hope and then I saw it – a passage in front, and a giant iron door opening up inside, white, bright light emanating from it. The shrieks of the monster were still behind me, and I had started to think it was toying with me. I jumped through the light and was completely enveloped in it. As fast is blinded me, it disappeared, and the door slammed behind with a loud bang. There was a loud slam on it, which made me recoil in fear. Scratching, wheezing, screaming and banging ensued for a few long seconds, before it slowly faded away into distance and eventually disappeared entirely. I loudly sighed in relief, amazed that I managed to survive this far. I did it. Once you are through the door, talk to the Overseer and make your wish. I turned around. I was in a dark room, but this one was different. The floors and walls seemed straight and smooth, man-made, not crude like the rest of the cave. From the middle of the ceiling, blue light was cast down, illuminating a figure, sitting on a rock. I couldn’t see clearly who or what the figure was, but what I did see is that it was cloaked in a black robe, looking down, not revealing any discernible features. I tentatively approached the figure, my heart thudding in my chest. It phlegmatically raised its head, as if just now becoming aware of my presence. I couldn’t see its face, as it was shrouded in darkness, but when it leaned back, I saw a pair of boney, grey hands with thick veins protruding out, like an old man. It spoke in a slow, raspy whisper: “So. You’ve made it. You wish to bring back the dead? ” “Yes. I completed all of your tasks. Now I wish to bring my lover back. She was young. There was so much in store for her, but she was taken from me too soon. I want to live with her the life we never had. ” I said with such clarity and confidence, that I amazed myself. I rehearsed that line in my head so many times before, imagining this moment, but I never thought it would actually ever happen. The Overseer shook its head, which was like a punch to the gut. It continued: “You misunderstand. It does not work that way. ” It spoke slowly, sending shivers down my spine with each word. “Wait, no. The rules said we get to bring our loved ones back. I completed your challenge, fair and square. ” I said, scared because I saw back in the previous room what kind of hell this creature was capable of, but my desire to bring Alina back was stronger. The Overseer sat motionless for a moment, before saying: “I will give you three choices. You may choose one. For the first choice, you can bring back your loved one. But know that she will not be the same. I can bring her back, but I cannot cure her ailments. So whatever ate at her in life before, will continue to do so when she returns from the grave, causing her to live a life of endless agony. In the end, she will become a walking corpse, the time you spend with her will be a nightmare and she will beg you to kill her before the end. And you will do it with relish. Is that worth it, to have her back? ” My heart dropped to my stomach, but I listened. “The second option is to turn back time. You can go back to happier times, when she was healthy. But know that you cannot change anything, as it was already written by the fates. She will die again, and you will have to relive the same, bitter end once more. ” “What’s the third option? ” I asked impatiently, my entire body shivering. The Overseer paused once more, before saying: “You may see your lover once more for a short time. I can connect the two of you and you may say goodbye to her. ” “That’s it? ” It didn’t respond. I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I had come all this way for nothing. I couldn’t bring her back. And yet I would go through this hell ten times over, if it would mean seeing her face, even if it were just for a moment. The first choice was not ideal, since it would only prolong torment to the both of us. But the second option? What if the Overseer was wrong and it is possible to change the course of events? No, the Overseer was telling the truth, somehow I knew it in my heart. “I choose the final option. ” I said with utter determination. The Overseer leaned forward, and I couldn’t tell if it was staring at me. A moment later, it swiped the air with its hand and a blue, sparkly mist appeared in front of him, spreading and slowly enveloping the entire room, until it was all I could see. It felt like floating in the sky, with countless stars wherever I turned. “David? ” I heard a voice behind me. A soft, gentle voice. A voice which was music to my ears. I turned around gasped audibly. In front of me stood Alina, no longer the skinny, sickly person that I last saw her as, but as beautiful as the day I took the picture of her on that cruise ship, with blushing cheeks, perfect hair, enchanting smile. She was wearing a white gown, which seemed to radiate with light. No, it was more like Alina herself radiated with inexplicable divinity. I rushed to her and hugged her tighter than I ever did before in my life. I felt the warmth of her body, as she hugged me back. I felt the weight of all my burdens drop. It felt like home. I gave her a long kiss, unable to pull myself away from her lips, the lips which I yearned for night after night. When I finally did pull away, I realized that I was crying. “Alina, my love. I’m so sorry. I couldn’t save you. ” She gently wiped my tears away, holding my face with her hands: “Shhh, no David. There’s nothing to be sorry about. We both knew what would happen in the end. Even though our time together was short, you made me so happy. And I am so happy to look at you again. It feels like so long…” “It’s so hard without you. I miss you every day. ” She nodded in understanding, stroking my hair: “I know. I know you blame yourself, but none of what happened was your fault. It was fate. We will be together again one day, I promise. ” “I can’t go on without you. You’re all I got. We were going to do so many things together. I had so many plans for us. My life is meaningless without you. ” New tears formed in my eyes and she wiped those away, too. I wished that I could freeze that moment and be with her like that forever. I didn’t care if I had to live in that damned cave and survive off mushrooms, all I wanted was to be with her, no matter the price. She said: “My time was over. But yours is not. You still have so much ahead of you. You have to live your own life. And when that life is over, I will be waiting for you. But until then, you have to promise me that you will continue to live. ” She gave me a concerned look and I knew we didn’t have much time left, so I nodded and said: “Okay, my love. I promise. ” “And David? ” She asked. “Yes? ” “Jogging. Twice a week. ” We both smiled. It was bittersweet. I felt happy and sad at the same time. She kissed me and as I held her, I felt her slipping away. She was moving, no, floating backwards and slowly ascending into the sky. “I have to go, my love. They’re calling to me. “No, no please don’t go. Stay with me. ” I tried reaching out to her, but she seemed oblivious to my presence, glancing around at something I couldn’t see with a smile on her face. The sky started changing colors and suddenly it was covered in various shades of green, like waves painted on a canvas. They covered a big portion of the sky and Alina looked at it in fascination and joy, the same kind of joy of appreciating small things, which she had back when she was alive. She looked down at me and said: “David, look! It’s the Northern Lights. ” We smiled at each other, before she turned to the sky and said in a soft tone “I always wanted to see them once more. They’re so beautiful. ” The sky around me started darkening and I stared at Alina’s pure form in a trance and sense of finality. “I love you, Alina. ” I muttered to myself, as her radiance slowly blended with the darkness and I was back in the dark room from before. The Overseer was nowhere in sight. I fell to my knees and wept for what felt like hours, the pain in my heart more intense than on the day she died. I wanted to die there and then and join her in the afterlife. But I couldn’t. I made a promise to her. When I regained my composure, I looked around. There was faint light was coming from behind me. I followed it and found myself back in the forest, at the cave entrance. It was morning and the birds were chirping, light breeze whipped my face. I looked back, but instead of the entrance I was met with a solid wall. I made my way back to my car and pulled out Alina’s photograph “You’ll always be with me. ” I said as I put the photo against my chest.
Movie online blind eyes opened without. I never saw any kid work in factory, professor. i m chinese. Seb looks so good here. We didnt search for this video This video searched for you. Amen,I recieve,my spiritual eyes will open in Lord Jesus name,Amen. Movie online blind eyes opened lyrics. I had an evening where I was trying to sleep and I somehow saw my own root Chakra and there was some sort of dirt or something surrounding it. It made no sense and I went to sleep. So I was having a dream where I was trying to get somewhere and it kept not working out. I felt like I had an appointment somewhere. I kept missing trains and even crawled over a bridge which was under construction which seemed to be made of fire hoses. Then I was in an area that reminded me of my home town looking for a house and I couldn't find it. Then something really strange happened. I started meditating in my dream. Just observing what was going on and letting the thoughts and feelings do their thing. Then I had a thought about a man I was chatting with online (who I will probably never meet) and we had been chatting a lot about BDSM (if you don't know what that is, it's definitely not safe for work, careful if you look it up). Anyway, I had this nagging thought in my head about whether or not he'd be safe to play with. And then this girl told me she knew him and he was fine (a girl in the dream). I had this weird wave of letting go. Like I just gave in to this hypothetical situation which seemed real because I was dreaming. My thoughts mostly stopped. I just had this strange feeling of totally giving in. Of feeling safe. Then I woke up and was still meditating as I woke up. So I woke up from a sleeping meditative state into an awake meditative state. I somehow didn't have as much of an impulse to get out of bed and moving so I kept meditating. But the bed was uncomfortable, so I had a moment where I crawled out of bed and onto the floor wrapped in my blanket. There was a bit of ringing in my ears and the less attention I paid to it, the louder it got. It was kind of a high pitched whirring sound. But it had a pattern to it like waves. I noticed there was a purple circle in my field of vision. On that circle there was a cursive m like letter that kept drawing itself over and over again. Kind of like a movie ECG moving from left to right and fading out behind itself. The shape that kept drawing itself and fading out changed into the shape of a swastika and kept drawing that over and over again. I became aware of an orange clear plastic slide looking thing which was partly obstructing the vision (my eyes were closed by the way). As soon as I noticed it, it kind of popped out of the way. At the same time the high pitch sound got so high pitched and loud that I swear it would have ruined my hearing if it was an actual sound. And it felt momentarily like there was some strange vibration moving into my head through my ear. I just kept not paying attention to it and letting it happen. Then there was some pulsing and vibrating that started near the base of my spine. It was moving up into my body in waves. I just let it happen. I think the most important thing here is that I somehow managed to be aware of the sounds and vibrations and visuals but without giving in to them or getting distracted by them. Sort of like when you're watching TV you know the rest of the rooms there but it's not a focus. And I just focused on the calm peaceful feeling I was having and I had very minimal other thoughts. At one point I got sidetracked and surprised by the sound and it quieted down so I stopped paying attention to it. Then, after the orange thing disappeared and stopped covering up half the image, the background turned black. The high pitched sound got so high pitched and clean. And the black shape that kept drawing itself turned into almost like a lightbulb filament, extremely bright. If it was an actual light, so bright, it would have been blinding. But it was somehow pure and beautiful. The vibrations picked up and it suddenly felt like electricity was surfing from the area where my anus is (yeah laugh) and going up into my body. It started feeling like there was a tight band around my chest even though I was feeling fine. The electricity kept moving up in surges and it felt like it was building up in my kidneys. Like it would get there and kind of slow down and concentrate there. It actually felt like a real electrical current. Almost painful but I just let it happen. The ringing got high pitched, the sound got louder than any sound I've ever heard, and the light got so bright it was immeasurable. But somehow none of this was my focus, just the state of peace I was in. I don't know how long this went on for, but I just kept letting it happen. Eventually, I started feeling like I sort of hit my limit. I was just thinking "okay, that's enough, I feel like I could keep going but somehow this is enough". I had a brief moment where I thought about how I feel when I see fireworks and I thought to myself "Oh, when people see fireworks, this feeling I just had is what they are going after. The fireworks are just similar so we go to see them when this experience I'm having is what we're all really craving when we go do that. ". I sort of slowly opened my eyes and everything gradually went back to normal. I didn't move for a bit. And then I stood up and I was full of energy. So much energy it was almost too much. I didn't sleep for two days. I called my family and tried to tell them about a recent bad experience I had in life that I was still emotionally recovering from. They didn't care, and I called out my family and ended up calling them out on all the abuse throughout the years. It felt like if I hadn't had that experience, I wouldn't have had the energy or the courage to talk to them like that. We hardly talk anymore now. Anyway, I couldn't figure out what had happened. I hit up the internet for days. It didn't help I was typing out things like "weird zigzag light and electricity". I eventually came across an article which I have since lost. It was someone who I would have previously judged for being crazy. Then I realized that they weren't crazy. They were just like me. They just weren't articulating very well because our language has a lack of existing words and concepts to explain experiences like this. So there is something to this. I already knew about yoga and meditation. I'd previously heard about kundalini and chakras but I'd always thought those things were stupid. I kind of mentally put it into the same pile as horoscopes or tarot cards. Silly nonsense. But there's something to this. And I ended up also having some strange feeling in my throat and I looked up throat chakras. And I think there must have been some activity there because everything described about the throat chakras applied. And I began to be able to speak without fear as well, which was a good change because I previously lived in so much fear of what people would think about what I said that I was basically handicapped when it came to communicating my inner passions to the outside world. I still am but my speech is definitely more free and I even take initiative now, which is something I always felt uncomfortable with before. So I think this was my first real experience with kundalini. Nothing much has happened since then. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I'd stayed in that state much longer, but it just somehow wasn't time. I think I want more, but ironically, I think wanting more of those experiences is actually getting in the way of having them because what I should be focused on is inner peace. I think this was kundalini based on what I read. And I think we don't know much about it. But any help would be great.
Where is Good Creature in Halloween. 😨😨😨. 0:39 that eyes though, creepy for some reason lmao. I would say I have a heart of stone. but this brings tears to my eyes. Movie Online Blind Eyes opened. Movie online blind eyes opened youtube. Once you see the movie the song in the background, hits different. Sabrinaaaaaaaaaa Your Voice is really inspiring,I insist you comes & meet your twin SHAAM ANIS RAZOUK SHES ASTONISHING SUCH AS YOU,Your voice is astonishing fascinating beautiful.
0:04 dat theme music is soooo cool. Movie online blind eyes opened online. Very good mayur n also to his team very emotional documentary i like this video. “Think about it, you visual people.” 🤣🔫. Our God is a healer,may God protect and keep you safe, pastor Alph Lukau. I really wish Brook was a better speaker. He undermines his intellect and authority on the topic with his stuttering and poor pronunciation. Harsh, maybe, but this stuff matters. When the trailer has more edits than the actual movie. Movie online blind eyes opened back. Movie Online Blind Eyes. She is going to die but his love and his affection, it made me fall into love with his love.❤. Movie Online Blind Eyes openedition.
Movie online blind eyes opened movie. Movie online blind eyes opened today. Movie online blind eyes opened now. The amount of cuts in the movie was so small. I would say at most 4 cuts the whole movie. Some of the best camera work I have ever seen in a movie. This is top 3 for best movies of all time in my opinion. Its a must see. Great answer. Sounds obvious once you hear it. If only people would take a second and think honestly and independently about these things. It was me and my boyfriends first time ever taking acid. We had only recently decided to try it and once we got our hands on some tabs we set a date for it. The guy who sold them to me said they were very strong and advised to only take half a tab for my first time. The times I’m talking about could be a little off but its close enough. 9. 30: we took half a tab each. 10. 10: I started feeling a cold tingly sensation run through my body. It started in my feet and ran up through my legs, into my stomach, I got butterfly’s. My chest started getting tingly and tight. It felt good. Both our arms and hands felt so tingly and light as if they weren’t really our own hands. We both felt the urge to lie down and hug a pillow to our chest. EVERYTHING was hilarious. Laughing so much but we didn’t know why or at what. 30: I walked out of the room to go to the toilet and it looked as if the door almost bent open for me, I got a fright and screamed (in a good way, wasn’t really scared) and my bf though my scream was a dog barking. We laughed so much again. 35: I noticed a scratch on my boyfriends arm, I pointed it out and we were both looking at it wondering where it came from. I rubbed it and felt like a scratch. As I rubbed it, it just disappeared like I rubbed it out with my finger. We both watched it disappear and were amazed. We don’t know how we imagined the same thing. 45: we looked at the stove and it seemed like the flames were so strong, we had never seen anything like it. As we stared at the glass it started moving, kind of rippling and breathing. The fire was so strong it lit up my boyfriends face and the room. I decided to open the stove to see how the fire was so strong and we just stared at it for few minutes and closed it again. 11:00: the room started almost breathing and rippling. We could see trails coming from our hands when we moved them. We text my dealer to see if we should take the other half of the tab, it just felt so good. He said if we feel good, take it, so we did. 11. 10: we turned on South Park. Neither of us ever watch it but we thought it might be funny. We were so confused by it all and didn’t know if what was happening should be happening and the sound of the voices. became very irritating. The colors were so vibrant and bouncing from the tv on to the wallpaper and the whole room. We stared at the wallpaper, watching the color from the tv and the pattern move around. 20: we turned it off and walked out the back garden. It was raining. The rain was like green glitter, in the distance the street lights looked like there was an alien spaceship in the distance. The colors were as if we were watching a 3D movie without the 3D glasses. Red and green and blue colors everywhere. It felt like a magical land, as if we stepped into another world. We walked back inside. 25: I felt like my legs were cold and wet so I changed my pants. They weren’t wet but it felt weird. 30: we decided to go for a walk around the village. We felt so full of energy and I wanted to see what it was like outside. The place never looked so beautiful. I kept thinking my friend was walking too fast for me and it felt like my legs were being pushed to walk. I felt like I could do anything I wanted, I felt invincible. We were amazed at the colors of the street lights and the rain and cold air felt beautiful. My bf kept repeating “we are normal people” on the walk. He felt like he had to keep reminding himself it’s normal to go for an walk and if anyone saw us, they wouldn’t know we were on acid. I thought it was hilarious. He repeated this so much throughout the rest of the trip. 50: we got back home. I kept checking the time and saying “it’s only been 2 and a half hours, we have so much of this trip left, what do we do? ” The visuals were so strong at this point I remember thinking in my head “what if I temporarily go blind”. I didn’t say it out loud because I knew I would then panic. Eventually the thought went out of my head. We turned on music and we lay down cuddling and closed our eyes. We listened to Tom Walkers song You and I. I was running my hand across my bfs face and felt like there was electricity and colour coming from my fingers as I touched him, he felt so soft and it was so nice. I could see the two of us as one person tumbling upside down and around in space surrounded by pink color and love. It felt like the physical sensation of being on a rollercoaster. American Pie song came on and it is a long song but it felt like HOURS. And it the song felt so dark and scary in my mind. I sat up and opened my eyes, visuals were even strong now. I was feeling bored and kept checking the time. Kept repeating how short of a time it had been since we took it and thinking I wanted it to be over. It felt draining. I wasn’t scared, just tired of the intense visuals. I said to my bf: “when we took MDMA together I feel like it always brings us closer. But this is going to separate us. ” He didn’t know why I felt like that and he didn’t feel the same. I wanted so bad to kiss him and cuddle but felt like it would annoy him, as if he was going to hate me after the trip was over. He assured me he wouldn’t but the thought was there. 1. 30: We googled things to do on acid. I posted in reddit about how LONG it felt. It had only been about 4 hours at this point since we took it and we didn’t know what to do for the rest of the trip. My fingers were melting into the keyboard as I typed. Words dancing around. My bfs face looked almost like a cartoon. There was outlines on his whole body and every feature on his face as if he was an animated character. Something made me laugh a lot. I was laughing so much for about twenty minutes that I was crying so hard. Tears streaming down my face. It felt so good. We saw online that if things feel weird or boring to change location. So we brought up the speaker and went to the bedroom. Instantly we felt happier and back to life again. 2:00: I go into the bathroom and realize my mascara had ran over my face from crying laughing. I feel disgusted and horrified at my reflection and embarrassed. I clean my face quick before my bf sees me. I get into bed with him and turn on music. I text my brother who I know has taken acid before. We were chatting to him for a few minutes. We looked on Facebook and we spoke about how ugly everyone looked. We were chatting and as I was looking at my bfs face it was like he was morphing into a cat. 3:00: One of our mutual friends text asking if he could come over with his friends after a night out. I thought it would be a great idea. My bf said we shouldn’t do it but I convinced him to let them in. BAD IDEA. I became so fixated on the coming over I didnt do anything else for the next while, just texted him until he arrived. 3. 45: our mutual friend arrived with 4 of his friends none of whom I was familiar with. They were all coked up and snorting lines. I instantly felt uncomfortable and my visuals almost just completely stopped. I tried chatting and being normal but they were just too intense and hyper for me. My bf also went very quiet and it felt like he wasn’t the same person as before we took acid. I just sat there and and felt invisible, no one was talking to me and I couldn’t talk to them. 4. 30: I’m texting a friend who’s experience in taking acid and asking do the thoughts you get on acid become permanent because I feel like I HATE my boyfriend. He was trying to reassure me i should feel ok when it’s over. 50: I go upstairs on my own and hope my bf realizes I’m missing and follows me. He doesn’t. I’m texting my friend crying and saying how the acid has made me really see who my bf is. I text another friend and tell her that my bf is ugly and does he always look like that or is it the acid? I watched a 10 minute trippy video and feel sad I didn’t watch it when I was peaking. It felt like I was alone for about an hour but it was only 20 minutes. 5. 10: my bf comes up to me and everyone has left the house. He gets into bed with and is laughing about how weird everyone looked. He notices I’m not saying anything and he asks me what’s wrong. I said I’m in a bad mood and just leave me alone. I was angry at him but couldn’t find the words to say why. He kept asking what was wrong, he was cuddling me and kissing me and I wanted him to go away. He kept telling me just snap out of it and that made me more angry. I told him “this isn’t the acid, the acid has just opened my mind and made me realize things that were already true. This bad mood is never going to go away because this is just how I feel now. ” He tried to tell me I’d be fine when trip was over but I couldn’t believe him, I genuinely thought the acid had permanently changed my brain. Eventually I told him how I felt. I said I don’t feel the same about him anymore, I don’t like him anymore, he’s not the same person I’ve been with for the last few months. He is a bad person. He said it’s ok if that’s how I felt and he didn’t feel differently about me. 6. 30: I started feeling a little better so I asked him to get me cigarettes from downstairs. He went down and he said they were gone that one of the guys just have taken them by accident. This sent me off into an even deeper despair. I started bawling crying, I was so annoyed at myself for letting them in and changing everything. I hated myself, I was stupid. He told me he would go to the shop as soon as it opened and get more. I didn’t care. He then became depressed too. We both had a weird serious talk about suicide. I felt like I could never see us becoming “normal” again. This was just my permanent state of mind now. It felt like days ago since we had first taken the acid but it was only 9 hours. 7. 00: I eventually let him cuddle me and hold me. We kissed and it felt so good, almost electric. We decided to have sex and it never felt so amazing before. We chatted for a few hours, I don’t know what about and by around 9:00 I felt like I was ok again. We laughed about how I felt like I hated him and how ridiculous it was. Looking back I can see WHY my trip went bad and why I thought he was different. I won’t get into it but the thoughts I had about him were actually valid. But I don’t hate him or feel different towards him. I feel like the trip just opened my mind so much and I learned a lot. It’s too hard to describe exactly what I learned, but I know I have learned and grown as a person after that. Even the bad part of the trip, I don’t regret it. EDIT: I felt like the first 4 hours were visually trippy and fun. The rest of the trip I felt like I was in my mind and thinking a lot is that normal? EDIT: Just found out the tab was 200ug so I dropped 100, then an hour and a half in, dropped another 100.
God bless you Christopher. This is some sweet *ss trailer. Didn't expect that. The truth is being kept from the world Ain't that the reality always... Everyone who has mentioned this movie to me, has only mentioned Jude Law being in it. But there are loads of famous actors/actresses in this trailer. Movie online blind eyes opened free. Alleluia alleluia alleluia god of Israele bless you amen. First || Previous || Next When the Singer found the General, he’d dressed in a new shirt and propped himself into a sitting position on his cot. His vapor machine sat at his bedside, and papers and booklets littered the bed for his perusal as he smoked. Arnarxx’s soft body took up most of the rest of the room, their documents and data-sticks piled beneath their many legs. She caught them during a heated conversation about code algorithms, a pursuit she hadn’t expected the General to have an understanding of. When he realized she’d entered, he motioned for Arnarxx to be silent. “Thank you, Arnarxx, ” he said. “This has given me much to consider, but keep this between us. Is this all the data you pulled? ” he asked with a gesture at the piles of data sticks. “Yes, sir, ” Arnarxx replied with an arachnid’s equivalent of a relieved sigh. “Good. Dismantle your decoder and bring me the data crystal. There won’t be any more study in this direction, ” he explained. “Please return to your work on the electronic warfare protocols. ” Arnarxx, dismissed, quickly squeezed past the Singer to leave. “Shut the door, Singer, and take a seat, ” the General told her as he reached for the mouthpiece of his vapor machine. She closed the door and retrieved a stool from the corner of his room. Once she was seated, the Singer explained the change of schedule, and what Charlele had revealed about the intelligence leak in the communications district. He listened with some difficulty as he puffed from his vapor machine; the furrowing of his brow told how difficult it still was for him to concentrate. “If we can find this cousin of hers, I’d like to try to convince her to distance herself from things, ” the Singer finished. The General nodded, and as he spoke, the sweet vapor wafted around him. “I was worried this was the case. If we still had a week or two before the portal opened, I could probably make a decent enough recovery. As it is, you’ll have to take my place. ” “Take your place? What are you talking about? ” the Singer asked incredulously. “You’re supposed to lead the raid on the ship. ” “Things will need to change now, ” the General sighed as he chewed on the mouthpiece. “Before, the Viribus were going to lead the raids that would smokescreen our piracy long enough for us to avoid interception on the way to Laetus, and I would lead the boarding party to the ship. “I’m not in much of a position to climb through a military vessel, though. Instead, I’ll leave the ship to the Poet Warriors. You’ll be leading the raids on the communications district now – and you’ll have a chance to keep your promise that way, ” he explained. “Go into my wardrobe and open the top drawer, inside you’ll find a ring. The symbol on it will let my officers know that your word is the law. ” The Singer turned to his wardrobe and quickly found the ring. It was too big for her fingers, but she could fashion a serviceable necklace instead. The symbol gave her pause, however. She’d seen it once before, engraved onto the Viribus’ weapons and armor: “An Ouroborus? ” she asked as she examined the serpent coiled into a circle to bite its tail. “A circle without an end, ” the General said with the same reverence with which he’d prayed before. “Fitting, don’t you think? For a people who might experience death over and over again? ” He blew a ring of sweet-smelling vapor toward her. “Only my officers know about this symbol, show them that, and they’ll be at your command without question. A warning, though: “These herd species follow a maxim, even if they don’t realize it: Some may die, but the herd survives. They’ll happily leave behind an injured friend or challenge a leader who hesitates. And frankly, if left to their own devices, they would accomplish nothing. They need us, or they’ll just go right back to being the Empire’s fodder, ” he explained. The Singer blanched at the idea. “But aren’t your troops mostly T’nann and some Ventusi gangs? They’re fruit eaters and grass grazers, ” she told him. Surely, by her reckoning, a species that spent their time grazing fruit from trees wasn’t going to be violent by nature. “Prey species are often more violent than predators, Singer. Just think about the ones from Earth. They grow giant horns to fight each other and determine mating rights. T’nann and Ventusi aren’t very different. A fight won’t cripple the herd; in fact, it helps the herd’s genetics. Compare that to the wolf and the wolfpack: a crippled wolf becomes a burden on the entire pack, ” the General explained. “Predators have to fight to live, and most prey animals live to fight. You have to remember, Singer, these are aliens: Their morals don’t always line up with ours. ” “This war of ours is proof enough of that, ” she reluctantly agreed as she considered the Ouroborus in her hand. She supposed this change of plans was necessary, and she didn’t mind taking on a role in the return to Laetus. She assumed the General would simply lock himself up in here and direct the rest of the plan over the radio. “There’s one more thing before you go, ” the General said and gestured for her to sit again. The Singer pocketed the ring and sat back down. “Have you wondered where your memories are from, Singer? ” he asked. “Someone from Earth, I guess. There’s a lot of detail there for it to be made-up, ” she said with a shrug. “Why? ” “Because I’m not so sure, ” the General sighed and took a deep drag from his vapor machine. “Did any of the Poet warriors tell you what happened on Laetus? Before we left, that is. ” “No, they haven’t. And I’ve meant to ask, ” the Singer said. She decided to humor the General. The Singer had figured out by now that he liked to circle his point before revealing it. And she could appreciate how it helped her to follow his thinking process. “It had been almost a year since my escape, and the Empire’s army was only getting bigger despite our efforts. They were delving deeper into the Temple, and more equipment was being shipped to the surface every day. Sooner or later, they were going to start decanting people en mass, ” he began. His gaze grew distant and haunted as he spoke, and the mouthpiece was left forgotten in his hand. “The Temple was surrounded by a concrete wall and a deforested kill zone. The wall only had one gate on its East side; researchers used to leave through it before our attacks made it too dangerous. “Turin’eh went East to send one of their self-driving trucks we’d stolen into their Gate, packed with all the explosives we’d ever made or taken. Sheh’teh, Kanen’eh, and I went West, and when the bomb went off, we crossed the kill zone and climbed the wall. Kanen’eh went to the Officer’s quarters to steal all the documents he could carry, while Sheh’teh and I made a charge on the Temple Gate. ” He shivered slightly as if the room had suddenly grown cold, but his voice was calm. “The guards had all rushed off toward the explosion, so the way was clear. We passed through the entryway, but I got distracted. Sheh’teh started to close the doors: we had to seal the place and then immediately leave or become trapped inside. But I had this urge to run deep into the Temple. I told her I’d just be a moment, and I ran as fast as I could. “Wasn’t sure what I was looking for, I just figured I’d run to the end of the hall, and if nothing stood out to me, I’d just run back to the door. That hall was longer than I thought and dark as pitch – I could barely see five feet in front of me. I don’t know how long I ran, but at the end of the hall, I found a pit. There wasn’t anything to mark the drop; the ground just fell away. I remember that I kicked this candle that was near the edge off, and I never did hear it hit bottom. ” The General took a shaky breath and turned toward the Singer, but his eyes looked past her. “There was something on the other side of the pit. I felt it before I saw it, but I never really saw it cause a spotlight blinded me with this golden light, ” he said wistfully. “And it spoke to me. It said Noli timere. ” “ Do not be afraid, ” the Singer translated in the same moment he did, which finally snapped him out of the trance he’d entered. It surprised the Singer as much as it surprised him: she didn’t know any Latin phrases. “I don’t remember much after that, ” the General continued as he puffed on his mouthpiece again. “Sheh’teh says she came to look for me after a while and found me collapsed by the edge of the pit. She managed to complete the mission while carrying me on her back. But afterward, I had this idea that wouldn’t leave me alone: I was confident I could still hear the voice and even see the light when I closed my eyes. So, at Sheh’teh’s suggestion, I meditated on it. “Don’t look at me like that, Singer, ” he interrupted himself as he noticed her raised eyebrow. “Meditation isn’t some religious mumbo jumbo. It’s a way to focus your mind, and I’ve found it very useful. It was during this meditation that I began to grasp what I’d forgotten. I think that the Temple tried to tell me something, but it overwhelmed me before it could stick in my mind. It was trying to tell me how to use these things, ” he said and tapped the disk at the back of his neck. “And I figured it out: “They’re connections back to the Temple; I call them ‘Gates. ’ A tiny wormhole powered on that end, through which it can contact us. And do things like changing our perception of time, which is how I beat Charlele in a shootout, ” he explained. “The Temple talked to you? ” the Singer asked, and though she was incredulous at first, she began to see the logic behind the claim. If the Temple were, as the General had theorized, a colony ship, then that colony ship would need some form of an automated controller: an A. I. of unknown complexity – possibly so sophisticated that it could approach a kind of sentience. “But if the Temple could talk to you, why not just have a conversation? ” she asked as she set aside his further claims for later. “I’m not certain it can, ” the General admitted. “I only have the one experience, but every time I’ve used these ‘Gates’ grafted onto me, I’ve heard that same phrase. It’s a recording that it’s utilizing. A computer that can solve intergalactic trajectories might not have any knowledge of how our language works, so when it tries to talk to us, we just can’t understand it. But there is one thing it can do: write memories into our heads, ” he explained. “And if it can’t talk, then it might just try to make us remember what it wants to tell us, ” the Singer concluded. It made a ridiculous kind of sense. If the Temple were a colony ship, pushed into a situation it was never intended to encounter, it might have to resort to unorthodox methods to complete its tasks – which, presumably, was the survival of the human species. The General nodded. “Every time I’ve opened a Gate, I can feel the Temple on the other end triggering memories in my mind to guide me. It’s been a useful tool, and I think you’ll need it going forward, ” he finished. “It can be taught? ” the Singer asked after a moment’s consideration. The General talked about it like it was some sort of divine inspiration, which was concerning. And with that thought, his prayers began to make more sense. “We’d better hope so, you’re going to need it, ” he said gravely. “I’ve only ever opened the First Gate, this one, ” he said as he tapped the disk at the base of his skull. “It expands my perception of time and lets me memorize and interpret information at an incredible rate. But only for a moment at a time. Opening it requires both astonishing focus and energy, which is why I can only open it for a moment on my own. “Like the Terminal, opening a Gate requires power from both ends until it’s stabilized. Only once it’s already fully open can the Temple keep it open. When it opens, it absorbs energy in lots of different ways: body heat, the wires in the walls, even the sun seemed to get dimmer when I tried it on Laetus, ” he explained. “That sounds, ” - horrifying - “stressful, ” the Singer told him. “Scared the piss out of me the first time, ” he admitted in a surprising moment of levity. “Not the image I’m going for, you know? So, let’s begin. First-“ “Wait, ” the Singer interrupted. “Why are you doing this? You’re making it sound like you’re dying or something. ” “Don’t be so worried about death, Singer, ” the General said as he blew a ring of vapor. “It wasn’t so bad the first time. ” @}~,, _,, ~"`"~{@}~,, _,, ~{@}~"`"~,, _,, ~{@ A/N: Day four of the quarantine in my city, I haven't touched another living soul in three months. Joking aside, please let me know if my terrible writing is confusing or overly complex or just stupid. Your criticism and discussion helps me to improve. Also, I don't think this whole "online classes" thing is going to give me more time to write or more inspiration to do so. It just means I have to manage my time while my bed sings its siren song from four feet away. So, see you soon, but probably not that soon. First || Previous || Next.
Whoa! There is a prophet in Van Nuys! Hallelujah.
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