Never locked up what should not be locked up

 -How long have you been showing these symptoms?

-They started an hour ago, Sir.

-No need to worry, he already tried to do this to escape, but he couldn't do it before and he won't do it now.

-Sir, how can we know if it really is a trick?

-If you had been in here for so long, you wouldn't ask those things, unless you don't appreciate your life. Carry on with your quiet work!

The scientist retired to another observation console, while the rookie looked in disbelief. All his life as a student he had admired this man. He had found a cure for the plague, saving half of the population left on earth, but It was difficult for him to believe that he was also responsible for the appearance of so many abnormal phenomena.

He looked back at the monitor, he knew she was suffering locked up there, but her captivity was for the greater good, so morality had no place in those super secret facilities, sunk deep somewhere in the globe, surrounded by concrete, mixed with a one hundred percent airtight combination of synthetic materials, all the latest technology, totally self-sufficient.

Of all the projects that were being carried out in those facilities, this was the most secret, those who were hired to be part of the team had to cut all ties with the outside world, for many it was not difficult, the plague had ended the half of the population, many lost friends and family and he was no exception. His mother and his brother were dead, he had no ties to cut with the outside world, but when he started he felt like he was helping so that a thing like that wouldn't happen again.

He had been in there for six months now and several things were beginning to worry him.

He was lost in thought for a while, until an alarm woke him up.

"Sir, energy levels are increasing," he said over the intercom.

On the monitor he was seeing something that scared him, a few moments ago she was weak almost on the verge of a coma and now his vitality seemed to rise.

The scientist came running.

-It is impossible such a sudden change.- Said the chief scientist looking at the data.

-Sir, the internal cameras are offline, you better look at the last thing they captured.- Said another scientist.

All eyes were fixed on the screen.

-Incredible, her skin has turned dark.

A beautiful, expressionless face with closed eyelids turned towards the camera and it lost the signal.

-What is happening?-Asked another scientist.

All the computers were going crazy, several monitors were exploding killing or injuring those sitting in front of them, the alarm went off and the lab shutdown began.

-We have to get out of here quickly.- Said the chief scientist, and no one was begged, some tried to carry the wounded, but the procedure for blocking and cleaning that section was Terminal, once the section was closed nothing would be left alive. .

Several managed to get out and headed towards the stairs where they could reach a safer level.

A minute later they were at another monitoring center, the chief scientist was watching what was happening in astonishment.

-This cannot be possible, it is taking control of the entire section, according to these readings it is merging with technology.- Said the rookie.

-It's impossible, she couldn't do that, she can't survive without contact with nature, she can't be.- Said the chief scientist.

-What do you mean by that, Sir? -Asked the rookie.

"Nothing that she cares about," the scientist screeched.

"Sir," a woman interrupted, "it's from the command center for you."

The chief scientist picked up the phone.

-Yes sir, she has gone crazy... yes sir, she is already in the cleaning process, nothing could survive that process... no sir, it will not be necessary to send any special equipment... wait...

Another alarm went off as he spoke.

-Impossible, she has canceled the cleaning process, she is taking control of the other sections... -said the rookie, -she has freed section M.

When saying this, a wave of panic invaded everyone, in that section were the most deadly phenomena, all conceived in a normal way by humans, but who were born with deformations, both physical and psychological, most of them psychopathic, they almost seemed to have come from Dr. Moreau's island.

The scientists tried to leave, but all the doors were closed. On the monitors they saw the newly freed people running towards them.

The chief scientist entered a personal key into a special console and pressed the button expecting to see the freaks fall lifeless, but nothing happened.

-Impossible. This system is totally independent of the rest, she could not have intervened as well.

-CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT'S HAPPENS DOWN THERE?

The president shouted.

-Sir, we are capturing an image.- Said an operator.

-Have you managed to reestablish contact?

-No Sir, we cannot access the systems of those sections.

-How can you have an image if you can't access it?

-Because whatever is disrupting all the systems down there sends us the signal.

-WHAT?

On one half of the screen they saw the empty corridor and on the other the desperate scientists trying to open the floodgates.

-What the fuck is that?

The shadows were approaching, the first to appear was a small one, but agile, jumping from wall to wall, followed by the others. The screen stopped being divided to show only the scientists and their growing panic at the impossibility of escape.

-That's horrible, someone please turn it off.- An operator sobbed while the violence unleashed was seen on the screen. But they only saw a few seconds later the screen turned off by itself.

A few seconds of silence passed until the president made the operators react.

-I want everyone on maximum alert and I want them to completely isolate that section and four more from its surroundings. AND DO IT FAST.

Those who were still amazed by what they had seen were awakened by the others and soon everyone took their places.

The president called on a secure line.

-... I'M SORRY FOR WAKENING YOU UP AND I DON'T CARE THAT YOU'RE ACCOMPANIED, YOU MUST COME NOW.

A few minutes later a disheveled and half-dressed man entered the control room.

"What's happening?" He asked, but he was stunned when he saw the data that appeared on the screen. -This can not be true.

-Sir, we have managed to isolate the sections.

-With that we will buy time.- Said the president. -How long until the reinforcements arrive?

-In two minutes we will arrive at the first door, Sir.- was heard on the speaker.

-Take defensive positions and don't let anything get through.

-Understood.

-Mr. President, you are taking control of all the isolated sections.- Said an operator.

"She's gone crazy," said the newcomer as he finished buttoning his shirt, "I told that idiot that it was crazy to have her completely isolated." They won't be able to stop her anymore.

-CAPTAIN REPORT.

-We see movement ahead, Mr. President...- everyone in the control room listened attentively, -but what the hell is that? SHOOT, FIRE AT WILL, DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING STANDING.

You could hear the shots and the screams, the curses of the soldiers, for a moment it seemed that they would keep the advance at bay, but soon the piercing screams made it clear that they had failed.

-EVACUATE ALL SECTIONS FROM SUB LEVEL 5 TO THE BOTTOM.

-Sir, that will take hours, there is a lot of staff.

-THEN START ASAP.- The president shouted.

-Mr. President,- The newcomer intervened while tying his tie, but each knot was useless until he gave up doing it. –Our weapons will not stop her, it will continue absorbing one section after another, no system will escape in this entire gigantic installation, and once she reaches the surface, only heaven knows what it can do.

-Then tell me, genius, how do we stop her?

-The only option is to detonate the central reactor.

-HOW?- the president burst out -THAT IS CRAZY, I CANNOT AUTHORIZE SUCH AN ACTION.

-There is no other option, once its mutation is complete there will be no way to stop her from controlling all the technology on the planet.

-But these facilities are totally isolated from the world, we are self-sufficient.

-But that is not entirely true, communication is maintained with the outside, and how long do you think it will take for it to link the satellites and expand throughout the globe? In a matter of minutes it has taken complete control of six sections, once it takes control of the entire facility it will be impossible to stop it.

-But have you thought about what could happen if we detonate the reactor?

-Yes, Mr. President, the infrastructure of the entire complex will contain the explosion and everything inside will be reduced to rubble, but there will be no consequences for the outside, it will be like a large coffin.

-A coffin worth thousands of trillions...

-To save those thousands of trillions, which will inevitably be lost, will you risk the rest of the world?

-Sir.- An operator interrupted, - Keep moving forward, she has taken another six sections.

-There is not much time left, Mr. President, we have to do it before it reaches the gamma section and at this rate it will be done in minutes.

The president was silent looking at the floor, it took him a few seconds to make the decision, but he knew that that crazy, conceited genius was right.

-Evacuate all personnel and prepare the self-destruct sequence.- Everyone froze. –NOW MOVE.

Alarms sounded everywhere, the instructions for evacuation were clear.

The president entered his code to authorize the detonation. The clock showed fifteen minutes to detonate, that was the time it took to reach the surface from the command center.

The transport increased its speed and then decreased, until it stopped, the doors opened, several hundred weapons were pointed at them, but when they saw it was the president they lowered them.

-Sir, we have set up a perimeter, nothing can happen without us knowing.

-One minute until detonation.- Said the scientist.

The seconds seemed eternal, when the clock struck zero, everyone expected to feel the earth shake under their feet, but nothing happened.

-It can't be possible, she couldn't stop the sequence.-Said the scientist, while desperately entering the commands into the computer. –She did it, she stopped the sequence, there is nothing more to do, it's the end.

-NO, General, prepare an elite team to reach the reactor and resume the sequence.

-Mr. President, it is possible that they will not be able to leave on time.

-Their duty is to follow orders the same as you, so follow them.

The general seemed on the verge of bursting, but a voice interrupted the conversation.

-None of your soldiers, no matter how well trained they are, will reach beyond a couple of sub levels, she is totally crazy and will soon reach the surface and it will be inevitable that she will take over all our technology.

-Since when have you been out of your cage? - The scientist asked with contempt when he saw the former general.

-I have left a long time ago, but that is irrelevant at this moment, I do not have any military authority nor does any of you have authority over me, I am a free man, I only come because I have a message from the committee.

He handed over the disk and the scientist read it on the computer with the president.

-It is impossible for us to do that, no one can do it, it would be suicide.

-I don't think so, Mr. President.- the newcomer approached, -it's the perfect opportunity, he goes down, stops her and the sequence resumes.

"The detonation would kill them both, that would be perfect," said the scientist.

-And that would leave them without their leader, which would make it easier for us to finish them off.

The scientist looked at the newcomer with a frown.

-I thought you were on his side.

-I am on the side that best suits me.

-Well, enough of the useless chatter, General, bring in that phenomenon.

-Mr. President, we have not been able to find him for three years.

"They haven't found him because they haven't searched in the right place," said the newcomer, "right now a former member of my platoon is coming in a helicopter with him sitting next to him."

-All this is too convenient. It can't be a coincidence.

-It is not, if they had listened to my warnings instead of locking me up, it would never have come to this, so a plan was thought of to prevent it from reaching the surface.

-And how did you convince him to come?

-That old friend is something between him and me, but I will tell you that he always keeps his word, even if it means doing something that he dislikes.

-So that was the price of your freedom, do you hand it over so they can free you? - Said the scientist.

-We all give something to get something else, that's how we humans are. Here it comes.

The sky was invaded by a hundred helicopters, a bulky double-propeller helicopter was flying surrounded by the latest combat helicopters.

-You can't take the risk that he decides to change his mind.- Said the newcomer pointing at the support vessels.

The helicopter landed and the others remained aiming just in case. The hatch opened and two men got out, one was the pilot of the ship, the other was shorter and looked a little stunted, the lights were reflected in his mirrored glasses and his black coat was flying around the propellers.

He came to be in front of the president and without preamble he said in a harsh but calm voice.

-Tell me where the entrance is and leave me alone.

The president could only point his finger at the fear that this being caused, despite being physically smaller.

-Where am I?

“Do you not recognize the prison that you yourself have built?”

When the scientist raised his head he saw her, completely changed, she looked like a machine rather than a being of flesh and blood, but she was still beautiful. -What do you want from me?

"What do you want from me? Is the real question."

The cables connected to her body kept her suspended in the air, she approached the scientist and ran a cold finger over his face, "you always longed to control what cannot be controlled, to have powers that cannot be had, but now you are locked here with me, “You wanted to see what I was capable of, well now you will it in first hand.”

She brought her face closer to the scientist's and he could feel her foul breath, it made him nauseous.

"Very soon everything will be over, you'll see," he told her. 

“Of course, I will soon reach the surface and then this whole world will be mine and all thanks to your technology. But that's not what you're referring to, no, the reactor won't detonate, it's controlled so nothing will stop me.”

-Why are you doing this?- He asked.

“Why did you lock me in this plastic prison? Knowing that this could happen, so now contemplate your achievement, because that is what you wanted from me, to know how I could absorb the technology to use my curse in the war you plan to wage against them, but I will not allow that to happen. , humans without their technology are nothing more than simple defenseless babies. When that happens you will see with your own eyes the destruction of your pathetic race.”

-You will go crazy before you achieve that.

“How did you get here without being detected?”

A figure with blonde hair and mirrored glasses approached and stood meters away from her.

-There are things that human technology will never be able to match, you will not be able to control everything and in your madness you will only achieve the destruction of everything.

"BE QUIET"

Several cables trapped the infiltrator and raised him until he was level with her.

"By Arda, what have they done to you?" He said as he looked at her, "Open your eyes, you must see yourself before it's too late."

“Silence, here I am the one who gives the orders.”

She approached him and took off his mirrored glasses. Revealing the eyes with star-shaped pupils.

“Why did you come here? You have no weapons, you won’t be able to stop me.”

-On the contrary, I just wanted to see you before it's too late. Open your eyes and look at me before it's too late, open your eyes. - Tears fell as he begged. –Don't make me do it.

There was a moment of silence, the scientist felt the air heavy.

She came even closer and slowly opened her eyes, their gazes merged into one and she could see what had been stolen from her, but it could be returned to her.

She screamed so loudly that the glass exploded, the scientist couldn't cover his ears, but it would have been in vain, his brain would have exploded anyway, you can't stop hearing that scream just by covering your ears, it goes straight to the brain. and it explodes, leaving the body inert and lifeless.

Slowly the cables released their pressure on him and lowered the one who came to save her, she suddenly fell and hit the ground hard.

Firm arms lifted her up, and when she opened her eyes again she saw that face again and with a weak smile she said to him.

-Fearir.

-No, I only have a vague resemblance to him your Highness, I am not worthy of bearing that name.

He moved through the facility carrying her in his arms.

-The countdown has resumed.- The scientist told the president. –Everything will be over in fifteen seconds.

This time everyone felt the tremor under their feet.

-And now that your leverage card has disappeared, how do you plan to maintain your freedom?

The former general laughed heartily.

-Stupid, my lever to maintain freedom never existed, the very expensive and advanced installation no longer exists, the monstrosities you have conceived have also disappeared. Now you will no longer be able to defeat them.

-What do you mean?- The President asked.

The hatch that connected to the facility opened and he appeared with her in his arms.

-Impossible. FINISH THEM.- The president shouted.

All the soldiers fired at them, but none of the bullets reached their destination.

An energy shield surrounded them, causing the bullets to return against those who fired them.

The helicopters aimed their missiles as all the survivors ran for cover, but soon they had to worry about other things.

-Who is shooting at our helicopters? - The president asked, bewildered.

-They have come to war.-

-War? We have not declared war

-You have locked a princess in a concrete and plastic prison so that she could not have contact with the world, do you think that is not a declaration of war?- Said the former general.

-This is the price of your freedom?

-No, it's hers.

They turned and saw her standing next to him, upright, her hair was aqua green again, her skin was shining again, large and colorful wings were growing from her back.

In the sky, fireballs flew through the air from one side to the other, hitting the helicopters that exploded instantly. On land, soldiers fled in panic or found a painful death in its jaws.

From the sky came and settled around them, her honor guard, who would have protected and taught her if it had not been for that human who kidnapped her before they could find her, but now that they had found her and saw her in that state their hearts shrank.

She raised an arm and caressed one of them, she felt her warmth, her bravery, her life.

She approached the president who was shaking with terror. She looked at him and shook her head.

-Don't kill me, that will only make the nations rise up against you and yours.

-That's already late.- Said the former general.

-Damn traitor, you have returned to his side.

-I never left her side, my captivity was only so that you would have an option when she went crazy, we knew you had her locked up, but we didn't know where, due to the hermetic nature of her plastic shell, there was no way to feel her, but now that she is free those who lost their honor when you captured her will be able to recover it.- He crouched down to be at the same height as the president. –You should have listened to me years ago, coexistence with the dragons could have been peaceful, but now many people will die because of your stupidity, and you will live with that burden for the rest of your miserable life. Did you think you could keep the fairy princess locked up for life and that the dragons would leave you alone? I'll tell you a secret, she was the first, but more will come, and humans could have learned a lot from what they have lost in all these millennia of technology, but you have ruined everything, the war will be terrible and devastating for your people.

He got up and approached a dragon to ride it, but before flying away he told him.

-You should have never locked up what should not be locked up.

Más preguntas / More questions

    La alarma sonó como todas las mañanas despertándome, después del ritual de aseo matutino unos mates escuchando las noticias antes de partir al trabajo.

   Agarro la bicicleta y abro la puerta del departamento, salgo al pasillo, pero no estoy en el pasillo, "no otra vez" me digo a mi mismo.

   Observo el entorno y me encuentro en un recinto iluminado pobremente por focos que, para su tamaño, iluminan muy poco, detrás de una ventana veo tres figuras que me miraban atentamente, eso me sorprendió un poco, otra persona se acercó con un dispositivo en sus manos, estaba cubierto por un traje protector, se mantuvo a un par de metros de distancia moviendo el dispositivo de arriba a abajo y en círculos por unos segundos y luego retrocedió para removerse el traje. 

   A primera vista parecía humano, salvo por el color de sus ojos, eran de un naranja casi fluorescente, las tres personas que estaban del otro lado de la ventana entraron a la habitación, sus ojos también eran naranjas.

   "Hola" dijo uno para mi sorpresa. "Nadie te hará daño."

   "Hola" devolví el saludo. "¿Donde estoy?" pregunté.

   "Es una instalación científica. Estamos estudiando la teoría de portales dimensionales." Al ver que no parecía entrar en pánico me preguntó. "¿Conoce ésta teoría?"

  "Algo." Dije "¿Han hecho ésto antes?" Al ver la perplejidad en sus rostros dije, "No es la primera vez que me pasa, ¿Han hecho ésto antes?"

   "No" Respondió el más veterano, "Pero hemos detectado picos de actividad, lo que nos dió aún más preguntas, ¿A que se refiere con que no es la primera vez que le pasa?"

   "Ya antes me encontré en lugares o situaciones imposibles de explicar, pero quisiera volver a mi vida, no puedo perder otro trabajo."

   "Lamentablemente por el momento no podemos hacerlo, hay que esperar un rato que recargue la energía," señaló un aparato en la pared, "Cuando llegue a esa marca podremos intentarlo nuevamente."

   "Entonces saben como suceden los portales?" Pregunté.

   "Tengo algunas teorías" Continuó el veterano, el tono de sus ojos era más claro que el de los otros. "La que más me intriga es la natural, es decir, cuando ciertas condiciones se dan, ya sea una tormenta, una llamarada solar o muchas otras que no podemos contemplar, aparecen momentáneamente." Hizo una pausa para sentarse. "Es mi creencia que estos portales unen distintas dimensiones." Me observó unos momentos.

   "De donde vengo la teoría más aceptada es la del multiverso," dije "es básicamente lo mismo, solo que dimensiones tiene una connotación algo religiosa y puede herir susceptibilidades."

   "Multiverso." Dijo pensativo el veterano. "Si, sería casi lo mismo. Hasta el momento solo pudimos tener micro aperturas, por las cuales captamos ondas de radio, pero es la primera vez que pasa alguien hacia aquí."

   "Bueno, al menos esta vez tengo con quién hablar." Dije.

   "¿A que se refiere?"

   "Bueno, la primera vez fué en un parque, estaba andando con la bicicleta y de pronto el entorno se volvió oscuro, cual noche sin luna, pero logré salir, otra vez fue en el cine, al salir me encontré en un desierto, eso duró creo que un minuto nada más, pero me bronceó la piel como si hubiera estado todo el día." Los científicos me observaban boquiabiertos. "La más terrorífica fue cuando me desperté en una jungla bajo la mirada de un Alosauro, por suerte volví a mi departamento antes de que me saltara encima, hace unas semanas al salir de la universidad me encontré en la superficie de un planeta desierto, creo que era la luna, aunque no había atmósfera podía respirar, la última fué en el subterráneo, aparecí en lo que parecía una construcción mesopotámica."

   "Tengo tantas preguntas que no se por donde empezar." Dijo la mujer, pero la interrumpió un fuerte trueno que hizo temblar las paredes. "Parece que la tormenta será fuerte." Dijo. "Antes que nada, nos gustaría saber...

   Estaba otra vez en el pasillo de mi edificio, miro en redondo, "me pregunto si" pongo la llave y abro la puerta del departamento, pero nada extraño pasa esta vez. Lo que me deja con aún más preguntas, me fijo el reloj de pared y al parecer ésta vez no he perdido tiempo. Me pregunto que estarán teorizando los científicos y cómo habrán reaccionado a mi desaparición.

   Tal vez la próxima vez tenga la oportunidad de que me den una respuesta.

__________________________________________________________________

   The alarm rang like every morning waking me up, after the morning grooming ritual, a few mates listening to the news before leaving for work.

    I grab the bike and open the apartment door, I go out into the hallway, but I'm not in the hallway, "not again" I tell myself.

    I observe the surroundings and find myself in an area poorly lit by spotlights that, for their size, illuminate very little. Behind a window I see three figures who were looking at me attentively. That surprised me a little. Another person approached with a device in its hands, was covered by a protective suit, stayed a couple of meters away moving the device up and down and in circles for a few seconds and then stepped back to remove the suit.

   At first glance he looked human, except for the color of his eyes, they were almost fluorescent orange. The three people who were on the other side of the window entered the room, their eyes were also orange.

    "Hello" one said to my surprise. "No one will hurt you."

    "Hello," I waved back. "Where I am?" I asked for.

    "It's a scientific facility. We're studying the theory of dimensional portals." Seeing that I didn't seem to panic he asked me. "Do you know this theory?"

   "Something." I said "Have you done this before?" Seeing the perplexity on his face I said, "This isn't the first time this has happened to me. Have you done this before?"

    "No," the oldest responded, "But we have detected spikes in activity, which gave us even more questions. What do you mean by saying this isn't the first time this has happened to you?"

   "I have found myself in places or situations that are impossible to explain before, but I would like to get back to my life, I can't lose another job."

    "Unfortunately at the moment we can't do it, we have to wait a while for the power to recharge," he pointed to a device on the wall, "When it reaches that mark we can try again."

    "So you know how portals happen?" I asked.

    "I have some theories" The veteran continued, the tone of his eyes lighter than the others. "The one that intrigues me the most is the natural one, that is, when certain conditions occur, be it a storm, a solar flare or many others that we cannot contemplate, they appear momentarily." He paused to sit down. "It is my belief that these portals link different dimensions." He watched me for a few moments.

   "Where I come from, the most accepted theory is that of the multiverse," I said, "it's basically the same, only that dimensions has a somewhat religious connotation and can hurt sensibilities."

    "Multiverse." The veteran said thoughtfully. "Yes, it would be almost the same. Until now we have only been able to have micro-apertures, through which we capture radio waves, but it is the first time that someone has passed here."

    "Well, at least this time I have someone to talk to." Said.

    "What do you mean?"

   "Well, the first time was in a park, I was riding my bicycle and suddenly the environment became dark, like a moonless night, but I managed to get out, another time it was at the cinema, when I left I found myself in a desert, that I think it lasted only a minute, but it tanned my skin as if it had been there all day." The scientists looked at me open-mouthed. "The most terrifying was when I woke up in a jungle under the gaze of an Allosaurus, luckily I returned to my apartment before it jumped on me, a few weeks ago when I left university I found myself on the surface of a desert planet, I think which was the moon, although there was no atmosphere I could breathe, the last one was in the underground, I appeared in what looked like a Mesopotamian construction."

    "I have so many questions I don't know where to start." The woman said, but she was interrupted by a loud clap of thunder that made the walls shake. "It looks like the storm will be strong." She said. "First of all, we would like to know...

    I was again in the hallway of my building, I look around, "I wonder if" I put the key and open the apartment door, but nothing strange happens this time. Which leaves me with even more questions, I look at the wall clock and apparently this time I haven't wasted any time. I wonder what the scientists are theorizing and how they reacted to my disappearance.

    Maybe next time I'll have a chance to get an answer.

   

 Walking hand in hand, the air is clear and the weather invites to keep walking, your embrance warms my heart, your smile is even sweeter.
It is a wanderful moment, but then... "Oh, just a dream."

A journey!

    “I'm done for today, I'm leaving, are you going to stay again?” Antonio asked as he put on his coat.

    “Yeah, I'm not done with this yet.” Andrea responded without looking up from the monitor.

    “Don't stay all night.” When she did not receive a response, she added, “When was the last time you slept at home?” Andrea just remained silent, looking at the keyboard without moving. Antonio shook his head in resignation. “Someday you will have to get out, it is very sad that you stay locked up here every day, I still don't understand why you pushed away that last boyfriend, you were happy.”

    “My private life is my own.”

    “Yes, but don't force me to terminate your fellowship in the laboratory.” Antonio left, leaving Andrea locked in her thoughts.

    After a few minutes of silence and immobility, Andrea shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and continued with her work. She got up and went to make herself her cup of chocolate.

    “They left the heater unplugged again, shit.” Her mood was low after what Antonio told her. She took the cable and when she plugged the plug into the socket she felt a great shock and fell unconscious on the floor.

    "Where I am?" Andrea looked around her without understanding what was happening. “What kind of place is this?” Her nervousness was increasing as she could not recognize the place, she only saw black lines on a white background, she could not find up or down, she felt like she was standing on something, but when she looked at her feet, she only saw black lines on a white background, without being able to see nothing that made sense to him. A tear formed in her eyes as she felt desperate. "WHERE I AM?" She screamed, but she only heard her own breathing.

    Desperate, she began to walk and run, but nothing made sense, she closed her eyes tightly, until they hurt and she felt herself faint in despair as she saw only the black lines again.

    She never knew how long she was in that state, until her exhaustion made her knees weak and she had no tears left to cry. In that state, her breathing slowly began to pause and become more rhythmic. “How am I going to get out of here?”

    “Calming down and observing with open eyes.” The answer came from everywhere and nowhere, it was a sweet and soft voice.

    Andrea looked around without seeing anything. “I don't understand, where are you? Who are you? There are only black and white lines.

    “You're not seeing the whole, just a tiny part.” The entity responded.

    “See the total?” Andrea whispered to herself, “It's stupid, it's something he always told me.” She closed her eyes, inflated her lungs and let the air out slowly, opened her eyes and tried to see how her voice was telling her. At first she continued to see only twisted lines, but slowly she saw how different figures were formed, on the floor, a wall, she took a few steps back and could see a door with bars. “It's as if everything was made with tribals.”

    “Very well Andrea, for a moment I thought you would never be able to see.” Andrea turned her head, since this time her voice came from only one direction, and to her surprise she found someone. A young woman, she looked like she was in her twenties, she was dressed in light jeans and a long sleeved T-shirt, her body was violet and her sleeves were white, her hair was black and changed to a light green towards the ends, her eyes had no pupils and they were an intense light blue.

    "Hello." She told him with a smile.

    “H-hello.” Andrea stammered, not believing what was happening. "Who are you?"

    "Who I am?" She cocked her head to the side and smiled as if she remembered some joke. “I don't have a name, but I do have a task.” She looked at Andrea as if waiting for her to say something, but when she received nothing she continued. “My task is to guide you a little through this world.”

    “Guide me? Guide me where?” Andrea's head was starting to spin again.

    "Well, to start out of here, we'll see later." With a smile and a happy gleam in her eye she approached the door and placed a hand in the center, she turned and asked, “Are you ready for the best trip of your life?” Andrea could only nod her head and watch as the bars disappeared, twisting towards her frame. “Come on, you're not going to just stand there for eternity, are you?”

    Before moving forward, Andrea asked, “What is your name?”

    "My name?" A laugh followed that question, “I already told you I don't have a name, but if you want you can give me one if you feel more comfortable.”

    Andrea thought for a few seconds and said, “Okay, what do you think Analía?”

   "Formidable." She said with a big smile and stood waiting for Andrea to walk. As Andrea crossed the door she felt her heart skip a beat again, more tribal lines to infinity. “Remember you must see the whole, not the points.” Andrea took another deep breath and tried to calm down. As she did so she began to distinguish figures formed by the tribals again. She could see mountains, valleys and rivers and what before seemed like an eternal void began to have a distant horizon. “Very good.” Analía said when she perceived Andrea's sigh.

    “It's incredible, how can it be possible?”

    “How can it be possible?” Analía thought for a few seconds. “I guess in the same way as your world, but different.” Andrea looked at her perplexed, but she was met with an amused and cheerful look. “Where do you want to go now?”

    “I want to go back home,” Andrea said, but inside she was burning with curiosity about that world. “How do I get back home?”

    “We will have to go to the Oracle tower.”

    “Where is that tower?” Andrea felt nervous when she saw the mischief in those eyes without pupils.

    “In the center of the desert of eternal night.” She smiled even more, “that's where we should go then, but it will be a long trip, it is beyond the horizon, behind the mountains.” Analía began to walk, “come on, let's go, it will be a fun trip.” Andrea walked behind Analía trying to keep the tribals in shape, every now and then she would see only lines again, and that made her feel terribly nervous. They walked in silence for a long time.

    “Is it always this quiet?”

    “Not always, it depends on your hearing, but you like silence.” Analía said without stopping walking.

    “Yes, I like silence, but this silence makes me nervous.” Andrea said with some embarrassment.

    “Well, to hear the sounds of this world you will have to sharpen your ears, as with your eyes, we are walking next to a stream that sings softly.” Analía pointed to her right and Andrea saw how the tribals changed their shape following the undulating figures of the water. Without realizing it, she watched the hypnotic movement and slowly began to listen to the soft sound of the water as it ran freely along the cause. she. In addition to the water she began to hear other sounds, the singing of birds, the soft murmur of the vegetation being swayed by the breeze. She returned to contemplate what surrounded her, she could see the water, the plants, the clouds in the sky, the birds flying. She felt that what had previously seemed like a dead world was full of life and sounds. "What's that?" She asked Analía pointing to something that was moving floating in the water.

    "A duck." Analía observed Andrea's frown and added, “He looks different from the ones you know, but he's still a duck.” With a new smile she urged her to continue walking. “Come on, there is much more to see yet.” They continued walking, Andrea contemplated the surroundings in wonder, despite the contrast of black and white, it was becoming easier and easier for her to distinguish the differences between each set of lines. After walking for a long time, Andrea realized that she did not feel any fatigue, hunger or thirsty and discussed it with Analía. “That's good, so don't think about food or rest.”

    “Why can't I think about those things?” Andrea asked with a frown. Analía turned around looking at her with her head tilted to the side.

   “Because it is something that could cause you a lot of problems, but I can't tell you more than that, because I don't know either, I just know that it will cause you problems. Come on, let's move on." Andrea was about to continue asking, but she saw something that caught her attention and pointing to it she asked what it was. “That's the tree of friendly spirits, we better continue.”

    “Is that a spider hanging there?” Andrea took a step towards the tree. “There is also a weasel? “And a bear trying to catch a squirrel?”

    “Actually the squirrel is about to catch the bear, there are things here that are different from how you know them, but you better not get close, there is a snake in front of you. ”Andrea stopped and could see it clearly, the snake turned its head and looked at her and winked before disappearing into the grass in the direction of the weasel.

    "What was that?"

    “Nothing, we better move on.” Analía spoke to her from a few meters behind her. Andrea looked up at the top of the tree and saw that it had no leaves, there were many heads, or so it seemed, they all had long hair that swayed as if they were facing a rush of wind, a strange smile beneath a single eye with a vertical pupil, they roamed the treetop in erratic movements. She watched the spectacle for a while longer, but suddenly she saw how two eyes appeared on the same tree, with a hideous nose in the middle and two pointed ears. These eyes were staring at her and she felt panic slowly rise up her spine. towards your brain. She started to move to run out of there, but something inside her told her to calm down, to move slowly and to walk back to where Analía was. With great effort she did it and reached Analía, who seemed worried, but soon a smile appeared on her face.

    “Well done, I thought you would run.”

    “What would have happened if she ran?” Andrea asked without looking at the tree.

    “The spirits would have chased you to take you to the tree and lock you in, where you would be absorbed and become one of the spirits.” She felt very afraid again and wanted to scream, but Analía's smile calmed her and she was able to control herself again. “As long as you don't do anything stupid you will be safe in this world until you return to yours. Come on." They continued walking for a long time, the landscape changed every moment, when they turned around, what was before a mountain was a river or a forest, a desert, nothing seemed to stay still for long, making her nervous all the time. They reached a fork and Andrea followed with her eyes the path that went out to the right, it went down to the valley, following it until she reached a hill, where she zigzagged to end at a door, above the door there was a giant tree. At that distance the base of the gigantic tree looked like a round pot. “That is the hermit's home, he is a very grumpy character, but if you want to visit him I can take you.”

    “Mmno, better not, the path on the left where does it go?”

    "To the tower." Analía waited for Andrea to take her first step.

    “Let's go to the tower.” He said as he took the path to the left, they turned a bend and another large valley appeared, where on a hill he could see the profile of an animal, it looked like a giant dog, it looked at them for a moment and raising its head it howled so loudly that the Andrea's body seemed to vibrate from the sound wave.

    "Don't worry, she's welcoming us, this is her territory, but she won't hurt us, here we just have to take care of her."

   "Who is she?" Andrea looked scared at the gigantic wolf.

    "She also has no name, she usually wanders through the valleys looking for food, she feeds mainly on blood, sometimes, when food is scarce she ventures to catch a spirit." Andrea looked at the valley in horror.

    "A vampire? Is there a real vampire in this world?

    “One, actually, but there's no need to fear, if she were close to her, we wouldn't see so many animals. When they feel her presence they hide or migrate to other safer places.”

    “You don't seem afraid of this vampire.” Andrea was taken aback by the simplicity with which Analía told her things.

    “No, I'm not afraid of him, because he can't catch me, until he says otherwise I'm protected from her.”

    "He? Who is he?"

    “The one who lives in the tower, towards which we are heading. Come on, come on, let's keep going." They continued advancing for a long time, from the valley they passed into a forest, where the mobility of things made Andrea feel on the verge of constant dizziness, but she discovered that if she concentrated on the road, the only space without changing lines and the sounds of birds, the journey became easier. Suddenly there were no more sounds. Andrea thought she had lost her hearing again, but Analía turned around and told her with urgency in her voice.

    “Run, she's coming here.” She felt her fear paralyze her legs, a lump in her throat did not allow her to breathe. She was on the verge of despair. Calm down, don't forget to breathe. She said a soft voice in the depths of her mind. Nothing will hurt you, I will protect you with my life. Now run. Andrea felt perplexed, she knew that voice and those words, she had heard them with joy in the past, but she had destroyed them.

She thought she heard a flapping of wings among the trees and Analía urged her to run. “Quickly, run before I catch your scent and identify you.” Andrea began to run, following the path until she left the forest, in the distance she could see a wall with a large gate. “That is the entrance to the desert, run before she comes.” Analía told her, but a few meters later she felt a shadow fly over them. This made him stop and he saw her figure. She looked like a girl of about 12 years old at most, delicate, totally naked, her long hair fell from her shoulders to her stomach, but upon seeing her better he realized that it was just appearance, her fingers ended in long, sharp spikes, two wings that They floated like a veil from her back. She approached them slowly. Andrea was paralyzed by the panic of the girl approaching, innocent and deadly at the same time. In the blink of an eye he lunged at her, but something happened that the attack never came. Andrea felt something emerge from the depths of her mind, with a terrible roar she intervened to attack and engaged in mortal combat with the vampire. Andrea watched the tribal figures as they changed their shape according to the combat without being able to identify any of them, but she felt safe. When she saw Analía she saw surprise in her eyes.

    “Impossible, I have never seen anything like this in my entire existence.” At a moment when the two opponents separated, the defender told Andrea to go to the door without looking back. Andrea ran for the door, but a scream of pain and terror stopped her in her tracks. “Come on, she's running away back to the forest, it's your chance.” Analía urged him. They reached the entrance, it looked like the entrance to a fortress. Before opening the door, Analía turned around and with a huge smile said, “I can go this far, you will have to do the rest of the way alone, but I warn you, no matter what happens, no matter what you hear, no matter what you feel, “Never abandon the path.”

    “What will happen to me if I leave the path?” Andrea felt a little afraid of the response she imagined.

    “You will wander lost forever in the desert.” Without further ado she opened the door and let Andrea walk through it. From one step to the next, the landscape changed drastically, now they were no longer black lines on a white background, they were white lines on a black background.

   “I think it is logical, if it is night that the background is all black.” Before him stretched the road. A zigzagging black strip, on both sides the white tribals seemed to form a flat and desert terrain, some clouds appeared in contrast with the absolute blackness of the sky. She walked and walked for a long time, the horizon was all the same, nothing appeared. She thought she heard something to the side, when she turned her head, she only saw more and more desert, she felt tempted to explore what that sound was, what seemed to her familiar, but he remembered the words, eternally lost, and stopped himself. “This seems to have no end, have I gone totally crazy?” She continued walking and saw something appear on the horizon, it looked like the peak of a hill, she began to jog, the road made several turns making her lose sight of the peak, but after one more turn she clearly saw that it was not a hill, it was the tower. He ran until he reached the entrance, there were many other paths that joined his before reaching the door.

The door didn't look like much, she opened the handle and entered, inside it she found a spiral staircase that went up without apparent end. “Well, that's to be expected, all that's left is for a rabbit to appear with a watch.” He said with contempt and went up the stairs, after a while he reached another door, the one that was open and when he entered it was hard, it was a round room, the ceiling was a semisphere, everything was empty, only the edge of the floor was clear. . "What is this?" She asked.

    “This is my home, child.” She said a voice, which came from everywhere, it was clear and deep. “You won't find any rabbits racing against the clock here.” A muffled laugh, “but it would be interesting to see, don't you think?”

    "Why I am here?"

    "Why? That's a question that's always deeper than its own answer, child."

    "I'm not a child." Andrea said, somewhat annoyed.

    “Maybe yes, maybe not, but here you are, since everything has been existing here longer than you, but you haven't come alone, no.”

    “How not?” Andrea felt her head spinning again. “There is no one here with me, there never is anyone.”

    “That's not true, someone came with you, otherwise She would have caught you on the plain.” During the pause the memory of the vampire attacking her filled her with terror again. “I thought I would never see a Gargoyle alive again, humans took it upon themselves to extinct them many centuries ago.” Another thoughtful pause, “did you even know one?”

   “I don't know what you're talking about, gargoyles don't exist.” Andrea felt dizzy again.

    “Neither are vampires, but one almost caught you, maybe you met this gargoyle without knowing it was a gargoyle, I wonder what would happen if…” Andrea felt a great oppression in her chest and saw a sphere of black energy form in front of her and advance towards her, "as soon as the sphere touches you you will be destroyed to the last molecule," said her voice cold as the steel. The sphere was a few centimeters away from her when the terrible roar was heard approaching her. In the blink of an eye he appeared between her and the sphere, his wings curled to protect Andrea, while her powerful claws pushed the sphere away. “A Gargoyle, one hundred percent, incredible, but why do you protect the human?” There was no response, the voice repeated the question addressing Andrea, “what is the reason for a Gargoyle to protect you?”

    “I don't know” Andrea sobbed as the memory of her last partner hit her as if she had received a slap. “He had promised to protect me, but I always thought it was an empty promise.”

    “Did he promise to protect you?” The voice materialized in front of them, it was an entity of light, nothing more, “no, this type of protection is not fulfilling a promise, the last time a Gargoyle stood in front of me it was for love, and for love you have this protection, it is the only protection that exceeds all boundaries of space and time.” A smile could be seen on the entity, “You are very lucky child.”

    "Love? Love does not exist, it is just something that runs out, it can never be eternal, there is no such thing as love for life.” Andrea was crying.

    "No?" The entity seemed amused, “I see that you had an intense love, but you killed him…” Andrea grabbed her head with both hands and screamed in despair.

    “NOOO, I got out of my head, stop digging into my memories, they are painful…” Crying made her hurt, but when she reached a certain point the entity could not continue, a shield of energy surrounded Andrea.

The Entity looked at the Gargoyle and with an ironic laugh said. “You deny love, but you take advantage of it, child, you are somewhat sadistic, but I have not survived so many eons because I did not recognize a mortal opponent. Your protector could destroy me if he tried to attack you. Hahaha. "I haven't felt this in a long time." A pause until Andrea could control her crying. “Let me show you that he is protecting your Gargoyle.” Andrea felt like something else emerged from the depths of her being, it was something warm and tender. She saw a Fairy appear from her chest and fly around the Gargoyle. After a couple of turns, they both hugged each other and an intense fire enveloped them. Andrea watched the scene astonished.

   "How is it possible?"

    “Child,” said the voice, “you still have a lot to live, what the Gargoyle protects is something as simple as a child's enjoyment of a closed box. Your non-belief in love has also destroyed the little heart that enjoys fantastic stories, and imagines the most extraordinary worlds from the most ordinary things.” Andrea was perplexed and she couldn't articulate any words. “Child, your protector not only reaches this world, a Dragon approaches to take you back to yours, nothing keeps you in this place anymore, come back and live as happily as your brain allows.” Andrea turned to respond to the Entity, but found herself on an empty platform. In the distance she saw a winged being approaching. The Dragon stopped next to the platform and waited for Andrea to sit on its back to take a fast flight. .

    Andrea woke up lying on the kitchen floor, her fingers hurt and burned, the cable plug was singed. She got up and tended to her injured fingers. When she looked in the mirror she thought. “It must have been a dream.” She returned to her work table and when she saw the time, her tiredness invaded her body. “I better go home before I miss the last train.”

Subway

     The umbrella barely offers coverage when the rain combines with the wind, on top of that I have just enough time to get to the meeting, almost on the corner is the subway entrance. On rainy days the subway is usually very humid, but it is faster than the bus to get to the center.

    After going down the stairs, shaking and closing the umbrella, it is time to pass the card through the reader and cross the turnstile, like the rest of the people who were trying to get to the platform, while I go down the stairs I receive a message from my co-workers, We were all going to the same meeting, they seemed a little nervous, I continue going down the stairs while I read and respond to the messages, without paying much attention to the surroundings, an advantage of always taking the same route, you know it by heart. I get to the platform and walk while still absorbed in the cell phone, they really got dense with the messages, but everyone knows what they have to do and say, I think it's normal for people who participate in these meetings for the first time.

    The platform is a little hot, I take off my raincoat while I continue walking looking at the phone screen, it is really hot on the platform. I looked out of my cell phone to see if it was at the height I wanted and I was paralyzed.

    I was on a walkway made of smooth and shiny stone, the walls were also made of smooth stone, a creamy tone, the walkway seemed to go on forever, I could not see any signs of artificial lighting, however everything was perfectly illuminated, the air was hot, but dry , I turned around, but I didn't see anyone else, I remained motionless for a while without knowing what was happening, I called out and shouted "hello", but there was no echo.

    My nerves were starting to get the best of me, I look at the phone screen, hoping that there was a signal, everything seemed normal, messages continued to come in, I looked away from the screen and found myself back on the subway platform, perplexed I looked around me. expecting that people were looking at me strangely, but people acted normally, before I could do anything else the train arrived and the tide of people took me inside the car towards everyday life.

Bicycle park ride.

  It was a beautiful spring morning in November, I left home early, went to Constitución station and boarded the train to Pereyra station. That delicate morning humidity and the aroma of the dense nature of the park could still be perceived. I set the bike's computer to zero and start pedaling, countless times I have traveled along the different paths of the park, making different combinations between the trails, with jumps, without jumps, some with more dense vegetation than others.

A little more than two hours into pedaling, I stopped to cool off a little next to an old valve in one of the little streams hidden among the vegetation. Suddenly the natural light went out, "it looks like it's getting really cloudy" I thought, but the weather forecast had said clear skies all day, maybe they miss it more times, so I didn't give it much importance, but A few seconds later the forest became darker and darker, "it must be a big storm", but a few seconds later the darkness became absolute, I couldn't see anything at all, groping with my hands I reached the handlebars of my bike and turned on a light. of the lanterns.

The light gave me some peace of mind, but a feeling of apprehension invaded me, I stayed still and realized that I couldn't hear anything, not even the sound of the water that was circulating a few meters to my right. "I better go back to the train station." I began to pedal, trusting my memory from so much time riding along the paths of the park, I reached the glass tree, where I had my first shock, from where I had started, I could not have reached the glass tree, I took a good breath of air to relax and I started back, I followed the usual path, to the left at the entrance to the police school, avoid the gate without falling into the river and from there straight until... something was not right, I panned with the flashlight to see the surroundings a little, to my horror I found myself in the quarry, but I never turned right or followed the descent.

It took me a few minutes to calm down, but I managed to regain some control and decided to make my way back to the station, this time there was the slope, which I climbed almost effortlessly and found the main path, the remains of asphalt were almost comforting. . I continued advancing in a straight line, without deviating, I arrived, to my relief, at the entrance gate to the park. When I crossed the side of the gate it was as if the curtain of a theater was rising, the sunlight almost blinded me, the sounds invaded my ears, but my brain took a while to process the scene, police, firefighters, rescue teams, Journalists and onlookers looked at me with amazement and perplexity on their faces.

I stood still without knowing what to do, one of the police officers accompanied by a firefighter and a doctor approached me and asked me a series of questions.

"I don't understand," I told them, "I came on the train this morning and spent a couple of hours pedaling, but it got really cloudy and I got a little lost, but I was able to get back." Looking at the magnitude of the operation I asked "what is happening?"

The firefighter told me in a calm tone. "There were reports of multiple disappearances, we've been combing the park for three days, but you're the first one to appear out of nowhere."

"Three days?" I asked, surprised, "it can't be, I've been pedaling for three hours at most, my legs aren't even tired."

"Can you tell us what happened to you?" The firefighter asked me.

"I stopped to rest next to one of the valves of the stream and suddenly everything became cloudy, you could barely see anything, I used the lights on my bike to get back, but three days? Impossible, look at the bike computer, I reset it before leaving." I grabbed the handlebars and an incredible panic invaded my body, the clock showed 74:27 hours of travel.

14 Febrero