Nightmares

   I woke up breathing heavily but without screaming or doing any more noises. I had no clothes on but I could feel my body drenched in sweat, as if I had been running for quite a while. I grabbed my phone, which I had left by the bed, and checked the time: only a half hour had passed since I had fallen asleep. I was trembling and stayed there, sitting on my bed looking at the bedspread, not thinking at all. Then, I tried to remember what it was that I had dreamt off and I could just remember a few images, a few horrible images of creatures and scary situations. But the most awful thing was that I had felt paralyzed for a while. I mean, I had thought I was awake but I wasn’t and I felt and heard a sound coming at me from behind.

 I think I was paralyzed like that for at least three minutes but even such little time felt like an eternity. It felt like that being or that person behind me was going to be successful at attacking me, probably wanting to kill me for some reason. In that moment, I wanted to scream for help but I couldn’t, my mouth wouldn’t open and my eyes were frozen open. It was the worst kind of torture I could have thought of. I woke up just after that and thanked my body for helping me in that dire moment of need. As I stood up, walking to the kitchen for some water, I realized that the temperature outside had dropped even more in those thirty minutes I had been asleep. The cold was harsh so early in the morning so I decided to drink fast and put on some clothes to sleep.

 I didn’t fall asleep right away. To be honest, I was afraid I would keep dreaming those awful things so I just thought about other things. But the paralysis I had suffered earlier came back to me and I felt scared, more than before.  It had happened before and that was probably why I was so nervous about it. What was the reason of that? Why did it happen to me and why like that? It was a mystery I’d rather not explore but that’s how things were and I hated it. I didn’t want any more things in my mind right now, less of all a dream night were every single part looked like the perfect kind of torture. Was my mind just telling me that I was going insane?

 Hours later, at work, I didn’t mention my dreams to anyone. I tried to behave as I always did, crazy free. I even engaged in the typical lunch conversations, which was odd, as I preferred to listen and not to talk. That was because what I said was almost always perceived as “too much” or radical in some way, so I stopped talking at that time. But that day I must have forgotten my own rule because I talked and talked like a parrot and the fun thing was that some of the people agreed on why I said and other seemed to agree but didn’t want the rest to think they were as “radical” as me. That day in the office was good and, after lunch, I didn’t remember a single thing about my nightmares.

 They didn’t come back to me until late at night, when I was surprised to remember an especially gruesome part of my earlier nightmares. Apparently I had dreamt that I was some kind of murderer. I had never witnessed such things in real life and did not understand how my mind was able to replicate that situation, but there I was. It was clear to me now that I had walked amongst corpses, on a floor were every single centimeter was covered in blood. And that wasn’t the most shocking part. I was carrying a chainsaw in one hand and had my body covered in blood too, stepping on it as I walked through the room. I believe that was just a dream fragment, I don’t think there was more. But it had been enough to make me avoid sleeping at all that night? What was going on with me?

 The next day, more than one person asked me if I had slept at all. Apparently my eyes were pretty scary and my face looked horribly pale. I washed it at least twice but it didn’t make a change. I still looked like someone out of a horror movie. That day, I went back to not participating in conversations. I decided to skip lunch altogether, preferring to have some chocolate on a park bench nearby. The sugar made me feel alive and with enough energy to withstand the day. Maybe I had to do something special to avoid these dreams or at least to stop the memories of them coming in my head. I just wanted to go back to before, when I never had any kind of dreams, not even the typical ones people have.

 Suddenly, someone sat besides me on the bench and I realized it was this guy I liked from the office. He had arrived to work with us very recently and I felt he liked me back. I asked him what he was doing there and he told me that he had followed me. I must have opened my mouth very wide because he laughed and said that he had actually come out of a nearby restaurant and happened to se me alone so he just wanted to check on me. I asked why and he said I seemed distracted. He also mentioned the sleeping part. We stayed there for the remainder of lunchtime and when we went back, we had decided to meet in my house that night in order to watch a movie and have some take out.

 As it was Friday, many people were going dancing or drinking but we had decided to share a movie and we hadn’t done that ever before. It had been the first time we decided to meet outside of work so I was nervous about it. When I got home, I decided to check my computer for the best movies I had around. I chose three so we could see them all or he could chose his favorite. We could order anything and I changed my clothes to something less work related. I wanted everything to look good and on point, to look as if I worried about everything been clean and nice. Normally my place was a mess but I managed to make it presentable in short time.

 Then, the memories kicked in again. I wasn’t paralyzed or a butcher anymore. But I was tied to the floor with a metal chain and I was trying to release myself from it. I pulled with the little strength I still had but it was useless, the chain wouldn’t break. Then someone came in, someone whose face I never saw and he started to kick me and punch me and then… And then he did something I can’t even process, something… Something I didn’t understand when I realized I was remembering another part of that awful dream. Why was it happening now? Why did it keep coming back? This time I was drenched in sweat again but I had no time to change or to clean myself as the doorman called to tell me that my buddy from work had arrived. I wasn’t excited about it anymore.

 My legs shook as I got near the door and waited to open the door. I couldn’t just send him back to his house so I was just going to have a nice evening and tried to forget what I had just seen. I clean the sweat of my face with my sleeve and opened just as he had pressed the doorbell. He was surprised I opened that fast but he just laughed and we hugged as we greeted each other. I took him to my sofa and offered him a beverage but as I poured the two glasses of wine, my hands shook like crazy but he was talking about something so he didn’t really notice. We talked fro some minutes before I told him which movies I had picked and he said he liked them all so we could just try to watch them all that evening. I agreed so I asked him to put some popcorn in the microwave as I set up the movie.

 Minutes later, we had turned off the light, on his request, and were side by side eating popcorn and trying to concentrate on the movie. The truth was that I wanted to focus on him but couldn’t. I was still too shaken by what I had seen. I was been wondering if going to a shrink was the best idea. I needed someone else to know and to tell me I was just being crazy and that nothing from my nightmares could attack me, ever. I knew that maybe that was obvious but I needed to hear it from someone else. Then, I got scared and almost threw the popcorn bowl to the floor as he touched my hand. I was so ashamed I stopped the movie and just told him.

 I explained my nightmares, my fears and why I had been acting so weird. I told him because I needed someone to know, I needed to share those feeling with someone else. When I finished, he took my hands on his own and pressed them gently. He told me that I wasn’t a bad person for having nightmares and that maybe my imagination was too active or I had eaten before going to bed. It was common to have horrible nightmares sometimes and maybe I was just scared that what happened in them could actually happen some day. He assured me, with the confidence of a doctor, that I would never be that person in my dreams.

 I hugged him, we shared a kiss and, surprisingly, we watched two whole movies before we decided it was too late. He asked me to call him a taxi but I never dialed. I came in from behind and hugged him. I think I scared him. The thing is, he stayed the night and I never had those nightmares again. I’m not saying it was because of him but maybe my mind needed to focus on something else and what better than a nice, intelligent prospect? But sometimes I remember the nightmares and I wonder who I am and why I am.

Pena de muerte

Fueron llegando de a poco. Algunos saludaban al guarda que estaba junto a la puerta o los funcionarios de la cárcel que estaban en la fila trasera, compuesta de cinco asientos, todos ya ocupados. Frente a ellos había dos grupos de sillas. El más cercano a la puerta consistía de quince sillas exclusivas para los familiares de las víctimas. El otro grupo, de apenas cinco asientos, era para los familiares del condenado. En frente, había una ventana, tapada del otro lado por una cortina blanca

El aspecto general del lugar era bastante apagado, casi hospitalario. La gente que venía en representación de las víctimas ya llenaban los asientos, incluso había gente de pie y un hombre discutía con un guarda que había llegado. Pedía que dejaran entrar a su hijo pero por lo que se podía entender, era un niño, un menor de edad. Su ingreso estaba prohibido. Pero el hombre seguía peleando, como si fuera un concepto muy difícil de entender el de no admitir un niño a la muerte de alguien.

De pronto se abrió otra puerta, del lado opuesto a la puerta por la que todos los demás habían ingresado. Una guarda entró primero, luego una mujer relativamente de lentes de marco grueso y, al final y con la cabeza agachada, una mujer de unos cincuenta años. Se veía bastante mal, algo verde, como si fuera a vomitar en cualquier momento. Las dos mujeres que habían entrado con ella la acompañaron a su asiento y le hablaban en voz baja. Se sentó en el asiento más alejado del grupo de sillas de los familiares de las víctimas. La sicóloga se le sentó al lado, todavía hablando de algo y cerraba la fila la guarda que saludaba con un gesto a sus jefes.

Uno de ellos se puso de pie y se le acercó. Saludó a las tres mujeres de la mano y le dijo algo más a la mujer. Esta vez, por alguna razón relacionada al sonido, todo el mundo escuchó lo que dijo:

 - Se siente bien?

Entonces el hombre que peleaba para que dejaran entrar a su hijo, se lanzó hacia el otro lado de la habitación. La guarda y el funcionario lo atajaron a tiempo. La mujer enfermiza ni lo miró, solo se dejó cubrir por la sicóloga que seguía hablándole al oído. La verdad era que ella no le estaba poniendo mucha atención. No había nada que pudiera decirle.

Pero el hombre sí parecía querer dejar por sentada su opinión. Le gritaba obscenidades a la mujer, y trataba de librarse de los que le impedían el paso. Al poco tiempo llegaron dos guardas más y se lo llevaron. Nunca volvió a la habitación.

El funcionario volvió a su asiento ya que las luces prendían y apagaban. Era hora. La cortina subió lentamente y todo el que estuviera hablando dejó de hacerlo.

Al otro lado no había nadie, solo las máquinas que servirían a cumplir con una sentencia impuesta hacía ya varios meses. Dos guardas quedaron en la sala de espectadores, cerrando la puerta de acceso.

La mujer, la madre del asesino, del hombre que había violado y asesinado a varias mujeres en la región, se incorporó y trató de inyectarse fuerza o coraje, pero su cuerpo no parecía interesado en cooperar. Se sentía a punto del desmayo, a punto de perder todo lo que era, más allá de perder a su propio hijo.

El amor que sentía por él solo puede ser entendido por otra madre y, aunque suene mal, no había dejado de quererlo. Por supuesto, lo odiaba también por hacer lo que había hecho y como lo había hecho. No sabía que había hecho ella para que él fuera así.

Al principio no quiso creer nada de lo que decían de él. Incluso lo defendió frente a cientos de periodistas. Pero eso pronto cayó en el olvido, al menos para ella. La evidencia, todas esas fotos y detalles, todo hablaba de él. En ese momento su corazón se rompió en mil pedazos. Casi no podía vivir sabiendo que odiaba profundamente a alguien que adoraba más que a nadie. Y no había alma que lo entendiera.

La mujer miró hacia el lado de las víctimas: madres, esposos, incluso hijos. Algunos lloraban, otros visiblemente furiosos, llenos de rabia. Ella sabía que ellos se sentían igual que ella, aunque por razones muy diferentes. No los culpaba por su actitud hacia ella, los entendía. Sabía que ella hubiera respondido igual si hubiera sido una hija de ella la que hubiera sido asesinada. Pero no, su hijo era el asesino.

Al cuarto del otro lado de la ventana, entraron primero dos enfermeros, que empezaron a prender máquinas y alistar la camilla y algunos instrumentos. Instintivamente, la mujer tomó la mano de la sicóloga con fuerza. Se sentía morir, más rápido de lo que moriría su hijo.

Entonces su corazón se partió en otros mil pedazos. Dos guardas entraron a la blanca habitación, seguidos de su hijo, escoltado por otro guarda más. Porque tanta seguridad? Porque no solo hacerlo y ya, pensaba ella? 

Del otro lado, algunos miembros de las familias, empezaron a gritar insultos, cosas horribles y detalles asquerosos de los crímenes. Era como ver la peor película de horror de la historia, en vivo y con los personajes más patéticos en existencia. Los guardan se les acercaron y les exigieron sentarse y callarse o los expulsarían. Los exaltados familiares hicieron caso, a regañadientes.

Miró la cara de su hijo y no pudo evitar llorar, gimiendo de la pena y el pesar que sentía al ver a su hijo mayor. El hombre estaba demacrado, con los ojos desorbitados y las venas muy fáciles de ver. Se sentó en la camilla con docilidad. Le tomaron la presión y le hicieron una revisión rutinaria, como si estuviera en la oficina de un médico cualquiera.

Era horrible, para todos, ver semejante escena. Era como una representación teatral macabra, solo entretenida para quienes gozaran viendo el sufrimiento de otros. Nadie se sentía feliz en esa habitación. El odio era palpable y la tristeza y pesar igual pero no había felicidad. Esa palabra no tenía cabida en esa pequeña habitación de la cárcel.

Entonces lo acostaron y lo amarraron con unas correas de cuero que tenía la camilla. La mujer seguía llorando, pero ahora en silencio. Empezaron a conectar todo lo indispensable para el procedimiento y, mientras lo hacían, el hombre miró de reojo hacia su madre.

Esa mirada no era la de él, al menos no como un hombre mayor. La mujer se tapó la boca al ver la mirada de su pequeño, la misma mirada que le hacía cuando lo regañaba por comer dulces antes de la cena o por sentarse muy cerca del televisor. Era su hijo.

Todo estuvo listo. Un enfermero revisaba los signos vitales del paciente y otro se ubicó al lado de la máquina más grande. Tenía un botón rojo, tapado con una cubierta de plástico. El resto de la máquina eran cinco cilindros donde estaba el liquido que penetraría en el cuerpo del hombre e interrumpiría su existencia.

El enfermero entonces asintió, mirando hacia un punto al otro lado del vidrio. Miraba al director de la prisión, quien se puso de pie y empezó a leer de una hoja. Solo repetía lo que todos sabían: los asesinatos, el resultado del juicio, la condena. Cuando terminó de hablar, asintió al enfermero quien oprimió sin vacilar el botón rojo de la máquina.

Entonces bajó algo en el primero de los cilindros. El liquido corría por la intravenosa y entraba en el cuerpo del hombre, que miraba al techo, con la mirada perdida. La madre se puse de pie, sus ojos llenos de lágrimas. Pero por alguna razón, ya no temblaba. Su cuerpo le había respondido. Solo miraba a su hijo, como el según cilindro vaciaba su contenido y como el ser que tanto adoraba empezaba a abrir y a cerrar los ojos, retorciéndose un poco sobre la camilla.

 - Sigue estable. Solo son convulsiones - dijo uno de los enfermeros.

Y así bajaron dos cilindros más. Para cuando bajó el último, el hombre ya estaba muerto. Lo enfermeros le hicieron un chequeo y confirmaron el deceso, con hora y fecha. Soltaron las correas que amarraban al cuerpo y sacaron la camilla del lugar. Uno de los guardas cerró la cortina y todo terminó. Las luces en el cuarto de los espectadores se encendieron y, pasados algunos minutos, pudieron ir saliendo lentamente.

Pero la mujer no tenía interés en moverse, en irse a ningún lado. Para ella habían pasado demasiadas cosas en tan solo algunos minutos. Parte de su razón para vivir se había extinguido, había gastado sus últimos cartuchos de amor y odio hacia su hijo y además lo había visto morir. Era demasiado.

Ella no había pedido nada de eso, nada de lo que había sucedido. Miles de veces le habían gritado en la calle, había tenido que mudarse, por ser la madre del asesino. Pero ella no tenía la culpa, ella estaba en las tinieblas, igual que ellos.

Cuando la sicóloga la removió con fuerza, ella la miró a los ojos y suspiró. Era hora de enterrar a su hijo y darle fin a dos vidas, una de las cuales debía seguir, aunque ella no tenía idea de como. Sería un fantasma más en un mundo gris y desolado.

It came from us...

 - The place is deserted.
 - It is a desert, after all.

Lin and Allan had been inside the crashed craft for over an hour now and there were no signs of survivors to the crash.

The day before, radars had detected the ship near the planet. Several times the people at Jongjin base had attempted to establish contact but the ship but hey were unable to. Then the ship appeared to lose all stability and fell into the planet.

A scientist and a military officer had been sent to check the crash site. No living beings were onboard. From the look of it all, it appeared as if the ship had been empty all along but that was impossible as radars and other technology had verified the ship was on a strict course before they stopped and fell into Katf II, the second planet in a system not far from Earth.

Both astronauts came out of the ship and entered their vehicle, a four wheeled rover that could travel as it would in Earth. The atmosphere was similar but not breathable. As they traveled back to the base, two hours away, they started talking about the possible reasons the ship was there and why it crashed.

Suddenly, the wind started to blow, getting stronger by the minute. The vehicle had to stop and, in these cases, the astronauts were required to raise stay still as storms normally moved a lot and it would be soon be away from them.

 - I'm so hungry.
 - Didn't you eat before leaving?
 - No, I had to submit my report on that rockslide on the far side last month. Pain in the ass.
 - Did someone got killed?
 - No, but...

But Lin didn't know more of the matter. The wind, that had formed a tornado of sorts, was moving away from them. What had impressed Allan to the point of being rendered speechless was a figure that had appeared from the other side of the storm, it moved slowly but towards them.

Lin realized about it too and grabbed the binoculars that they kept between the two seats. She could see what the creature was: it seemed like a man with a limp but its looks were far from that. It was made of something green and seemed to be furry. Furry...

 - What is it? - Allan asked.
 - We need to get to the base, now.

She restarted the vehicle and pressed on towards the base.

Once there, Lin asked for an emergency meeting with the top minds and chiefs in the base. They were all there in a matter of minutes. Allan was the last person to arrive. He approached Lin and said something to hear, almost in a whisper.

 - May we know the reason of your call, Ms. Lin? We have things to deal with.
 - I know and I'm sorry to call you like this but it is urgent.

Lin asked Allan to turn off the lights and then presented to the audience with a video, apparently footage made with a handheld recorder. The video depicted a woman in a lab. She seemed very intelligent but very worried too. She said that she worked with a company from Earth that dealt with biogenetics and related topics. Her duty was to study all pathogens that could affect humans but that her bosses had asked, in a top secret document, to start the creation of a special virus, a strong one, able to resist any plague.

To her own surprise, research and its costs were not a problem and within a couple of years they had a prototype. Unfortunately, the experiment had worked all too well: the virus had proved its resistance to everything, even to humans. When scientists decided the project was too dangerous, the virus took possession of several members of the scientific body, killed them.

The female scientist said that their last opportunity was to send the virus to the Sun, so it would be destroyed for good. They shipped the virus in an automated craft and launched it but they soon realized they had failed. They realized the virus had taken control of the ship.

She finally stated she did this video for the people to know the company wanted all record of the virus erased as it was "no longer their problem", as the craft it inhabited had left the system.

When the video stopped, the lights turned on and Lin explained the video had circulated for years amongst scientists but everyone had thought it was best not to mess with it all. Until now.

Lin explained that her and Allan had witnessed a creature walking towards them in the desert, limping and deformed. Checking the data they had gathered on the crash site, she realized the ship may be the one carrying the virus.

One of the men laughed and said it was all ridiculous. He said that, even if was all true, the possibilities of the craft with the virus landing in Katf II were very slim as larger planets would have attracted the craft.

Lin responded by telling him that her team had been investigating a life source near the crash site. An oasis of life on the planet. The creature seemed covered in moss, similar to the one that grew in that oasis. She theorized the virus had gotten close to it for water but then used moss to form a body.

Suddenly all lights went off and the red emergency ones were on. A voice in a speaker told everyone on the base the exists were now closed and that everyone should remain calm.

Allan approached a computer and logged on the security cameras on the outside. They all scanned the images until a woman from the mining commission yelled "There!".

On a camera registering the outside of the parking area of the base, they could see a creature resembling a man but with no face or fingers. It was banging at the door, possibly attempting to go in.

Then, everyone's cold got ice cold: from the "belly" of the creature, a face came up, that of a man. And the man screamed. And they knew all was lost.