Mr. Dome just passed by Oxy, heading to the principal's office. He suddenly stopped in front of the door, then turned back to Oxy who was still standing in confusion.
"Come here, Oxy Jane. It's also your birthday, right?" asked Mr. Dome.
Oxy widened her eyes. How could Mr. Dome know her birthday?
Mr. Dome disappeared behind the door, leaving Oxy who was standing still in doubt.
She patted the side of her face. It felt hurt.
"Come on! You have to wake up, Oxy!" She shouted to herself.
Then she heard a terrible howl from outside. Oxy shuddered in horror, she immediately ran back into the principal's office.
Mr. Dome and Helio turned to her who entered the room with frightened expressions.
"Still here, huh?" Helio asked. "Mr. Dome said it's also your birthday."
"Sit, Oxy," said Mr. Dome.
Oxy closed the door behind her, then walked closer to join them. Helio sat in the principal's chair, while Mr. Dome sat on the guest chair. It looked not right. There were no kids who would do that to Mr. Dome in the school.
"How do you know if today is my birthday, sir?" asked Oxy to Mr. Dome.
"Mr. Dome knows everything," Helio said. "Come on, we have to blow out the candles."
Oxy frowned. Mr. Dome had opened the gift box and it was a birthday cake with two candles stuck in it. Mr. Dome lit the candles.
"Sit down, Oxy Jane," said Mr. Dome.
Oxy immediately sat in the guest chair next to Mr. Dome.
"Both of you, please blow out the candles," said Mr. Dome.
Oxy felt so silly hearing the order, while Helio looked excited like a five years old boy who had just celebrated his first birthday party. But Oxy obeyed the order because she never blew out the candles for her birthday cake. She and Helio both blew out the candles.
After that Helio ate the cake with his hands, making Oxy lose her appetite by looking at it. The boy hadn't washed his hands, had he?
"Sir, are you real?" Oxy asked Mr. Dome like an idiot student. "Where is this place? Is this real or just a dream?"
"What do you think?" asked Mr. Dome back. "Do you think this place is real?"
"I don't know," replied Oxy. "But earlier I saw a Monster outside. It ate Mr. Floks' head. And Mr. Floks was dead."
Mr. Dome nodded his head. "Another death..." he mumbled.
"I've been working hard, sir," said Helio, his mouth covered with cream of the cake. "But the humans still came somehow. It's beyond my control. As if Urons drew them in."
"I don't understand," said Oxy, her brain dulled at Helio's nonsense.
"You need more time to understand everything, Oxy," said Mr. Dome. "We are on Cerebra. Your soul enters the dimension of the lost city," he said.
"Cerebra?" Oxy repeated in confusion. "But... the city was disappeared, right?"
"This city has never disappeared. It has remained in this dimension, the experiment caused the city drawn into another dimension."
Oxy stared in confusion. She did not understand. Cerebra called the lost city but never lost?
"Helio is the controller of the Cerebra gates," Mr. Dome continued, looking at the boy. "He is the one who protects the Cerebra gate so that Uron doesn't get out of this dimension."
"What?"
"Uron is a monster who lives here. They were hiding in the fog and maybe trying to find a way to get out."
"I still have a hard time," said Oxy.
"You don't have to take it all quickly, Oxy," said Mr. Dome. "I've been watching you, and I know this day would surely come. When you have to deal with all of this."
"I don't need help," Helio protested.
"You need it, Helio," said Mr. Dome.
"Why me?" asked Oxy.
"Because you can. You were born in Cerebra too, kid. You are not like a regular human, you have amazing power."
Oxy widened her eyes. What? She was born in Cerebra? And Mr. Dome knew she had power?
"Take it easy," said Mr. Dome.
"I have to wake up," said Oxy, she was getting tired of all of this. She stood up and got away from Mr. Dome and Helio. "I have to get up from here."
"Do you know how to do that?" asked Mr. Dome.
Oxy looked at Mr. Dome in bewilderment.
"You must have an alarm," Mr. Dome showed her a digital watch on his wrist. "Otherwise you'll be locked up forever in Cerebra, like Helio."
Oxy widened her eyes again. "What...?"
He must be kidding! How could they trap in here?
"Yes, that is the consequence of entering this dimension."
Oxy was taken aback when she heard the angry voice. But it wasn't the howling sound of some creature out there. It was Darren's voice that seemed so far away.
"Is someone calling you up?" asked Mr. Dome. "Then see you later, kid. Meet me at Skeleta."
--
Oxy jolted awake. She blinked in confusion. Her eyes felt stung because of the bright light. The principal's office which was cluttered with red lights had disappeared. She was on the sofa. The bowl of cereal spilled, littering the carpet. She was back in the living room of Jane's house.
"Very good, Oxy!" Darren took out the CD. "You used my stuff without permission!" He looked so angry.
Oxy rubbed her sleepy face. Darren's angry voice made her head hurt.
"And just wait, Mama will be mad at you! You mess up. Look at the dirt!"
Darren left the living room with rough steps. If Oxy was a boy, maybe Darren would punch her face. But Darren always could hold himself back.
Oxy sighed. Darren was right. Grace would be mad when she saw the carpet. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Grace would have come soon. She needed to clean up this mess.
--
Darren was wrong. Grace came home looking more unstable than usual. Grace didn't even check the wet carpet in the living room. Grace cooked spaghetti for dinner but she forgot to add the spices, which irritated Darren to death with the tasteless spaghetti.
But Darren was always a good kid in front of his parents. Darren didn't protest and put the spices into his spaghetti, even though the dry spices had to be cooked as well.
"When will Dad come home, Mom?" Darren asked.
"Oh?" Grace gasped. Oxy had never seen Grace so out of control. Maybe she had many problems in her office. "Your Dad? Oh yeah, Bill will be here soon."
"What happen?" asked Oxy.
"Well, it's not confirmed yet, dear... But... When you're done with the dinner, please go back to your room."
No need to be ordered twice, Oxy and Darren immediately stood up, and they carried their full plates to the sink. They put the rest of the dinner into the plastic trash. Darren first climbed the stairs to his room. Both of their room was on the second floor. But the two of them stopped when their mother suddenly turned on the TV. They heard the voice of the presenter, explaining something which caused the unnatural death.
Automatically Oxy and Darren walked back downstairs.
"This phenomenon is called Brain Fog. Symptoms start from being unconscious for a while. The Confusion will persist for several days. Following bad insomnia. If you feel these all symptoms, get yourself checked immediately because it may be the symptoms of the Brain Fog."
"The symptoms will make you lose control of the brain system because the brain is working too hard to collect memories. When in the final phase, Brain fog will make the brain system chaotic and blood vessels will burst."
"Ridiculous," said Darren. While Oxy looked so tense hearing the presenter's explanation.
"They finally decided that was a disease. Haha. It's ridiculous." Darren said again.
"Mr. Floks was dead today," said Oxy unconsciously. It felt like everything that happened today was like a dream. He saw Mr. Floks was killed by a monster. He also met a long-haired boy named Helio. And Mr. Dome knew about her birthday.
Darren turned to her. His brown eyes widened because of Oxy's words. "What did you say?" He asked, couldn't believe it.
Oxy shook her head. "Just ask your father."
"How did you know? You might be wandering around today."
Oxy realized that the identity of the last victim had not been announced until now.
"I was not wandering around. I went back early. I came straight home after I met you smoking with your stupid friend at the field." Oxy changed the topic.
"Shut up. Don't tell my Mom." Darren interrupted. "I'll make your life miserable at school if you mess with me."
Oxy only shrugged.
"Shit. If you're right . . . Why does it have to be Mr. Floks?" Darren was also shocked to hear about the death of Mr. Floks.
The unnatural death made the people in the city panic.
If Cerebra was real, maybe Mr. Dome had an answer about something that happened in Skeleta.[]