Deep in the depths of a bunker, the young boy finally rose awake. His head turned against the metal chair, and a great weight was lifted from his eyelids. Examining his surroundings, the young boy noted the various features of his interior, eventually laying his eyes on Jet.
Staring into the eyes of the newly Awakened, Master Jet noted a strange sharpness in his eyes. It was an interrogative look that gave an air of mistrust.
"Where am I?" He said calmly.
"You're in a bunker." Jet explained. "We found you on a sidewalk whilst you were in your First Nightmare. Now that you're awake – welcome back to the land of the living. Congratulations on surviving your First Nightmare."
The boy's eyes widened, as if a thousand realizations came flooding into him at once. He looked around the interior of the vault once again, this time with a look of shock and disbelief.
Lips unturned, he said with great relief. "I-I'm back…"
Jet opted to remain silent, giving him the time to process. It was clear he had gone through great hardship, and she didn't want to interrupt his moment of reprieve.
"How long have I've been asleep?" He asked.
Jet carefully considered. "We first heard of you though various reports sent to the police - that was eight hours ago. There's no way to know how long you were out before then, but likely not very long. So, my guess is that you've only been out for one night."
"One night…" He repeated, looking in deep thought.
Jet moved to his medical bed, undoing the restraints that had been holding him.
"I am Ascended Jet, but you can call me Master Jet. Since your situation is quite unusual, we would like to ask you some questions before we let you go. Of course, you don't have to answer, but the more we know, the better equipped the police will be when dealing with cases similar to your situation."
The moment I spoke of questioning, the boy returned to his cold, distrustful demeanor. After a moment of silence, he returned with a curt nod.
"I understand," he said. "I'll answer to the best of my abilities."
Though it was clear he was lying, Jet was satisfied to hear he was cooperating at all. Once the boy was released, he was escorted to a shower room. After he cleaned himself and received a clean police-issued tracksuit, the boy began to roam around, passing by every room and corridor.
Eventually he found himself at the cafeteria. Steam and various aromas weighed heavily in the air. Jet was waiting for him at one of the tables, with two trays of synthetic food sitting and steaming.
"Help yourself."
The boy stared at the trays in confusion, before glancing at the Jet with caution.
"What is this?" He asked her.
Jet gave the boy a weird look. He of all people should know what this was.
"It's food." She told him. "It's not the best thing in the world, but it's still food."
The boy was wide-eyed again. Looking at the tray, he seemed to be in deep thought, before sitting down and trying a bit of the food.
At first, he seemed to struggle eating, as if he had never eaten before. Soon he started eating more naturally, taking larger gulps of the food, until after some time, he began to ravenously wolf down the food, unable to stop himself.
This was more like what Jet had expected. The boy was thin and clearly malnourished. She wouldn't be surprised if he started drinking blood as a means to combat starvation. The boy had finally realized how hungry he was.
"I haven't asked you yet, but what is your name?"
Again, the boy looked at her with mistrustful eyes. Eventually, after finishing the entirety of the meal, he seemed to regain some semblance of tranquility.
"My name is Sable." He responded calmly, lacking any hint of mistrust. "I have no family name, I don't think… so it's just Sable."
"Hmm… Sable, I see. Well Sable, like I've said before, I'll need to ask you some questions. You don't have to answer them, but it will help us greatly if you do."
Sable nodded. "I understand. What do you want to know?"
"There are a few things – when the police first found you, you were carrying several vials of blood. You also had been injecting it into yourself. Why? And where did you get it?"
Sable looked her in confusion, shaking his head in response. "It wasn't blood – it was medicine. My arm was fractured and was told that stabbing those vials into my right leg will heal it."
Sable swung his arm in demonstration. "As you can see, it worked. My arm works perfectly now."
A sense of unease washed over her as he heard his explanation. Jet was confident in her ability to tell a lie, finding none in his words. However, his claims were too unusual – Jet has never heard of such a medicine, and the policemen had confirmed that it was blood.
In the end, Jet was left frowning.
"Who told you that it would heal you? And how did you even get them?"
Sable shook his head sadly. "I don't know. It was some stranger who told me this. I was going to die if I couldn't fix my arm, so I had nothing to lose."
Jet made a dark look. "I see. I would say that what you did was very foolish, but I can understand your situation – you simply had no other choice. Even still, we will need to look into this more carefully. Where did you meet this stranger?"
Sable pondered the question, before answering straightforwardly. "Around where you would've found me – just on the sidewalk. As for where he came from, he claimed to be a missionary of the Healing Church. That's all I know."
The Healing Church…?
Jet had never heard of such a church before - perhaps it only came about recently. Regardless, this was too large to ignore – the notion of an organization that distributes a healing blood warrants significant investigation.
"This Healing Church… do know where it is? Or anything about it?" Jet questioned further.
Sable shook his head. "No. Like I said, that's all I know. All I was told was that this blood would heal me, so I took it. I didn't think to question it."
Jet considered his words carefully, before finishing with a sigh. "I see. I won't prod you any further then. You've been very helpful. Now… as per protocol, I am obligated to inform you of a few things. It is mostly a formality."
She glanced at him, before continuing further.
"First of all, concerning your nightmare, you are entitled to receive free psychological counseling. No matter what traumatic experience you have encountered, there is no shame in asking for help. Your mind is as important as your body – it is only right to keep healthy. Are you interested?"
Sable stood frozen, seemingly in deep thought. From his slight expressions, it was clear he was looking at his aspects and attributes, something that is only visible to him. After a while of pondering, he finally responded.
"For this psychological counseling, I don't need to reveal anything, do I? If it's just someone I can talk to, that would be nice."
Jet returned with a sad look. "Sadly, that will be an issue - the ones issued by the government will try to get information out of you. In fact, I was actually going to suggest that you refuse."
A disappointed look washed across his face. "I see… In that case, I refuse."
Jet nodded. "As you wish. In the dream realm, Nightmare Creatures won't be the only danger you'll encounter – humans are as well, so the less they know about you, the better."
Sable nodded, looking downcast. It was clear he wanted help – Nightmares were harrowing experiences after all, however revealing your cards could be just as terrible. Jet knew this very well, confiding too much to the wrong people, which was why she didn't want him to make the same mistake.
"So, what happens now?" Sable wondered. "When is the Winter Solstice?"
Jet sighed, knowing that this topic will come. "I'll be honest, your luck is terrible – the Winter Solstice is only a few weeks away, so there's not a lot of time at all. To be clear, you are free to do as you wish, no one is forcing you to make a decision. That is to say, you can choose to prepare on your own, or not prepare at all.
Sable frowned, unsure on how to respond. Jet continued.
"However, I'd advise against that. As a sleeper, you are entitled to enroll in the Awakened Academy. You'll be provided with food, lodging, and a wide choice of preparatory classes. This late into the year, you won't be able to learn a lot, but it's better than nothing."
Sunny stared into the hallway, gathering his thoughts, before facing Jet.
"Are you saying I should go to this Academy?" Sable questioned. "Is that what you're suggesting?"
Jet nodded. "That would be my advice. You will also get acquainted with most of the people who will enter the Dream Realm with you. For better or for worse."
"So, what do you say? Do you want me to take you to the Academy?" Jet offered.
Once again, Sable remained silent, weighing the decision heavily in his mind. Silently, Jet was hoping that he would accept; few from the Outskirts survive the first nightmare, much less the dream realm. Furthermore, it is only a few weeks until the Winter Solstice.
The odds are stacked against him, however that could change - the Academy has the resources necessary to prepare him for what's to come, and she suspected that there was more to Sable than he let on.
After a while, he looked down at his empty tray, before finally making a decision.
"Very well. I will go to the Academy."
Jet smiled. "I was right about you. You really are smart."