That night, the boys could not get off from their heads what they had witnessed. Kiko and Bogart had been really healed. It was all true, they were not playing with Loduvico. Their wounds and pain vanished right after he touched them. They were speechless, even after the man left."It"s really a miracle" was all Bogart could say. They rode home in silence as they pondered on several things. Even in their beds, disbelief and wonder still lingered in their heads. How could the man heal their wounds? Where did he get such power? What truth was he speaking about? Is it the same truth they knew?
Kiko twisted and turned in his bed. He was sleeping and dreaming of something incredible. His dream was not related to the miracle but something more exciting. He dreamt he was running in an unfamiliar land. Around him were rolls of mountains and gra.s.ses. Leaves and petals swirled as he raced through the terrains. But it was not just a regular boy"s dash. His speed was unbelievably fast, like he was already flying. He covered places in a matter of minutes.
"Am I fast enough?" he asked himself.
Kiko knew he was only dreaming but it felt too real. He stopped running to catch his breath. In the blink of an eye, he found himself transported to another dimension. He was in a crowded marketplace and around him were different aromas of life. There were the scents of fresh flowers, decaying fruits, excreta from fowls and various animals, and human sweat. But was it really human sweat?
Kiko robbed his eyes to see clearly his surroundings. The fruits were peculiar and he was certain he had never tasted or seen anything like them. The animals looked different, as if their heads or bodies were dislocated. But what was more interesting were the people. They had oversized heads against their narrow jaw and slender bodies. Their faces were a blur to him. More importantly, they looked familar to him.
"The alien," he gasped after realizing his thoughts.
Just then, the people turned around and looked at him. They tilted their eyes as though wondering what kind of being he was. Panic started creeping into his heart. He stepped back when the people moved slowly toward him. He knew what he must do and summoning all his guts, he sprinted and ran away from them. He worked through a labyrinth of unknown streets and no sooner, he was in another place.
It was night time and there seemed to be a war. The forest shone brightly as laser blasts and bombs exploded everywhere. Kiko"s heart beat a hundred times faster.
"What"s happening here?" he asked himself frantically. "Why am I caught in this mess?"
Kiko ran as fast as he could. He never turned turned around nor opened his eyes, in fear of the things he would see. He just ran and ran until he woke up, sweating and panting. All through the night, he was restless as he tried to sleep soundly again.
Similarly, Bogart had a weird dream. In his dream, the school bullies attacked him again. They were in the gra.s.sland, exactly where the army camp was located. The five boys encircled him, hurling various insults.
"Piggy!"
"Melon boy!"
"Squeaky pants!"
Bogart was on the ground, kneeling and crying. He wanted to shut his ears but their voices persisted. Andrex lifted him up so that they were eye to eye.
"What now, Piggy?" Andrex said. "Want to wet your pants? Unfortunately, you have no friends now to back you up."
The other boys laughed. He reminded himself to remain calm but it was simply too much. With all his strength, he kicked Andrex in the belly. Not satisfied yet, he pulled his arm, swung him around, and threw him as far as he could. To his surprise, Andrex was sent into the sky, his miniscule figure kept vanishing until the bright sunlight engulfed him. The other four bullies were mystified, and all at once, they attacked Bogart. He was overpowered and the boys were on top of him, punching him in various places. Mustering all his might again, he pushed them all away at once. He picked them up one by one and hurled them into the sky until the sun devoured them.
"Serves you right!" Bogart hollered.
He smiled to himself. He knew it was only a dream but it was very satisfying. He was in such blissful state when he was suddenly transported to another place.
No, it was the same place - the gra.s.sland but at night. There were no stars in the sky. Just few meters from him was something that looked like a vehicle. It was oval-shaped and its rear end seemed to be damaged. Bogart"s eyes widened upon realizing it was the s.p.a.ceship.
Slowly, he paced towards the s.p.a.ceship. It was lit inside the vehicle, and a man, or an alien, seemed to be trapped inside. The being was trying to get out as he kept punching the windshield in an attempt to break it.
Bogart ran towards him. The alien was struggling inside, as if he was running out of life. Bogart reached for a rock and tried smashing it on the windshield but to no avail. Subconsciously, Bogart collected all his strength and focused it on his right hand. He clinched his fist and in one stroke, he broke the windshield of the s.p.a.ceship. The gla.s.s was shattered into tiny pieces. The alien immediately breathed and was too weak to act.
Impulsively, Bogart pulled him from the wreck. To his surprise, the alien had turned into a handsome man, looking like a movie star or some prince.
"Help me," he whispered while trying to breathe hard. "No, you are in grave danger. Run!"
Suddenly, the alien died in Bogart"s arms, leaving him uncertain on what to do next. Minutes pa.s.sed by and the alien seemed to melt in his grasp. Bogart felt disgusted and the body was reduced to a green puddle of ooze at his feet. To his surprise, the ooze moved and formed into another being. It transformed into a huge squid-like monster and pounced on Bogart. He was thrown on the ground with the monster on top of him. It was heavy but he kept punching at him. He kept doing so until he finally woke up from the bad dream. He panted hard.
"I won"t eat squid again," he whispered to himself.
Later, Bogart laid in his bed again but he had only restless sleep through the remainder of the night. For Tonton, he dreamt of the same dream again - the alien couple, the war in the forest, and the meteor landing.
He knew it was not really a meteor but a s.p.a.ceship. He ran to the crash site which was somewhere near their school. There was woman inside. She was struggling to get out. Tonton only looked at him, fear taking most of his resolve. Slowly, the woman evaporated into the air but before she completely vanished, she wrote on the windshield the word "Danger". Instantly, the s.p.a.ceship disappeared.
At that, Tonton woke up from his sleep. Like his friends, he spent the rest of the night in a restless sleep. It was different for Jamie. He had no dream but he was not feeling well. He shivered constantly in his bed. Unknown to him, small red dots began appearing on his legs....