REM // Van McCann

37. The Reason Why

It wasn't until we were in the lift going up that the realization of what just happened hit me. I almost lost Florence as a study participant and seeing how much I was willing to sacrifice for her to stay scared me. If she pulled this ultimatum much earlier, I honestly would've let her go. Things have changed and I got to know her as a person.

As soon as I stepped into the lab, all eyes were on me; their talking ceased immediately. Conscious of their eyes following me, I made my way straight to the computer to set up. My head hung low and I avoided looking at them because that would only make me question myself. They no doubt saw Florence right behind me which answered their question of whether or not she really left. She put away her stuff and began helping me set up.

"We'll only go under for half an hour because it's almost 4:15 PM," I said in a low voice, handing her the probes. I wasn't sure why I kept my voice low.

I tried to imagine what Bondy and Larry were thinking. Earlier, we were bickering and Florence didn't mind causing a scene. Now we're both back sheepishly trying to fit in a session before the end of the day. All of it was very childish and I knew that Bondy and Larry are never gonna leave it until I tell them what happened.

"Are you ready?" I asked and she nodded. "We'll be going under my dream and I'll set the delay for five minutes."

I made sure they could hear we were going under my dream because I didn't want them snooping while we were under. You can see whose dream you're under in the settings tab anyway. Before sitting down, I gave Bondy and Larry a look that said I'll explain later and sat down, quickly putting everything on before time expires. I adjusted my mask one more time before closing my eyes.

-

We were at the beach but further down because I could see the familiar cliff in the distance. The weather had drastically improved so there were people walking along the beach. As I looked around, I noticed a teenage boy tending to someone lying on their back. Looking at his actions, he looked worried because he kept glancing over his shoulder as if expecting someone and then turning his attention back to the person.

Two seagulls hovered above and landed on the beach not too far from them and the boy watched them closely. The boldness of seagulls will always surprise me, this coming from someone who's had their chips stolen by them. One of them ran towards the person to nip at their foot and the boy shouted, using his arms to wave them off.

"Vai-te embora! Shoo!" the boy cried out. The seagulls spread their wings in an attempt to look bigger but didn't approach. They opened their beaks and shrieked.

Now that I think about it, I've not seen this person move throughout the whole ordeal. Surely if someone was being nipped at by seagulls, they'd retract their leg. I can't imagine it's pleasant being nipped at. And that's when I realized the boy was watching over a dead body. He was protecting the body from the seagulls that would take a chance at eating anything. I began making my way towards the boy and heard voices in the distance.

A small crowd of men made their way hurriedly towards the boy. They carried medical supplies and equipment and a gurney as they couldn't get their car down onto the beach. They were speaking Portuguese to one another so I couldn't understand what they were saying but you could sense the urgency.

"Está aqui!" the boy shouted, standing up and pointing at her. Portuguese is different from Spanish but I did remember "aqui" to mean "here."

The men quickly surrounded the body on the sand, checking the body for a pulse and checking for breathing. It's unlikely they'd find one because the body hasn't moved at all. Two men transferred the body onto the gurney while another person questioned the boy, no doubt asking how he came across the body. It wasn't until they placed the body on the gurney that I noticed their yellow jacket. It's very bright and...wait a minute....