𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 (𝐌𝐂𝐔 𝐎𝐂)

CHAPTER TWO

The girl jolted awake, gasping for air as if her lungs had forgotten how to work. Panic gripped her as she struggled to inhale, each breath feeling like a battle against an invisible force. She reached out desperately, seeking something, anything, to anchor her tumultuous mind.

Someone gently placed a hand on her shoulder, presumably to calm her down, but it offered no comfort amidst the overwhelming unfamiliarity.

"Alejandra, can you hear me?" A gentle voice echoed.

She blinked, her vision hazy as she fought to regain clarity. Who was that? She had never heard this voice before.

"You're all right, you're safe." The voice spoke again.

'Don't know who this person is, but you probably look crazy right now, just breathe' Her own thoughts chimed in.

The girl breathed in, then out slowly, her chest rising and falling in sync with the rhythm of her breath. "Okay. Im fine. I think..." she said to herself after a moment, almost forgetting about the mysterious voice.

"Hello, Alejandra."

The girls eyes snapped back up, and before her stood a woman, her features bathed in an ethereal glow. She was adorned in a robe that seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly luminescence.

The fabric flowered around the woman like liquid silver, casting an aura of mystique. Then, her eyes, pools of endless wisdom, seemed to pierce through Alejandra's soul, holding her captive in a gaze, but she could see the smile the woman had.

She managed an awkward smile in return. "Uh, hi?"

"Do you remember anything?" Her voice remained soft, so as not to frighten the girl.

"Um..."

Just then, memories flooded through Alejandra's mind like a torrential downpour. She was at her friend's house. Her parents texted her. She had to go home. It was late. She was on a bike, her mom called and then...

Then there was the blinding flash of light, then her world was surrounded by darkness.

"I...I'm-I'm dead, aren't I?" Her voice wavered, the reality of her words sinking in with bone chilling clarity.

"Yes and no."

Well, that was eerily vague...

"I know you must be confused. Come, sit. I will explain everything."

Alejandra was about to make a sarcastic comment about the empty room when the woman snapped her fingers, and two chairs materialized behind each of them.

'Right. Let's just pretend this is normal so I don't have an aneurysm or something' Alejandra thought sitting down with a huff.

"It was a confusing answer that I gave. I am aware." The woman began, her tone calm and reassuring. "You are currently in a dreamscape, a realm beyond the confines of time and space."

"And why am I here?" Alejandra asked, her curiosity piqued despite the lingering sense of unease.

The woman's expression softened, a look of sympathy flashed in her eyes. "Unfortunately, you have passed in your reality."

"My-my reality?" She echoed slowly, as if making sure she heard correctly.

"Yes."