Episode 32:
The Cure

Sweat trickled off his face and sparkled before hitting the ground. Whatever was causing these visions was very powerful. He let his mind go and found himself in the same place again.

“We’re so proud of you son. You’ll make a fine pokémon trainer.” He waved goodbye to his parents. What was this? This event happened in the past. Something was definitely out of order here. As he walked, the world seemed to change. It now resembled a field. He saw a familiar kid trying to capture a pokémon. Another event from the past. What was happening? It was all real. He could feel the wind in his face and the grass with his hands. It was all too real, but not from the present time. He tried to walk up the kid, but before he could speak, the world had changed once again.

He found himself in a dark, unfamiliar place. A strange, deep voice rang out, “You have the gift. Do you not see it? You are unique. Can you not understand it?” The voice continued speaking. Although he couldn’t figure out the voice’s owner, he felt as if he had once heard those words spoken to him before. He walked in the general direction of the sound but a bright light blinded him for a moment. When the light had dimmed, he found himself in a laboratory. He recognized this place. But now he couldn’t tell if it was in the past or present. Everything still felt real. Everything.

A familiar man walked up to him. This had to be real. In the other visions, he couldn’t interact with the people, but this time, they were interacting with him. “Are you ready?” he asked. Ready for what? What was Bill getting ready to do? “Walk over this way.” He followed Bill into the main test chamber. Now he remembered what this scene was about. It was the experiment. Had time given him another chance? He tried to walk away from the machine but instead found himself looking down on the room. He could see himself entering the tube. It was going to happen all over again.

The experiment was going well, as it did the first time. Then, right on cue, an explosion hit near the tube he saw himself in. This was it. This was when it happened. But this time, he saw something he didn’t see before. From another corner of the room, something caught his eye. Then he saw the beam. It came from the corner of the room. Suddenly, everything was back to normal. Bill was working with some test tubes.

Icy approached Bill. “Icy, I found it!” Icy wondered to himself what Bill was talking about. The room seemed real. But this time, Icy didn’t recognize the event taking place. It must be the present time. He was free to interact with Bill finally. “I have the cure!” Icy’s eyes lit up. He was so overjoyed that you couldn’t move, let alone speak. Bill extracted a dose of the medicine from the tube and gave it to Icy to drink. The transformation was almost instantaneous. It had worked. Icy was human again. “It works! It works!” Icy didn’t know what to say. But, amidst all the joy and happiness this scene had, it soon turned strange again.

Icy could hear the mysterious voice again. “You have the gift. Why do you not realize it yet? You are using it now. Why do you not see it? It is unique to you only. Icy, I know you have the potential for it. You must understand it fully. Understand the gift. Icy…” The voice trailed off. Icy had a horrible feeling inside. It was all too real. Much too real. He should have been glad to finally be human again. But now, all he could think about was the mysterious voice and the strange beam from the experiment. Bill reappeared before Icy. He saw the terror in his eyes.

“What’s wrong Icy? You’re healed. It’s what you wanted, right? All of this, it’s all what you wanted. You created it. You have the gift to create it.” Bill faded from view. Icy knew something wasn’t right now. Everything he experienced, it was all so real. But how could it all be true. Icy couldn’t make sense of what was happening. All he could do was shut his eyes and hope it would be over when he woke.