Neon Dreams

When Veill took the first sip of his Chrome-Tonic, he felt an explosion of exotic flavors in his mouth, as if he had fireworks exploding inside him. It was advertised as a bitter drink, but to Veill it seemed to have a different effect.

"What is this...? I feel like the whole world around me is slowing down.... It's as if my mind has sped up. Everything in my body feels more intense, and I can even feel the fibers of my clothes and even every hair on my body individually. "ー Those were Veill's thoughts that echoed the most in his head, as it certainly seemed as if a whirlwind was inside his mind.

"I feel too much vitality in me.... I feel as if my whole body is a perfectly tuned machine, ready to conquer anything that crosses in front of me. And every sip of Chrome-Tonic makes me feel more and more powerful, as if I could conquer the whole world. So this is why people are enchanted by this place!"ー Veill mused.

Without Veill being able to notice it, due to how ecstatic he was thanks to the effects of the Chrome-Tonic on his organism, a group of men had also noticed that anomaly in him.

Somehow, they were able to communicate without making any physical gestures to get close to Veill without him noticing. Their intentions were clearly not good for the boy. The music was still intense, and the sensations in Veill's body grew more and more intense. It was as if the Chrome-Tonic, along with the whole atmosphere of Chrome Nights were an inescapable trap for him, due to the fact that the sensations from the drink were only becoming more intense with the special stimuli of the place.

ーOPEN YOUR EYES!!!ーA female voice boomed in Veill's mind, releasing him from the trance he was in.

It was thanks to that that he was able to notice several suspicious men staring at him, as they were fully relying on the effect of the Chrome-Tonic to distract him.

"No, no, no, no. Please! These men have me in their sights; I must have accidentally done something they didn't like. Fuck... I've got to get out of here. And so well I was enjoying myself. "ー Veill thought to himself, with clear frustration and sadness. Carefully and as if dancing through the crowd, Veill quickly escaped through the nearest exit.

Realizing that he was being followed by two of those men even after leaving Chrome Nights, Veill approached a motorcyclist and offered him half of his remaining credits for a bad motorcycle. Once mounted, Veill sped up as much as he could.

ーThat was horrible. I lost a hell of a lot of money and didn't even enjoy the night because of the guys who wanted to beat me up for sure. And to top it all off the effects of this drink haven't even worn off. What could that voice in my head have been? Maybe an effect of the Chrome-Tonic? That doesn't matter anymore, I just want to get home to rest,ー Veill commented out loud, to himself.

His gaze checked the rear-view mirrors of the motorcycle. A shiver ran down his entire back, as his body broke out in a cold sweat. Muscles throughout his body tensed and his throat closed up. The hairs on his body stood on end, and the sensations heightened by the Chrome-Tonic only made the moment a thousand times worse.

ーThose men... I'm driving at high speed, and they're following in my footsteps.... WITHOUT USING ANY VEHICLE! This is beyond any human limit. It's impossible, they're going to kill me!ーVeill spoke as her eyes began to fill with tears and her breathing became unsteady. The feeling of imminent death was truly tangible.

ーThe only thing I can do is to speed up more and try to lose them in the complicated streets of Chrome Heights.... But this bike makes too much noise, even at a few hundred meters someone could hear it and follow the trail.ー Veill advanced for a few more minutes, but the feeling he had was that he had been trying to escape for hours. The facial muscles on his face ceased to be under his control, causing him to finally start crying for his life. But even so, he hadn't accepted that his day had come.

The bike was very loud, and the streets were beginning to close in and lead to dead ends. It was only a matter of time before even someone who had lived in that city forever would eventually run out of exhaust. The motorcycle began to smoke because it was burning its last reserves of fuel and its pursuers were finally catching up. They were getting closer and closer to less illuminated territories, until one of the men shot at one of the motorcycle's tires, causing it to lose control.

The vehicle finally crashed, and his pursuer approached where the accident lay. He looked completely fresh, as if he hadn't finished running faster than many land vehicles for almost twenty minutes.

ーI must confirm the death, to avoid any kind of resistance.ーThose were the words coming from the mouth of the man who approached the accident, with a deep voice, but completely expressionless at the same time.

Lifting the motorcycle to look at the body of the boy they were chasing, they found nothing. There was no trace of Veill anywhere, not even a bloodstain. From the chest of these two men came out a hologram.

ーDid they succeed in killing him?ー Those were the only words that came out from there, cold and piercing.

ーWe lost him. He's not dead.ー Was the second man's reply.

The hologram disappeared. Suddenly, both men began to tremble; their eyes melted, their hair fell out and their skin seemed to dissolve along with the rest of their body. In a matter of a couple of seconds, there was nothing left of those two assassins.

Veill, hiding, felt his stomach churn and could barely contain his vomit. He was terrified for those two men, but seeing them die like that was too much for his mind.

Just after he began to cry for his life, his Chrome-Tonic enhanced perception helped him think of a plan to escape.

"Taking advantage of the fact that I'm about to enter the less manicured grounds of Chrome Heights, the light begins to dim and the paths become confusing. It's impossible for them to stop chasing me because my bike is making too much noise, but that's just what's going to save me. In an environment without much light, they can only be guided by the sound of the bike. But I have to find a way to get off before they notice.... This bike is about to run out of fuel, so I can use the smoke that this very old model puts out so they won't see me jump to the side, but even then I might die. Anyway, if they catch me, they're going to kill me. I have no choice. "ー That's the way Veill was able to escape.

ーNow I have to walk home. This night that was going to be so amazing ended up being a fiasco. Not only did I not forget anything, but now I will have nightmares for the rest of my life.ーVeill kept repeating that thought over and over again as he walked back. It was a dangerous area, but it seemed that thanks to Chrome Nights, people were too distracted to want to commit crime. To top it off, it was now starting to rain.

After several minutes, Veill began to feel a sharp, piercing pain in his right arm. Without realizing it before thanks to the adrenaline of the moment, the jump from the bike ended up costing him a broken arm. It was almost agonizing due to the effects of the Chrome-Tonic. Veill lay on the ground, writhing in pain as he held his arm tightly, looking for a way to avoid the pain. Veill's screams were also extremely painful, even if he sought to restrain them just the same.

ーMy eyesight is blurring.... My head is spinning... I know I'm about to lose consciousness due to the pain. At least then I won't suffer all that myself. Mom... Dad... Please, I want you to help me...ー

At those moments, Veill was on the edge. He just wanted his parents to hold him while telling him that everything would be alright. But at the same time, he knew that it was not possible, and that he was in great danger if he stayed there. Looking up, Veill saw a dog... it was a puppy, looking to cross a street. Meanwhile, a car was approaching him at full speed and with no visible intention of slowing down.

Before Veill noticed, his body moved quickly to where the animal was. But it was already too late to dodge the car by inches, so Veill just forcefully planted herself.

"Mom... Dad... "ーThose were the people that crossed Veill's mind at that moment, as he closed his eyes and tensed his muscles with all his strength. ー "Sorry... I never meant to make you sad. "ーAnd the car finally impacted the boy squarely.

The biggest surprise of the night wasn't that Chrome Nights ended up being a fiasco, or even having seen two men run faster than a car at high speed and then die grotesquely. No... The biggest surprise that night was that the car that was speeding straight to hit Veill, crashed into him like he was a reinforced concrete wall that nothing happened to. Veill came out of that crash intact, even when he took a direct hit.

The driver of the car survived the crash and ran out of the car. Veill, with a lot of effort, was joining in as well.

"What... What just happened...? No... I'm not dead... Why am I not dead? "ーSlowly, Veill's mind was slowly recovering from that, at the same time thoughts were heavily arising. "I have to... I have to get home. I want to rest... I just want to be safe. "ーVeill kept repeating that in his mind over and over again. Getting home was the only thing on his mind.

"The dog... Where is the dog? Did he escape in time? I hope... I hope so. "ーStep by step, slowly Veill was getting more and more incorporated. The pain from the broken arm was torture, but the determination to get to his home was even greater.

Veill was making his way through the dark streets of Chrome Heights, being alert for anything strange happening. He was already too far along and on foot, it would only take him about 30 minutes to reach the safety of his home.

Suddenly, his body was starting to get a sense of impending danger, as when he saw two people chasing him at high speed. Veill didn't notice it before, but he was being chased again. Without realizing it, he was unconsciously trying to escape the danger, but his pursuer had done so in such a way that he cornered him in one of the city's alleys and Veill didn't realize it until it was too late to get out.

The boy tried to pick up his pace and start running for his life, but before he could move forward, a humanoid figure manifested from the shadows.

Veill began to sweat, his body tensed and he felt a lump in his throat.

"Earlier I saw two people run like no human could, but.... WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS THING?!".

Veill felt very helpless and wanted to cry. Earlier he had managed to evade a very likely death thanks to his wits, but now he was face to face with a being that didn't seem to come from this world.

"In this situation... Right now I can't run anywhere. I want to live, I really want to live. I'm not going to let my parents cry for me. I have to live. But I'm not going to beg this thing to spare my life, because it sure as hell isn't going to. In this case, whatever I do, all that can happen is that I'll be killed... "ーVeill thought to himself.

"Previously a car crashed into me and didn't hurt me at all, could it have been because of the Chrome-Tonic? I can still feel it having an effect on my body, so I'll take advantage of every last drop of this poison that ruined my life, and thus save my own life!"ーVeill thought to himself.

ーCome AT ME, DAMN YOU!!!ーFinally, Veill broke the silence between the two and rushed at the silhouette.

Before he could connect a blow, the figure vanished into the shadows and manifested from another position. It was thanks to the Chrome-Tonic that Veill was able to notice this movement and follow the figure with his eyes. With each strike he tried to deliver, the figure seemed to move back and change its position. Finally, this figure attacked with colossal force; an attack that Veill could barely avoid only by instinct.

Veill was not backing down. With every attack this completely dark humanoid figure launched, Veill could move and attack again to force his enemy to change his position.

"If this figure manifests with the shadow and disappears into it, I only have to bring it into the light that forms no shadow, there it will be cornered. "ーAll that time, Veill was formulating the perfect choreography to edge that shadowy being into the light without it noticing his intentions.

The shadow's attack finally managed to hit Veill, throwing him several meters away from the spot, splitting open his head and fracturing his ribs.

As the humanoid entity was about to approach, Veill propelled himself with all the strength he had left and connected a direct blow to the head to the shadow, who did not react because of the surprise of someone he thought was unconscious. Veill lunged at this mysterious being, who tried to disappear into the shadow but.... The attack he had connected to Veill that threw him several meters, had brought him right into the area of light he was looking for! That was his plan all along, as he needed to check that the impacts of this creature were not deadly for him, and he managed to turn the fight 180°, so that it would be enough with just that push to reach his target.

The shadow being managed to realize that too late, and when it finished processing it, Veill's punch was inches away from its face.

ーLEAVE ME ALONE! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG AGAINST ANYONE, I JUST WANTED TO HAVE SOME FUN AT CHROME NIGHTS! You can tell whoever sent you that you killed me, if that way you save your life. i JUST WANT TO GO HOME AND SLEEP!ーVeill had finally burst out in rage against that shadow being that attacked him.

ーYou had my life in your hands and yet you let go of it...ー

Veill was surprised to hear those words from the creature that attacked him. For some reason, that distorted voice sounded familiar, as if he had heard it before. Quickly, the being lost substance and became a shadow that escaped below him. Behind his back, Veill could feel a human figure manifesting, but his strength had finally faded and he could no longer fight, no matter how much he wanted to.

Before his brain shut down, Veill's thoughts were these:

"I'm not angry, not sad.... I lost. I fought with all my might and lost. Looks like today was my day. Really, forgive me, Mom and Dad...but don't cry too much for me."