Julio woke up to the strange buzzing sounds around him. He couldn’t figure out where the sounds were coming from, his vision blurred by his still half asleep brain and the bright yellow light from above his head. Which was strange since his room didn’t have any yellow lights, only white. He tried to stretch out his arms, chase away the stiffness he was feeling, but he couldn’t. Something was keeping them in place. Maybe a belt or handcuffs, he didn’t know, he only knew the same was happening to his whole body, even to his neck. He couldn’t move at all. He wanted to scream but no sound made it out of his mouth. Two blurry shadows came into his range of vision.

‘Shit! It’s up!’ Screamed a deep hoarse voice. ‘Why the hell it’s up?’

‘Maybe it’s a drug-resistant strain.’ A more high pitched voice chimed in.

‘Really? That’s all you have to say?’

‘What do you want me to do?’

‘I don’t know, how about putting on more anesthesia?’

‘And risk a false positive? Hell no.’

Julio was tired of the weird conversation and fought for his freedom. He tossed and thrashed while the voices scream.

‘It’s moving!’ Yells the deep hoarse voice.

‘So what?’

‘Don’t try to play cool with me, you fucking G’oätôs. I know it’s your first time too.’

‘I don’t try to play cool, I am cool, period.’

‘Enough!’ A third voice intervene, this one cold and authoritarian ‘we will use more anesthesia and that’s my final order.’

‘Yes sir!’

Julio’s eyes became heavy again, his muscles stopped responding. He fought as much as he could to stay awake. The final words he heard came from the authoritarian voice.

‘For the sacrifice you are about to make, we thank you.’