The verdict with which darkness embraces the souls that wander in search of warmth could not be more certain. In a matter of seconds, a man's heart can stop simply by surrendering to fear. And when that happens, the shadows fall over his soul and devour it with a hunger that may last for all eternity.

  Joseph sat on his mother’s favorite sofa, waiting for her to call him to dinner. It was nearly six in the evening, and for the first time a strange green band could be seen stretching across the darkening sky above Caracas.

  “Joseph!” Mrs. Harris called from the dining room. “Dinner is ready.”

  As if pulled by invisible strings, Joseph walked toward the dining room, ignoring the question his older sister had just asked him. Before he could pass her by, she grabbed his arm and turned him to face her.

  “Are you deaf or something?” Marian asked, clearly annoyed.

  “I didn’t hear you. What were you saying?”

  “Well, tomorrow I’m going out with my friends. Annette will be there too.”

  “And how does that affect me?” Joseph asked coldly.

  “Are you serious? It’s obvious she likes you! You should come with us.”

  “That doesn’t sound very interesting,” he replied. “I’m not that kind of guy…”

  “At least think about it. She’d be really happy. And you might finally get yourself a girlfriend.”

  “All right,” Joseph said with little enthusiasm. “I’ll think about it.”

  Like soldiers answering the command of a general, Marian and Joseph quickly made their way to the dining room at Mrs. Harris’s second call. Her insistence was understandable. After all, she wanted to celebrate once dinner was over: Mr. Harris had just been promoted to his new position as head of the technology division at Dreams for Reality, a company whose motto was simple—making dreams greater than reality.

  By the time dinner was finished, Joseph’s father was helping himself to another glass of apple champagne. It had been a long time since he had shared a drink with his family gathered around the table. Meanwhile, Mrs. Harris tried to coax Marian into talking about her grades at the university.

  “You shouldn’t take your studies so lightly, Marian. One day you might even hold a position as important as the one your father has now.”

  “Oh, come on, Mom! You should trust my effort a little more. I know I’m not exactly a fan of books, but I do the best I can.”

  “Dad,” Joseph said, interrupting the conversation his mother was having with Marian, “do you have any idea what that strange green band in the sky means?”

  “Don’t worry about that, Joseph,” his father replied without much enthusiasm. “It’s just a passing event.”

  “What do you mean?” Joseph asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

  “That means there’s no reason to make a big deal out of it, right, dear?” Mrs. Harris added, turning to her husband for support.

  “Well, Joseph,” Mr. Harris said, “over the last century a number of natural phenomena have appeared that we still don’t fully understand. At Dreams for Reality, my team and I work hard to study many of those occurrences and find ways to apply them within our society. That green band doesn’t represent any kind of threat. Trust me, son.”

  Despite Mr. Harris’s reassuring words, deep down Joseph knew there was more to it than a simple phenomenon or natural occurrence. He felt it was a sign of something greater—something his father understood but refused to share with him.

  Five minutes later, Marian grabbed her coat and said goodbye to her parents, though not before getting into a brief argument with Mrs. Harris about going out to wander the city at night. Mr. Harris, on the other hand, had no objections. He simply warned her to be careful. Joseph, meanwhile, headed to his room. Once there, he took off his shirt and lay down on the bed with his phone in his hand. He kept scrolling through pages about conspiracies and terrorist attacks.

  “Hello!” said an electric voice as Joseph answered the phone.

  “What do you want, Rogert? It’s late.”

  “Man, you have to hear this…” Joseph felt the urge to hang up and hurl the phone across the room, but what Rogert began to tell him caught his attention immediately. “That green band in the sky—it’s not natural.”

  “What do you mean?” Joseph asked, his throat suddenly dry.

  “I know someone who works inside Dreams for Reality…”

  “My dad’s company!” Joseph interrupted.

  “Exactly, Joseph! Remember when we discovered it was emitting a faint magnetic field?”

  “Yeah, I remember. What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Relax. Arthur managed to trace the origin of that magnetic field. And guess what? It comes from there—from Dreams for Reality. It’s insane, man!”

  “Arthur actually did it…” Joseph whispered. “So what are we supposed to do now?”

  “We have to get inside and see what’s going on in there. The person I know who works there told me the exact day we should go in. There won’t be anyone around.”

  “Are you crazy? We can’t just walk in there and see what they’re doing. We’ll get into serious trouble if they catch us,” Joseph said, visibly shaken.

  “Have you already forgotten what Arthur, you, and I can do?”

  Those words echoed in Joseph’s ears for a moment. He knew breaking into a building was wrong—especially one belonging to a company so important to the city, and worse still, the very place where his father worked. Yet his thirst for answers overwhelmed him to such a degree that he found himself accepting Rogert’s plan without protest.

  “When are we going in?”

  “That’s the attitude I like, my friend! Two days from now, at midnight. I’ll call you two hours beforehand.”

  “Understood. Goodbye.”

  After ending the call, Joseph walked over to the window of his room and gazed for a moment at the green band stretching across part of the sky. He couldn’t understand the reason for its existence. Yet that call had opened a crack in his curiosity—one that would not rest until it was fully satisfied.

  The following morning, Marian hurried to get ready to go out with her friends while Joseph was only just waking, tossing restlessly in bed. Mrs. Harris prepared breakfast as the television in the living room played the morning news. The reporter was speaking about the green band that had been appearing in the sky for several days. Joseph couldn’t help but feel drawn to the man in the suit on the screen as he conducted interviews with a few passersby. As Joseph made his way down the stairs, he rushed into the living room and stood in front of the television, turning the volume up far louder than usual.

  “This morning, for the six o’clock news, we conducted a series of interviews with several pedestrians. As you can see on your screens, the mysterious green band that appeared several days ago continues to astonish us. And, quite curiously, directly beneath it stands the headquarters of one of the most emblematic technology companies of our time: Dreams for Reality.”

  “Don’t forget to come have breakfast before you leave!” Mrs. Harris called out.

  “Before we leave…?” Joseph murmured to himself.

  “Don’t forget our plans, little brother,” Marian said as she walked past him. “Annette is waiting for you.”

  Marian’s smile was something Joseph often ended up hating. Still, he knew his sister only wanted his life to be a little more interesting—filled with the kind of romantic excitement she seemed to enjoy so much. Unfortunately, Joseph did not share Marian’s idea of what excitement meant.

  “Yeah, I know,” Joseph said, turning his attention back to the television. “I’ll be ready in a minute…”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Marian headed to the kitchen, paying no attention to what was happening on the television. She pulled out a chair and sat down restlessly, hoping to leave the house on time and not keep her friends waiting. She grabbed a piece of toast and spread strawberry jam over it—her favorite. After taking a couple of bites, her attention drifted to the newspaper lying open on the table, waiting to be read. Meanwhile, her mother was busy preparing fresh orange juice.

  “Hey, Mom, where’s Dad?”

  “He said he had a very important meeting, so he left early today,” Mrs. Harris replied without losing her focus.

  “Damn. He was supposed to give us a ride. Can I borrow your car, Mom?”

  “I’m sorry, I need it to go shopping. You can’t take it.”

  “Why does it have to be today?” Marian asked, her face falling. “I won’t crash it, I promise.”

  “I can drive you, and that’s final.”

  “Alright, Mom.”

  The volume of the television could easily be heard from the kitchen, yet neither Marian nor Mrs. Harris had the slightest intention of paying attention to whatever Joseph was watching so intently. The interviews the news reporter had conducted with pedestrians were nothing surprising to Joseph. On the contrary, his curiosity continued to grow stronger, and in his mind he could not stop thinking about the call Rogert had made the night before.

  “What do you think about what people are saying regarding the band that appeared in the sky?” the reporter asked a woman.

  “It’s not normal,” she said in an alarmed tone. “We’ve done too much damage to the environment, and we’re only beginning to pay for what we’ve caused. I wouldn’t be surprised if a storm formed because of that band—or something even worse.”

  “Do you believe the company Dreams for Reality might have something to do with it?”

  “It wouldn’t surprise me!” she exclaimed confidently. “Ever since they inaugurated that building, people have been whispering that they conduct very strange experiments inside. And if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that in the name of progress they would do anything—even sacrifice our world.”

  From the kitchen, Marian had turned off the television with the remote she had taken from Joseph without him noticing. Joseph’s face showed disbelief and confusion, though it was nothing compared to Marian’s expression, which clearly told him to stop wasting time.

  “You’re going to make me angry if I’m late because of you!” Marian snapped, her eyes fixed on Joseph.

  “We’ll get there on time. Relax,” Joseph replied before getting up and leaving the living room.

  Half an hour later, Marian and Joseph were ready to leave. The confusion on Marian’s face was obvious every time Joseph prepared to go out. How could he take so little time? While it took her more than an hour to get ready, Joseph needed only half an hour. In her mind, that had to be the difference between boys and girls.

  While Marian showed her impatience openly, Joseph remained calm. His expression of boredom unsettled both his sister and his mother more than they cared to admit. Once everyone was inside the car, Mrs. Harris started the engine. Within seconds, they were already on their way to the meeting place.

  “Looks like we might actually make it on time,” Marian said.

  “Told you.”

  “You two can’t come home late. Remember that this city is very dangerous at night,” Mrs. Harris said.

  “We know, Mom. We’ll be back early,” Marian replied.

  It was no surprise that Carolina Harris worried about the insecurity of Caracas. Every day on the news she witnessed the atrocities that nightfall brought upon the city, not to mention her own experiences dealing with unpleasant situations from time to time. Her ongoing struggle with Félix Harris, her husband, about leaving Venezuela once and for all always ended the same way—with Mr. Harris explaining how well his company was doing and how difficult it would be to start from scratch in another country.

  She understood his reasoning, but what worried her most was the safety of her children whenever they stepped outside the house, far more than the money Mr. Harris now had in his personal account thanks to his company.

  “Thanks for bringing us, Mom.”

  “It’s nothing, dear. Joseph!” she called, looking directly at the boy’s back. “Take care of your sister. Don’t leave her alone.”

  “I know, Mom. We’ll be home before you know it.”

  Mrs. Harris slowly drove away, watching her children through the rearview mirror. Joseph walked behind Marian, and despite having arrived together, they looked like complete strangers. The only reason Joseph had agreed to go out with Marian that day was the boredom of staying at home doing nothing. Even when Rogert called him in desperation, he felt more at ease than he did now.

  The afternoon passed and the teenagers were still at the mall. Night was approaching, and Joseph knew his mother would start calling his phone at any moment. He pulled it from his pocket and, without thinking twice, turned it off.

  Marian was too busy enjoying herself with her friends to notice the passing time, laughing as she continued eating her ice cream.

  Annette’s face was pale. Joseph didn’t notice it, but ever since she arrived the girl had not stopped looking at him. Her cheeks turned pink whenever their eyes met, and her gaze betrayed the interest he stirred in her. Marian had noticed it, so she managed to leave them alone for a moment.

  Maybe something good could happen, she thought.

  “Marian told me you like watching that strange band in the sky,” the girl said.

  “Yes. It’s interesting,” was all Joseph replied.

  “They say there’s something special about it. As if it were… magical.”

  Joseph didn’t realize it, but it was obvious Annette was trying to catch his attention. She only knew a few things about the green band from what Marian had told her, yet what she had just said was more than enough to spark Joseph’s interest.

  “Do you know something about it?” Joseph asked.

  “No, well… I just think there’s something special about it…” Annette’s hands grew damp, and the color in her cheeks deepened.

  “I’ve thought the same thing,” Joseph said, rubbing his chin. “Ever since it appeared, something strange has been happening… I mean, people have started making an unnecessary fuss about it.”

  Whenever Joseph spoke about the green band, he couldn’t hide how interested he was in the subject. His breathing grew slightly faster, and his gaze became more intense. He had never behaved this way when talking about anything else that caught his attention. But ever since the green band appeared in the sky, something in him had changed.

  “I’ve noticed it too,” Annette said. “Everyone keeps talking about it. It’s strange…”

  “Sorry to interrupt, guys,” Marian’s voice cut in. “We need to go, Joseph. Mom’s been calling me. She’ll go crazy if we don’t get home soon.”

  “Alright,” Joseph replied without enthusiasm.

  Joseph hurried inside the house as soon as they arrived, already looking for a way to avoid his mother, who was sitting on the sofa. Marian couldn’t hide her surprise when she saw her, and that brief distraction gave Joseph just enough time to slip away toward his room before he could be confronted.

  As he climbed the stairs, he heard his mother’s complaints—and Marian’s treacherous way of blaming him for their late return. When he reached his room, he stepped inside without waiting to be called. He closed the door so carefully that the sound of it touching the frame was almost imperceptible.

  Joseph dropped onto the bed and looked through the window beside it, watching faint flashes of green light drifting from the band in the sky.

  “That traitor…” he whispered, referring to his sister.

  Sleep slowly began to settle within him, while the uncertainty stirred by Rogert’s plan kept growing in his mind. Joseph knew how risky it would be, yet the chance to discover what was really happening with that band in the sky was something he could not ignore. And along with that curiosity came a quiet hope that he might finally understand what had been happening to him—and to his friends.

  His eyelids grew heavier, falling shut again and again until he could barely keep watching the faint green glimmers beyond the window. Almost instinctively, he pulled the blanket beside him and covered himself as best he could.

  In that moment, his eyes closed abruptly.

  A low buzzing filled his head, followed by a sharp stab of pain—one he recognized well, and which never lasted more than a few seconds.

  He opened his eyes.

  And he knew it had happened again.

  Just like it had during the past four days.

  “Again…” Joseph whispered.

  “You’re late, Joseph.”

  “I’m surprised you’ve been falling asleep earlier these days, Rogert.”

  “Well, this is worth it, my friend.”

  The two of them knew each other well. Joseph had noticed that ever since they had begun experimenting with that strange phenomenon, Rogert never missed the chance to fall asleep the moment his body began to feel tired. Joseph looked at him closely and was surprised to see that every feature of his face looked exactly the same as it did in the real world. Even the clothes he was wearing were almost identical to what Joseph was used to seeing on his friend.

  “You should do something about that torn shirt,” Joseph said, pointing at a hole in Rogert’s T-shirt.

  “Don’t worry. I like being the same, even in this world.”

  “Does anyone else know we can do this?” Joseph asked curiously.

  “Other than Arthur? No,” Rogert said, trying to recall. “Honestly, if I tried explaining this to my parents, I think I’d drive them insane.”

  “I get it. I haven’t told anyone either.”

  A current of air began to brush against them as they spoke. Joseph noticed that something strange was happening, as if the wind carried more than just the cold that made their skin prickle. Rogert was the first to realize that a strangely familiar silhouette was approaching in the distance, moving slowly along the dirt path where they stood. Something about the way the figure walked felt familiar.

  “I think it’s Arthur…” Rogert said quietly.

  They watched as the silhouette collapsed before getting any closer, and in that instant they reacted. The thought that it might be their friend Arthur crossed both their minds, and they wasted no time running toward the fallen figure.

  As they approached, that familiar stabbing sensation returned to Joseph’s chest.

  The shock was clear in his eyes when he finally saw Arthur’s condition. Arthur could do nothing but breathe with difficulty as he lay motionless on the ground.