The Oracle

A cold meeting

It was a dark cold night, the streets of the abandoned little town were empty. In the deafening silence, I could hear my footsteps on the snow. He said he'll meet me here, somewhere. Jesus... why would I believe him? What if he's never coming? My car battery must be dead by now. Of course, it is. My phone shows minus -40 degrees celsius here. I've been walking for hours, there's nothing around but ruins covered in snow.  I took a glance at my hands and tried to move them inside the gloves but barely managed. How long until I freeze to death? I try to warm them up by blowing hot air through the gloves, it seems to be working. Suddenly, I see a shadow moving through the fog towards me. Well, I hope this is him and not a serial killer. He stops in front of me, my heart is racing.

- We don't have a lot of time so instead of telling you, I have to show you.

Show me? How could he show me?

- Are you...

- The Oracle, yes. he cuts me off

- Let's do this quickly. Close your eyes.

My heart was close to exiting my chest. Thoughts started flooding my mind. What's going on here, why did I even agree to this? Jesus, Jane... you never learn. He puts two fingers in the middle of my forehead, I feel the pressure of his fingers, a weird tingling. His hand gives an unnatural amount of heat. I can feel my heart rate lowering back to normal, suddenly I feel pulled into some sort of light vortex. It's so bright I have to cover my eyes. When I finally manage to open them, I find myself in a life full Detroit... people are walking all over the place minding their own business, it's warm. The sun shines brightly and a calm feeling gets hold of me but not for long. Everything starts glitching, the city is flooded in darkness and I can't see anything. I can hear screams of despair, buildings collapsing then silence. When I open my eyes I see The Oracle looking at the burning city in front of us. He turns to me.

- Hi! I'm The Oracle and this... is the Apocalypse.

11:00

I woke up in my bed, all sweaty and scared. What a nightmare... Oh my God, it was so cold and that guy. The Apocalypse? What the...

I managed to get out of bed and poured myself a cup of coffee. The warm elixir managed to relax me pretty fast until I got a quick glimpse at the clock. 11:00. Jesus, Jane you're late for work. AGAIN. Damn it. I rush into the bathroom and wash my teeth while also trying to put on some pants. Hopi, my dog is extremely lazy this morning. He didn't even flinch while I was running around trying to dress. I stop near the bed and pet him. Don't worry, Hopi. Miss Owens will come to take you for a walk soon. She's the old lady next door, I do her grocery shopping sometimes and she walks Hopi when I'm not around. She's the only one I know here, well... I'm not the most social person.

I threw the toothbrush into the sink, poured the coffee into the thermos, and ran outside. Come on, come on. I was pushing the elevator button frenetically. CAR KEYS. I remembered and ran back inside the apartment to grab them. It was a pretty small, not very organized apartment. You could tell by the lack of furniture how much time I spend at home. I got back to the elevator just in time, the doors opened and I jumped in. You're fine, Jane. Maybe they won't fire you today. While exiting the elevator, on the elevator door was scratched the word "oracle". I jumped out, ran to my car, and drove off. I just hope there's no traffic today. "Oracle, The Oracle" Oh my God...my dream. What's going on?

The office was agitated as usual. I've been working here for two years already and there was not one peaceful day. Everyone is running around, talking on the phone, taking interviews, giving the world the latest and most shocking news. I dreamt about being a news reporter since I was ten years old. I used to knock on neighbor's doors to ask them for interviews. Now, seventeen years later I'm living my dream, although is not half as interesting and adventurous as I dreamt it to be.

- Jane! You're late!

That would be Criss, my boss, yelling at me from across the room.

- I know I'm late, Criss.

- Come over here, I have a story for you.

Here we go again, what would he have me do today? Go to the nearby kindergarten and announce the new playground for kids or to the elder's home that just got a new self-absorbed sponsor who needs his face on the screen. It's been months since I got a good story.

- Fill me in, Criss

He is a weird-looking man, with dark hair, wearing the same shirt every day to work. I rather assume he has more than one and lacks a sense of style than make this a hygiene issue. The standard dark circles under his eyes, but a gentle look. He's always at his desk, I don't think I ever see him get up unless he's going to get the 10th coffee.

- Listen, Jane. I got an anonymous tip about something very interesting happening.

Alright, that actually sounds good for once.

- What's the catch?

He smirks proudly

- You're not going to like this but it's important for the station, we could skyrocket our audience.

Interesting. I never heard him say the word skyrocket before.

- Don't keep me waiting, Criss

- It's in Siberia

Yeah, no f-ing way...

- No, Criss. NO! I'm pretty sure it's winter there right now, have you heard of the Siberian Winter? I really dislike being frozen to death...

- I know but read this by yourself, it's big.

He hands me his phone. Weird. Usually, it's a file. I see a text from an unknown number saying " I have information about a terrorist attack that will happen in your city. I've attached a blueprint of the location and some conversations between the attackers. If you want to know more send Jane here." A pin on the location under the message. Wait, Jane? How does this guy know me?  At the end of the message Signed: "The Oracle".

- Criss, why is my name in this text?

He looks more confused than I am

- I have no idea how he knows you. I thought you could tell me more about this.

The dream I had last night, but how could this be? It makes total sense, the cold weather... "The Oracle"

- It's signed "The Oracle". What do you think this means? I ask Criss.

- Hm... an oracle sees and predicts the future through divine power or some other jibberish.

- You can't possibly send me to Siberia on behalf of the words of some want to be a prophet.

This is insane, not to say creepy. I first have that dream and now this... He's asking for me specifically. Something's not right...

- I thought the same thing, Jane. he says on a serious note

- But look at the conversations between the two so-called attackers. He points at the phone which was still in my hand.

I scroll through the messages, "the target is the masonic temple, you're in charge of when it happens. I'll provide the details about HOW it happens. Why is never going to be our problem, this comes from above us."

- So this could be a religious thing, is that what you think?

He smiles.

- If it is, imagine the audience. It's a story worth a flight to old beautiful Siberia. He says almost bursting into laughter

This guy...

- Criss, this might be funny to you but there is no way I'm taking this job.

- Jane, what if is true? If the plan is true, they could be blowing that place up at any given time and we turned a blind eye.

- I call bullshit and the answer is no.

- I really am in no mood to fly to the coldest place on this planet to meet a guy that calls himself The Oracle. See how stupid that sounds? No.

- Think about it for a while and let me know. After all "The Oracle," asked for you specifically.  I'll ask Trace if not. He'll go anywhere for some action.

- In the mid-time you should check out Poe avenue, a water pipe broke down closing all traffic in the area. I think it's blocking the entrance to the Henry Ford Hospital.

- Paul!

He calls the cameraman

- Yeah, I'm going.

Paul sounds even more bored than usual. A short, chubby guy but extremely good with his gear.

Criss smiles and turns to his work. I get up from the chair and exit the room. He must have lost his mind. But I can't take that dream out of my head. Could somehow all be connected? No, Jane. You're delusional. Go see about that water pipe and do your boring, depressing, dream job.

- See, that's more like it. Boring and depressing.

- You're no fun, Jane.

He laughs and gets back to his computer. I grab my coat from the chair and leave the station followed by Paul with his camera.

The van is waiting outside, we hop in and drive away.

There it is. Poe Ave, the water flies through the air like a beautiful fountain. It's one of the most crowded streets in the city. Cars are waiting in long lines and a few people gathered to see what happened.  Criss was right, all of this is blocking the west entrance to the emergency department of the Henry Ford Hospital. This is not good news for the ambulances coming in. We pass by the police and the firefighters. They ask to see our license and let us closer. I set my self into position, so the water splashing can fit into the frame with me. Paul hands me the microphone and turns the camera on. I put my earpiece on and wait for the connection. Paul signals that we have it and I can hear my colleague in my ear.

"Yes. Thank you, Lara. Good afternoon, Detroit.

We're live from Poe Avenue where the road collapsed and broke a water pipe. The traffic is stopped from Poe Avenue to West Grand Boulevard. The west entrance to the emergency department is blocked, we advise you to take a detour on Pallister."

While I was delivering the news, by accident I looked over Pauls' shoulder behind him and saw a truck passing by. One of those with commercials on it. It said, "Time to go!". A travel agency commercial. In the background a picture of some little town called Oymyakon.

"Thank you for your attention, back to you Lara."

I waited until Paul gathered his gear and we got into the van. Back at the station, I ran to the bathroom to freshen up. When I walk out of the bathroom I almost run into Criss.

- Wow, easy Jane

- Watch where you're going.

-  Did you think about it? Ready for a trip to Siberia? he smirks as usual

I remembered the commercial on that truck. "Time to go". I can't deny that something wants me there. But what and why?

I sigh deeply and look towards the door.

- Tell me, Criss. Where exactly in Siberia is this guy?

- Oh, a little town called... wait, let me check the text. It has a weird name.

He pulls out his phone and scrolls through.

- Ah, there it is. Oim... Oimiakon? I guess

There's no way...

- Oymyakon?

Did I understand that right?

- Exactly, how did you know? he asks curiously

I can't believe this, am I going crazy?

I stay silent for a few seconds, Criss looks at me confused.

- Listen, Criss. I need you to give me this day off to think about it. Can you?

He thinks about it for a while. Then looks around the office until he finds what he's looking for.

- Trace! You're on Janes' duty today.

- No problem, Trace answers

He turns back to me

- Think about it, Jane.

I nod and leave fast. He's left confused behind me. I need a breath of fresh air. ASAP.

Here I am. I always come here on this rooftop when I feel the need to clear my head. It's either this or my late grandmas' cabin in the woods, I haven't been there in a while since is so far away from the city and I'm working all the time. Maybe I'll get bored there anyway.

It's almost dawn, the sun hides behind the city scrapers. I wonder how my life would have turned out if I didn't decide to come live in this dreadful big city. I miss the peacefulness, the clear sky, the fresh air. You can't even imagine how polluted this city is, or any other big city for that matter. My days here were all the same until today. It all started with that nightmare I had. Maybe I should go. As I look up at the sky a fast light crosses it. A falling star? 

I should go. It's getting colder. Oh, Jane... It's -8 degrees Celsius. How are you going to survive in -50 huh?

All I need is a good night's sleep and in the morning I'll decide what to do with the death trip to old, beautiful Siberia. One last glance over the city gives me goosebumps, I could feel something odd is going on. I guess there's only one way to find out.