Tess hops out of the van to meet Mick , who has been waiting on the curb outside a building for her.

“You got the stuff?” he asks anxiously, blowing his breath into his cold hands.

“Yup!” Tess exclaims, waving the contract into the air smiling. She kisses him. “All fifty-six pages. Are they ready for us?” She asks while handing him his signed copy.

Mick doesn’t answer right away. Instead he shuffles side to side with his hands in his pockets. He looks uncomfortable, like a penguin trying to warm itself without a colony.

“Shit… shit its cold.” Mick mutters.

Tess stares at Mick hard then shakes her head in disbelief.

I can’t believe this,” she spats. “One hour alone and you’ve already changed your mind. You’ve chickened out!”

Mick stood quiet and still, staring ahead as if he would disappear and for awhile he believed he did. Until a swift nudge brought him back to reality. He looked around and focused in on Tess who had been nudging him over and over with her bag.

“Wake up! Wake up!” she declared. “Don’t you freeze up on me! I can’t believe this, wake up!” She pummeled him repeatedly.

“Stop.” Mick awakened. “I’m not scared.” He said firmly.

“Then what is it?” Tess looked at Mick and sighed into the thick winter air. She needed a moment… they both did. What they were about to do was dangerous, risky and in most aspects foolish; yet they had no other choice.

Tess grabbed Micks face and kissed him longer than usual as if it were the last time. With her hands still around his face, Tess looked into Micks eyes most assuredly.

‘We need this,” she started. “There’s no other way around it. I hate… I hate being backed into a corner like this and it’s scary. I’m scared Mick. I’m scared about what could happen if we go through with this and I’m scared what could happen if we don’t. Most of all, I’m scared of losing you.”

She kissed him again.

“I’m scared Mick and I can’t do this without you.” She said

Mick’s eyes focused into Tess’s. He looked down at the contract in his hands then back at Tess bobbing his head reassuringly. He kissed her other hand.

“It’s our last shot.” He said, plainly. “Let’s do it together.”

Tess gleamed with excitement as she pulled Mick in for another kiss, then they entered the building.

Tess handed the contracts to the receptionist in the front before waiting a short while in the lobby. When their proctor arrived, she led them down a long corridor into a white room.

Tess squeezed Micks hand the whole way.  

In the room, the ceilings were high and bright. The white floor gleamed against the walls, making the room wide and never-ending. There was only one door access to the room and even that seemed to disappear amidst the overwhelming emit of whiteness.

“Welcome to the white room.” The proctor recited plainly as if she had said this a million times. “Please wait here for further instruction.” Then she was gone.

The door had closed with Tess and Mick inside, waiting. Time had seemed to pass and by now, Tess and Mick both had begun to lose their heads. The minutes felt like hours, and the hours were days. Days passing… days they’ll never get back, just standing here waiting.

How much longer? Tess thought.

How much longer? She breathed before closing her eyes.

.           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .          

“Wake up! Wake up!” Tess hears Mick exclaim.

“Wake up! Don’t you freeze up on me!”

Tess peaks before opening her eyes to a frantic Mick leaning over her.

Everything is cold and foggy. By now it has started raining, raining so loud that it is almost impossible for them to hear one another.

“Wake up!” Mick says one last time. “We need to keep moving.”

Tess sits up disoriented using her hands to rub her eyes. She clears her throat.
“How long was I out?” she asks.

“Two days. “ Mick says, pulling her to her feet. “You needed the rest.” He adds.

“Where did I go?” she wonders out loud.

“To the beginning, always the beginning.”

“The contracts.” She says in a whisper, Mick nods in agreeance.

Tears well into Tess’s eyes and she find herself sniffling. “Oh goodness Mick, I’m sorry.. I’m so sorry.” Tess throws her wet face into her hands sobbing softly.

Mick raises her face and shushes her like a mother would to coddle her weary baby.

“It’s alright,” He reassures her. “Were alright and were together, that’s all that matters.”

Mick kisses her forehead while coupling her chin in the palm of his hand.

“How long has it been?” Tess asks with dreary eyes.

Micks voice comes to a tremble.

“Two days since the last storm, but he’s getting close. We need to keep moving.”

“Who?” Tess stares widely.

Suddenly without answering Mick grabs her hand and tugs her along with him. He pulls at Tess until she is able to find her own feet to run. Mick and Tess crash against the droplets, running for dear life.

Tess can feel her heart in her throat, beating hard and fast like a drumstick trying to leap out.

“Mick!” She exclaims. “Why are we running?”

Without stopping or pausing to catch his breath, Mick shouts from ahead, “The Rainman!”

.           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .

Building A1A Lab #6. Office Suite 316

A bald man sits behind a computer screen watching the contents unfold in front of him. The man was alone in the room, exhausted and to be frank annoyed. He peered at the computer screen awhile longer before reaching for a tape recorder. He presses the power button, clearing his throat.

“It is June 6, 2020 day 346. Subjects #216 and 217 have yet to vacate experiment room #156. The subjects seem to have generated an illusive entity associated with the scheduled rain sedatives. They work together waking and reminding one another every scheduled cycle. Subjects have come close to vacating however due to increased levels of brain activity caused by their hallucinations, the subjects keep falling asleep.”

The man switches off the tape recorder and adjusts the screens camera to experiment room #109, test subject #73. He triggers the scheduled rain cycle and begins to monitor.