PsychoLab: The Shadow of the Poinsettia
PsychoLab: The Shadow of the Poinsettia
December had arrived, and with it a frosty breeze passed over the small town. The streets glowed with warm lights, and the scent of fir branches and gingerbread filled the air. But beneath the festive surface lay something dark and unspoken. The dreams hadn't receded. Quite the opposite—they had intensified, shaped by a strange, almost threatening symbolism: broken Christmas trees, red stars glowing with a cold, eerie light, and shadows moving in the snow.
The atmosphere in the PsychoLab was tense. The events of Frankenstein Friday had shaken the team deeply. The creature that had appeared in the residents' dreams had left a message that no one could decipher. But the words "The Awakening Begins" continued to echo in everyone's minds. And now, with the Christmas season, the nature of dreams had changed.
Dr. Eva Stein sat in her office, a blank expression on her face. Before her stood reports from residents who described strange dreams. In one dream, someone saw a giant, shiny Christmas ball floating in the sky and slowly shattering, while cold, blood-red snow fell from the sky. In another dream, a shadow in the shape of an angel pursued a family through an endless forest until only screams could be heard in the wind.
"The dreams are no longer just frightening," Dr. Stein said at a team meeting. "They carry a symbolism we don't yet understand. It's as if someone is trying to tell us something—or warn us."
Clara Winter, the team's dream researcher, nodded. "And it's not just the dreams. Many report seeing these symbols while awake as well—red stars, shadows moving even though no one is there. It's as if the dreams are starting to creep into reality."
The Christmas tree in the city center
In the center of town stood the traditional Christmas tree, decorated with sparkling baubles and a large star at the top. But some residents claimed that the tree looked different at night—gloomy, almost alive. An elderly woman reported seeing in a dream how the baubles on the tree shattered and small, mechanical creatures crawled out of them. A child claimed that the star on top "spoke to him" during the night.
Dr. Stein and the PsychoLab team decided to examine the tree more closely. They installed sensors designed to detect electromagnetic waves and other anomalies. On the night of December 5, while a light snowfall covered the city, the devices detected something unusual: a regular frequency emanating from the treetop. It was as if the star were sending—or receiving—signals.
The Secret of the Star
On December 6, St. Nicholas Day, the team took a dangerous step. Using the dream suit, which had already been used in previous experiments, they linked the star's frequency to the brain activity of a volunteer. The dream he experienced was frightening: He found himself in an endless, snow-covered landscape, with a black Christmas tree at its center. The star at his apex spun, faster and faster, until a dazzling light shot out from it. A voice spoke—deep, mechanical, like the echo of distant thunder: "You have opened the way. Christmas will never be the same again."
The volunteer awoke drenched in sweat. But the voice's words had alarmed the PsychoLab team. "Whatever this force is, it's using Christmas to manifest itself," said Dr. Stein. "We need to find out why."
A gloomy Christmas
As the city continued to glow in festive cheer, the PsychoLab team knew they were on the trail of a dark secret. The star, the Christmas tree, the dreams—they were all connected. And yet every answer seemed to bring only new questions. What did this mysterious force want? Was it an echo from the past, a fragment of an ancient ritual? Or something much greater just awakening?
As the night of December 24th approached, the PsychoLab team prepared for what was to come. But no one was prepared for what Christmas Eve would reveal—an event that would change the city and the PsychoLab forever.
Until the next revelation
Stay tuned as we report on what happened on Christmas night and as PsychoLab delves further into the dark depths of dreams to uncover a mystery that goes far beyond Christmas.
