Waking up one minute before the alarm went off, Rebecca glanced at her phone and then dropped her hand onto her bed. Instead of waiting, she got out of bed, washed up, got dressed, and grabbed some breakfast.
That was a little easy. Rebecca grabbed her sling bag and walked out the door. Stepping out onto the icy sidewalk, her foot shot out from under her. With a lurch, she opened her eyes. Light poured into the room, scolding her for sleeping so late. Nearly tripping out of her blankets, Rebecca leaped out of bed and grabbed her phone.
“Fifteen minutes.” She inhaled through her nose and let it out slowly. “It’s doable.”
Despite the late start, everything else fell into place. Even the elevator was already available by the time Rebecca got to work.
She was happy to see that an elevator was available when she got to work. When the elevator doors at work opened on her floor, Rebecca stepped out and nearly bumped into her coworker.
“Wow, you are actually late — by two minutes!”
“Hi, Tonya.” Rebecca nodded toward her office as she walked past. “I don’t understand. I’ve never overslept my alarm before.” Rebecca picked up a folder from her desk as she stepped in and looked at it. “I finally finished the database entries. So maybe that will make up for it. At least I have another client to woo. It looks like things are picking up.”
Tonya laughed, throwing a thumb over her shoulder. “Yeah, the market is getting better. I’ve got one, too. Good luck with that.”
“You too.” Rebecca said to her coworker’s retreating form.
The folder went back on top of the nearly empty to-do bin on the corner of her desk. She needed some caffeine, but a sip brought out a groan. The thick burnt mass was cold. Shivering, Rebecca grabbed a sweater, but it didn’t help.
Checking her emails and making a few follow-up calls to her other clients seemed to bring on even more fatigue. Soon, Rebecca lost the fight and rested her head on her desk.
For a brief moment, she floated in a tube. People walked around in lab coats, conversing with each other, but no sound came from them. Darkness happened quickly, with the only light coming from Rebecca’s buzzing phone.
In a panic, she picked it up and fumbled to unlock it. Relief came when a text from her boss said, “Great job getting the client.”
With the phone back onto her nightstand, Rebecca buried herself into her covers, her bed seemingly softer than usual. In a blink, she was standing in another room next to someone else’s bed. Curtains blew around an open French door, which appeared out of place in the sleek interior. Curiosity of the flashing lights coming from outside drew Rebecca out to the balcony, drawing her attention to the two moons above.
“I’m dreaming!” Rebecca forced herself awake, nearly falling out of the office chair.
“Hey!”
Flustered, Rebecca forced a smile. “Hey, John. What’s up?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.” John’s smile enhanced the dimple in his right cheek. “We thought a bunch of Smurfs with chainsaws invaded your office.”
“I don’t snore!”
Widening his eyes in mock fear, he glanced around the office. “Then where are the Smurfs?”
Rebecca scoffed, then laughed. “Okay, I might snore a little. I seem to be exhausted.”
“Well, I’m on my way to the coffee shop.” John leaned up against the doorpost. “I can get something for you, if you are interested.”
As Rebecca reached for her purse, he added, “Oh, no. You paid for mine last time, remember? I got it.”
“Oh, okay.” Rebecca let her purse drop to the side. “Double espresso will do. Black.”
“Wow, you’re that tired?”
“Maybe you can have it mixed for me with an energy drink.”
Butterflies fluttered in Rebecca’s stomach as John laughed. She opened her mouth to ask him out to dinner, but then shut it.
“I could get you a case of that stuff, but don’t drink all of it at once. We don’t need you to have a heart attack.” John winked and left.
Rebecca could feel her face get hot, and she looked away. I’ll ask him out today. No, tomorrow. I’m too sick today.
“He is so hot,” Tonya whispered as she set another sheet of paper on Rebecca’s desk. She must have snuck past John. “You two would make a great couple.”
“If only I had courage. Maybe I’ll pay a visit to the Wizard of Oz.” Rebecca looked up at her coworker and grabbed the paper. “I thought I got all the entries done. How did I miss this one?”
“I heard you were napping on the job?”
“I don’t think I’m feeling well. My head feels like it’s in a cloud right now.” Rebecca massaged her temples. “I think I may have caught something.”
“You know, you are almost always on time, and you have yet to use any of your sick days. I doubt that Ms. Schneider would mind if you went home early.”
“I’m going to call the potential client first. If I get her on board, I go home early. If not, then I’ll stay and help with the umpteenth attempt to make this office paperless.” Rebecca shook the paper at Tonya as if she was slapping someone with it.
“Well, good luck with that.” Tonya chuckled and left.
It took only an hour. Rebecca scored the client, a raise, and the rest of the day off.
“Hope you are feeling better,” Ms. Schneider called out after her.
After a few steps into the early spring sun, Rebecca felt as if she were floating. She shivered despite the sun’s warmth and got to her apartment, with no memory of how she got there.
Opening the door revealed a completely different setup than the one she had left.
Oh dear God, I didn’t get into the wrong apartment, did I? Rebecca closed her eyes. When she opened them again, everything seemed normal.
Maybe I am really sick.
It was a studio apartment with a bathroom, not much different from a hotel room with a kitchenette. Tea sounded good, but Rebecca didn’t know if she had the strength to make any.
A woman floated off the corner of the bedroom. When Rebecca looked in that direction, the curtains curled around the open window.
When did I open that window? I think I’ll go to bed. I’m hallucinating.
The blankets swallowed her in poofy comfort, and in what seemed like minutes, it was morning.
“Wake. Up. Wake. Up. Wake. Up. Dreaming. Up! Up! Up! Wake. Up.”
Rebecca sat up, throwing her covers aside. A dog barked outside. She let herself fall back into bed with a groan.
A fever dream.
With the office closed for the weekend, Rebecca started feeling better. She thought that some cheesy scrambled sounded good and her stomach growled.
But first, my favorite oversized shirt.
She reached down into her shirt drawer and pushed aside way more shirts than she thought she had until, finally, the fuzziness of the brushed cotton slid across her fingers.
“Ha!”
Rebecca whirled around triumphantly, only to nearly bump into a woman. Dark auburn hair, pale blue dress, glowing eyes to match, the apparition seemed to fill the room.
“I’m dreaming!” The sound of Rebecca’s voice sounded distant. Her stomach twisted itself into knots.
“Wake up!” The voice came from the woman, but she didn’t move her lips.
“I’m dreaming! I’m dreaming!” The ground left Rebecca’s feet, and she twisted as if to get away, but to no avail. The surrounding water sloshed, and muffled voices filtered in. “I’m dreaming!”
Her eyes snapped open, and she let out a startled gasp, only to find herself inhaling a strange liquid instead of air. Blond hair floated around her face, obscuring some of the flurried activity happening on the other side of the glass.
A muffled echo of whirring with a click flowed through the liquid, and she floated to the floor. As the fluid surrounding her drained away, she coughed up the liquid from her lungs and stomach.
“It’s okay. You’ll be okay.” The droplets on the glass distorted a man’s dark-skinned face.
“I…” Rebecca coughed. Her throat was sore, and she still had some of the fluid in her lungs.
“Don’t say anything yet. We’ll get you out.”
Warm air blew through the overhead and lower vents. It was a welcoming feeling, and Rebecca lifted her face towards it.
“I remember,” Rebecca choked out. She cleared her throat.
“Wait until we can get you out. We are eager to hear what you remember, but we must create a record of it for our files.”
Some assistant worked on the machine next to her. There was some more clicking, and she stood, throwing a thumb up sign. Rebecca attempted to exit as the glass moved up, but her foot wouldn’t rise high enough, resulting in her falling into the man’s arms.
“Whoa, whoa, it’s okay. Let us take you out.”
Rebecca looked up at him. She thought she could get lost in those dark eyes of his.
“Looks like a slight variation in temperature makes the brain go into dream mode,” the assistant said.
“We’ll fix that and make sure that it doesn’t happen again.” The dark man nodded.
A nurse reached over and picked her up, while another held the wheelchair steady as the first one put her in. There were other tubes like Rebecca’s, lining the walls of the room, all occupied.
Even though Rebecca had a skin-tight bodysuit, a nurse helped her put on a thin hospital robe.
“I don’t think I remember you.” Rebecca looked up at the man. “I mean, you look like John, but…”
“Well, you did flirt with me a little when you got here. You even told me you had a crush on me.” The man chuckled as he followed the nurses, pushing the wheelchair. They came to a room that had a table and exercise equipment for physical therapy. The nurse pushed her up to the table, and another man wearing a lab coat walked in.
“We thought we would add a potential love interest that looked a little like me.” The man leaned in a little as he walked around the table. “You know, to make things a little more interesting for you.”
One nurse pulled out a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff. Anticipating what was coming, Rebecca put out her arm.
“Hello.” The man with the clipboard dug his reading glasses out of his lab coat pocket and put them on. “My name is Dr. Weinstein. I will ask you some questions while my assistant, Jake, here, will take your vitals. Is that okay?” He pointed towards a security camera that was in the ceiling. “You are being recorded.”
“Yes, that’s okay.” Rebecca’s voice was still hoarse.
“Okay.” The doctor jotted something down on his clipboard. “How much do you remember since your accident last year?”
“I remember falling on the ice, and I remember taking the pain medication.”
“Good, good.”
“I thought I didn’t take a dose, and I took another one. The next thing I know I was handcuffed to my hospital bed. My mother was there, and she said that she was going to make me pay for leaving them like that. I told them I thought they disowned me. I thought I would not see them again, but I guess I forgot to remove my emergency contacts.”
The doctor nodded and continued with his note.
“I’m sorry, I’m all over the place.”
“No, that’s okay. It’s common. Sometimes, patients will confuse their dreams with their memories.”
“Well, I do remember telling someone about it…” Rebecca paused as more memories surfaced. She looked at the man. “Oh, it was you! You were the one who told me about an opportunity to get out of my parent’s grip.” She glanced at the exercise equipment. “I guess this is the research facility.”
The doctor and the man seemed pleased.
“Your name is Samuel, right?” Rebecca asked the man.
“Samael. Eh.” The man sighed and waved his hand dismissively. “Close enough.”
“Do you remember going into the tube?” The doctor held his pen over his pad and waited.
“No. I only remember riding a van here. It had no windows.”
“Well,” Samael said, “it is a secret project. We can’t let anyone know where we are. Since the patent is pending, we can’t risk letting any of this out.” He took a deep breath. “You have been a wonderful asset to us.”
“Maybe, but I thought it was to research a way to reform people.”
“You are the control,” Samael said. “You passed all of your psych tests. I only told your parents that it was to help you reform, but I knew what type of people they were. I knew you were trying to get away. Your parents are classic narcissists.” Samael leaned up against the table next to her. “Come to think of it; I think your father is more of a sociopath. Great for business, terrible for parenting.”
He straightened and continued to walk around her and the table again.
“The others in the room with you are also trying to get away. Lost loved ones, homelessness, desperation, and, like you, trying to get away from a dangerous situation.” Samael stopped and put his arm on the back of Rebecca’s wheelchair, leaning in. Rebecca could feel his breath on her temple, and her heart skipped a beat. “After you exercise and change your suit, we would like to help you make your separation to your family more permanent.”
“How?”
“We could tell them you died. Give your parents an urn of your…” Samael straightened and pressed his lips together. “Your ashes. The paperwork you and your parents signed says that if anything unfortunate should happen, your body is to be cremated due to you being a potential biohazard.”
“You’re going to kill me?!”
Samael scoffed and stood up. “Not literately. Just legally.” He walked around the table to face her. “And whenever you decide you had enough of your fantasy life, we could give you a new identity. Well, you would have no money, no place to stay, and no past life to draw on. But you would have a birth certificate, social security number, and a new name.”
“And just dump me somewhere.”
“Do you have any idea how much this research costs? Of course, if we use it for recreational purposes, we could give you a small sum. For the time being, however, we have no grant money to spare.”
Rebecca looked down at her hands. It didn’t take long to figure out what was better.
“I guess…” She stopped and sighed. “I guess I will stay.”
After the exercises, Rebecca changed into a new suit and a clean robe. She studied the tubes in the room as the Doctor, Samael, and a couple of workers prepped hers. Listening to the workers’ conversation, she walked by each machine, checking out the people in them. — Black, white, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Hispanic.
Equal opportunity soaking, Rebecca mused.
“This time no variation in temperature. Any variation will trigger lucid dreaming. We don’t want that.” One worker grunted as he pushed the tube back into place.
Rebecca glanced over at the workers as she paused in front of another tube.
“Yeah, next time we take them out right away instead of trying to fix it. It may cause some serious problems later. We don’t know, and we don’t want to lose our funding.”
The tube Rebecca stood in front of was slightly different. It wasn’t plugged into the wall like the others. Instead, a glowing light blue box hummed next to it, the same color as the light illuminated the tube. All the other ones were lit with white.
“That…” Samael startled her. “She is the one who came up with the idea. She lost her family, friends, and everything she knew in one disaster.” He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Sad, really.”
Samael went back with the others before Rebecca could ask about what happened.
Floating hair circled the woman’s face like a cloud. Her hands hovered in front of her, twitching as if she were dreaming. The heart monitor next to the tube clicked for every heartbeat. As it slowed, recognition swept over Rebecca.
The clicking slowed even more, and an alarm sounded. There was a fizzing static-like sound, and the body jerked. Things around her became muted as the alarm drowned all the noise around her. “Be-eep. Be-eep. Be-eep.”
The woman from Rebecca’s dream opened her eyes.
Rebecca lurched in her bed. The sun streamed through her window and between the curtains.
“Be-eep. Be-eep.”
Grabbing her phone, she thought, I need to change the alarm on that thing. Music would be so much better to wake up to.
©2018, 2024 by Nancie Neal
MOMETEK