"We must be near the top." Jeff gulped.
"How did you know it was a dream Jeff?" Sarah asked, not paying attention to what he just said.
"I don't know." Jeff shrugged.
"And how come when you figured it out we didn't snap out of the dream automatically, like when I always realized it?" Sarah's mind boggled. There was something going on here that she didn't understand, something deeper than she had initially been led to believe. She thought that once they realized the dream wasn't real, or they were killed in the dream, they went back to the tower. But now she was having second doubts. That dream was the most realistic of all the dreams yet. It scared Sarah that she hadn't been able to figure out it was a dream herself.
Jeff just shrugged again. Sarah felt angry again, but she was done arguing with Jeff. "Let's go, the next floor is probably the top right? We can't afford to waste anymore time." Sarah said more forcefully than she meant. She didn't wait for Jeff to start following her. She climbed the stairs and opened the door to the next floor.
---
Doctor Jeffery Durham Senior was making his rounds at the hospital. He had a lot on his mind, especially the patient he was going to see next. She was a young woman that he knew very well, although she didn't know him at all. Dr. Durham was worried for her. Things hadn't been going according to plan at all.
He entered her room, and he spotted the woman he had first spoke to over 18 years ago, when his scientific study had just begun. The woman, who he knew was named Tina Pinkerton, looked over at him with wide eyes, and immediately got up from her chair to talk to him. She pulled him out into the hallway for a slightly more private conversation.
"Sarah's...this coma, does it have anything to do with that chip you implanted in her head for that study on dreams you were doing?" Tina said, anxiously wringing her hands.
Dr. Durham cringed for a moment, wondering how she had figured it out so quickly. He nodded his head and said "My own son is also in a coma, I didn't know if you were aware. It's hard to say if they'll be able to wake up ever again. The chips I implanted in them to read their dreams, well suffice to say, they had some unexpected consequences."
Tina began to quietly cry at hearing this. "What can you do Doctor? There must be something! I don't want to lose my daughter."
"For now, Mrs Pinkerton, all we can do is pray."
He entered her room, and he spotted the woman he had first spoke to over 18 years ago, when his scientific study had just begun. The woman, who he knew was named Tina Pinkerton, looked over at him with wide eyes, and immediately got up from her chair to talk to him. She pulled him out into the hallway for a slightly more private conversation.
"Sarah's...this coma, does it have anything to do with that chip you implanted in her head for that study on dreams you were doing?" Tina said, anxiously wringing her hands.
Dr. Durham cringed for a moment, wondering how she had figured it out so quickly. He nodded his head and said "My own son is also in a coma, I didn't know if you were aware. It's hard to say if they'll be able to wake up ever again. The chips I implanted in them to read their dreams, well suffice to say, they had some unexpected consequences."
Tina began to quietly cry at hearing this. "What can you do Doctor? There must be something! I don't want to lose my daughter."
"For now, Mrs Pinkerton, all we can do is pray."
---
Sarah entered the room, expected to see the normal flash of blackness, but it didn't come. She looked around the room she found herself in. It was like the rest of the tower, just as black. There was nothing in this room, not even a staircase leading up higher. Sarah felt confused. Where was the thing they had to destroy, what was going on here? She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her shoulder from behind.
"Sarah there is something I have to tell you." Jeff said, as Sarah spun around wildly to face him.
"Huh? JEFF. There is nothing here! We can't escape!" Sarah felt like crying.
"I know Sarah. Listen to me. I haven't been entirely truthful with you. There are things you don't know about yourself. " Sarah just stared at Jeff, confused and a bit angry. "When you were just a baby, you were entered into a scientific study on the nature of dreams. You had a chip implanted into your head so that my father, and his team of researchers could study your dreams."
"WHAT?" Sarah blinked her eyes a few times, not quite believing what she was hearing.
"Yeah, you weren't the only one. Thousands of other young children were in the study. That's when my father learned that some people's dreams were special. You were one of those children. So was I, but for different reasons. Sarah, you have the ability to maintain a whole dream world even when you are not there. You made a whole city up, and it continued even when you were not dreaming. You have one of the most vivid imaginations I've ever seen. You also had an even more special power though, one we are not quite even sure how it can exists. We think it has something to do with dreams being almost like death, where your whole body slows down, but Sarah, in your dreams...you can see the dead."
Sarah's eyes got wider. "You mean...when we went to see my father? That was really him?" Sarah felt tears welling up in her eyes.
"Well yes. I couldn't follow you there. Only you have that ability."
"What's your ability then?" Sarah asked, but her mind was going in a million different directions, trying to comprehend everything that she was being told.
"I can travel to other people's dreams. When my father found this out he wanted me to go into the dreams of his other test subjects, but once I found you I decided to not go any further. You are so special Sarah." Jeff took Sarah's hand gently in his own. "I'm so sorry Sarah."
"Sorry? For what?"
"It was me. I trapped you here."
Sarah ripped her hand out of Jeff's reach. She felt like her heart was falling into pieces, and at the same time, she felt so angry she could hardly see straight. "What? Why did you do that? JEFF!" Sarah wanted to hit Jeff, but she refrained from doing so. She balled her hand up into a fist and stood there, staring at Jeff menacingly.
"I made this tower up Sarah. I knew you'd come back to your dreams eventually. So I made it. This tower was supposed to be wonderful things that would show you how amazing dreams were, but your own imagination and power over dreams destroyed that. You made each dream into your own dream, instead of what I had envisioned."
Everything seemed to click into place for Sarah. The reason why Jeff had told her that they were in a dream, why the dreams all started out nicely but ended up badly, why the tower wasn't evil like she thought it would be. The only question, which Sarah said out loud was, "Why?"
"Sarah, I meant what I said before, I love you." Jeff looked sadly down, he had not been expecting Sarah to react like this. "I wanted you to see how wonderful dreams were, so that you would spend forever with me here."
"I...I can't do that Jeff. You know I can't. We can spent time together outside of dreams. Come on let us go home." Sarah pleaded.
"The world outside is a terrible place Sarah. It's corrupt and there are so many bad people out there who couldn't give a fuck about you. But here, with you, we were happy weren't we? It's fun here, and nothing bad ever happens. We can be happy here forever Sarah."
Sarah looked at Jeff like he was going crazy. "Jeff we can't! I have a life out there, I know you don't think you do, but you do as well! You can't tell your stories in here. There is nothing for us in here. It's. Just. A. Dream!"
"Sarah, there is only way you can escape from here." Jeff said, but stopped before he said what that thing was.
"Yes? Tell me Jeff. We can escape from here. I know you don't want to spend forever in my dreams. We can be happy outside too."
Jeff looked deeply at Sarah, his blue eyes beginning to well up with tears. "Sarah, you can only escape if you kill me."
"Oh I get it! The tower is testing us again. This is another dream. WAKE UP WAKE UP!" Sarah screamed at herself, not wanting to believe the truth.
"No it's not Sarah." Jeff painfully said.
Sarah felt her whole body getting heavier. She sat down on the floor and pounded it with her fist. "It's just a dream! WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!" Jeff put his hand on Sarah's shoulder but she violently shrugged it off. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!" Jeff backed away fearfully. "I can't believe this. This isn't real. You are lying to me."
"I wish I was Sarah." Jeff said, now standing a few feet away from her. "You have to decide now Sarah. Do you want to live out your life with me here, in this wonderful place of your dreams? Or do you want to go back to the corrupt evil reality?" Jeff said, sneering at the last few words.
"Jeff I can't kill you. I can't kill anyone." Sarah sobbed.
"It's okay Sarah. I won't die in the real world. You'll just forget I ever existed, and I'll forget about you. Everything will go back to normal." Jeff admitted.
"I...won't remember you?"
"You won't remember anything. You won't remember any dreams we shared."
Sarah sat silently for awhile. She wouldn't remember her dreams. All the wonderful times she had spent with Jeff. She wouldn't remember the happiness she had. Most of all, she wouldn't remember the time she had met her father. How could she let all of that go? Sarah didn't want to forget this world. Then something sparked in her head. She knew what she had to do.
"Jeff, I'm so sorry for this." Sarah knew she was in a dream, her dream. She could do anything she wanted here. Sarah stood up, feeling slightly more confident now. She imagined that she had a gun in her hand, and it was there. She had never fired a gun in reality, but here she seemed to know just what to do. She aimed the gun at Jeff's head.
Jeff didn't flinch. "I guess you've made up your mind then." He looked sadly into Sarah's eyes. She nodded sadly. This was what had to be done. "Goodbye Sarah. I love you."
"Bye Jeff. I.....love you too."
She pulled the trigger.
"Sarah there is something I have to tell you." Jeff said, as Sarah spun around wildly to face him.
"Huh? JEFF. There is nothing here! We can't escape!" Sarah felt like crying.
"I know Sarah. Listen to me. I haven't been entirely truthful with you. There are things you don't know about yourself. " Sarah just stared at Jeff, confused and a bit angry. "When you were just a baby, you were entered into a scientific study on the nature of dreams. You had a chip implanted into your head so that my father, and his team of researchers could study your dreams."
"WHAT?" Sarah blinked her eyes a few times, not quite believing what she was hearing.
"Yeah, you weren't the only one. Thousands of other young children were in the study. That's when my father learned that some people's dreams were special. You were one of those children. So was I, but for different reasons. Sarah, you have the ability to maintain a whole dream world even when you are not there. You made a whole city up, and it continued even when you were not dreaming. You have one of the most vivid imaginations I've ever seen. You also had an even more special power though, one we are not quite even sure how it can exists. We think it has something to do with dreams being almost like death, where your whole body slows down, but Sarah, in your dreams...you can see the dead."
Sarah's eyes got wider. "You mean...when we went to see my father? That was really him?" Sarah felt tears welling up in her eyes.
"Well yes. I couldn't follow you there. Only you have that ability."
"What's your ability then?" Sarah asked, but her mind was going in a million different directions, trying to comprehend everything that she was being told.
"I can travel to other people's dreams. When my father found this out he wanted me to go into the dreams of his other test subjects, but once I found you I decided to not go any further. You are so special Sarah." Jeff took Sarah's hand gently in his own. "I'm so sorry Sarah."
"Sorry? For what?"
"It was me. I trapped you here."
Sarah ripped her hand out of Jeff's reach. She felt like her heart was falling into pieces, and at the same time, she felt so angry she could hardly see straight. "What? Why did you do that? JEFF!" Sarah wanted to hit Jeff, but she refrained from doing so. She balled her hand up into a fist and stood there, staring at Jeff menacingly.
"I made this tower up Sarah. I knew you'd come back to your dreams eventually. So I made it. This tower was supposed to be wonderful things that would show you how amazing dreams were, but your own imagination and power over dreams destroyed that. You made each dream into your own dream, instead of what I had envisioned."
Everything seemed to click into place for Sarah. The reason why Jeff had told her that they were in a dream, why the dreams all started out nicely but ended up badly, why the tower wasn't evil like she thought it would be. The only question, which Sarah said out loud was, "Why?"
"Sarah, I meant what I said before, I love you." Jeff looked sadly down, he had not been expecting Sarah to react like this. "I wanted you to see how wonderful dreams were, so that you would spend forever with me here."
"I...I can't do that Jeff. You know I can't. We can spent time together outside of dreams. Come on let us go home." Sarah pleaded.
"The world outside is a terrible place Sarah. It's corrupt and there are so many bad people out there who couldn't give a fuck about you. But here, with you, we were happy weren't we? It's fun here, and nothing bad ever happens. We can be happy here forever Sarah."
Sarah looked at Jeff like he was going crazy. "Jeff we can't! I have a life out there, I know you don't think you do, but you do as well! You can't tell your stories in here. There is nothing for us in here. It's. Just. A. Dream!"
"Sarah, there is only way you can escape from here." Jeff said, but stopped before he said what that thing was.
"Yes? Tell me Jeff. We can escape from here. I know you don't want to spend forever in my dreams. We can be happy outside too."
Jeff looked deeply at Sarah, his blue eyes beginning to well up with tears. "Sarah, you can only escape if you kill me."
"Oh I get it! The tower is testing us again. This is another dream. WAKE UP WAKE UP!" Sarah screamed at herself, not wanting to believe the truth.
"No it's not Sarah." Jeff painfully said.
Sarah felt her whole body getting heavier. She sat down on the floor and pounded it with her fist. "It's just a dream! WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!" Jeff put his hand on Sarah's shoulder but she violently shrugged it off. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!" Jeff backed away fearfully. "I can't believe this. This isn't real. You are lying to me."
"I wish I was Sarah." Jeff said, now standing a few feet away from her. "You have to decide now Sarah. Do you want to live out your life with me here, in this wonderful place of your dreams? Or do you want to go back to the corrupt evil reality?" Jeff said, sneering at the last few words.
"Jeff I can't kill you. I can't kill anyone." Sarah sobbed.
"It's okay Sarah. I won't die in the real world. You'll just forget I ever existed, and I'll forget about you. Everything will go back to normal." Jeff admitted.
"I...won't remember you?"
"You won't remember anything. You won't remember any dreams we shared."
Sarah sat silently for awhile. She wouldn't remember her dreams. All the wonderful times she had spent with Jeff. She wouldn't remember the happiness she had. Most of all, she wouldn't remember the time she had met her father. How could she let all of that go? Sarah didn't want to forget this world. Then something sparked in her head. She knew what she had to do.
"Jeff, I'm so sorry for this." Sarah knew she was in a dream, her dream. She could do anything she wanted here. Sarah stood up, feeling slightly more confident now. She imagined that she had a gun in her hand, and it was there. She had never fired a gun in reality, but here she seemed to know just what to do. She aimed the gun at Jeff's head.
Jeff didn't flinch. "I guess you've made up your mind then." He looked sadly into Sarah's eyes. She nodded sadly. This was what had to be done. "Goodbye Sarah. I love you."
"Bye Jeff. I.....love you too."
She pulled the trigger.
---
"MOM! MISTER DOCTOR MAN!" Emily screamed excitedly into the hallway. "She's waking up! Sarah's WAKING UP!" Emily bounced up and down as Sarah's eyes began to slowly open.
Words This Part: 1826
Words Total: 42954
Words This Part: 1826
Words Total: 42954
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