The Girl Who Dreamt

A Science Fiction Story.

I'm staring down at my untouched breakfast, but I can feel her eyes burning a hole into my skull.

She sighs loudly and I ignore her.

I pick up my fork and stab my food slightly.

She sighs again and I drop my fork in annoyance.

"Mother," I say, looking up at her. "Is there something you want to say to me?"

She meets my eyes and hers are a little sad.

"You look exhausted, Anya," she says. "Have you been getting any sleep?"

"Yes," I lie.

I try to hold her gaze but the concern in her eyes fills me with guilt and I look away.

"Really, mom. I'm fine," I add, trying to muster a smile. "Frank's just been really demanding lately."

My mother sighs again, but I see her shoulders relax.

"He should ease off the workload, you're only seventeen."

She believes me. Thank God.

I feel bad for lying against my boss, but it’s better for her if she remains ignorant.

"It's no big deal," I say with a shrug as I stand up from the table.

I walk over to her and kiss her forehead, then I rest my chin on the top of her head.

"I'm going to work, might be later than usual. Don't wait up for me."

"You didn’t touch your breakfast, Anya."

"Frank wants me in early."

She mutters curses under her breath.

I laugh and kiss her again.

"Love you, mom."

I leave her in the small kitchen and bolt up the metal stairs into my even smaller room. I shut the door and let out a deep breath I didn't know I was holding.

I know that if she had persisted for another minute, my resolve would have crumbled and I would have probably told her everything.

It's been so hard keeping it to myself and I don't know how much longer I can hold it in.

I drag myself to the bathroom and cringe when I see my reflection in the mirror. My hair is a mess and there are dark circles under my eyes.

I look like I haven't slept properly in weeks, and my eyes look slightly bloodshot. I rinse my face and try to revive the pale skin but it doesn't work, so I turn my attention to my hair.

I'm still staring at myself when my eyes unconsciously go to it and my hand immediately follows.

I rub on the surface of my skin and I can feel the tiny metallic shape of the chip implanted in my neck, just under my right ear.

My mother has one too. And so does everyone else.

It's implanted in us at birth and it is a part our identity. It's impossible to do anything without it and the capital offence for those caught messing with their implants was death.

I let out a very loud yawn, suddenly aware of how exhausted I am.

I want to crawl back into my bed and sleep the day away. I know I should, and God knows I need it, but I can't.

I can't sleep.

I'm too scared it'll happen again and I don't want it to happen again.

I quickly shower and get dressed, grabbing my bag before I practically run out of the house. I walk down the street quickly and head for the cable station where I'll get a car that'll take me to work.

It's early morning and the sun casts a warm glow on the horizon. There aren't many people on the street and it's quiet, except for the constant and familiar sound of buzzing machinery.

At the entrance of the station, the ever-grumpy clerk picks a scanner and waves it over my chip.

His computer buzzes and the door opens for me to walk in. I locate the car headed towards my destination and I settle in my favourite seat just beside the window.

My bag is on my lap as the car comes to life and starts to rise over the city. The morning rush hour doesn't begin for another hour, so it's empty except for me, but I don't mind.

I rest my head on the window and take in the beautiful view of the world. The sun shining softly on the buildings beneath it, the soft wind that blows through the air, and the vast ocean I can see in the distance.

Suddenly, the world is on fire.

The ground rocks with explosions and buildings crumble to the ground.

The ones left standing burn with intense flames.

There's no ocean anymore, and I see forests with withered trees.

All the streets are empty and there's a still, sudden silence.

Then I hear it; the screams.

Thousands of people all shouting in agony and begging for help.

I jolt awake as the car stops abruptly and the doors open.

I sit up sharply and panic rises in my chest.

I look around the empty car, hoping that nobody saw me.

I'm sweating profusely and the fear is thick in my bones. I grab my bag and run out of the car and through the station.

I move quickly, wanting to put as much distance as possible between me and the cable car I just slept off in.

You're so careless, Anya! My mind screams at me.

A few minutes after I leave the station, I look back and nobody is following me, so I slow my pace down.

I will myself to be calm.

Nobody saw me.

If they did, they'd be here by now.

I'm safe, at least for now.

---

It's late at night and I'm walking out of the cable station, exhausted beyond belief.

The rest of my day was a blur but I managed to avoid dozing off again. I know I will have to sleep eventually and I dread that I'd have to go to bed tonight.

As brief as today's episode was, the images were the most vivid they had ever been and the screams sounded so real.

Remembering it makes me shiver.

The first time is happened was two weeks ago and it has happened five other times since then.

I don't know what to make of it.

I've lived my entire life with nothing but black voids in my sleep, now I see these images and hear these sounds when I close my eyes.

I remember the address I scrawled on a piece of paper in my bag and I pull it out. I stare at it and I sigh.

I usually wouldn't do this but I'm desperate for answers or anything close to it. I stuff the paper back in my bag and I turn in the opposite direction of my house.

The address isn't far but it's still quite a distance from my neighbourhood.

Streetlights illuminate the road and a few security drones fly above my head, so I keep my head ducked down.

I'm headed towards the bad part of town and although I pass by some shady-looking people, nobody bothers me.

When I reach my destination, I'm confused.

I was expecting a house or building, but what I see is an empty parking lot. I hear sounds coming from the end of the lot so I walk towards it.

It leads me to a dark alley, where I see a group of people gathered around a campfire.

A man is standing and talking, with all eyes on him. I don't move too close to them, but from where I stand I can hear him clearly.

"They've lied to you, to me, to us, all this time," he says, looking around the crowd, face to face. "This is nothing but a tool. Meant to control us and keep us as slaves."

He touches the side of his neck where his chip is located.

"They tell us that without it we can't buy, we can't sell, and we can't even use the public bathrooms to take a shit." The crowd laughs. "But what they don't tell us is what it does to our minds."

Murmurs and whispers pass through the crowd.

"When most of us sleep, we see nothing but darkness. But for some of us, when we sleep, we see... things."

At that moment, he looks in my direction and he's staring directly at me.

My breath seizes in panic and my heart starts to race.

I'm about to run but he looks away immediately, oblivious to my presence in the darkness.

I breathe out in relief.

I know I should leave immediately but I'm intrigued to hear the rest of what he has to say.

I don't know who he is but his name is Markus.

When I first started seeing these images in my sleep, I searched on the internet for answers, but there was nothing.

In my desperation, I logged on to the dark web but still found nothing. Till I stumbled upon a forum, where some users also claimed to "see pictures" and "hear sounds" when they sleep.

There was an active account that seemed to have answers to all the questions asked and when I clicked the profile, it showed his name as Markus.

Everything on his profile was anti-government.

He berated their policies, questioned the true purpose of our implants, and called for public protests on matters related to public concern.

A link in his bio gave this address and he encouraged people to "come for all your answers".

Everything about it seemed shady and wrong so I ruled it out as an option until now.

Desperate times, I guess.

"You see images," Markus continues to his audience. "Vivid images, of people, places and things. Sometimes you even hear sounds. They are called dreams."

"Dreams," I whisper to myself.

Finally knowing what to call it fills me with relief.

"Dreams are natural, but they don’t want us to have dreams. If your subconscious is suppressed, it becomes easier for them to control you. I know you've heard stories of what happened to people who publicly cried out for help when they started having flashes in their sleep."

I have heard stories and that's why I'm so scared.

Some of those people vanished without a trace and some of them are rumoured to have been committed to remote mental facilities owned by the government.

"Join me, people," Markus says loudly. "Let's resist the government and demand that these chips in our necks be removed. They are altering our biological processes and we can't just sit in silence. Join me and let's fight!"

The crowd erupts into cheers and shouts.

I turn back on my heels and run.

---

I'm walking on an empty road in the middle of a desert.

The sun is scorching and I'm sweating.

I don't know how long I've been walking but I still don't stop.

I see a city on the horizon but when I get there it has been destroyed.

The buildings are burnt and there are bodies everywhere on the street.

Then suddenly people are all around me.

They are all skinny and naked and they look hungry.

There's a glint of lust in their eyes as they see me.

I try to run but one hand grabs me, then another, and another.

I scream as they tear at my flesh with their claws and teeth.

I try to fight, but there are too many of them, fighting and scratching at each other just to get a piece of me.

I desperately scream for help but my screams echo back at me.

The world is empty and no one hears me.

---

I return to the alley the next night to see Markus.

I know it's dangerous and stupid and I shouldn't trust a stranger from the internet with something so sensitive, but after the dream I had this morning, I'm beyond desperate for help.

It felt so real.

I woke up sweating and crying and I half expected to find parts of my body eaten up. I was so sure my mother had heard my screams.

I don't want to continue this way.

I hide in the shadows till his meeting ends and the crowd disperses.

Then I walk over to where he's standing. I try to be subtle with my steps but the silent alley doesn't hide my footsteps. He turns around and glances at me.

Up close, he looks more intimidating than I thought.

"It's late, girl," he says gruffly. "You shouldn’t be here. Go home."

He turns around and continues packing his bags.

"I've been seeing images in my sleep," I say, but it comes out as a whisper. "I'm scared."

He turns back to face me and the hardness in his eyes is gone.

"Don't say another word," he says softly.

He gestures for me to follow him and he leads me to the back of the building beside the alley, directly opposite the parking lot.

We walk down a large hallway and at the end, he opens the door to a dimly-lit room. He gestures for me to sit down on a couch while he drops his bag in a corner.

He leans on the wall and peers at me curiously.

"So, you've been having dreams?"

I hesitate, looking around the room.

Maybe this is a mistake. How can I trust him?

He must sense my hesitation because he comes to sit beside me.

"What's your name?" he asks.

"Anya," I reply.

"You can trust me, Anya," he says and squeezes my palm. "Let me help you."

I take in a deep breath.

"Yes," I say. "It's been happening for a few weeks now."

"What do you see?"

"The world, destroyed." His expression is unreadable. "I see fire and death. Then I hear screams; horrible screams."

I let out an exhale and it feels so good to let it out. I almost cry in relief.

We sit in silence for a brief moment and I try to gauge his reaction, but his face remains expressionless.

"What does it mean?" I ask.

"Dreams don’t always have a specific meaning. Sometimes it's just random stuff generated by your subconscious."

"This isn't random. It feels so real," I say, my tone insistent. "When I dream, I feel present. It's almost like... like it’s a memory."

I think I see panic flash briefly across his face.

"What do you mean by memory?"

"I don't know, okay!" I yell. "I don't know anything! That's why I'm here, searching for some goddamn answers!"

I slump into my seat; fatigue rising in me again.

"I just want them to stop," I whisper. "I can't sleep properly. I'm too scared, even during the day."

"Like on the cable car?"

Fear immediately drowns me as a cold sensation and I stand to my feet, moving away from him.

"How do you know about the car?"

He shakes his head.

"Anya, I can explain. I-"

He tries to approach me but I pull out the pocket knife I stuffed in my boot for protection earlier and I point it at him.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"Anya, relax. Put the knife down, and let's talk."

"I said, who the fuck are you!?" I yell, my arm trembling as I steady the knife pointed in his direction.

"We just want to help you, Anya?"

"We? Who is we?"

Realisation hits me.

I’m so stupid.

Markus. His whole personality. The shady dark web profile.

"You work for the government."

"Yes," he says. His face is a calm, cold stare.

Regret stabs my heart and my conscience screams at me.

Coming here was a bad idea and I knew it.

Now I'm alone with someone that can make me disappear without a trace and I just openly confessed to breaking a law that I didn't know existed.

"But, why?" I ask.

"Not every question should be answered. Some things are best left alone."

"I thought I could trust you."

He doesn't reply to me and I need to get out of here.

My eyes look around for an escape point.

The only door is the one through which we came in. I think I can run fast enough to get to it, but not with Markus' full attention on me.

He'll definitely catch me.

"I can't let you leave, Anya," he says.

"What are you going to do to me?" I ask, my mind frantically searching for ways to distract him.

"If the chip doesn't suppress you, even mildly, then we can't risk you being loose. You're the closest we’ve ever had."

"Closest? Closest to what?"

"Like I said, Anya. Some questions are best left unanswered."

There's a lamp on the table behind me and immediately I feel it graze my fingertips, I grab it and throw it at him.

He catches it easily but the split second distraction is enough for me and I sprint towards the door.

I'm fast, but not fast enough and Markus grabs my waist from behind and lifts me off the ground.

He's surprisingly strong for someone his build and I kick and scream as he drags me, but his grip never falters.

I try to stab him with my knife, but he grabs my arm and knocks the metal out of my hand.

He's lifting me across the room when I push my two legs on the wall and the momentum knocks us both to the ground.

I land on my feet and he falls flat on his back. I run for my knife but he grabs my left foot.

He drags me towards him but I reach for the knife with all my strength. When I grab it, I let him drag me closer to him, then I plunge the knife clean into his right shoulder.

He shouts in pain and releases his grip on my foot. I hop to my feet and run out of the door into the hallway.

I sprint in the direction we came in, desperate to get away.

When I finally burst out onto the open street, I take a minute to catch my breath then I turn towards the direction of my house and start running again.

---

I'm going to take the chip out.

It's the reason for all this. It's the reason I keep having these terrible dreams. It's the reason I can't get any sleep. I know that I'll regret this decision in the morning. It's reckless and I'm probably delirious due to my lack of sleep but I don't care anymore.

After I take it out, I’ll tell mom all that has been happening. Markus and his government cronies will probably be here soon. She needs to know what to expect.

I take in a deep breath and steady the razor.

I look at myself in the mirror and I don't recognise the girl that looks back at me. She's battered and beaten and she just wants relief.

I bite down on my towel and slowly pierce my neck with the knife. Blood immediately pools onto my arm and the floor and the pain is hot, but I ignore it. The chip is not planted deep and I twist the knife around slightly till I touch it and then I slowly draw it out.

Immediately I pull the chip out, I feel light-headed.

I'm still bleeding but it's done, the chip is out.

I stare at the tiny capsule between my fingers and I smile slightly.

I pull out a needle and thread to sew the bleeding spot, but a fresh wave of nausea hits me.

I fall to my knees as the world spins around me.

First I see a bright, bliding light.

Then the darkness envelops me.

---

When I open my eyes again, I'm lying on my back in a pool of cold water.

I'm dressed from toe to head in a fitted white overall and the water covers everywhere except my head.

There's a light material strapped to my head like a helmet. I strain my neck as best as I can to inspect my environment and I realise that I'm in a coffin-shaped box.

I try to wriggle my body but the space is confined and I start to panic.

I'm about to scream when the water starts to drain out from beneath me as the cover of the box also opens simultaneously, moving from right to left.

I drag myself to sit up, removing the helmet from my head and blinking furiously as I try to focus my vision.

My eyes finally clear up and the first thing I see is a woman standing over me with two large men flanking her.

She's tall and dressed in a white skirt and matching white blouse. Her hair is packed in a bun and she's holding a clipboard.

She stares at me with a slight annoyance then she smiles slightly.

"I'm not thrilled to see you awake, Anya," she says. "Come. We have a lot to discuss."

She turns and walks away without another word.

One of the huge men follows her, while the other stays with me, his arms folded behind his back.

I climb out of the box and as I plant my bare feet on the cold floor, a wave of vertigo hits me.

My stomach clenches and I hold the side of the box to steady myself. I take a moment to breathe then I stand up again.

When I turn around I see hundreds, maybe thousands, of pods similar to the one I just came out of lined on the ground and spread in every direction.

Walking slowly, I inspect every pod I pass by.

There's a person in every one, asleep and submerged in water and there's a number printed on each pod.

What the hell is this place?

We walk for long time till we reach an elevator.

The door opens and we get in, then the man presses a button and we start to rise.

We stand in silence for what feels like an eternity, till it finally comes to a stop.

He leads me down a hallway to a door and gestures for me to go in. When I do so, he shuts the door behind me.

I'm in an office.

There's a large screen at the side of the room, hanging above a console with multiple buttons.

In the centre of the room, the woman is sitting in front of a table and she gestures for me to sit on the couch opposite her.

She writes on her clipboard for a while, then she looks at me and clears her throat.

"What's the last thing you remember, Anya?" she asks.

"Um," I say, straining my memory to remember. "I think I fainted in my bathroom. I took my chip out."

She sighs deeply. "You really shouldn’t have gone through the trouble."

Her condescending tone irritates me so I glare at her.

"Who are you? What is this place? Why am I here and how do you know my name?"

She’s not taken aback by my outburst.

"My name is Michelle and I run this facility."

"Okay. And what is this facility?"

"Let’s just call it humanity's last hope," she says.

I half-expect her to burst out laughing but her expression is grave.

"There's no easy way to explain this, Anya. So I'll just show you."

She walks over to the console and presses a button.

A video plays on the screen, it shows a large world, filled with trees and large oceans, and so many people.

They're happy and laughing and beautiful. I can’t help but smile.

"This was Earth fifty years ago," she says. "And this is the Earth you grew up in."

The image changes and now the beautiful world is gone, ravaged by chaos.

The oceans are dried up, the cities are burned and the once happy people are dying and starving in the desolate streets.

"You've seen these images before," Michelle says to me.

"Yes," I whisper. "In my dreams."

"Those weren't dreams, Anya," she replies softly. "Those were your memories. From about thirty years ago."

I stare at her blankly.

"I'm only seventeen."

She nods.

"You've been seventeen for the past thirty years."

I let out a laugh and I return to sit on the couch. I think my head is spinning.

"What do you mean?"

Michelle doesn't return my humour.

"The world was blessed. We lived in a paradise. There was so much life and so much peace and we were happy."

She pauses and now the sorrow is clear on her face.

"But humans, we have a knack for taking things for granted, don't we? We neglected the earth and she started to bleed. The climate began to change rapidly and pollution was at an all-time high. Humanity was blossoming but our home was dying.

Before we knew it, the resources started to dwindle and in less than a decade the billions of people left on Earth were fighting for scraps. Then the wars came, nations destroyed nations as they fought for the little life that remained. It was a long and terrible war. Many people died."

She turns to look at me and shakes her head.

"So many people died. Food became scarce. What was left was impossible to feed those who were left and then the oceans dried to dust. We never thought it was possible."

I squeeze my eyes shut, remembering the haunting images from my dreams- my memories.

"We were going to die and it was the only way to save us," she says. "We envisioned that in another decade, the Earth would become complete bare. So the world powers mustered what was left of their strength to create a program designed to preserve a fraction of humanity.

The hope was that if they could somehow survive, our future could maybe survive too. The selection process was rigorous. We chose only the healthiest and the best, across all ages and races and we implanted them with those chips and brought their bodies here."

My hands start to tremble.

"You were among the ones chosen, Anya. You alongside other tens of thousands of others. We uploaded your subconscious unto a specially created dream system and a special fluid was created to preserve your bodies. The chips kept you in the dream and suppressed your memories of the past and its events. Removing it, is what woke you up."

My stomach clenches in anxiety as I process my thoughts.

"No, that's not possible," I say, shaking my head furiously. "You can't say that was all a dream. No. I've lived for there years. That is my home, it's all I've ever known. My mother is there."

My voice breaks at the last part and Michelle gives me a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry Anya, but your real mother died in the war, many many years ago. The woman you think is your mother is just a creation by the dream system. We call them projections. They populate the world alongside the humans and ensure that everything runs smoothly. They keep things… realistic, you can say. The government officials, the police and soldiers? All projections. Markus was a projection too."

I shake my head harder in disbelief. This is all too much for me.

"No!" I yell, bolting to my feet. "No, you're lying."

"The system keeps fragments of memories for you to remember in the dream, just little enough so your mind doesn't feel anything is missing. Think about it, Anya. Do you remember anything from your childhood?"

I strain my brain, thinking hard. Trying to remember something, anything.

But, I can't.

My mind feels like it's in a large void, and every memory escapes from me as I try to grab it.

Tears pour down my cheek as I realise that she's right.

My whole life, everything I've ever known, was a simulation.

A lie.

"I know this is a lot," Michelle says after a moment of silence. "But it's the truth. We had it all planned out, you know. There were even fail safe measures for times like this. Every angle was covered, except for you, Anya. You are the only anomaly."

I wipe my eyes and look at her.

"Somehow, your subconscious bypassed the chip's control and you were able to see glimpses of your past life. Somehow, it knew that something was wrong and that's why you felt so driven for answers and why you did something as reckless as taking the chip out. We don't understand it, but we want to see it as a gift. A gift that could be the final key in our plan."

"What plan?" I ask with a sniffle. Michelle walks over and sits beside me.

"Anya," she says, placing her hand on my palm. "Thirty years have passed since the pods were first closed. We have seventy years left. Seventy years till we estimate that the Earth would be habitable again. She has already begun to heal herself; slowly but surely. Seventy years. Then the pods will open and humanity will be free to repopulate the world."

"What do you want from me?"

"You have to make a choice." Her voice is gentle. "You can stay here and learn from us. Help ensure that everything runs smoothly until it’s time. But know this, simulation or not, you'll forget your mother, the life you thought you knew, and you will begin to age normally, just like everyone else. Which means in a few years, you too will die."

I gulp. "And my other option?"

“YoU already know the truth so you go back to living your normal life, every day, like you were doing before. But you have to be careful, Anya. You can't let anybody else know what you've discovered. Your brain might be able to handle learning that the entire world you live in is a lie, but a regular human brain simply cannot.

We will send you projections to teach you all about the world before, so you can learn from the mistakes of the past. So, in seventy years, when the pods open, you'd have been the only one who was truly conscious. And we hope that you'd lead the new age of humans."

I'm hyperventilating by the time she's done. I'm overwhelmed and scared and a million other emotions all at once.

"Take your time," Michelle says and she leaves me alone in the room.

I sit in silence, trying to get a gauge on my thoughts.

Everything I know has been exposed as a lie.

It doesn't matter whether I stay or go.

There's nothing for me anywhere.

Do I stay here or do I go home?

If I can even still call it my home.

I sit in silence for a few minutes, pondering every thought.

By the time Michelle comes back in, I have made my decision.

I choose reality.

My reality.

---

---

---

Oh, how I love all my female protagonists. 😌

More to come.