Too Broke For Afterlife

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"Well, well, well. Wasn't this predictable?"

The door falls shut behind me with a loud bang and I'm surrounded by complete darkness. I can't even see my own hands.

The female voice starts laughing.

"How ridiculous! You're both pretty much dead, yet you want to be a hero. What are you trying to save?"

"Who are you?" I yell. I can't identify where the voice is coming from and then suddenly it is behind me.

Her laughter turns into a soft chuckle, she starts purring. 

"Aren't you just adorable? Running around, looking for your friend. How precious. I just want to pinch your soft little cheeks."

Ignoring the creepy comment, I turn to grab the door handle but it's locked. I'm trapped.

"What is going on here?"

Also, am I wrong or does it smell a bit strange?

I try to identify it and take a deep breath through the nose. 

Is this...gas?

The woman's voice gets louder.

"Welcome to your biggest nightmare!"

Feeling dizzy, I lean against the wall.

"I hope you came prepared. It would be boring to annihilate you without a proper fight."

I slide onto the ground, my stomach is turning.

"Oh, are you feeling sick?" The voice is coated in evil. "Maybe you should take a nap then. We'll see each other again soon."

And that is the last thing I hear.

<<<

Muffled voices.

"Beep, beep, boop."

"Howard, stop it."

"Look dude, I'm a robot!"

"Take that clamp off your nose or I'll never invite you to work again."

I try to move and turn my head around. 

My eyelids are heavy and once I manage to open them, I immediately regret it.

What is this now?

Bright light is blinding me and I seem to be inside a modern laboratory.

Everything is white and with the cold metal underneath my body I assume I'm lying on some sort of table.

I can't get up or feel around as my arms and legs are being held tightly to my body with the help of leather straps.

Luckily, I am still fully clothed.

"Oh, she woke up! She woke up!"

A face is pressing itself against perspex and I look at a young man with messy brown hair, a big nose and green eyes. He is wearing a white lab coat with a band tee underneath.

A second man appears next to him. Unlike his friend, he seems very annoyed. His red curly hair is combed neatly and doesn't fit to the rest of his bulldog head.

HIs eyes are freezing cold but luckily it's not me he is looking at.

"Sit down."

He pushes the man back into his seat.

"This is super important and you're acting like a child."

"Stop being so uptight, dude. This is awesome! It's like Frankenstein."

"It's nothing like Frankenstein!"

I watch the two men argue as I try to figure out what's going on.

The ginger man must be a scientist who brought his friend along to experiment on me. Is this what the voice meant with 'your biggest nightmare'? Are they going to torture me?

Apart from them there is nobody else in sight and the lack of doors and windows makes me believe we are still underground, maybe in some kind of bunker.

My hands turn into fists as I realize how screwed I am.

"Guys!" 

They don't seem to hear me as they continue their fight. I sigh.

"GUYS!"

The two heads turn to me.

The jokester's mouth drops open.

"She spoke."

"Of course she did," his friend hisses at him. Then he turns to me. "What do you want?"

Okay, Judy. Choose your words wisely, you may only have one chance before they electrocute you.

I put on a pleading face. Nobody can withstand puppy eyes.

"What are you doing with me? I'm scared."

"Don't worry, soon you won't feel anything anymore." The redhead snickers.

I guess I was wrong.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"No, not at all."

Thank god.

"We are simply going to hack into your code so that we can control your body."

Oh.

Wait. What?

"As you can't feel proper pain, it won't hurt. So don't worry."

"Why are you doing this? Do you work for the Mayor?"

The guy rolls his eyes. "I'm done talking."

He presses a button and I watch as the perspex loses its transparency.

"Wait! Let me go! I didn't do anything!"

But my pleading is met by deaf ears.

F*ck. I knew I shouldn't have gone on my own. F*cking Clemens! They are going to turn me into a puppet!

I try to free myself but instead the leather straps dig themselves into my skin. 

With my ripping and turning blood starts trickling down the table. 

I remember the story of a climber who once saved his life by breaking his own arm which was jammed between rocks.

I can't even do that!

I'm going to die.

This is my end.

A whimper escapes my mouth.

'Judy?'

I stop and look around. But there is nobody there.

'Is that you?'

I recognize the voice immediately but can't tell where it's coming from.

"Isa? Where are you?"

'Shh, don't speak!'

Wait.

Is her voice inside my head?

'Yes. I can read your thoughts. What's going on?'

Of course, now there's also telepathy!

'You're asking ME? Where are you? Where am I? What are they doing to me?'

I try to calm myself with a deep breath. It's still working, good.

'I don't know where I am, they kidnapped me. Where are you?'

Great. She got kidnapped. Again.

'Isa, you really attract trouble.'

'Shut up.' She sounds mad even though I'm the one who is now in trouble because of her.

'I'm inside a laboratory. I'm tied up. They said they'd hack into my body so I'd lose control.'

I wait for Isa's advice but she stays quiet.

'Hello?'

'I'm sorry, I can't help you. I'm locked inside a room. I tried everything to break the door open but it's hopeless.'

Well. Now I'm f*cked officially. When even Isa doesn't know what to do…

These may be my last moments ever.

I chuckle.

'This is the worst birthday I've ever had.'

'It's your birthday? Oh my god, I forgot! I'm so sorry.'

I shake my head even though she can't see it.

'It's fine. The last few weeks have been a lot. I only know because I was counting days.'

Isa sounds sad. 'I feel like wishing you a happy birthday would be the wrong thing to do.'

'At least I get to hear your voice. And hey, if we survive this, maybe you can take me to your house in Corfu next year.'

Imagine. Lying on the beach, above you the sun. Earth is so beautiful.

'I'd have to buy one first, silly. I don't have any houses in Corfu. Only one in Switzerland. Where is that anyway? Greece?'

Confused, I furrow my eyebrows.

What's this about?

'You do, you told me at the auction. Don't you remember?'

'I don't. Sorry to disappoint you, baby.'

I don't understand what's going on here. I'm 100% sure Isabella had told me about Greece, that's the address she used to fill in the form! How can she possibly forget that? Did she get manipulated as well or…?

Suddenly, I get a really bad feeling.

I'm reminded of my dream with the mountain hut. Lexa warned me about something when I downloaded the data package.

'Isa?'

'Yes?'

'What does it mean when you overwrite data?'

I think those were her words.

'Why are you asking me that? I'm not a tech expert.'

'But do you know?'

My hands turn into fists again as I try to calm myself down. Maybe I'm wrong.

'Yeah, it means you replace data with new one.'

'So the old data gets lost?'

'Yes.'

Oh no. 

Does that mean by downloading the data package I've erased parts of her memory in real life? I wonder what else she has forgotten. 

But there is no time to play guessing games with her. As bad as her memory loss is, it also gives me an idea. 

What if the quote on quote data isn't limited to the brain? 

What if the house in Switzerland is the mountain hut I created in my dreams? I might have actually brought it into existence! 

What can I change about Isabella's life to get her out of that room?

'Judy? Are you still there?'

'I have an idea but I need to leave for that.'

'Leave? I thought you're tied up?'

'Yes but…'

I can't explain this to her. Isabella can't find out about DREAMS and the things I've been doing.

"Lexa," I whisper.

"How may I help you?"

"I'd like to start another session. Now."

"Registered. Preparing for sleep."

I take another deep breath as I wait.

'Who are you talking to? Is there someone else?'

'I'll explain everything when I'm back. As soon as you can open the door, come find me. Okay?'

'What do you mean?'

But I don't get a chance to answer.

"Falling asleep in 3, 2, 1."