Alternative

| Chapter Fourteen

"Okay, okay, baby, I need you to sit right here." I had requested Alt-Life's premium upload room for this day. Emery's dream to fly in the skies was easier said than done, but I couldn't just let any agent do it. I needed to be the one to grant her such memories. My laptop would be the one responsible; my fingers would hit submit.

Emery giggles as she sits across from me on an Alt-Life upload bed. It's metal base is covered by the softest mattress available today. A memory foam pillow waits for her head to press down against it. Instead of lying down, she looks at her, her fingers fidgeting in front of her. She's so nervous. It's cute.

"Em, come on." I sit on the seat across from her. "It'll only be like five minutes and I swear you'll love it."

Emery lifts just her eyes to look at me. "Like I love you?" she asks.

I bite my lip before I smirk. A sultry chuckle leaves me. "Well, probably not as much. But close enough."

"Oh yeah?" In a teasing way, Emery leans back against the bed. Her hand presses against the pillow, her nails dig into the foam. I notice the way her chest lifts and falls, I see the pink on her cheek.

If I knew the excitement of flying would get her like this, I wouldn't have requested the room at Alt-Life facilities. I would've done this at home, in bed, and flow high with her.

"Yeah," I say, biting my lip.

"I believe you," she winks at me as she leans back against the bed, "but I think later on you're going to have to remind me that you're better."

Emery reaches for the spheres placed on a small table beside her bed. Per instructions, she places them on her temple. The little circles turn blue on impact.

I can't help but watch her instead of my computer screen. I hear the confirmation and it's all I need. Nothing can stop me from watching the love of my life.

"Emery," I say to her, to bring her attention to me once more before the spheres take over. When she looks at me, I blow her a kiss. "I love you."

She pretends to catch my kiss in the air and presses it to her chest. She blows me one in return. "I love you," she whispers.

As she turns her head back to look at the ceiling, I watch her expression change. I've seen plenty of uploads before, on numerous clients, but to see it on Emery was something special. Her cheeks flush over as she closes her eyes. Her breath slows as if she falls asleep. Yet, even in such a calm, she doesn't move her hands; she doesn't let me kiss go.

But the peaceful moment of bliss passes quickly. Before I can blink, think, the spheres on her head turn red. Her hands fall. My eyes widen as my laptop begins to scream every warning in Alt-Life's program.

As the alarms fill the room, I throw my laptop down on the ground as I rush over towards her bed. Without thinking, I rip the spheres off from her temple. They clink as they hurt the floor; the warnings stop. But Emery doesn't open her eyes. She's frozen, lying on the bed as if she will not wake.

Fear strangles me as I turn around and look at the security cameras watching over us. "HELP ME," I shout. "SOMEONE HELP ME!"

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"Em!" I shoot up in bed, sweat covering my body. Moonlight drifts in through my open bedroom window, breaking the shadows across the floor. Watching the white specks of dust drift up in the air, I try and catch my breath. But when Emery's body moves in bed beside me, any air I've taken in hitches in my chest.

"Em..." I forget she had fallen asleep with me. And I'm surprised my scream didn't wake her. Still asleep, she rolls against me. Her hand keeps a blanket pressed up to her face. She looks so calm, so peaceful.

Just like in my dream.

It's been a while since one woke me up with such a scare. Normally they pass through, horrible memories that lead to morning anxieties, but this time it didn't feel like a dream. It felt real. The room was so solid, the sounds of Alt-Life machinery were clearer than ever.

I thought I was right there, starting the program that ruined Emery's life. I was afraid everything that happened was gone, ripped from me, just like it was over a year ago.

Pressing my hand over my face, I stare at the bedsheets in front of me. I try to calm down. But my thoughts are disrupted by my phone buzzing on the nightstand.

I glance over at the light brightening the side of my bed. In the darkness, I can't make out the name of the sender, so I grab it and lift it up to my face. My eyes widen when I read 'Joe Sanchez' as the sender. I don't hesitate to open the message.

It reads, "I think I found something on Elizabeth. I'm going to skip going into the office today, but I'll meet you at her house tomorrow night. Cool?"

I'm not sure if he knows I'm awake, but I respond anyway. I'm curious. "What did you find?" I reply.

The typing ellipses appear. His next message reads, "It's hard to explain. I don't even understand it. You have to see it to believe it."

I feel my blood run cold. What was so interesting about Elizabeth's past that I wouldn't believe it unless I saw it with my own eyes? Did it have to do with that park? That ice cream truck? My fingers can't tap along the phone keyboard fast enough. "Joe, you need to tell me what it is. Should I be worried? Come on."

Another ellipse. A pause. It takes a few minutes for him to send, "I'll show you tomorrow, promise. Go to sleep."

Knowing he won't respond anymore, I drop my phone beside me. After my nightmare, these messages, there's no way I'm sleeping.

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