My brain throbs and a sharp pain stings as if a knife is plunged straight through my skull. I wince but I don't have any strength to move, speak or even open my eyes. My body lays limp on a soft bed that I immediately recognize as mine. In the distance I hear muffled voices and struggle to make their words into sentences.
"I'm heading to the house. Got to send a message back to base that she's okay and we've begun dilation" says a familiar female voice.
"You sure you don't need any help? Dylan said they put up new firewalls in the programme to block any unwanted transmissions going in and out. We don't want them to trace the message back" replies the male voice I can so easily match to the green eyes and perfectly toned muscles.
Sheena giggles and reassures Jason she'll be fine. Then she orders him to stay with me until I regain consciousness.
I hear the front door close followed by the slight annoying squeak of the gate. I remind myself to oil the hinges when I wake up. The sound of footsteps fill the passage and before I know it I sense a presence in the room. A presence I now know all too well.
The weight of the bed shifts. A hand brushes over mine and fingers interlock between mine. I feel his eyes on me. He sighs and places a soft kiss on the back of my hand.
"I love you" I think I hear him whisper.
I feel like sitting up and holding him. I could look in his eyes and maybe all my memories of him will return right away. I know I need more dilation for that. Only our childhood memories returned so far and even then I knew, as a child in a pink frilly dress, that he would be the one to take my heart.
The little strength in me diminishes and sleep slowly takes me.
The smell of bacon seems to call to my rumbling stomach which wakes me up. I wake up and slowly reintroduce my body to movement. My strength seems to be replenished except for the hunger that makes my abdomen feel hollow. I rush in and out of the shower. I throw on a pair of leggings and a slightly ill-fitting shirt before rushing into the kitchen.
Sheena greets me while flipping a pancake and I smile and greet back. This time I smile with meaning while remembering her cook in her old kitchen. She would make the pancakes in shapes of animals. Jason and I would guess which animals they were and would occasionally end up arguing over who was more 'cleverer'.
"Where's Jason?" I ask trying to sound uninterested.
She lets out a soft giggle and replies. "He just left to freshen up"
"Okay" I say feeling a little sad for some reason. "I'm starved. Can I get some of that aromatic bacon and pancakes?"
"Aromatic is such a step up from 'goodly smelling'. You would say that all the time when you were younger" She lets out a laugh and I join in remembering the memory crisply.
"I'll be right there" she reassures me when my stomach howls embarrassingly.
She hands me a plate and tells me that she will be away all day with a friend of hers who will help us get out of the programme when the time comes. She advised me to spend the day going over the memories that have been returned to me. I want to ask where Jason will be but she is his mother so I shy away with a slight blush and ignore the matter.
She leaves and I proceed to gobble down the food on my plate. After washing up I head to the lounge. I pop open the recliner and lie down. My eyes close slowly and I recall everything the dilation brought back yesterday. The memories of my life. My real life.
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The System
Science FictionAlannah finds out the life she's been living is a complete lie. She's trapped in one of many biological programmes and her memories have been replaced with a life she thinks is hers. The programmes are controlled by The System. They are a small team...
