Within a Dream - Part 1 Chapter 1

Within a Dream. By Ian Kelley

Prologue

You know how they say that when you almost die your life flashes before your eyes? Well, I know from experience that's nothing like actually dying. You get one hour. That's it. One hour to see everything you had and lost. One hour to try to stop events you know will happen anyway. One hour to try to fix your mistakes, only to see that it's futile. It's crushing. Then, you wake up. At the 25^th hour, you get to live in the real world. The Dream is strange that way. No matter when or how you die, you always wake up at the 25^th. In that hour, you only see everyone else of your generation. None before, none after. And then... You die. Humanity, for all its efforts, never figured out how to bypass that one rule. Until now. Until me.

Part one: The dream.

Chapter One

"We don't know how they made the dream. The ancestors I mean. Maybe they created it by accident, by simply going to sleep. Well, even if it was an accident, it was the best thing we ever made." - Interview with researchers at facility 0042

I ran through the crowded corridor, constantly checking if I was being followed. Seeing no one behind me, I ducked behind a hotdog stand and pulled out my phone, answering it.

"Hey, you still coming to my-" I never heard the rest as the phone was blasted out of my hand.

"Shit!" I yelled, before taking off running again. Finally, I came to an alley and turned around to face my pursuers.

"Well hello, Klein," the man in the front sneered, "where's that money you promised?"

"Give me more time," I said, holding my hand where the bullet had grazed me, "I'm still getting it.

"We agreed on 3 days," he says, before slamming my knee with his cane. Falling to the ground, I groaned as my kneecap was shattered. "Get him, boys," The man said, before leaving. I pass out as the rest of the people walk towards me, guns outstretched.

*****

Sitting inside my apartment, I sighed as I saw the exosuit. It was a newer model, with cushioning and automatic painkiller dispensers, but it would still be a pain to wear. Putting it on, I got up and walked around, without having any pressure on my broken knees. The doctor said I was lucky; said I should've bled out ages before they got there. I knew it wasn't luck. It was the Dream, pitying me. It does that sometimes, having emotions. Some are worried it can get out of control. Others think it's not an it. Yeah right.

I walk to my computer and groan. There're forty messages from my best friend Doug, asking if I'm alright. I see the last one, sent an hour ago. It says he's got the money. About time he paid me back. I had borrowed about 200.000 from the shockers, one of the gangs, to buy a machine. One that isn't in the Dream. I have a few contacts like that, people who mysteriously appear in their 20s to 30s, selling stuff outside the dream. I have no clue how they keep their business running. Only a few people try to run a 25^th business, but those who do have to have connections. I check my watch, then hit the button combination that shows real-time. 15:00. Still enough time. I started walking towards my car to meet my contact.

As I was driving, I noticed some anomalies. One clock flickered between real and Dreamtime, while a cat repeatedly walked out of an alley. Pulling out a small gadget I carried with me, I started making adjustments. Each pulse from the device counteracted the waves emitted from whatever my contact was selling me. I floored the pedal, passing through all the traffic lights effortlessly. It seems the Dream was feeling good today.

When I arrive, I see the man waiting there. He's holding a key, the very metal seeming to pulse against the fabric of the Dream.

"You Klein?" He askes before pulling out another strange device and pressing it to me. He must be extra paranoid, using a scanner hooked into the Researchers database.

"Yeah, you got the key," I say, tossing him the duffel bag and hearing the machine go off before he put it up.

As he handed me the key and put up the scanner, he started explaining. "Great, all you have to do is take this to Research facility 0782 and go into the lot out back." The key was an Item, meaning it existed outside the dream. The Researchers were always interested in Items. It was the way humanity progressed for ages, as Items allowed for pregnancies and caloric consumption, among other things. Some Researchers believe the Dream can manipulate time, as children don't Dream at all once they're born, simply sleeping until the next day. They think that's how the 25^th hour works, not letting anyone enter until it's over. The ongoing mystery is why babies don't die, somehow lasting until the next day, where they meet their parents who have died the day before, or even grandparents from 2 days in the past.

Taking the key, I felt my hand start to tremble. It was almost as if reality itself bent around it, I put it into the special bag that prevented it from interacting with any more of the dream. An exposed non-sentient Item could cause some weird stuff.

"Thanks, this'll come in handy," I grunt, putting the bag into my pocket.

"Probably won't get to use it that long... Unless," he starts, "Hey on one of the tapes we watched on our parents before Dreaming I think I saw you..."

"Probably my dad, we look pretty similar," I say before leaving so he can't say anything. Damn, he's onto me. I might want to take a Real deal

Walking away I turned the corner then immediately ducked back around. Shit. Another gang was here. The gangs that operated in the dream were extremely violent, as they spent most of their life in real-time, and only lived a few years before going to the 25^th. They were looking around, most likely for me. I probably got on their radar after living for too long. The longer you live, the more it hurts to die.

When you die in the Dream, you don't just wake up on the 25^th. No, that would be too merciful. Instead, you wake up from the endless dreams, as even in the Dream you have a finite life. Each night, on each day's 25^th hour, you go to sleep. Then, you wake up inside another Dream, and the cycle keeps repeating. Waking up is like peeling back the layers of an onion, waking from every dream nearly at once. That's why they say your life flashes before your eyes. Because that's what happens. I've lived for too long, too many Dreams. Sighing. I stand up and walked out of the alley.

"There he is!" The lead yells before taking a shot at me. Running as fast as my exosuit lets me, I bolt through the streets. I pull out a grenade I carry in case of an emergency. The text on the side is simple - Shocker. I pull the pin and throw it backwards. Screams fill my ears. The langers - one of the largest gangs - will get mad at me for that. A shocker is expensive, and worse than death, waking you up and slamming you back into the Dream. It also leaves a big target for anyone looking. Running away, I headed for the drop zone.

*****

Once there, I saw Doug waiting for me. He was holding a large duffel bag, nearly identical to the one I gave to the contact. Taking it from him, I walked into the alley, before seeing the Shockers gathered there.

"So, you got my money, Klein?" The man asked. He was the same man as before. He must be the boss.

"Yeah, 200.000, just like we agreed."

"It's three hundred now," he says, laughing as his man advance a bit closer.

"No, we made a deal," I say through gritted teeth. He pulls out his gun, but I'm faster.

"Well, it looks like we're in a standoff. Bring out his friend!" He yells before his men pull Doug into the light; his hands tied.

"Aw fuck man let me go!" Doug whimpers before they put a noise-cancelling bag over his head. They force him onto his knees and level a gun at his forehead, ignoring his muffled sobs.

"You wouldn't"

"Oh, I would," he responded, cocking the hammer on the gun.

"Fine, you bastard," I reply, pulling out a card with the last of my savings. "It's about 80 grand, check it."

Scanning it, he smiled, "Its legit." He then tossed it to one of his men, who took it and grinned. He lowered the gun and pulled the bag of Doug's head. Now go, before I change my mind.

Looking around, Doug sighs, "Oh man, they jumped me as I was leaving, I thought for sure I would-" Before he could finish, the boss raised the gun and shot his head.

"SHIT!" I yelled, before pulling mine and shooting the nearest, running to hide behind cover. I yanked out a knife and flung it at the nearest man, before yanking it out of him and throwing it at another man holding an Uzi. As he went down I threw a mini grenade at the leader, but he was already behind a truck. A large fireball exploded from it as the gas tank blew, with the leader caught in it. Thinking he was dead, I walked towards him, pulling out my pistol and loading in another clip. As I approached the truck I saw a form through the smoke stagger up and go into the street before I could shoot.

He disappeared into the crowd, and I cursed as shooting would alert the cops. Trying to make it through, I hit a car as hard as I could, making the alarm go off. The crowd parted, flinching in recoil from the loud noise. Seeing him exposed, I chased after him, before he darted into an alley."Got him" I thought, before running into the alley, immediately knocked over by his fist.

Kicking his knee out with my exosuit, I smile as I hear something shatter. He screams before viciously slapping me in the chest with a knife. Yelling in pain, I grab the knife and turn it on him, stabbing his arm. Seeing an opening, he hits me in the crotch and uppercuts me, following up with a vicious sucker-punch. I grab for a rock and slam it into his face, then using the sharp side to cut his leg. He finally gets the knife back and holds it to my throat smiling

"Should've paid," he says, "See you in the 25t-" he starts before getting cut off by a single gunshot. I turn to see a cop standing there, eyes wide open.

"Did I just..." He stammers, before trailing off.

"Yeah," I groan, "Thanks, you all right"

"Not really, should I call back up?" He manages to get out, before fainting.

*****

Back in my apartment, I finished loading all my weapons into the bag. Equipped with a bandolier of grenades, 18 spare clips of ammo, a Kabar knife, a portable crossbow, a large, silenced sniper rifle, and two pistols. Hearing sirens in the distance, I pressed the button on my phone, causing an air raid siren to go off and start a countdown. Jumping out the window onto the fire escape, I started climbing down. A few blocks later, I hear an explosion followed by intense screams. Good, it seems the bomb worked.

In the confusion, I was able to slip off into an alley and hide behind a dumpster, before hearing footsteps run by. Shit, I guess they're mad about their dead boss. Heading through a back alley, I see a blockade. At first it looks like police, but under further inspection I see one of them has a TKing tattoo. Pulling out my silenced rifle, I lined up a single shot through the heads of all the members. Steadying it on a trash bag, I pull the trigger and took them all out. Perfect. Seeing one had a motorcycle, I grab the keys from his body and start the engine. Speeding away, I hear a helicopter. Well fuck.

The helicopter is gaining on me, and I see a bridge ahead. Gotta get there fast. As soon as I get under, I jump off the motorcycle and into a truck bed. The motorcycle shoots out with no rider and I follow up by sniping the helicopter's pilot. It spirals down before hitting a caravan. Ducking under a tarp in the truck, I don't hear a van ramming into the truck.

Jumping out, I duck behind the truck and throw a grenade behind me, before slamming another clip into my pistol. A large explosion sounds as the truck's gas tank explodes, but I'm already climbing onto a roof and pulling out my crossbow. Loading in an arrow, I prime the C-4 tip. One-shot later and 8 members gone. I don't feel regret, as I know they'll wake up in the 25^th hour soon. They're worried now, looking around nervously as they try to find me. Another arrow. Now there's only 2 left. They go back to back, looking around but not up. Finally, I load in a third arrow and take the shot. Done. All the forces after me are gone. Standing up, I put on night-vision goggles and take off into the night, leaving the sirens and gangs behind me.