"We may die, Zoey..."
The sweet sunlight filtered through the blinds and woke me from my slumber. It was my alarm every morning. Rolling over, I draped my arm over on the other side of the bed to find it was empty. Most mornings, I was the first to wake and would always be the alarm clock for everyone else but that wasn't the case today it seems. "He's already up?"
I sat up and stretched before stepping down and making my way to the kitchen. I expected it to be empty but sitting at the table, messing around with his bow was Teep. He looked to me and nodded in greeting. "Good morning," I greeted back. "You're also up early, huh?"
He nodded and went back to messing with his bow.
"Do you know where Rythian has gone?"
Without stopping what he was doing, he gestured towards the door, implying he had left the house without me. I pouted a bit. "That jerk. He said we would go together." Quickly, I got dressed and headed outside. I expected that I would have to chase him down but I was surprised to see him waiting for me.
"Good morning, Sunshine," He greeted me calmly as he stepped off the wall he was leaning on. "Took your time, huh?"
I glared at him but I was happy he was still here. "Don't tease me. I'm usually the first one awake and you know it."
"I guess that's true," He smiled, holding out his hand. "But I win this time. I was so excited to go today that I didn't sleep much, so shall we go?"
It was cute how he was so truthful about his excitement. I was also excited for today. I took his hand. "Sure."
0o0o
"Nonsense. You two are strong. I'll wait here for you."
We held hands as we strolled across the landscape. It was a beautiful day and everything was in full bloom. The delightful smell of flowers wafted through the air and the sky was a soft shade of blue. A smile stayed easily on my face. "We picked a great day to do this."
He nodded, but shrugged, "That's true, even though it is always beautiful. I can't even recall a bad day, can you?"
Slowly, I shook my head. "No... Never... Do you think that's weird?" I looked up at him nervously.
There was a small pause as he looked around at everything before answering. "No... I don't guess so. Having a good day everyday is great, I suppose." He held my hand tighter. "Too bad we are the only people around to enjoy it, though. It's always been just you, me, and Teep."
"Yeah..." I half agreed, "But we don't need a bunch of people bothering us. We only need each other."
"Of course, Zoey. I'm happy with how things are." The way he agreed was forced, but I let it slide because it was a safe enough answer to receive.
Finally, we arrived at our destination. A small volcano that sat all by itself. "Baby Jim!" I exclaimed, releasing his hand.
Rythian showed excitement too but on the inside he wasn't so dishonest. I could tell he found the baby thing weird. Of course, I knew it was to be expected. That's how I wanted it to be. That was how he should be. "It's good to see our baby again."
I reached into my inventory and threw some meat into the lava. "There you go, Baby Jim. I bet you were hungry." With that, I sat down to rest. Rythian joined me.
He laid back and sighed happily. "It really is a nice day..."
Laying beside him, I nodded. "Yep..." Watching him drift off a bit, I fought the urge to drift off as well. It wasn't time for me to sleep yet. I wanted to stay a part of this beauty for a little longer.
0o0o
"They haven't returned..."
We said our goodbye's to Baby Jim before heading back home. The sun was already beginning to set. We had spent a whole day together and our hands were intertwined as we walked back the same way we came. Still, I wasn't as happy as I was on the way there.
"You always hate when bedtime rolls around, don't you?" He asked, looking at the sky which was fading to dark.
"Yeah, I do..." I answered, looking up with him.
"Why?" he questioned me further as the dark moved in more. "Do you have nightmares?"
I never wanted to talk about it and he never asked me before. Something was changing and I didn't like it. "Something like that..."
It was clear that my answer didn't suffice, but he respected it. "I see... Sorry, I wasn't trying to pry into your privacy. It's just... I've noticed your sleeping patterns recently. You're last to go to sleep and first to wake like the very idea of closing your eyes scares you."
He was noticing a lot of things recently. It made me uneasy and made things harder than they should be. Gripping his hand a bit tighter, I turned and smiled at him. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
The house was dark as we walked in. Teep had already headed to bed and Rythian was on his way to ours. I wasn't tired, but tonight I needed to go to bed early for many reasons. Though staying awake sounded much more pleasant, I let sleep take me and my eyes shut as I drifted away.
0o0o
"I'm all alone now..."
Darkness met me as my eyes opened. My body ached and my stomach growled from hunger. The program was collapsing in on itself and unraveling. I had to shut it down and be dragged back into my own reality.
"Zoey, it has been three days since you initiated the program. I highly recommend-"
"Shut it." I ordered as I sat up and removed the headset and wires from my body. Fatigue plagued me from malnourishment. I had indeed been living within the program for three days which was pushing it but I was fine. I knew what I was doing.
Barely managing to, I got up and dragged myself to the kitchen. Not even using bowls or a cup, I poured milk and cereal into my mouth. The voice followed me. "You wouldn't be so hungry if you didn't spend so much time in the program. It's not healthy."
I wiped my mouth and put everything back where it was. "It's better than being stuck in the real world, Computer. You wouldn't know about that, though."
"I may have no understanding of either world you inhabit, but you created me to keep you from becoming like this because you understood long ago it would happen when you tried to play god and bring them back from the de-"
"Don't say it!" I screamed. "I don't want to hear it! Don't ever remind me of that! I'm fine. Everything is fine. Rythian and Teep are still alive."
"In your program maybe..." It said, looking down on me. "If your program is even working properly."
"It's working fine," I argued. "A.I Rythian is just becoming a bit too aware of himself and his surroundings. I'll just patch it and everything will be fine." Back in the lab, I sat down at the computer and began working on just that.
Again, the voice followed me. "And then what, Zoey? Will you continue to live inside a lie? What about the offer that Xephos and Honeydew gave you? They invited you to work at the Jaffa Factory. Why won't you take it?"
"Because there's nothing there for me,"I answered, as my fingers typed quickly and accurately. "What I want can only be found in the virtual world I have created. Simple as that."
The voice seemed to vanish until it spoke up again, "I wish it was really that simple... It's not my place to judge you, though. Like I said, I'm here to keep you alive, and keep you alive, I shall."
The patch uploaded and I stood up from where I sat. "That's right. You're nothing more than a lifeline. If I wanted, I could make you obsolete so watch who you are talking to." I picked the headset up again and laid down. "I'm going back in."
"Understood. I'm ready to initiate the program."
I put the headset on and closed my eyes. It was time to go back into the beautiful dream that had no nightmares. Reality was the nightmare that I desperately needed to escape.
"Rythian and Teep have been killed. I can't live like this. I can't live in this nightmare! I'll- I'll create a world where they are still alive and hide there! I don't care if it's a lie! It's my last resort!"
A/N: I got this idea while I was working on Surrender. Since Zoey is a scientist, I could see her making her own world through science. She is a strong willed woman but I believe that losing Rythian and Teep would be too much for her, and she would no longer be so optimistic about life, so she creates a world where she can be optimistic even if it isn't real. Dark stuff, Huh? Anyway, how about a review? It will only take a second and it makes my entire day.