1

Eric Thomas felt a tingling sensation that paralyzed his body and slowed his thoughts to Crawl. He managed to catch a glimpse of the bright blue laser that shot out at him just before it went dark.

He hardly ever dreamt anymore; When he did it was usually the same dream, every time.

He felt dazed, like walking in total darkness with a beam of light visible only when a vehicle haphazardly sped by. Eric assumed he was on a highway that stretched straight across an open field. Walking for what seemed like hours, a light, shooting straight up could eventually be seen in the distance. Heading for the light meant leaving the highway behind and plunging deeper into the unknown abyss. Following the light, like a moth to a candle, Eric walked across the open fields. The light grew brighter until the source was finally visible. It lied in a crater the size of a small city, nestled beneath the horizon. It shot straight up from the ground. As Eric moved closer his outstretched arms began emitting a pale blue glow. His vision was blurred and the light seemed to make its way into his mind leaving him staggered, almost blind. Suddenly a figure emerges in the distance.
The white glowing silhouette could be seen sitting in the light, Eric cautiously approached. He got so close he could almost touch the figure, but something held him back. The figure steeped in the aura of the powerful light radiating from behind noticed his presence and slowly rose. As it stood, its long hair lent itself to the breeze as golden tresses were ravaged by the soft wind. Fully erect the shape revealed the slender frame of a young woman. She stood silently and motioned for Eric to come closer.

He didn't, couldn't.

All his body would allow him to do was slowly move away from her. He could feel himself apologizing but heard nothing. The light began to fade and the woman with it.

It was gone. Nothing to be seen. Nothing to be heard. Only a crater remained in the middle of that open field.

2

The sensation of falling woke Eric up. He quickly braced himself for a hard landing and instinctively put his arms out in front of himself. It startled him when his hands slammed on the table. His heart pumped loudly in his throat and his head was off pounding and felt as though it were about to rip itself apart. Still, Eric was relived to discover that he still in one piece and safe. Yet something was wrong. His surroundings had changed. The chair he was sitting in felt different. The desk had changed as well. Everything was coated in a transparent dark shade of blue. He was still dreaming, he had to be and he knew it. He headed out of the room and ran into the bigger space he had just on the other side. The larger room seemed to be an exact replica of the arcade he was in before he'd fallen asleep.
This arcade however was pulsing with light blue squares that dotted all the walls. Eric walked out the door and into a city, bustling with movement and rife with sound. Nobody seemed to notice Eric as he walked through the crowd examining their [strange cyber punk] like style. The sky roared with a dark storm, illuminated by the pale blue light of the skyscrapers. The streets were made of a polished glass that reflected the monolithic structures making it all seem like it was all sitting on a very still lake.

His dreams were never this detailed, never this real. It was easy for him to get lost in the strange splendor of this neon-blue city. He had never seen anything like it. He had also never felt this kind of pain before. It shot into his back and sent a shock wave of acute pain from his temples to his feet. He tumbled to his knees gritting his teeth, unable to open his mouth and scream. Whatever hit him was closer now and buzzing loudly in his ear.

A deep synthesized voice bark out to him from behind. "Stay on your knees program. Strays are not permitted in the city without Minders."

Eric was cuffed and dragged off the streets and put in a futuristic egg-like car. Like most of the architecture of this city, the car was laced with neon strips of light. The car's lights were green contrasting the blue that was prevalent everywhere else. Shoved into the back, Eric glanced at his captor and saw that he was fit in a black leather suit that had similar neon green strips that moved up and down his arms and chest as if they were tracing the path of his blood. He tried to catch a glimpse of his captors visage but could only see his own reflection in a black mask resembling a motorcycle helmet.
The car door was slammed shut before Eric could make out anymore details. He lay there in pain, in what seemed to be the trunk. The car hummed loudly and began to move. It was a smooth ride heading down the glass road.

Eric closed his eyes and felt himself falling asleep. He hoped it meant he was waking up, He knew he wasnt. The belief that he was still in a dream had left. Listening to the hum of the car relaxed him and the pain subsided.

"Where am I?" he whispered to himself "How did I get here?" It was hard to remember what he had done before he woke up. "Where am I going?" He looked up to check if the trunk had any windows. It didn't.

The car came to a stop and the door opened. The man in the helmet grabbed Eric by the arm and brought him outside. They stood on a platform that overlooked a large canyon. The Canyon walls seemed unnatural and sharp as if they were sculpted. There was a strong breeze that stung his eyes forcing him to squint. Eric made out other men on the far end of the platform dressed in the same neon green suit of his captor. They held in hand grand maces that shone green at the top and made a threatening humming noise. He recognized the humming to be what had hit him in the back earlier.
Through the howls of the wind, he heard the men speak.

"A stray?", one of them said. The helmets they wore seemed to synthesize their voice, which made them all sound like each other.

"Yes, he was wandering the streets over by the Arcadia Zone"

"Has he lost his data yet?"

Eric couldn't see their eyes but felt their gaze fall on him.

"Stray! Identify!"

He thought about responding but didn't. Instead he listened to the wind and tried to drown out the terrible hum of the \bsetters.

"We will assume that he has wiped"

"Then he goes to the games?" Eric couldn't hear the wind anymore. Only the humming.

"Yes, he goes to the games".