Episode 27
For the Girl Who Has Everything
"Erika! Time to wake up, Birthday Girl!"
Erika yawned as the voice broke through her snooze, shaking her awake from the early morning haze. Already, the siren scent of bacon was wafting in from the kitchen, stubbornly persisting past the closed bedroom door to tempt her with an alluring promise. With a light, admitting smile, Erika rose from the covers as the new day greeted her through the window.
Eighteen. It felt so strange; so much importance on a two-digit number, and yet the day was beginning like any other. It almost felt anti-climactic. Just an ordinary morning, save for the cooked breakfast, and Erika could only assume that it was only the start of the plans in store for her. Ready to face the music with a smile on her face, Erika gleefully rose from the bed to see what awaited her.
The scene in the kitchen didn't disappoint. The sizzling bacon greeted her excitedly, luring her closer to where her dad was flipping the pieces.
"There she is," he beamed. "First day as an adult, and she's already sleeping in."
"Learned from the best," Erika replied as she less than sneakily inched a strip from the pan. "I didn't think you'd be in this morning."
"Got the shift switched," her dad replied. "There's no way I'd miss any of my best girl's special day."
"Careful," a mature, feminine voice warned from over at the table. "Keep talking to her like that, and she might think you'll buy her a car."
With a laugh at her father's expense, Erika spun toward the voice's source. A woman in her early forties, with straight black hair that matched Erika's own, tied back in a messy bun.
"Good morning, Birthday Girl," the woman smiled warmly.
Erika couldn't help but beam back, her lips grinning from ear to ear as she skipped over to plant a kiss on the woman's cheek with gleeful appreciation. "Good morning, Mom."
And as she did, the woman reached up to embrace her, pulling Erika into a hug that, while she wasn't sure why, she longed to never end. She had seen the woman every morning, every day of her life, and yet, for some reason, this embrace meant more to Erika than she could ever have possibly imagined. At last, they parted, and Erika pulled herself from her mother's arms as her father eagerly served breakfast at the table. And as he did, Erika took her place, eager to celebrate such an important day with the people she loved most.
She was content.
Lena was the last to arrive, pulling into the lot out front of the building to see the others were already waiting.
"Sorry!" she professed. "I need to make a last-minute stop."
"It's okay," Abbey smiled. "We only just arrived."
"Yeah," Valerie giggled. "These two were too busy being lost in each other's eyes to keep track of time."
Lena raised an eyebrow, snickering at the inference as Abbey and Miguel turned bright red. One week into their teammate's new relationship, the teasing was showing no sign of relenting. Even Val, by proxy, seemed to be getting in on it.
Abbey pulled a face, turning around to face Valerie's mocking head-on. "Um, excuse me? Did we give you guys this much grief when you and Erika started dating?"
"Hmm, let me think," Val considered. "I don't remember dancing around Erika so obviously, for so long, to the anguish of everyone else. Do you guys remember that?"
"Nope, not me," Zeke agreed.
"I was still being evil then," Lena admitted. "So, I'll have to decline to comment."
Abbey rolled her eyes with a smile as Miguel chuckled in acceptance beside her, and the party made for the building's main door before ascending the internal stairs toward Erika's apartment. As they rose, Lena suddenly saw a box in Abbey's hands, eyes widening as she realized the obvious.
"Oh no!" she gasped. "I forgot a gift!"
"I only have this because I saw it and couldn't resist," said Abbey, gesturing with the box.
"Don't worry about it," said Val. "Erika's not super big on gifts anyway. She'll just be happy that you came."
"Besides," Zeke agreed as he held up a lone, small envelope. "She's not exactly the easiest person in the world to buy presents for."
"Dude?" Miguel noted as he eyed the small, folded paper in Zeke's hands. "You went with a gift card?"
"No," Zeke insisted before admitting more sheepishly. "Cash."
A collective groan sounded among the group, a jovial disapproval of Zeke's supposed minimal effort.
"What?" Zeke protested. "I wanted Erika to get something she wanted, and no one will know that better than her."
"Yeah," Miguel admitted. "There's nothing worse than someone pushing a gift on you just because they like it."
They finally reached the floor they needed, Abbey swearing that the steps got steeper every time she came around as Valerie knocked on the door.
No answer.
"Isn't her dad home?" Zeke asked as they stared at the threshold.
"He had a morning shift he couldn't get out of," Valerie explained. "They're celebrating tonight. Erika's probably just sleeping in."
Acknowledging there wouldn't be an answer, Valerie pulled out a key, immediately earning a chorus of whistles and hoots from the others.
"Oooh, key to each other's place territory," Abbey noted. "Getting serious."
"This is what things look like when you're not dancing in circles," Valerie snickered back, slotting the key into the lock as she earned an eye-roll from Abbey. "And you guys are way overthinking the whole gift thing. You're acting like you're shopping for the girl who has everything…"
And then she let out a scream.
Every nerve fired to alert as Lena shot to Valerie's side, Abbey matching pace as they raced to the doorframe. Valerie staggered back, hands to her mouth as she gasped in horror at the sight that met her. The other four teens snapped beside her in instinctive defense of a threat. In the space of a heartbeat, a million calculations raced through Lena's mind. Responsibilities for the cause. Erika's house, Valerie screaming. Nothing should have caused that. Nothing good.
And then Lena saw her.
Erika was on the floor, eyes closed with their lids flickering as her body lay unmoving. It was like she'd dropped where she'd been standing, the package in her hand crumbling beside where her body had collapsed to the floor. But they didn't need to look for the cause, it was there, staring at them with sinister menace. A strange, circular device was latched to her chest, with long tendril-like arms reaching around to cling tightly.
There was only one person in the world it could have come from, only one person evil enough to send it.
Xaviax.
A cold fury flared within Lena as she realized the new low. This was more than just an attack in the open street; to strike in their very house was a fresh depth that even Lena wouldn't have expected Xaviax to sink. Hilary had put defenses in place, but evidently, Ender had found a way past them.
"She's not moving," was all Valerie could stammer in wide-eyed terror. "Why isn't she moving?"
Lena was already at Erika's side, Miguel kneeling opposite as Abbey rushed to hold Valerie tight.
"Val, listen to me," Abbey told her, voice shuddering in an attempt to keep calm. "She's going to be okay. Erika's going to be okay." The pleading in her voice betrayed the worry of a different belief.
Lena checked her pulse. "She's breathing; it doesn't look like she's injured."
"Looks like wherever this thing came from, it was inside this box,' Miguel realized as he examined the contents. "There's no tag.'
"We need to get her back to the lab," said Zeke "Hilary will know what to do. She'll get to the bottom of this."
"What even is that?" Miguel asked Lena as he nodded the machine latched to Erika's chest.
But for the life of her, Lena had no idea. She'd never seen anything like it in Ender's files or designs. Whatever it was, it was something Xaviax had kept close to the chest.
"I think she's dreaming," Lena realized, noting the flicking pattern of Erika's eyelids. "It's like she's cut off from everything else. She's in a world of her own."
"So, here's what I was thinking," Ken Nishimura explained as he slid the bacon onto the plate. "Why don't we head down to the Lake? It's a great day for it, and we can even have a picnic."
"A picnic?" Erika shared a knowing look with her mother. "You cook me a full-course breakfast and then want to have a picnic?"
"I mean," her father replied. "I didn't want you to wake up hungry. But if you don't want anymore…"
"No, I'm good with this," Erika said quickly, guarding her plate before her dad could jokingly take it away.
"Well, I agree with your father," her mother added. "I think today would be a great day to spend at the park."
"Uh-huh," Erika noted. "And I don't suppose anyone else would be down there at the same time…?"
"You never know," her father said innocently with a face that was anything but. "We can't tell who might feel similarly."
Again, Erika shared a laughing smile with her mother, the two snickering at her father's insistence on maintaining the charade. Erika knew damn well why he was trying to drag her down to the park; it was where the full surprise party had been set up in her honor. Unfortunately, not only was Erika's dad terrible at keeping secrets, but Zeke had also spilled the beans two weeks before.
And that had given Erika the greatest gift of all, watching everyone else scramble to maintain the veil of secrecy while she pretended to be oblivious. Everyone but her mother, of course, she'd seen right through her. She could always do that, know exactly what Erika was thinking, always knew exactly what to say. A font of insightful wisdom that Erika could never be without.
"You know what?" said Erika. "I think the park sounds like a great idea. Let me just get ready. Should I just throw on some sloppy jeans and a t-shirt, seeing as there's nothing special at all about this walk in the park?"
Her mother smirked with still pointed look, and Erika retreated into her room, snickering while her parents cleaned up after breakfast. Half an hour later, Erika was ready to go, stepping out onto the porch in a neat, red sundress worn snuggly beneath a simple white cardigan. She basked in the sunlight of the suburban street, watching her dad back out the car as her mother stood on the steps in patient anticipation.
"All ready to go?
Erika was just about to reply when suddenly there was a rustle behind her. She paused, whipping around to the disturbance in confusion as to what could have caused it. And for a moment, just one, she caught sight of something strange.
It looked like a plant, but it didn't belong with the rest of the shrubbery. Instead, it was a giant, purple bulb, its petals meeting into what appeared to be a pair of lips for a hungry Venus Flytrap.
And then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone. As Erika looked again, the bush was completely normal, as if the strange plant had never been there at all. Confused, she turned back to her mother, still awaiting patiently as if nothing were even a miss.
Dismissing it as nothing but her imagination, Erika let the thought go and smiled back.
"Yeah, I'm ready to go,' she said happily. "Thanks for waiting, Mom."
Abbey could only stare at Erika lying on the bench, covered in wires and electrodes, as Hilary and Jess frantically ran every scan they could think of. All around her, the other Rangers were nervously gathered, helpless to do anything but stare at their friend's catatonic state. Their faces matched Abbey's own, the brave facades held for Valerie's sake, all of them fearing the worst and holding their anger at bay as they realized what it meant. What they were going to do when they got their hands on the one responsible.
"She's going to be okay, right?" Val asked desperately.
"Right now, her brain functions are normal," said Ray. It was the first thing they checked, and thankfully it was the one test that Ray could run while Hilary ran the million others. "Whatever this device is, it's put her into some kind of fugue state. Her brainwaves are showing active stimulation of her hippocampus, like she's in some kind of shallow sleep."
Abbey scrunched her face, thinking through Ray's translation as she slowly realized what that meant. "So she is dreaming."
"What do you think she's dreaming about?" Lena asked.
"If it was Xaviax that did this to her," Zeke said bitterly. "Then it can't be anything good."
But from the look on Ray's face, while he wasn't ruling it out, Abbey could tell he wasn't so sure. Erika wasn't tossing or turning nor showing signs of distress, and there was always the chance that anything too shocking would have woken her straight up. But instead, Erika lay there in a peaceful calm, unresponsive to attempts at stirring her.
"Got anywhere on this thing?" Miguel asked. He motioned to the circular device still strapped to Erika's chest. Wisely, the Rangers had opted not to remove it, fearing that it could cause more problems than it solved.
"Outside of being the obvious cause?" Hilary replied. "Still working on that."
"It looks like it's transmitting something," said Jess. "A signal's going back and forth, but our server's having a hard time cracking it."
"What if we don't crack it?" Lena suggested. "What if we just tap in?"
"It could work," Hilary noted, reopening the brain scans. "Maybe if we can hijack how it's messing with her brain, we can figure out how to shut it off."
"She is going to be okay, right?" Abbey asked. "We are going to get Erika back?"
"Right now, the brain scans aren't showing any sign of trauma or damage," said Ray. "Whatever that thing's doing, it's not attacking her."
But there was an implication in his words, one that he didn't utter, but Abbey caught nonetheless.
Yet.
There was a bitterness in his voice as Ray spoke, and as he did, Abbey caught the quivering behind his narrowing eyes. As Lena strode past to assist Hilary, Abbey watched them share a look and realized an all too recent memory they were no doubt recollecting. Barely a few months beforehand, Lena had been on that table, writhing with a spiking temperature as Xaviax assaulted her programming. Their enemy had already done it once, and now they were bracing for something similar to befall their team leader. Inhaling nervously, Abbey just had to hope that Hilary found a solution before it came to that.
But as she stood there, helpless as Erika unconsciously battled whatever terrors Xaviax was inflicting, a more chilling thought slowly struck her. The situation with Lena had been different; she'd been attacked in the field, out in the middle of a battle, her specific programming the target in a spiteful act of revenge. But this strike, hitting Erika where she was most vulnerable and disguising it as a present made it extra personal. Erika was their leader, and seeing her out of action shook them to their core. But even worse, Abbey realized, was the impact it was having on their mentors. Xaviax could no longer get to Lena, so he went for someone else to hurt Ray and Hilary just as badly. Erika wasn't just a teammate; she was practically Ray's protégé. Xaviax was going for the throat, and he wanted everyone to know it.
"I've got it!" Hilary declared triumphantly. "Looks like it's projecting something right into Erika's subconscious."
"If he's instigating a dreamlike state, maybe there's a visual element?" Lena suggested. "I think maybe we can isolate it."
"Good thinking."
They'd found what they needed a few keystrokes later, and all the Rangers gathered to see what kind of hellscape Xaviax had trapped Erika inside of.
What they saw instead was an idyllic park, rolling green grass beneath a basking sun, as a whole group of people leaped bushed and yelled surprise. They saw themselves among them, smiling beneath a massive banner saying, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIKA!" And as Erika turned, they saw her father and a woman that no one recognized. Until suddenly, they did.
"Oh my god!" Abbey gasped. "Is that…?"
"I think it's her mom," Zeke realized. "She's with her mom."
"It's a simulation," said Hilary. "She's responding to the projection as it reaches into her thoughts. It looks like some kind of false reality."
"One where Erika's mom never left," Miguel concluded.
"That's sick," Lena sneered. "Even for Xaviax."
"To get her back, we have to tear her away from the one thing she's always wanted," said Zeke. "I can't even imagine what that would do to her."
But Abbey could only stare, feeling a fresh, cold fury boil inside of her as the true twisted nature of Xaviax's plan came to light. She didn't have to stretch her imagination far to know what it was doing, of how it was grueling twisting Erika's deepest desire against. Xaviax had given Erika her greatest wish, trapping her in a dream she'd never want to wake from.
In a lie.
"I can," Abbey growled. "I know exactly what I'd do just to see my dad one more time. And even that doesn't compare to how much Erika misses her mom."
One by one, the Rangers all looked to Ray, pleading for guidance. Abbey could see it in his eyes, the active mental effort to keep his head clear, to keep his own anger at bay. Abbey could relate, but there was likely no one else who knew just how much Erika's abandonment affected her. Ray knew exactly the impact of Xaviax's scheme, and if Abbey had discovered the anger in herself roiling to a boil, Ray had to be near nuclear. But both of them knew that their fury was no help without purpose or direction.
But for all their fear and anxiety, they'd almost forgotten about their company, and in hearing a stifled gasp, Abbey whipped around to realize that Val was still with them, staring despondently comatose girlfriend.
"Val?" Ray suggested. "I think you could do with some fresh air and a drink. This is a lot, but I'm sure Erika would want you to be okay. We can come straight back, and Hilary can let us know if anything changes."
Valerie nodded weakly, slowly allowing Ray to guide her from the lab as the rest returned their attention to Hilary. Lena was already at the terminal, examining the coding closely as Jess continued to run test after test. But the rest of them were stuck, powerless to help their friend. What they needed was answers. Moments, the opportunity to obtain some was presented.
An alarm sounded, and Hilary spun to a new monitor as she opened up the surveillance. ArcKnight and Ender were in the park, up to no good with a bunch of Cyberdrones. Ender, in particular, was looking far too chipper.
"Looks like someone who owes some explanations," Abbey growled as her eyes narrowed on the two, earning a shocked look from the others. "So, I think we go get some."
But Hilary's cooler head prevailed. "There's no monster, and they know we're weakened and probably angry. If we go in hot, they'll hit us while we're distracted. Besides, someone needs to stay here and find a way to help Erika."
Exactly what Erika would've been warned of. Dammit! Abbey needed to get her head clear, to stop letting her protective instincts and personal baggage take control. She needed to recenter, not just because her anger wouldn't help her get anywhere, but because someone needed to step up. And one by one, Abbey saw Miguel and Zeke slowly turning to her.
"Hey," Miguel asked her quietly. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Abbey decided, inhaling a cool, calming breath as she shifted her focus on the mission. "Just needed a second."
"It's okay," said Hilary. "Going in full force might be exactly what they want. Some of us should hang back."
"The Gold and Silver Morphers pack the most punch," Abbey decided. "You should stay here in case they send a monster somewhere else while we're distracted."
"I'll stay with Hilary," said Lena. "I think I've got an idea."
Abbey nodded before leading Zeke and Miguel to the entrance. Lower numbers than they wanted, but Lena or Ray were in an easy position to reinforce them if things got hairy. Hilary too, in a pinch, although Abbey knew that having the Silver Ranger come to their rescue would mean leaving Erika on her own. Abbey just had to make sure it wouldn't come to that. They didn't have time to debate, and the city needed help. The team was without its leader, and that meant someone had to step up.
"You guys ready?' Abbey called as their Morphers flashed to their wrists.
Zeke and Miguel stepped beside her, raising their devices in confident confirmation. "Ready!"
"Server Force!" The trio cried. "Login Access!"
The powers surged from within the Morphers, bursting in reams of light that expanded and consumed them. The blue spectrum of the grid flushed into Abbey's body, imbuing her with awesome might as the blue suit and armor wrapped around his limbs. As the transportive beam of light touched down at the park, the three Rangers lunged out blasting.
The Security Pistols boomed as beams of energy rained down upon the horde, balls of fire exploding to send them scattering. But for all the damage they did to the enemy forces, Ender and ArcKnight didn't seem the least bit disgruntled. In fact, they seemed to welcome it.
"Power Rangers," ArcKnight scoffed. "We were just discussing when you would arrive."
"Welcome!" Ender chuckled. "Just as we're finished with all the decorations!"
"Out for a stroll, Ender?" Abbey growled. "Or are you just desperate for attention?"
"We're quite deserving of your attention today," Ender replied. "In fact, we're so happy to see you that we threw a party in honor of our favorite Red! But what's this? Has the birthday girl not come with you?"
Abbey's jaw clenched at Erika's mention, her whole body tensing as Miguel instinctively stepped in her path. But her head was clearing, protective anger settling into calming, crystal clear. She knew exactly what they needed to do. She needed Ender to talk.
"It appears we will be starting without our guest of honor," ArcKnight noted.
"Yes, what a shame," Ender snicked. "Oh well! Good thing we have plenty of invitees!" He snapped his fingers to fill the entire park with a flash of green as more Cyberdrones appeared all around them.
"Look at that," Abbey said dryly as the others nodded in agreement. "It's a trap."
"I mean," Zeke agreed, "could they make it more obvious?"
"Well, Rangers?" Ender chuckled as he and ArcKnight readied with their henchmen to lunge. "Seeing as you're here to party, let's party!"
"You want me to do what?"
"Put me in," Lena repeated staunchly. "Send me into the simulation."
Lena watched as Hilary glowered and held firm. There were plenty of risks, but Lena knew in her gut that she was right. They had the capability to do it, both hardware and skill. But more importantly, Lena knew that if she were able, Erika would do it for her. That alone was reason enough.
"No way," Hilary said firmly. "It's way too dangerous."
"What's going on?" Ray asked, stepping out of the elevator with a calmer-looking Valerie to see the staunch, ongoing discussion.
"Lena wants me to insert her into Erika's dreamworld," said Hilary. "She wants to jack into the simulation with no way of knowing how it'll affect her or if she can even get out."
Lena half expected Ray to side with Hilary, to warn Lena that the risks were too great. But instead, he stood in quiet contemplation as if grappling with how best to respond.
"You disagree?" Hilary noted.
"That simulation is everything Erika's ever wanted." Ray reasoned. "It's everything she's ever wished for melded with the life she has now. Breaking out on her own, while the simulation will be doing everything it can to convince her it's real, that's not going to be easy."
"I know," Hilary agreed. "But that thing is feeding directly into her brain; it's making her believe that the whole thing is real. For all we know, it could be designed to do that to any mind that plugs into it. You could dive into help, only get sucked in as well."
"Any human mind," said Lena. "But it can't do that to me."
Spinning in her chair, Lena turned the monitor to show Hilary the algorithm she'd been working on. She may not have understood much of the programming keeping Erika prisoner, but there was one set of code that Lena had become intimately familiar with: her own. And if it gave a safer backdoor into the device clinging to their leader, they needed to take it.
Hilary's brow furrowed as she looked for a counter but found none. "We don't know that," she said. "For all we know, it could treat you as a hostile system and try to delete you."
But Lena remained unmoved, stalwart in her determination as she rose to stand beside Ray in the hope of his continued support. Back at the machine, Jess grimaced and looked away, but Lena could tell from her guilty expression that she agreed as well. There were risks, sure, but risks Lena was willing to take. Xaviax had already tried to rewrite Lena once, and he'd failed. Lena was a machine, a program, and where once she'd lamented that very fact, now that was the best advantage they had.
"What do you suggest instead?" Lena asked. "We leave her on the table? Do you think that Xaviax hasn't planned around your computer skills? He's probably banking on it tying you up so you can't help the Rangers."
"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Hilary realized. "You go in there, then we're another Ranger down. Only I don't know if I can pull you out."
"Hilary!" Lena finally snapped. "Erika would do it for me! You know she would. And if you didn't let her, she'd find a way to do it behind your back. Please, I'm the only one who can do it. Because I'm not human, I'm a machine. Because that's got to count for something."
The doctor's jaw clenched, continued discomfort plain as day as Hilary realized that Lena was not going to budge. That the only way to make sure they came out safe was to help her.
"Besides," Lena added. "Ray's right. If Erika does pull herself out of it, she's going be feel scared and alone. She's going to be questioning everything she knows and feeling like her world is coming down around her. You might recall that I've got a pretty good idea of what that's like. And you also know what helped me."
Her eyes were unmoving, feet rooted to the floor as Lena stared the programmer down. From either side, Jess and Ray shared a nervous glance as the room was smothered beneath the silence of the standoff.
Then, at last, it was Val that spoke. "Do you really think help her?"
It cut the tension like a knife, all heads slowly turning to where the grieving teen knelt beside her girlfriend's unconscious body. Her eyes were shaking, frightened, and pleading as she stared at Lena with a dare of hope. Slowly but surely, Lena watched as Hilary's expression changed to one of sad resignation as she realized that they had no other choice. Erika was one of their own, but she was also someone in need. Putting themselves on the line to save others was what they did.
"Okay," Hilary nodded quietly, turning toward the desk to produce a second cranial scanner from the draw. "Let's do it."
Lena didn't question it, too grateful to look a gift horse in the mouth as she moved to the bench and began to clear a place to lie down. "I'll get her back, I promise," she said to Valerie before turning to where Hilary was preparing. "Once I'm in, you can use my programming as a backdoor into the system. Maybe it'll give us more of an idea of how to free her."
"The first backdoor I'm putting in is for you," Hilary replied sharply. "I am not letting you get trapped in there. I almost lost you once to one of Xaviax's crazy programs; I am not risking that again."
Breathing in deeply, Lena lay back on the slab, resting against the hard metal as Ray stepped behind her to secure the cap on her head. The device buzzed as it approached her ears, prickling at her temples as the electric charge connected with her temples.
"Last chance," Ray offered. "You sure about this?"
But Lena just looked to Erika's unconscious form, to her friend trapped in a false reality. "I'm sure," Lena agreed. "Send me in."
She closed her eyes as Hilary moved to the keyboard and began punching furiously. All of a sudden, the device's whirring surged in pitch, almost sizzling as the system connected directly to Lena's brain. A strange numbness flushed through her body as if, all of a sudden, she'd lost any sensation, surrendering to a weightless feeling that held her in place within the darkness. And then the feeling returned, heralding a sudden lurch as if she'd been jolted upright without consent. Her feet touched on something, gravity pulling hold as the sensation of solid ground resumed, and as she at last opened her eyes, Lena found herself somewhere else entirely. She was at the park with all her friends and family, celebrating Erika's birthday.
She was in.
"Oh, wow, this is so surprising," Erika giggled. "I never could have expected it…"
But no amount of forewarning could have held back her joy, bringing a smile that spread from ear to ear as Erika's friends gathered around her. The sun was shining on a beautiful day, and everyone was there, just for her. It was perfect.
She was content.
And yet, there was a strange feeling that Erika couldn't shake. It was nervously tingling, deep in her gut, an anxiety that seemed to be waiting for another shoe to drop. Like something was wrong or was about to be.
But as Erika looked across the park, seeing all her friends gathering to where her mother waved by the cake, she pushed the idea from her mind. She was looking for something wrong, concocting a problem because she couldn't accept that things were going so well. That she deserved it.
And she did deserve it, Erika knew that. She needed to stop self-sabotaging and acting like her mom was about to…
Erika stopped mid-thought, catching herself at the sudden appearance of the idea. Her mom was there; she was right there, and yet Erika's heart was quaking like she was never going to see her again. Like she could vanish at any moment.
Like she had before…
There it was again, a sudden fear from out of nowhere, a seizing panic that her mother was going to suddenly pack up and leave. It flushed through her like a surging current, an instinctive response that flinched at the presence of the idea. But for the life of her, Erika couldn't imagine where it was coming from. Her mother had always been there, at every step of the journey. She'd had a rough bunch of years, sure, but she'd got through it. It wasn't going to make her mom just pack up and leave.
Erika guessed that there'd been that one time when she had been gone a couple of weeks. But that was a work trip, and she came back. And everything was fine.
Right?
She shook the thought from her mind, insistent that she was overthinking and just reacting to the daunting prospect of oncoming independence. College was soon, and Erika would then be the one leaving the nest. That was it; she was scared about her leaving, not her mom. She just needed to relax and enjoy the company that gathered for her. That was all.
Resolving herself and actively mustering enjoyment, Erika hurried to the table where her mom was lighting the candles. "Here it is, Birthday Girl!" her mom smiled sweetly. "Blow them out and make a wish!"
But what would she even wish for? For a moment, Erika paused as she stared at the flickering flames, wondering what on earth she could possibly even want. All her friends were there already, even the school guidance counselor and his wife had come down to wish her well. Things were still going great with Val, and they were even going to the same college the next year. Her Dad was there, and so was her Mom. They were together.
What more could she possibly want?
And then it hit her, wafting across Erika's mind to escape with the exhaling breath to snuff the life from the candles in exchange for her deepest wish.
I don't want this to ever end.
The gathered party cheered with delight as the candles finished in a single blow, and soon the cake was swiftly portioned and distributed for everyone's enjoyment. In what felt like moments, Erika's mother had appeared with a slice, picturesque in its cut.
"Bon Appetit."
Erika grabbed it without hesitation, cutting off a chunk before eagerly chomping down. But far from the sweet, velvety sponge, the cake was fowl and bitter, dry and grating at her tongue like she'd ingested fresh dirt that scraped against her tongue. She gagged on instinct, spitting out the chewed remnants. It was like she'd been eating ash.
Staring at the gross mess in her hands, Erika looked at her mother in surprise, who too was staring back in confusion. All around them, everyone else was happily eating the cake without a care in the world, as if nothing was wrong. As if the only problem was with Erika.
"What's wrong, honey?" her mother asked.
"I… I don't know," Erika admitted. "Maybe I'm just feeling a little off. I'll have some more of it later."
"Of course," her mom nodded, delicately taking the plate away before her perfect smile reappeared. "Whatever you want on your special day."
Right, whatever she wanted.
Disheartened, Erika turned away, knowing how hard her mother had worked on that cake and feeling ashamed for her reaction. As if spitting out the food she couldn't stomach was somehow unappreciative of all the effort being afforded to her. But as Erika looked away, a movement in the bushes caught her eye. And just for a second, she could have sworn she saw the same strange plant she'd seen by her house that morning. Watching her.
In a blink, it was gone, and Erika could only put it down to whatever growing ailment had caused her loss of appetite. That was it, she decided, it must be her. There was something wrong with her.
There couldn't be any other reason for being unable to enjoy a day so perfect.
For being unable to settle for content.
She had to be careful, Lena knew that much. One trip into a hellish dreamscape from Xaviax was enough for her to be wary of any lurking surprises. This place was built to be a perfect world for their Red Ranger, but Lena didn't doubt its true purpose. If it was designed to keep Erika trapped, then it would have defenses in place to remove any interference. So far, she'd encountered nothing, and Lena suspected that she could remain undetected as long as she behaved as she was expected. But stealth wouldn't matter if she couldn't act, and Lena had no idea what it would take to break Erika from the dream. If she'd even want her to at all. It meant that Lena needed to seize the chance when she had it and hope she could make the most of it.
And then her moment presented itself. Prowling through the crowd, making small talk with the illusionary versions of their friends, Lena watched Erika's shock at the disgusting flavor of the cake, her "mother's" docile placation and assurance as Erika queasily took a seat. The woman walked away, and Erika began staring blankly into the distance. It was like she knew, like some part of her couldn't accept the reality she was being offered. No matter how much she longed to.
This was her chance, and Lena knew she had to take it. Moving swiftly, she snaked through the crowd to make her approach, stepping to Erika's as she inhaled a nervous breath. "Erika?"
Her voice broke Erika from her daze, the questioning tone aligning with the silent question. An inquiry that wasn't in elated celebration but concern. As Lena watched Erika turn around, she saw the fear in her eyes, the pleading that she was wrong about what she knew in her heart.
Begging that her worst fears were unfounded.
"Lena," Erika realized, shaking herself back into a façade of enjoyment. "So good to you see you."
"You too," Lena said with relief, "Like you wouldn't believe."
"I can't believe everyone pulled it all together, or that they all came out for this," Erika admitted as she looked at the gathering of illusions.
"I can," Lena replied. "You mean the world to us. There's nothing we wouldn't do for you."
Even if it was tearing Erika away from everything she'd ever wanted.
Could she really do this? Could she honestly convince Erika to leave behind her heart's desire, knowing the wounds it would tear open? They loved her; they missed her. But would taking away her wish really be the gift they thought it was? Wasn't leaving Erika in this false reality a mercy, even if it wasn't real?
But as Lena stared at her friend, trying to find the words to even begin to explain, she saw the continuing fear behind Erika's eyes. She knew, even if she wasn't ready to admit it. She just needed someone to open the door, show her the way back, and tell her it was okay to walk it.
"Listen, Erika," Lena began. "There's something you need to-."
"There she is!"
The shrill, excited voice pieced their ears, cutting Lena off as both girls spun around to the source. Whitney was racing toward them, the biggest smile on her face as she threw her arms around Erika.
"If it isn't my best friend in the whole wide world!" she proclaimed. "Happy Birthday, Birthday Girl!"
Oh, hell no! No way Erika had conjured up that wish. As if to confirm, Erika's face twisted with disgust, her whole body shrinking back as Whitney gripped her tighter. But before Lena could intervene, a hand clasped her shoulder, and she spun around to see a row of familiar faces. Abbey, Zeke, Miguel, Ray, and Hilary, all of them standing around her and glaring. Ray's hand gripped tight on her shoulder, and just as swiftly, Abbey and Hilary's hands snatched Lena's arms.
Lena's heart seized, trying to turn in a desperate bid to gain Erika's attention and break free. But it was no use; Whitney's appearance was the perfect distraction, and before Lena could do anything else, her company whisked her away into the covering thicket.
"Let go of me," she growled, writhing against the grip as Miguel and Zeke marched on either side to guard her. They weren't her friends, Lena already knew that, but now their vacant and emotionless expressions chilled her to her core. Every single person in the illusion was also an agent of it, ready to act in its defense.
Reaching the bushes, they threw her to the ground, knees kicking up dust as Lena tumbled before a mass of writing vines. Vines that were moving. With a gasp of horror, Lena looked up and watched the shape take form, an enormous bulb emerging like an eyeless head as its folds parted into a mouth with a slippery, slobbering tongue.
"Would you look what we've got here," it snickered. "A party crasher."
Lena gasped in wide horror as she realized what she'd found, what she'd run directly toward without thinking. The machine wasn't just some program that was keeping Erika contained.
It was a monster.
It took all of Erika's might to squeeze herself from Whitney's grip, her "best friend" refusing to let go until she'd expressed every ounce of joy. It was only a timely suggestion that Whitney enjoy some of the cake that saved Erika from the embrace, almost having to gasp for air when she was finally released.
Now, that was weird. She and Whitney had been mortal enemies since grade school; there was no way she'd be attending a party in Erika's honor. Not by choice. Not when it was just meant to be family and friends.
And a surprise.
Grade School…
Had it really been that long? No, there was no way…
Leaning on the picnic table, Erika's face scrunched as she tried to remember back to what had first caused a rift between them. She'd always found the vapid blonde annoying, but she couldn't for the life of her muster a single memory from that time. The furthest back she could think at all was her last two years of High School, when she'd first arrived a Lakeview High.
Hang on…
No. No, that didn't make sense. She'd always lived here; she'd always been in Lakeview. Why would she have only just started going to the High School if she'd always been there? Why couldn't she remember?
As the thoughts swirled, fading in and out of confusing memory, Erika stared around at the party scene. Almost all were talking to each other, few of them to her. Her friends had left, suddenly, and yet Whitney and Deryck were there like they'd been besties for all her life. Valerie was ensconced in conversation with someone else. Come to think of it, why had the school guidance counselor even come by? She couldn't remember going to his office even once, never having a need to. And yet, Ray Granger, Hilary Hawkins, and even their assistant Jessica felt like some of the most important people in the world to her.
How?
It was only then that she caught the look in her father's eyes as he stood over the grill to finish the burgers for the guests. He looked tired, and Erika suddenly realized that she hadn't seen him stop moving the entire time she'd been awake. It was like he was always doing something, keeping them going. Like he had no one to help him. But that didn't make sense, did it? He had his wife, Erika's mom, someone to share the load. So why couldn't Erika see her Dad as anything but tired?
That feeling from earlier was returning, the twisting in her gut that she couldn't shake. The feeling that all of it was wrong. Everything around her was amazing, perfect even. And yet nothing about it was right.
She was content, but she couldn't feel anything more.
She couldn't explain how she got there, how she knew people. And even those she longed to see, Erika couldn't recall what it was that had cemented their friendship. People were there who she couldn't explain, even if Erika felt she should be able to.
She was right; there was something wrong. It was her. Erika was the one who didn't belong.
Because it was a world not meant for her.
And then Erika saw it, as if her mind hadn't let herself believe it until now. Her parents stood at the grill, and watching closely, Erika could see the tension between them. A silent but terse conversation that betrayed the truth. They weren't happy; they were only pretending to be for her. She could have dismissed it as her imagination, something her mind had concocted in her frightened confusion. But that wouldn't have changed the truth that she held in her heart.
"Hey," Valerie approached her, gently touching her arm and snapping Erika from her daze. "You're not looking so good. You okay?"
"Y…yeah…" Erika stammered awkwardly. "Just a little lightheaded. It must have been the cake. Something I ate. I just need some air."
And before Valerie could stop her, Erika turned and ran, hurrying away from the gathered party, terrified of the thought that she longed to deny.
Of what she'd have to do to accept it.