I woke up. His face was burned into my eyes for eternity. Killing him was wrong. But he had stolen her from me and she was someone that I needed. We had climbed mountains and seen sunsets. And now she was gone.

I climbed out of bed and saw the alarm clock. It’s dull face read 7:15. Crap! I needed to be at work in fifteen minutes! As I scrambled to take a 30 second shower and start running to work, the mans face was still stuck in my head.

I could see the sun rising above the skyscrapers in the distance. I could see NeoCorp, the huge skyscraper that stood like a tree towering above the grass.

When I got to my office I finally had a moment to breathe. The analog clock on the wall read 7:34. I was barely late. Hope my boss didn’t notice. I turned on my desktop. The sleek monitor turned on. For a second before it was on I thought I saw something. I thought I saw her.

3 minutes later my boss walked into my office. “Tim. There’s an opening for the position you had wanted earlier. You will now be making $55 an hour compared to the $35 from you previous position. That is if you accept.” “I’d love to accept. But what about...” I struggled to say his name, the man I had killed,”Henry. Didn’t he get the position?” My boss frowned,” I don’t know of any Henry’s. Do you want the job or not?” “Sure sure sir. I’d love it. More money would be awesome!” “Thank you for accepting. You will have a new office...” The man trailed off.

After work I passed the cafe where I met her. She was beautiful. I loved her.

Being curious I went inside. I looked around looking for her. She had told me she worked all day every weekday. It was Friday so she’d be here. I couldn’t find her as I looked around. I started getting looks from the people seated at small circular tables. A waiter walked toward me and said,” Can I help you?” I replied,” Is Samantha here today?” “Samantha? I don’t know a Samantha”

And then it dawned on me.

I realized why they were gone.

Last night in my dreams I killed a man.

Because he killed my love.

The bodies lay at me feet. My sword glistened red with their blood. I slaughtered them all, and I had enjoyed it. One man stirred weakly. I walked over to him, and knelt down. He gasped for air, his time was short. I opened my water bag, and gave him a long sip off water. “Why?” He asked me. I just smiled at him, and slit his throat. I was nothing if not merciful.

I awoke with a start. It was a dream, just a dream. The cries of the battle were still fresh in my ears, but the fear I felt had nothing to do with the battle. I looked at the implant in my wrist. It was glowing red. They knew of the dream, and would be here soon. I had little time.

I left my house with just the clothes on my back, packing a bag would waste what precious minutes I had. I knew where to run to, what alley the rebels were hiding in. To seek them was inviting trouble, not only from the DreamPolice (what a lame ass name) but the rebels weren’t always kind. They had their own agendas, but messing with the status quo was one of their favorites.

I heard sirens in the distance. Most likely coming for me, but Im sure there were other “Red Lights” about. Long sleeves could cover the implant, but wearing them was forbidden. I found the alley, grateful the electricity had failed again. No streetlight and a new moon made concealment easier.

Knock, Knock! No one was answering. Fear gripped me. They were my only hope. I had to await the inevitable.

“Stop!! You are under arrest. Comply or be shot.” Resigned, I allowed the officer to cuff me and take me away,

The DreamPolice not only caught DreamCriminals, but could pass punishment. Efficient, wasn’t it?

“Citizen 24601, you are found guilty of murder and inciting governmental overthrow. You are sentenced to death.” DreamCrime was an easy way to control the population. If my subconscious allowed me to kill and over throw governments, what would stop me from actually doing it? Those that had vivid dreams were the most intelligent in life. “Do you have anything to say?”

What could I say? The rebels failed me, but I couldn’t blame them. It was dog eat dog out there, one looked out for oneself, and only helped if it was beneficial. There was no escaping my fate. I hoped the execution would be swift, after the interrogation of course.

They would subject me to interrogation, experimentations, to find out why I dreamt the dream I did. And they would use this data for create better humans, ones who didn’t think for themselves.

I had heard these interrogations could last weeks, even months. I’d be under security near 24/7.

I hoped the food was good, at least.

He’s not even in the courtroom yet and Kendall Atwater can feel the eyes of the snarky lawyers on him. He can’t help what his subconscious gets up to! Why should he be punished for his bizarre- and prophetic- dreams?

The first one came when he was only 14 years old. The most recent one was two nights ago. He knew the moment he woke up, sheets soaked, that he only had an hour until the VAPS showed up.

The Vision to Action Prevention Squad was ruthless. Even minor infractions like Dream Stalking, Imaginary Theft, and Sleep Arson, are grounds for a lawful arrest. Some scientist (before Kendall was even born) had found a link between dreams and crimes. If you envision something, it sticks in your mind, and will come to fruition.

He’d barely made it out of the shower when the VAPS, lead by Officer Cloke, knocked on his door. “Mr Atwater, you’re under arrest for-“, she began. “Yeah, yeah. I know the drill,” Kendall waved them away and slipped on a plaid shirt. He went over the story in his head, memorising details. The VAPS love details.

He’d been in a field. Sunbeams sliced through the air, causing the bugs to sparkle. A breeze turned the field into an ocean of green and the waves washed over him. He was filled with a sense of peace. This was how they always started.

He opened his dream-eyes and the scene changed to an alley outside a bar. He was drunk in his dream. Through the stumbling, blurred vision, and smell of beer, he got the hazy picture. There was someone else- a teenage boy, by the looks of it- lying unconscious on the ground. At first, Kendall had thought he was there to save the boy, but he was wrong. He dragged the body into the bar and dropped it onto a table. There were at least five other presences around said table. They started eating the boy, tearing him apart.

“Another cannibalism?” asked Ramona behind the front desk. “Yeah, downtown. Outside Darnell’s,” said Kendall, “I think they’d have a whole cabinet full of my files, if they still used paper.”

Ever since the Others invaded when Kendall was 14, certain people have had a connection to them. People like Kendall.

In their dreams, they’re able to step into the alien bodies. See what they see. Feel what they feel. It means they get arrested a lot by the VAPS for committing heinous crimes (cannibalism, rape, etc) but also means so much more. The Connected Ones can root out the shape-shifting aliens from whatever society they’ve snuck into.

Unfortunately, the Others also have access to lawyers. And this is gonna be one hell of a case.

They played back the scene.

At one point, when she had stabbed him six times already, a herd of llamas appeared beside the bed.

They grazed softly on the grass that sprouted from the man’s disfigured face.

They’d use that, no doubt, in her defence.

In an attempt to get ahead crime, the government and law makers got very out of control. It started out to protect it’s citizens but ended up doing the opposite.

As the cost of living became out of control in the cities, more and more people began living together. Privacy was a thing of the past.

More jails were built to house the growing criminals using the situation to their advantage.

Even minor offenses saw jail time.

The police started by scanning our messages to each other whether written or spoken. Then we were implanted with tracing devices. If you were in the wrong place at the wrong time then they arrested you first and asked questions later.

The cities where full of lawyers and biggest companies had to do with criminal justice in one way or another.

Then if that wasn’t bad enough the Dream Police started. The tracing devices were also dream recorders. Alarms and whistles went off if you dreamed anything against the law. You were arrested and your dreams were given to you while you were locked up so not to commit anymore offenses.

Then one day it all stopped. We became free again. It had all been a nightmare in a nightmare. We breathed a sign of relief and hibernated through winter.

He was so warm. It’s almost as if I could still feel his body against mine. The way his fingertips caressed my skin. Feeling his breath upon my neck in between light kisses. It’s a shame it was only a dream...

Looking at my husband grumpily walk around the kitchen makes me wish I hadn’t woken up at all. Facing the consequences of this dream will be more than I could anticipate- not only will I have to figure out what to do with my husband, but now legal action will be taken at work. As a soldier, adultery is not only frowned upon, but also punishable. Other awkwardness will come from my coworkers as well. And seeing Michael... Well, I don’t know how he’s going to react to seeing us in my dream- I wonder if he thinks of me in the same way?

No, no. That’s ridiculous. His bright smile and caring eyes wouldn’t want me. I’ve already become a laughing stock of the motor pool anyways, what kind of clown would be deserving of him? If only we could stay in that dream forever.

A loud crash in the kitchen pulls me away from my endless thinking. It’s Matt. He’s gone and dropped a glass plate on the floor while doing the dishes. I offer to help clean it up but he snarled at me as if he were a rabid dog waiting to bite. The thin ice this marriage was skating on might have finally cracked and sucked the innocent skater into its chilled gallows.

ring

A text. It’s work. Just making sure I’m ready for this article coming my way. There goes my career...