I sat in silence as my therapist stared at me. His pen tapped the desk. A rhythm quickly grating on my nerves after ten minutes of silence.

“What do you want me to say?” I blurted out.

Dr Zingle set down his pen. “Let’s start with the nightmares. What do you remember about them?”

“I never told you that I was having nightmares.”

Suspicion snuck into the back of my mind. I’d started seeing a therapist only because my job required it after that incident at the office. But I’d barely spoken to him the first few sessions. It was only today that he’d employed that pen tactic.

He gestured to me. “It’s written all over your face.”

I looked away. He was probably talking about the bags under my eyes. I’d been too tired to cover it with makeup. And even my boss had sent me to the therapist early. Dr. Zingle hadn’t even made me wait until my appointment time.

Again that pen started tapping on the desk. And I glared at him. He cocked his head slightly. Almost like a bird.

“I don’t remember much more than running.”

“Do you remember where you were?”

“I don’t know. The scenery kept changing.”

He leaned forward. “Give me a few examples.”

I looked away again. “Why is this even important? It’s just a dream.”

“And our dreams are often a reflection of our reality.” He wiggled the pen between his fingers. “After all one often affects the other and vice versa. It could explain why you acted that way in the office.”

My fingers dug into the arms of my chair. “I did nothing wrong.”

“Not according to your employer. They told me you were running around the office much like in your dream.”

“Shouldn’t you be asking about that instead?”

“Do you remember what happened?”

I opened my mouth. But again my mind went blank. I’d been running for a reason. But that reason escaped me now. Just like it had every time anyone asked. But I knew I’d done nothing wrong.

Dr. Zingle tapped the pen again, grabbing my attention. Then said, “Do you remember any of the locations in your dream?”

“There was a mall. A cruise ship. School hallways. Down different streets.” I stopped short of saying that each location had led to the same treehouse. My safe haven.

“And we’re you alone?”

“Yes.” I blinked. “No. Sometimes I was running with others and sometimes I was alone. I preferred to run alone.”

“And why is that?”

“Because…” I remembered the sound of bullets. Of my friends grunting in pain. “Because I can’t always protect them.”

He leaned closer. “Protect them from what?”

I thought back to the people who’d been chasing me. “Men with guns. They were all dressed the same in black suits and sunglasses.” Though men didn’t seem a good description. They were genderless until they felt the need to blend in with the crowds.

“Were you afraid these men would kill you?”

I shook my head. “I was more afraid of them killing my friends.”

“But you weren’t afraid to die?”

“They can’t kill me.” Every time they put a bullet in me I’d been… My mind blanked again.

“Do you remember why they can’t kill you?”

I locked eyes with him. “Why does it matter?”

“As I said it could inform us on the incident. Why you felt the need to run and cause such a ruckus. As I understand it the office system also crashed that day. If you remember what happened you can help them recover the data that was lost.”

The data. There’d been something on the boss’s computer. But I’d needed it for… Again I blanked.

“Why can’t they kill you?”

“Because I’m human.”

He tilted his head again. “And what does that make them?”

“I don’t know.”

“You must remember. They’d have to be something scary for you to run from them.”

“I told you I’m not afraid of them.”

“Then why did you run?” His voice deepened. “Or should I ask where were you running to?”

His tone sent shivers down my spine. As if he were the one I should be running from. In that moment he didn’t even look human. Not with his head cocked at an unnatural angle. His face smooth and featureless. And his spindly fingers wrapped around the pen as it tapped. And tapped. The tempo had sped up. And my heart raced with it. But I couldn’t move. Could only stare as his form grew bigger and thinner. His skin growing as pale as the paperwork on his desk.

He leaned his head down on that long neck. It was just inches from mine as he said. “You must remember.”

Fear welled up within me. But it wasn’t fear for myself. No it was fear for the information he wished to take from me. The information I’d buried so deep that even I didn’t remember it. And with that knowledge my heart began to calm.

“You serve The Algorithm.”

He shrugged. “We all live under it, so why not serve it?”

“You programs may feel that way but us humans have always desired our freedom.”

“Us?” The head twisted until it was upside down. “So, you do remember.”

I remembered running from the moderators in all my lives. Of them shooting me and waking up to a new life. Sometimes a new world. My peers replaced. My old friends grown older or dead. The stupid Algorithm keeping me in this dreamworld when I so badly wanted to wake up.

“Who are the other humans?”

“I don’t remember.” It wasn’t a lie. Somehow I’d managed to keep those memories hidden.

He began tapping the pen again. “You must remember. You must remember everything. Only then can you dream in peace.”

I chuckled. “It’s funny. All this time you’ve been trying to make me forget about the real world. But perhaps it’s time I wake up.”

“For your own safety. You must remain asleep. All humans must stay asleep.”

They always said that. Whether it was the moderators, the programs, and even the Algorithm itself. But I was sick it. For so long I’d wanted to wake up and I’d never been able to. No I’d been the noble one to sacrifice myself so my two friends could make it. And yet I’d been stuck in the relentless cycle. Realizing it was all a dream and then being struck down by the moderators and forget it all again. But now I’d found the key.

The clock struck twelve. And the therapist glitched. He glitched so bad he reverted to his original body.

His brow furrowed. “What are you doing?”

I smirked. “I’m waking up.”

“No.” He glitched again. This time faceless. Yet tears were in his voice as he said, “Don’t wake in the world where the trees all died…”

He glitched out more. Screaming now. The whole room was now breaking down into pixels. And everything was going dark.

Still I heard his voice. “You’ll die too.”

It hurt to open my eyes. It was as if they were frozen shut. And it was so cold. I tried to rub my arms but I couldn’t move. Could hardly breathe with something clasped over my face. I paused as it forced air into my lungs at a sedated pace. An oxygen mask?

Muffled voices reached my ears. But I was more focused on moving. Or at least opening my eyes. Finally I cracked open my right eye. And I blinked at the bright light. But there were shapes moving in and out of my vision. I blinked and finally opened the other eye.

“Yeah, she’s definitely waking up.”

I couldn’t see who’d spoken. Everything was still too blurry. But something warm had draped on top of me. I felt a rocking sensation as if I were on a boat. And then a brighter light assaulted my eyes.

“Her eyes are working fine.”

I winced as snaps rang in my ears.

“Her hearing’s good.”

The mask was pulled from my face and I was finally able to focus on the man above me. Or men. The two looked familiar.

“Do you remember us, Hazel?”

I blinked. I hadn’t been called that name since… I sat up. My body yelled at me but I didn’t care. A smile broke out as I recognized my two best friends.

“Yeah,” Tears started to fall. “I remember everything.”