"Psst! Tyrone! Snap the hell out of it!" I come back to reality with a jolt. Another dream. Another perfect dream with Alice, and yet ruined by this bloody hellhole that we call Solment! Another worker jabbed me in the ribs to save me. If I would have spent 15 more seconds in that elysium, the government would have noticed. And if the government would have noticed, I would have died. Period. They don't think twice about this genocide, the way they leave only puppets that can't think for themselves. It is sickening how little that they care about freedom of all. But what say do we have? So we work on their buildings, and clean the streets... I'm surprised that we don't polish their damn shoes every 30 seconds!
Me and Alice used to go to the dock together to escape the terror of life, but ever since the death penalty was added, we can't afford to. It sucks.
After work, we go to our apartments to eat and then sleep. The implants are turned off for an hour so we can have some 'free time', even though the implants are dead. I tried to convince Alice that it was safe, but she is scared out of her mind ever since we were almost caught at the dock. Somebody was framed, and so we got out of it. But the experience scarred her so much, she is now clinically depressed. Like anyone but me cares. Sadly, we can't tell anyone about it, as to do that would be to admit that we had been out of bounds, and that would mean death. All I can do to help her is comfort her, and even at that she is still a wreck sometimes. I am lucky that she still speaks to me, as she rarely shares her thoughts with anyone else. I sit in front of the TV for a bit to unwind, and I end up dozing off.
I wake up to Alice shaking me awake. Too lazy to get up out of the armchair, I say "Wha... what is the matter?" I'm afraid that I let a bit of panic enter my voice, but I knew something was up with her. She rarely came over to my place unless she was not doing well. "I just... needed some company." I looked at her for a few seconds, and then replied, "Alice, I know you by now. What is wrong?" She stared at me for a while, and collapsed into my arms.
