Lucid

FAMILIAR ONE

The sound of cutlery rattled the air. All the guests were enthusiastically enjoying dinner.
"Ten, Ten ... Ten!" Maddie was calling to him from across the table.
Theo looked up. He had just been sitting there staring at his empty plate, lost in thought. He was beginning to feel a little in over his head. I mean so far he had managed to survive this realm with the help of enhanced capabilities but now he was making enemies in the real world and that was an unknown that gave him pause.
"Yes, sorry I got lost in thought.."
"Well then," she smiled "share with us... what has you so preoccupied? Is it a special someone?"
If only she knew.
The table chuckled here and there. He then realized they were all dream bots; figments of Maddie's imagination, so in fact the only two real persons in the room were them, and the one shell of a person in the bathroom. He looked up at Madison.
"I was just thinking about a strange dream I once had."
She looked immediately confused but alert. No one else from the table even bothered to look up or to stop eating. It really was just him and her.
"Go on..." she prodded
"In my dream everything was as it should be, the place, my friends, my home, even the food was the same except for one thing, I was not myself... I was someone else but in my mind it felt too real to not be true" he was staring her down "it's only when I WOKE UP!" He slammed his hand on the table rattling all the dishes, then his voice came back to a hush still looking directly at her "only then did I realize it was all a dream and none of it was real."
Maddie was puzzled then as if instinctively she slowly glanced down at the spoon then she shot up from the table and started looking around the room for something, almost too like she was in a hurry.
"Violet what is it?? Let me help you look. what are you searching for?" Theo was right beside her.
She said nothing , she just continued looking, opening drawers and cupboards, the fridge she ran back to the table and grabbed a spoon, holding it in her hand as she rambled through the apartment!
"Ma-Violet let me help you!" He begged.
She ran outside onto the balcony and froze.
"Violet?" Theo froze with her.
She raised her finger to her lips so as to tell him to hush, and motioned for him to come next to her, he walked slowly toward her, as he got near her, he realized a different look in her eyes, she looked like herself, she was Madison not Xia, not Violet, just Maddie; he could tell. She pointed toward one glass panel in the window, it was facing the street, it looked different from the others. But how could it be??
"I knew I hid one in the apartment but I just couldn't remember where" she looked at him and half smiled "they help me remember that this isn't real, that I'm dreaming"
"Oh Maddie!" Theo grabbed her and hugged her tightly, he did not want to lose her just as much as she did not want to be lost herself. He felt her body relax in his arms,
"Did you follow me in my dreams to help me?"
"Yes, yes I did"
"Thank you Theo, I don't know how to thank you enough."
"You don't have to, I'd do it a thousand times over if I needed to, you're priceless Maddie, I don't ever want to lose you"
She looked up at him she looked sort of sad,
"I'm sorry I got us into this mess, what's going to happen to us? To me??"
"Don't worry we're getting out of here, both of us" he released his grip on her. "Is it safe for us to talk?"
"No I don't think so" she peeped around the door ever so slightly peeking into the dining area "one person is real, he threatened me earlier but I cannot remember what he said or what he looked like but I remember how uncomfortable I felt. Until we decipher who it is it's not safe here"
"Wait!" Theo remembered "come with me..."
They snuck quietly pass the guests at the table, none who even bothered to look at them and walked toward the bathroom. Theo unlocked the door. Maddie gasped!
"Is this him?"
"Oh god how did you know?? What happened???"
"Let's go to my apartment...they will at least buy us some time, if Mr. Strange comes back" 
"Comes back?? You mean he's not dead??"
"He got away... cmon let's get out of here quickly"
They again walked passed the table of dream bots and headed out to Theo's place.
As soon as they got into the elevator he hugged her again, she got teary eyed.
"I'm so scared, I think now that I've figured out that I'm trapped they're trying to kill me"
"Who is 'they' Maddie you need to tell me every that's going on! I need to know every single bit of information if I am to get us out of here."
"I know, I know, cmon let's go."
They got out the elevator and immediately noticed that the elevator next to theirs was lighting up.
"Shit Theo! We're being followed"
they both ran to Theo's apartment.
"Wait this is still my dream, I'm still in control" Maddie said, but almost as if she was speaking to herself while closing her eyes. Then a few second later she opened them and ran to the window.
"It worked!" She said cheerfully
"Wha-what worked ? What did you do?" He ran across to the window and looked out; outside there was a massive lake, they could relax a bit in the now teleported apartment surrounded by thick lush forest trees.
"They won't find us here, at least not for a while,"
"Good job Mads"
He sat down in his lazy boy recliner and let out a loud sigh of relief. Familiarity, he thought; how soothing. Maddie came over and sat on his sofa. She looked around his apartment.
"Man I missed this place, I'm so sorry I've been so distant these past couple of months Theo, if I knew it would've led me to here I would've told you from the very beginning" she sighed "maybe I was worried what you would think of me..."
"Mads you know I would never judge you, we've all done things that deserve a couple eyebrow raises..."
"This... this situation is more than that" she tucked her legs up under herself and placed her hands around her in a self-hug. Her eyes distant, probably thinking how to begin
"Take your time Mads, no judgement, I promise"
Maddie sighed. "Okay, so a couple months ago I got promoted—"
"Mads that's great!..."
"Wait I have to tell you the entire story..."
He motioned locking his lips and throwing the key.
"Good," she continued while letting out a heavy sigh "I thought I had made it Theo, I finally got my corner office on the 20th floor, it felt like a dream, everyone kept congratulating me saying 'you deserve this Maddie' and I felt like I'm finally being appreciated and being giving the recognition I worked so hard to get..." she trailed off looking at nothing on the floor
"Mads" Theo touched her arm softly
"Right yes," she snapped back into the moment "Theo... it was all a trap" she was looking directly at him now "Greg told me that the promotion was going to go Liam, he said they wouldn't give it to me because I had too many close ties to government and they felt like that was holding me back" she sighed angrily "in reality though it was sort of true... the didn't want me in upper management because the connections I had; could easily destroy them, but then again being a single successful woman made me their perfect candidate, they would use my drive, my desire to be recognized as bait for me..."
"What do you mean Maddie? You're losing me a bit," he looked very confused
"So they knew that the people needed for their little pet project had to be a certain type of driven, I should've known Greg was grooming me the minute he started asking me about my dream life, he was suddenly interested in all my external affairs, my family... everything! He promised me that my new life would be everything I had ever desired..." her voice started breaking "all the while I was falling for him, he was just using me to get ahead for Dream Life"
"Dream life?? What's dream life?" Theo asked
Maddie sunk her head into her hands, and then gestured around.
"We're in it."
"What Maddie ??? Are you serious?? A new pill? These people are craz— " he got up and started pacing,
"Nope" she cut him off "not a pill Theo, you think a pill could do all of this?? It's a program! A simulation... All of this is self simulated. It's literally a choice to give up living in the real world, and create a life inside of your mind. While your body is kept functioning on god knows what sort of chemicals they are pumping into you... it's literally like death, but with flair I guess!" She buried her face in her palms, "and Guess who volunteered to deep dive into Dream Life to prove she was worthy of getting ahead in the company??" She self loathed.
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" It dawned on him that's why mr strange said she chose this. She actually did.
"Maddie... how do you get out? And why didn't you tell me about any of these new developments, we don't keep secrets"
Maddie sighed " I signed an NDA, as well as a
Contract stipulating that I would participate as long as they needed..." she slumped further into the sofa, hand on her forehead and eyes roaming.
"Wait," he turned to look at her " if This is a simulation... where are you? Where are they keeping you??
"That's the thing... I don't know" she looked worried "when they came for me the car was so heavily tinted and I was so preoccupied with reading that god-forsaken contract that I never followed. The drive was long too, I think we headed upstate... er, or was it down? I'm not sure Theo" she looked hopeless "how do I get out??? Will you help me?" She pleaded
"Woman, what do you think I'm doing here?!" He laughed almost  "Maddie I'm here to get you out, but you've got to work with me here... I have you now but from the minute you go to sleep I lose you and get the drugged up version of dream Maddie, i need you to stay with me"
"That's easy Theo, all I need is a mirror I just need to see my reflection to remember I'm dreaming... erm... tell me how many simulations have I been in so far?"
Theo sat up, now in deep thought. He was trying to remember.
"I entered in what I now call dream ten, so far thats the complete number and they keep reoccurring, it's almost as if you create these perfect scenarios and keep going back to them for whatever reason, some have turned into mares... "
"How many?" She asked
"Um.. I think four, yes! Four of them are gone so there are six reoccurring dreams left"
"What number is this one?"
"This is dream one... because it's the close to home it resembles reality the most"
"Where will I go next?"
Theo looked at her,
"I wish I could help you there Mads, I can't control that part, I only synced my jumper device to follow you, I sort of set up shop in dream ten... I though that was the way out, but so far you've never returned to that one" Theo sighed and his voice dropped "I almost thought you wanted to stay in your worlds..." he trailed off
The room fell silent for a moment. Maddie not knowing if she was trying to escape and Theo not knowing whether he was ready to let her go. It was now or never, he had to let her know how he felt or he could possible lose her.
"Mad-" "Theo" they both spoke at the same time
"You first" he said
She sighed "When I got that promotion, I though I'd made it I thought yes I've finally reached my potential. But even though it was a brief moment, it was empty and soulless and I felt maybe the lowest I've ever felt because there was nothing at the top but shallow, selfish souls or shells of people who I though I'd admired but in reality we're the ugliest forms of humans that I'd ever met, and it made me wonder is this what I want for myself... but still my ambition was blurring my vision, I thought 'don't quit let's see what's on the other side,' and here I am trapped by my own stupid ambition, Theo... I DONT want this , I don't want it at all, I want out and I'm already quitting that job. Now that I'm here though, trapped..." she looked directly at him moving slowly and closer to him searching his eyes "why are you here? Why did you follow me?"
"Maddie I — I," 'just say it!!' He thought "Madison I... I'm in love with you," he dropped his hands " I have been for a long time now, I valued our friendship too much to say anything but I can no longer dissolve my intense feelings for you... I love you with everything that I am, You have my heart and as frightening as that is to know, I still feel contented knowing that you do, I love you Maddie" he stopped himself from saying anymore words.
Maddie stood there eyes open wide, shocked
She turned away and walked slowly to the window then turned back to face him,
"I can't believe this, Theo!" She gasped and the gentlest look came over her face and then... happy tears.
"Theo... IM IN LOVE WITH YOU!!!" She ran toward him and locked lips, the kiss felt more like they were locking hearts. It was the most intense and deepest kiss they had either had.
He cupped her face in his palm. Both laughing with delight.
"I've loved you from the minute to you came to my door with that beautiful and deadly bouquet"
"Sorry about that" he blushed
"I had allergies for days but it was worth it, meeting you was the best thing to ever happen to me, I love you Theo, you are quite literally the man of my dreams"
Theo melted.
"Come now, let me show you another part of this fantasy while we're still safe" she sultrily took his hand and led him to her bedroom.