Trapped

Chapter Seven

January 7, 2060

The stairs are different than the rest of the house. They seem new and untouched, not a single dent or scratch on the steps. It must have been built recently, but I don't remember my parents telling me. With the flashlight aimed towards my feet I move further down. I count my steps along the way, something I've been doing ever since I was a kid. It helped me navigate in the dark by making sure I did not miss a tread. There are a lot more steps than I anticipated, I finally reach the bottom on number 46. It seems as if I'm in a tunnel of some sorts. I look to the right and see that the orange light is emitted by a small lamp hanging from the ceiling. Underneath the lamp there is a table with something on it, it seems to be a book. There is nothing else here but concrete walls. I use my flashlight to see where the tunnel ends, but it's impossible to see. The flashlight does not have enough reach to illuminate the end. My fear of the dark has never fully gone away. I can feel the darkness is getting to me, my breathing is heavier and I'm starting to sweat. I keep my flashlight pointed in front of me as I slowly move towards the table. Even with the few extra metres forward, the end of the tunnel is still not visible. As I get closer to the table, the cover of the book becomes visible. I freeze for a second, this can't be. The cover reads 'Somnium is the answer', it's the same book I found in my father's office. I wonder how it got here, it was still in the office just now. I place the flashlight on the table, keeping it's light directed towards the dark end of the tunnel. There is a small opening between the pages of the book, it looks like one of the pages is folded. I grab the gap and slowly open the book. I am greeted by the same chapter as before, but there seems to be more text than the first time. I scroll through the text and reach the point where it ended last time. The sentence that abruptly ended is now complete. 'With the right therapists, it is even possible to create an entire world in which the therapist is in control. This allows for the subject to experience another world that will feel completely real.' There is an arrow on the bottom of the page to incite me to turn the page over. The previously empty page is now filled. 'There is only one thing the therapist can't control: the subject itself. Within the dream the subject will have control over their own body and mind which can create disturbances if they are not dealt with correctly. It is therefore imperative that the therapist monitors the subject intensively to ensure a smooth session.' The second page contains nothing but the words: 'Turn the page over.' I'm hesitant to oblige this command, scared as to what I will find. I decide to do it anyway. The next page contains a single line of capitalized text. It reads: 'ECKHARDT IS A DREAM THERAPIST!'.

I can't process what I've just read. Multiple thoughts are flooding my brain. It can't be that someone willingly lets someone else control his dreams, can't it? This should not be possible to begin with. Normally I would think this is nonsense, but I can't stop thinking about the note I found in dad's office. Can it be that the Somnium is real, and they are able to control people's dreams? I glance back at the book. Can it be true that Doctor Eckhardt is a dream therapist? It makes sense that it would require a professional to pull this off, but it would be a large responsibility. I don't understand what is happening, did my mother write this? I scroll through the text again when something catches my attention. The choice of words seems odd at times. Why would the subject create a disturbance in something created for them? Suddenly I'm filled with an overwhelming feeling of shock. I realise the subjects must not be aware of what is happening to them, they must believe the world they are in is real. This is madness, this can't be allowed. I think about Doctor Eckhardt, is he even a real therapist? Could it be... Could it be he is trying to lure me into a dream session? The medication, the strange notes in his notebook, he was setting me up! The medication got me to question myself, whether what I was seeing was real. I thought I was going crazy, but it wasn't my fault.

Feelings of frustration, anger and confusion overwhelm me. How could I have let this happen, how was I so blind to his malpractices. There are still so many things I don't understand, how do I know that what I'm seeing now is really here. Am I really in this tunnel under the house, or is all of this just a hallucination. There has got to be a way out of this, out of everything. I guess I will have to keep moving in order to find out. When I recover from whatever is distorting my brain, I will confront Doctor Eckhardt. He can't get away with this unpunished. I pick up the flashlight and start moving towards the dark end of the tunnel. Each step on the concrete floor creates a small echo that quickly dies out. I keep a steady pace, determined to find my way out. I squint my eyes as I notice something vaguely at the end of the hallway. I take a few steps closer and notice a wall in front of me, there is something written on it. As I move closer, the cone of light reveals more and more of the wall I'm running into. When I get close enough, I notice that I can make a right turn. I stand in front of the wall, the text overlaps into the smaller area leading to the right. I point my flashlight towards the wall and scroll from left to right. It reads 'The only way to escape is to find yourself David, literally'. I stop for a second and think about what it says. How can I literally find myself? Perhaps with a mirror or something else that reflects where I am. Moving alongside the wall to the right, I find myself in a room with a box in the middle. Looking around the room I see that there is another tunnel diagonally from where I came in. I wonder how far this maze reaches, I don't know how much of this I can take. The box seems like a regular cardboard box, on the side it reads: 'David'. I kneel down to open the lid, some dust jumps up when I flip the ledges open. It must've been closed off for a while now. Inside the box there are a couple of pictures. Pictures of our family. A handful of pictures include me with my parents when I must've been three years old. I grab a next set of pictures, they are just of my mother. There are a few more pictures on the bottom, I pick them up as well. My eyes widen as I look at the last picture. It's a picture of my mother, she must be around 70 years old here, but she is only 52 yet! I look at the back of the picture, 'Juliet, September 2078'. This must be a mistake, that's another 18 years away. I scroll through the pictures again, I'm only present on the very early ones. I look at the back of one of those pictures. 'Juliet, Sam and David, June 2039'. So this was indeed when I was three years old. It's strange there are no pictures of me or my dad at a later time, I'm sure my mother would've insisted on taking them at some point.

I don't know where to go from this point, the further I get into this, the further I drift away from reality. How can I find myself if I don't even know what I'm looking for. Maybe I should just make a run for it, see if I can find an exit. It will be hard to see where I'm going, but I'm all out of ideas. I stand back up and walk towards the next hallway. I pick up the pace, the walls are flashing by fast. I reach another wall and have to turn left, I have no clue where I am at this point. All of a sudden I hear a sharp voice: 'Stop!'. I immediately come to a halt, was that, my mother's voice? I look around, expecting to find her behind me, looking for me. But no one is there. 'Mother, is that you? Where are you?' I say with a trembling voice. She answers right away this time. 'Listen to me David, I don't have much time. You're not getting it, I'm trying to get you out. I don't know how to tell you this, but, Doctor Eckhardt is not trying to lure you into a dream session. You're already in one.' My heart sinks, unable to place what she just said. Can it be true, can this all be a dream? She continues: 'There is no time to explain it all. Just find yourself David, your literal self. This tunnel is filled with memories and information about you and the dream, within this maze you will find your dream induced body. Find it David! It's the only way to snap out of it. I have to go now, he can't find out I'm helping you. Be safe David, I'll be waiting for you, I love you.' The voice fades away, but her words do not. I whisper to myself, 'I'm in a dream, I'm in a dream, I'm in a dream.' My knees become weak and there is a beating pain in my head. I drop down to the floor, my eyes close for a moment, flashes of light and dark cover my eyes. I'm afraid I'm going to pass out.

I open my eyes, not completely aware of what happened. I look to my right, the flashlight is laying next to me. I must not have been out for a long time, the flashlight still shines as bright as before. I pick it up and sit up. My head is spinning, but the pain has faded away. I think about what happened. How long have I been in this dream, how was Doctor Eckhardt able to get me in here without me noticing. More importantly, how is my mother involved? She is definitely not a dream therapist, so how is she communicating with me? Could it be that she is involved with Doctor Eckhardt? It seems unlikely, but I'm not sure what to believe at this point. If she is involved with Doctor Eckhardt her advice might be malicious, I will have to be aware of that. There are too many questions, being in a dream only answers some of them. I slowly gather my strength, sitting here is not going to resolve anything. My only hope is to follow my mother's advice, to find myself in this maze. I stand up and take the flashlight in my hand, I aim both ways. I can't recall which way I came from, but I guess it doesn't matter. I start to move in the direction which I think was the way I was going. Hopefully finding myself is truly the solution to getting out of this place. After only a few steps I hear a distant scream. 'No, John, leave me alone!' It's my mother's voice.