MACHINE

10. To Repair the Shell in Which a Broken Spirit Resides

I was transported back to the same field I had daydreamed about in the charging room of the bar. Lucas was in front of me once again. I was still running towards him, only a couple of feet behind. He was tantalizingly out of reach.

At first the sun was shining, illuminating the long blades of grass and warming my human skin. I was human. I took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh air. It was cool, with slightly warm undertones, and it smelled of fresh flowers and flowing water.

Lucas was a couple meters away as I followed him. He never turned his head to look at me, as though he didn't know I was there. I chased him in the sunshine, causing grasshoppers and butterflies to flee from where I stepped. The grasshoppers leaped gloriously and the butterflies twittered away haphazardly, their buttery wings reflecting the golden light of the sky.

Then the sun began to dip away from sight, the sky becoming darker and darker. I kept running, pursuing him. He constantly eluded me. Soon the grass of the field faded into shorter grass, then shrubs, and as the sun was gone and the moon began to rise I saw trees. Dark with mottled patches of moonlight. I saw the face of the moon looking down at me without compassion, and I felt an indescribable sorrow as I realised where I was. I kept chasing Lucas, thinking that if I somehow caught him everything would become alright. I felt as though if I could grab him by the shoulder, I could bring him back to the sunlit field and we could stay there. None of the rest had to exist.

I chased him through the forest, past the river glowing in the moonlight, and then we reached the tracks. I saw a white Bot with blue glow marks jumping into a train that was speeding by. Lucas slipped from his arm and fell onto the grass behind him, and he was left to the Deathmongers.

As they swarmed around him, our surroundings shifted and swam until we were in our office the day when this whole mess had begun. Deathmongers beating the life out of him, as I was held back by others. I didn't bother trying to attack them now, I just watched in silent horror. I had already realized I was dreaming, but I was unable to lucid dream or force myself into waking up. The dream just persisted, showing me the worst aspects of the last few months.

It felt like an entire day passed, the sun going down, and rising once more outside the office building. The entire time the Deathmongers punched in his ribs, broke his fingers, made his eyes and face swollen and blue. Blood splattered from his nose and mouth onto the carpet. I thought I could see most of his teeth bloody on the floor. All I could do was watch.

The office building began to crumble around me, I saw Lucas and the Deathmongers crushed, but I was unharmed. I stood in the heaped rubble of the building, still quite high above the ground. I looked up at the sky, and a long golden hand reached out from the sun. It was large enough to hold me as if I were a doll, lifting me into the sky, closing its fist and immersing me in intense heat and blinding light.

When my eyes opened, I was on Rada's table.

"Are you alright?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes." I lied, propping myself up on my elbow. "Why?"

"Nothing... It's just..." She looked away for a moment. "Well, you were screaming."

"Figures." I said, shaking my head as if I could make the horrifying images in my mind fly away as I did so. "I had a nightmare."

"I didn't know that could happen to a Bot." She said curiously. "I mean, to someone trapped in a Bot body." She added hurriedly, clearly not meaning to offend me. I ignored the previous comment.

"Neither did I." I responded, sounding more lifeless and drained than I anticipated.

I swung my legs over the edge of the table, examining my repaired hands and arm. "Nice work." I said, though my mind was still preoccupied with my dream. I need to make sure never to get shut off again unless it's completely necessary. I decided. I have to focus on the here and now if I'm to find Lucas, and dreams are too distracting. Too horrifying.