I Am You

Chapter One

I've been having dreams lately. Not the normal kind either. You know the ones where you wake up, and within seconds you can barely recall anything? Yeah, not those.

These are vivid. Extremely vivid! In fact, they cause me to wonder if what I perceive at this moment as the real world is truly a dream. I'm writing down what I remember because the truth is I need to make sense of this, and sometimes writing down what's bothering helps, right? At least that's what I've been told. Well, here goes nothing.

The dreams started right after my injury regarding my head. I hit it really badly a few weeks ago, and although the doctors said I was fine, they didn't mention any side effects of having extremely weird dreams.

The dreams started following some random kid at first, and then transitioned soon after to... well, I'll just tell you what happened.

Entry One

My head was throbbing. Pain was pulsating through it, forcing my face to grimace. My hands wasted no time rocketing up, grabbing onto my hair and pulling hard. It wasn't long before I began to hear the screams. Not just my own, but that of those around me. I try to look around, but bright lights shun my view.

Something presses against my right arm firmly, and I shoot my gaze towards it. Standing nearby is another person. Whether or not they are screaming I cannot tell, but they don't appear to be.

"Hold still," a firm voice escaped the figure, and following his command came a stinging feeling to my arm. I didn't have to guess what it was, it was a needle.

I shot my leg out towards him, missing entirely. I then attempted to stand up, but found that I couldn't. My body was going limp, more and more by the second.

"Just relax," the voice said, a soothing tone accompanying it, "The pain will disappear with sleep."

I didn't even have time to consider what he'd told me.

When I opened my eyes, the small amount of light seemed blinding, and forced me to press my eyelids together. I listened, wondering if I'd hear those dreadful screams from before. No matter how long I listened, none came.

Soon I dared to open my eyes, wider than I had before. I spotted what appeared to be a bed that I was laying upon, and not far past it was a small desk with a lamp where the light was coming from. Looking around, I spotted a door to my right. It appeared to be made out of metal, or something similar.

I slowly removed the blanket, and looked at the rest of my body. Everything was as it should be, no limbs missing, and nothing seeming amis. One foot dared to venture off of the bed, and the other followed close behind. When they contacted the ground, a cold sensation pierced my feet, and sent a small shock through my body.

Regardless of this small hurdle, I dared to get to my feet. That was when a large headache set in, and forced me back down towards the bed. Pulsations swept through my brain, and forced me to feel limp. I'd had headaches before, but never quite like this.

A sound came from my side, and I watched as the door opened. In stepped a figure in a white lab coat. I shifted my gaze upwards, wishing to see who this person was. His skin was white, and he had light brown hair adorning his head and face. His hair, while long, was well kept, and his beard was trimmed.

I'd never imagine I'd see a smile coming from whoever this person was, but that was the expression upon his face.

"Good morning," he said in a gentle voice, "Please drink this."

He held out a small white cup, the contents of which I was unaware. I eyed it, curious as to what it was, but unwilling to test it prior to knowing.

"It's medicine to assist you with your headache," he explained, "Nothing more, nothing less."

There was no stutter in his words, no lie in his voice, nothing setting off alarms. I decided that perhaps this was the best course of action, and reached out for the cup. I downed its contents without so much as a glance at what was inside, thinking to myself that it would be better if I didn't see.

It was void of taste, and I felt no repulsion at my actions. Within seconds of downing the drink, my head immediately felt better. The pulsations died away, and with it I was able to sit upright in the bed.

"Thank you," I said aloud, shocked at my own voice.

My savior wasted no time stating, "You do this every time."

"Every time?"

He nodded, "Every time you wake up from a system update, you do this... but I shouldn't be surprised. This type of thing is known to happen after updates."

"Updates?" I asked, "What do you mean updates?"

"I'd explain, but we already have a whole video ready to do that," he turned and began to walk out of the room, "Come on out when you're ready."