Sam is your typical 17-year-old high school bully. He has a group of friends who bullies for a living and is in a relationship with the hottest girl in school. One day, he met a strange boy named "Aaron", an 11th grader who wears enormous glasses an...
Someone in a lab coat, clutching a clipboard and a stethoscope around his neck came in. He was followed by Aaron, Allian, Phineas, Jason, Kevin and Katie who was in a line when they filed in. All of them surrounded Sam, looking at him sympathetically.
"Tell me what happened," the doctor said as they're done surrounding him.
No one spoke for a moment. Everyone was in complete silence as they all looked at Sam, who was lying stiffly on the platform.
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"I don't really know, Doc. We had several attempts to get him out but the chemicals didn't work this time and the machine malfunctioned beforehand, which never happened since its first dry run," Allian broke the silence.
"But he's still conscious, right?" Kevin asked Allian.
"Of course he is. He just can't get out of the dream-state. He's basically trapped," Phineas answered instead.
"Can we still get him out?" Katie spoke for the first time, concern in her voice.
"That... I don't know," Aaron Oliver, who was also one of the creators of the device, said with uncertainty for the first time.
"You must know that whatever he experiences with those dreams also affects him mentally. And as his psychiatrist, he had quite the history," the doctor said as he walked towards the rolling chairs. "I think you should all take a seat,"
All of them grabbed random chairs and formed a circle near the doctor.
"Aaron brought me here since the both of us worked with his case before. We both knew his parents and they were also kinda troubled on how to raise Sam because of his disorder," the doctor admitted.
"So he was a naturally troubled child?" Katie asked.
"You can say that," Aaron replied.
"As you've noticed, every person he had immersed had the same disorder as he does. Aaron did so for him to remember what he had done to his parents and he hoped that would change him," the doctor said.
"So... was I too late?" Jason asked.
"No. Not quite. I needed a reason and you just came at the right time, Jason. I just have to find a disguise to get closer to him. That Aaron kid was real but he was just an actor," Aaron said.
"Why? Why did you want Sam to change?" Kevin asked this time.
"I feel like as he gets older, his old habits are getting to him again. His troubled personality, his personality where he just pushes everyone out and builds a wall around himself and other characteristics that he had before he entered Greenfield High," Aaron replied.
"What was the disorder called?" Phineas asked out of curiosity.
"Depersonalization-derealization disorder. It is often misdiagnosed because it overlaps with other disorders and this can also be a symptom for anxiety and other mental illnesses that's why it's underrated, until now. It has been around for decades but only a few psychiatrists recognize that disorder," the doctor said.
Everyone went silent and kept their head down as they all try to process what happened.
"You said that you had known his parents. What really happened to his parents?" Jason asked.
Aaron and the doctor exchanged looks and Aaron nodded his head with the doctor agreeing with him.
"He killed them. He killed his parents unconsciously. He was having an episode and it was his worst episode ever," Aaron said. "That's what I'm trying to make him remember. I want him to remember what he had done to himself and to his future. I want him to remember that he's the reason why he's like that, too"
Katie froze in her seat, Jason and Kevin glared at the floor and Allian and Phineas' jaws were on the floor.
"I know this is a lot to take in. I didn't do this because Jason paid me or that I wanted him to suffer but I wanted him to open his eyes once again to the world he's currently living in," Aaron sighed.
"Since that happened, I guess he went to a rehab," Katie said, still shocked about the fact that Sam could do such a thing.
"Yes. He went into rehab for 4 years and the problem is, during his time in the rehab, he became too dependent on anti-depressants and tranquilizers. He couldn't move on with what he did and his anxiety is taking over him most times that caused him to be popping pills almost every time he's having a panic attack," the doctor said.
"I can't believe that he kept all of this from us. All this time? He had been through that all this time? Preposterous," Kevin said as he wandered around the lab as he was trying to look for something to kick.
"I didn't know he was capable of doing that. I can't look at him the same way again," Katie admitted.
"And now I thought he was some ignorant a-hole. Turns out, he's a good guy. The immersions showed him and also us his true nature towards other people and during critical situations," Jason said. "He just needs a wakeup call,"
Everyone fell silent again and the tension is felt by everyone.
What now? The chemicals didn't work.
The water system is unruly and unorganized.
We can't wake him up because he's in deep REM sleep.
