LOGINThe giant needle did not look like a doctors tool. It looked like a silver tooth. It was hollow and filled with a liquid. The liquid moved inside the glass like trapped smoke. It was thick. Changed between gold and black colors."Benson wait!" June shouted.She tried to pull her hand from the machine.. The old mans grip was strong. He was thin. Looked weak but his fingers felt like iron. It was not his muscles moving his hand. It was the power of the machines connected to his wheelchair. He was part of the computer now."There is no time to wait June!" Bensons voice cracked. He hit a button on the side of his chair.With a clack metal cuffs snapped shut around Junes wrists. They locked her to the computer desk. The cold metal hurt her skin making it turn red. She. Kicked her heels against the floor but she could not move. She was trapped."You are a doctor!" Benson yelled. The lab alarms were now screaming. "You know how a virus works. If we do not kill the source now the General will
The phone in Junes hand felt very heavy. It was a piece of glass and metal that should not have been working. Around her the world was a graveyard of ash and broken machines. There were no power lines, no cell towers. Yet the screen was glowing with a light."INCOMING CALL: BENSON""June what is that?" her mother asked. She pulled her hand away from Junes face. Her eyes were wide with fear. "Is that a piece of the machine?"June did not answer. Her thumb stayed over the Accept" button. Her heart had just started beatingIf I answer this do I let the dream in? June wondered."Do not touch it!" the soldier shouted. He ran toward her through the dirt. His heavy boots kicked up clouds of grey ash. "Doctor that phone is a trap. The Boss is trying to find a way into our heads."June looked at the soldier back at the phone. The vibration was moving up her arm. It shook her bones. It did not feel like a machine. It felt like a heartbeat."He is calling from the ocean " June whispered. Her voi
The orange did not rot. It did not fall to the ground. Instead it broke into a thousand black squares. These squares swirled around Junes wrist like a cloud of bees. They felt cold and sharp buzzing against her skin."Drop that remote Mom!" June yelled.She tried to move but her feet felt heavy like they were made of stone. She looked down at the ground. The grey dust was turning into computer code beneath her boots. The "Save" icon over her heart was spinning fast. It made a high screaming sound."I can't do it June " her mother whispered.Her mothers hands were shaking. She was holding the remote like a shield. Behind her thousands of workers began to walk toward the ship. They moved like puppets on strings."The General said the orange was a virus " her mother cried. Tears left lines on her dusty face. "He said if you brought it from the dream world it would delete our world. He said you were trying to kill us all!""The General is a computer program, Mom!" June stepped onto the du
The air in the lab did not feel fresh like the rain in my dream. It felt cold and metallic like something was burning.June tried to get up. Her legs felt weak like they were made of wet paper. She fell against the metal pod she was in. The cold metal felt like ice on her skin. All the alarms in the room were screaming loudly. The noise hurt her ears. Made her head spin.A voice said, "Do not move, Subject 03."June looked up. Saw a boy.. He did not look like a real boy. His skin was too smooth, like stone. There were icons in his eyes that looked hungry. He was floating in the air his feet not touching the ground.June asked, "Where is he?" She did not care about the soldiers with guns moving towards her. She looked at the man in the pod next to her. This man sounded like the Assistant. "Where is Benson?"The man looked at her with scared eyes. He started pulling wires out of his head with fingers. "I am the backup " he said. "I am the saved file. The real Benson stayed in the fire."
June did not scream. She could not scream. Her throat felt like it was filled with wet sand.She stared at the television screen. Her eyes were wide and unblinking. The news lady was. Her voice sounded like it was coming from a deep well. "...The biggest medical test in history " the voice said. "Doctors say the students are okay. They are just sleeping deeply.""June look at me" Benson said. His voice was sharp.He did not come near her. He moved back. His boots made a scratching sound on the floor. The sound was too loud and too clear. It sounded like a recording not like someone walking in a house."I am looking at you Benson" June whispered.She slowly turned her head. There was a green circle in the corner of Bensons eye. It was spinning. It looked like the "Save" icon on a computer. It was beating like a heart. It was like a ghost living inside his eye."You see it too do you not" Benson asked. He reached up to touch his eye. His fingers were shaking. "It feels like a bug's movi
The blue sun did not feel warm anymore. It felt sharp like a thousand needles pressing against Junes skin.She stood in the middle of the field. Her hand was shaking. It was an inch away from the glowing "YES" button in the air.The air around her smelled like flowers and fresh rain. This was a world made from pieces of a dying one.. Behind the beautiful blue sky she could still hear the ghost of the Generals voice.* "One soul for a planet June. Save people by killing just one."* "June? Why are you shaking?" Benson stepped closer to her.He reached out to touch her shoulder. His hand was no longer made of skin. It was shining, metal that caught the blue sunlight.He looked perfect. Strong, healthy and young.. As his fingers touched her arm June pulled away."If I press this Benson " June whispered, her voice cracking like wood "the 'Original Universe' is deleted. That means the basement. The bridge. The ruins of our city. All of it... Will be gone forever.""But June those places we
The SUV’s tires shrieked as June raced up the narrow mountain road, pushing the car as fast as she dared. Rain had turned to icy snow, painting everything outside in quick flashes—dark trees, white ice, and nothing else. Behind them, the FBI’s blue and red lights danced in the storm, angry and rele
The warehouse doors exploded open with a bang, slamming against the wall. Night wasn’t dark anymore—flashing blue and red lights painted the wet ground, flickering like wild dancers. June just stood there, frozen. Her hands shook, but she didn’t drop the heavy black gun. Her white dress was a mess,
The end didn’t come with fireworks or some earth-shattering roar. It crept in on a low, building hum. When the countdown hit zero, that black hole inside the oven didn’t blow up. Instead, it started to inhale—slow and strange. A wave of sound rolled out—so deep no one could hear it, yet strong enou
The helicopter’s searchlight swept over the grass, hungry and restless, turning night into a harsh, blinding white. “Get down! Don’t move!” Dante hissed.He yanked June and her mom into the deep shadow of a giant iroko tree. The wind from the blades was brutal, thrashing the leaves so hard they r







