We keep walking. “There’s a place just up ahead,” he says. “They won’t find me there. We’ll be safe.”
I dig my arms through the narrow-leafed cattails, boots sinking into the soft, bubbling mud below. As we wade through the water, a small cabin appears. Elon’s old cabin.
I’ve been here before, way back when I was in high-school. We spent a lot of time in that living room watching movies with the family. As soon as I see it, a wave of nostalgia catches me off-guard.
The cabin used to be beautiful. But now, here, it looks dilapidated. Rundown and full of bad ju-ju.
Yes, this world is an impressive display of what humanity can achieve. But it’s also a warning that we need to stop. As fantastic as the simulation appears, the consequences will be devastating once introduced to the public.
If Elon brought me here to kidnap me, to steal my code for himself, he picked the wrong woman. I need to end this world. But for now, I don’t have too many options, except to follow his sadistic plan and enjoy my time doing so.
The wind circles around us, and a chill runs up my spine. “You’re not letting me go. Are you?” I ask.
He inhales, eyes set upon the open front door. “Humans are hopeful creatures,” he says. “But hope only brings one pain.”
“Not true. Hope is on your side. I can help you,” I shout.
He lowers his eyes. “Neither you nor my Xebulon leaders can save my soul,” he says.
“This place isn’t real,” I say. “You’ve got to believe me. All of this is his doing.”
But he doesn’t care. There’s no making him understand. He was programmed to believe in one truth, a certain kind of truth, that we are infected.
He shoves my shoulder, forcing me near a basement door on the outside of the property. The moon, white as a bowl of milk, spills its light onto the steps toward the inside.
I take one step down, plank creaking underneath my feet. Down here, it’s cold and dark, save the celestial lights above.
“That’s the thing,” he says. “I’m going to be the one to prove this world is real. And when I do, You’ll be mine forever.”
Another step into the unknown.
Another harsh shove until another realization hits me. Maybe there is no way out.
Maybe I’m stuck here. Forever.
I thought I could make this work. I believed I could move the dial. But as he leads me into that darkened dwelling below the earth’s floor, I see the alien for who he really is.
An alpha divided. A beast awakened.
A lust to fear.
5
Ava
There’s no way this is happening to me.
This place isn't a dream. It’s a nightmare. And the more I close my eyes, the deeper I fall into its spell.
No matter how highly Elon must think of his awe-inspiring creation, there’s no way this will last forever.
Perhaps that’s the point.
Maybe Elon planned to lead me to my death, so humanity could see the errors in its ways. So that he wouldn’t have to unleash this project onto the world.
I’m naively optimistic, I know.
My alien captor, shrouded in darkness, strips me of my clothes. I’m naked, terrified, shivering against the cold cement wall. He takes my arm and guides me through his chamber of darkness. The stench of death is overpowering. Blood has dried on the floors.