Chapter 62: Chapter 62 Not The End
"What are we going to do?" asked the raspy voiced guy.
Dustin couldn't move anything, but his hearing was getting better. Could it have really been a virtual reality? No, he refused to believe it!
"Grab the information from the guy next door, that we are planning to release tomorrow. We'll copy it over to this guy's data. No one's going to notice."
"Okay, but I'm not going to be here when this guy wakes up. If he's been on that death world for twenty years, then he'll kill us the moment he's released from his straps. Should I get a psych eval set up?"
"No, that might tip off someone that we think something's wrong. Let's get that new girl, Olivia, in here to deal with him. I hear she's used to dealing with the Josagn. This guy shouldn't be as hard to deal with as those nasty birds," said the deep voiced guy.
"Shit! Did you see the blood results? It looks like they crashed the machine. What do I do?"
"Stop panicking! You're going to give us away. Take a breath and I'll handle this. Need some more smokes?"
"No, I got some. Thanks," said the raspy man as he apparently left, the door shutting softly behind him.
"Freaking idiot," grumbled the deep voice as the sound of keys tapping reached Dustin's ears.
"There, now to get Olivia."
The room was quiet after the two left, and Dustin forced his body to start responding. By the time the door opened again, he had managed to sit up on the side of his bed. Glancing up, his breath caught in his chest. It was Olivia. She was younger than he remembered.
"Awake already? I'm sorry it took me so long to get here, the other orderlies had an emergency to deal with. Let's take a look here," she said cheerfully, stepping up to the console with his information.
"Looks like you just finished a six-month stint at a low-level prison, so we'll get your records updated and you'll be cleared to leave. Do you know if you have anyone capable of picking you up?"
Dustin scrunched his brow at her words. He wasn't sure what was real. Was his mother still alive? Was she a drunk? Did he have a dad, still alive?
"Don't fret too much," she said, throwing a smile at him that caused his heart to jump. "I'll check our records, and see if you have anyone available. I know it's kind of rough coming out of the mind fog."
He watched her as she started typing on the console, letting his gaze travel over her hair and face. She didn't have the added weight of bearing Kit, but she had those muscles he remembered wrapping around him. Closing his eyes, he cleared his throat.
"Do I know you?" he asked, his voice rough.
She glanced up and smiled at him. "That can happen. The computer will take people you've see in your life and construct new people for you to interact with in the virtual world. I'm pretty sure you haven't seen me before, but maybe you saw someone like me?"
Dustin shook his head. "No, I mean… have you gone to see the general, yet?" he asked, remembering some of what Olivia had told him when they first met, so long ago.
Her hands froze in mid type, and a surprised look flashed over her face before it was gone. "I don't know what you mean."
"He's going to try and rape you," Dustin continued in a soft voice, trying to remember what she had told him. Had she killed him? Or had it been an accident where the guy died anyway?
"What?" she squeaked, before clearing her voice and shaking her head.
"Sir, I assure you, that you are merely struggling with fake realities. Please remain calm while I check back over your records. There shouldn't be anything about a general in your history…"
Dustin waited while she poured over the information before, watching as her small mouth frowned deeper and deeper.
"I'm sorry to bother you so much," he finally said, unable to bear watching that mouth frown. "Do I have anyone capable of picking me up?"
She glanced up at him as if trying to decide if he was capable of being released, then decided the small bit from before must have been leftovers from waking up and gave him a small smile.
"I have your mother listed, though it says she's not interested in picking you up. You seem to have a small apartment listed as a waiting residence for you. That's funny…" her voice trailed off as she read the address.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing. You just seem to be in the apartment next to mine. It caught me by surprise is all," she said, giving him another smile before going back to typing.
"If you're not busy, want to grab a bite to eat sometime?" he asked, with a smile.
"I'm not sure that would be appropriate," she said with a shake to her head.
"Fair enough. Keep me in mind, if you change your mind," he said, rubbing his face and stretching. The clothes they had laid out for him were scratchy and poor quality, but at least they weren't made of paper.
"You have been cleared to leave. I've arranged for a taxi to take you to your apartment, where they will have your key waiting at the manager's office. Have a nice day, sir."
She gave him a smile and held out her hand to help him stand.
"What? You don't have to wait for me to pee, or anything like that? No tests to make sure I'm physically and mentally stable to leave?"
She frowned. "You seem physically capable and our conversation, despite the little hiccup in the beginning, proves your mental stability is sufficient for release. Do you have any concerns?"
Dustin wanted to tell her about their relationship. How they had passionate sex that produced a wonderful boy, their falling apart for a decade, only to get back together in just enough time for him to lose her again. The words wouldn't come, and he found himself looking at her longingly.
"Can I ask a question?" he asked, looking down at his non-skid socks that would have to suffice until he got back to the apartment.
"Of course," she said with another smile.
"Can I have a hug? It seems like I just lost a lot of dear people." The words were soft, his look lost.
With a laugh, she held her hands open.
As he hugged her, he knew this wasn't the end. He would win her heart again.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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Sdrawkcab I still have a chapter or two to go, so don't give up on me yet!
Chapter 63: Chapter 63 Proof
Dustin sat heavily in the taxi, as it drove through the dark streets. His mind still refused to accept that the past twenty years had been fake. There had been too much that was real. The pain and anguish just refused to settle on him. As the taxi pulled up to the curb, he noticed the blinking red light of a camera in the corner, recording him.
Thanking the driver, he climbed out and looked around. The memories of this place were faint, almost gone. His eyes caught another camera watching him, from the corner of the building. As he walked toward the entrance to his apartment building, he saw that the camera was moving in order to keep him in its sights. A nagging thought occurred to him, but he put it out of his mind as he entered the apartment.
Ignoring the camera that turned to watch him above the door down the hall, he walked up to the manager's office and knocked.
"Come in," came a muffled voice.
Opening the door, Dustin was caught off guard by the horrid stench that filled the room. The manager turned in his chair to look at Dustin, his eyes red rimmed and filmy. On the desk was an assortment of drug paraphernalia, that the guy was too far gone to even try to hide.
"Oh, yea, the prison guy. Your keys are over there on the hook. Let yourself out," he added as he turned back to his chemical recreation.
Dustin looked to his left and saw the little board with its classic tiny hooks. There was only one set of keys, so he grabbed them and saw the number 235 printed on them. Shutting the door firmly behind him, he made his way to the elevator, to see it was out of order. With a sigh, he turned to the stairs. A bum was sound asleep just inside the door, an empty bottle of rum laying next to him.
Pausing at his apartment door, he glanced to either side. Olivia had said her apartment was next to his. Did that mean on the side? Or across the hall? Did he want to wait until she got off work to find out? The camera at the end of the hall was watching him, so he inserted his key and pushed his door open.
It was just as his memories remembered it, bits and pieces of alien technology scattered over every spare space, except for near the kitchen door. It was strangely clean there, other than a thick layer of dust. He looked around quickly, for any blinking red lights, and relief shot through him.
Dustin made sure every window was locked and the curtains securely closed, before unplugging everything electronic in the apartment. He started to gather the bits and pieces into piles, determined that his memories of the past twenty years couldn't be wrong. What if he had lived the future?
The AI could be watching him, knowing that he knew about it from the program he had just woke up from. He was going to do things right this time!
With a PED half finished in his lap, a knock came to his door.
Grabbing his largest screwdriver, he rushed to the door and peaked out the view port.
Olivia was there, looking around, terrified.
Pulling the door open, he quickly pulled her into the room, and glanced at the camera. It was turned away from him, so she wasn't recorded coming into his room.
"How did you know?" she asked, anger and fear warring for control of her emotions.
"You killed him, didn't you?" he asked, moving back to the PED he had left on the floor. They didn't have much time. There would be people coming for them soon.
"It was instinct when he grabbed me. I couldn't stop myself," her voice was hurried, panicked.
"Help me get this stuff into these bags. We have to get out of here. They're going to be here soon!"
"Who?" she asked, helping him shove the alien pieces into the two backpacks he had found in his closet.
"The military, of course. There's about to be a war with the Josagn, if it hasn't already started."
Olivia looked at him for a moment, then went back to packing.
Strapping the unfinished PED to her arm, he pulled her sleeve back down over it.
"You are going to need that, when I get a chance to finish it. Let's get your hair changed. They aren't going to look for two people traveling together."
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"My mother is a drunk, but she has a lot of money. I'm going to collect my inheritance and then get us out of here, where they won't find us. If we get caught, we're going to be in some serious trouble."
She looked at him, as if he was crazy, and for a moment he wondered if he was.
"I don't know. Maybe I should turn myself in…"
Grabbing her shoulders, Dustin turned her to look at him.
"I lost you once, please don't make me lose you again." His voice cracked.
She scrunched her brow. "Maybe you did need that psych eval…"
"Look, I need to prove to you that I'm not making crap up." He turned and ran his hand through his hair, looking around for anything to help him convince her. Then he thought of something. Turning back, he held up his hand and she looked at it, out of reflex.
Dustin focused on the sensation of changing. He remembered it. It had been almost a reflex by the end. He didn't have the genetic information inside of him from the countless aliens of the galaxy, but he was Uz'En, and he didn't need the genetic information. He just had to know it was possible. They could change just from seeing something.
As she glanced at his face in suspicion and confusion, he strained at the change. Sweat beaded his brow. This had to work!
Olivia opened her mouth to say something, but before a word could escape her mouth, her eyes widened in shock as his hand began to change. His fingers thickened with dark scales and grew claws. A deadly toxin glistened on the tips, and Dustin grinned.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
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I think that's the end. I might type one last chapter, but let me know what you thought!
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