Scary Horror Stories by Dr. NoSleep - I don’t know how you’ll receive this message, but you need to wake up

Episode Date: November 22, 2021

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I don't know how you'll receive this message, but you need to wake up. Those were the words I found plastered on my television screen. I was mere moments from drifting off to sleep. My wife lay peacefully in my lap. She'd already fallen into a peaceful slumber as we watched an old gangster movie that had dragged on for a bit too long. Still, the words alone were enough to jolt me back to attention. They just lingered there on a plain black screen. After a few seconds of staring, the text changed.

Please, wake up, screen said. It was just past midnight, which was an issue all on its own as I had work in the morning. But on the other hand, I wasn't entirely convinced I hadn't fallen asleep. It might just have been an odd dream. But then the text changed again. Wake up, Devin Larson. That wasn't my name, nor was it the name of anyone I knew. It was just a random bunch of letters thrown at my screen, interrupting my leisure time.

I looked over at the time, an old grandpa clock with hand-carved symbols I'd never been able to decipher. It read 254 a.m. meaning almost three hours had passed since the first message popped up on the television. Yet to me, only a single moment had gone by. By then, panic had started to rise within my body. I gently shook my wife, trying to wake her up. Mary, please look at this, I almost begged. She let out a quiet groan of resistance, but didn't wake up. As I stared at her peacefully lying there, my mind started to drift back to our first date. We'd met on the pier at the beach.

Her hat had blown into the water, and in a futile attempt at impressing her, I dove in after it. On my way back, I slipped on the rocks, and she laughed as I tried to get back up. She thanked me, and we had an ice cream cone together. It was a perfect day, almost unremembering. Why that thought intruded my distressed mind, I didn't know. In a way, it felt as if my mind was trying to repress what I'd just seen. Then I heard the sounds of men talking, which snapped my attention back to the television, which was playing a documentary of sorts.

I could just barely pay attention to what the men were talking about. 100,000 people in a world full of lives, all trying to find their way out, the voice said. Had it all just been a dream? Had my tired mind partially drifted off to sleep? to sleep, causing me to hallucinate? Whatever the case, I decided it was time for bed. No sooner had the thought struck my mind before I found myself halfway up the stairs, walking towards my bedroom. I glanced down in my watch. It read 3.42 a.m. Another hour had passed in the blink of an eye. Lars, what are you doing up? aired Mary say from the top of

the stairs. What, what happened? I asked. I don't know. I just woke up and you weren't there. you okay? She asked. I'm not sure, I said as I shook my head to wake up. I think I, the words froze in my throat, because as I looked up again, my wife was gone. The hallway at the top of the stairs was empty, as if she'd never stood there. Mary? I called out meekly. No response. I was just left alone in the darkness, not knowing what it just happened. I could feel the adrenaline and fear rushed through my veins, yet whether I was dreaming or not, I still couldn't tell. Then I heard a loud, static sound coming from the living room. I turned around to see the television turning back on by itself. That time there wasn't any text, just a quiet, muffled voice

trying to break through the mess of static noise. Devin, please, wake up, the voice said. I walked with trepidant steps back to the living room, trying to listen to the voice. The world is a lie. You have to listen. They're coming for you. Who are you talking about? Who are you? I screamed at the television. Then my mind drifted back to the grandfather clock. I couldn't put my finger on exactly what was bothering me about it, but it just felt out of place, as if it didn't really exist. By then, the static had turned incomprehensible. Whatever voice was hidden within it had long since vanished. There I stood before an innocent clock that was scaring me half to death. Thinking back, I couldn't explain where it had come from, whether it had been in the house as we moved in, or if it belonged to

my wife. It had just been an ever-present object, never letting anyone pay too close attention to it. I brushed my hand against it, feeling its oddly smooth, unnatural surface. While it had looked like wood, the feel of it told an entirely different story. As I reached the face of the clock itself, I felt a shock urge through my body. Within a second, I'd been slammed towards the ground, my body freezing in place as the world vanished around me. For a moment, I fell through an infinite black void, feeling my body disintegrate with each passing second. No sooner had every atom of my being been stripped from my own flesh before I was shocked back to life. My eyes shot open, but the world ahead was nothing but a blurry mess. I was lying in some kind of fluid. I realized that much,

but somehow I was still breathing. I tried to move around, but my body was too weak to form effective movement. I just kind of floated in the solution, confused and afraid. Then I noticed the tube dug into my throat. It pumped air into my lungs and sucked it back out. It was a sort of life support system, making sure I didn't suffocate or drown. I tried to scream, but how could I with a piece of plastic shoved inside me? I reached out my hand, touching a glass container that was keeping me trapped inside the fluid. A hand slammed against the glass on the other side, accompanied by a voice. Devin! It screamed, before the world around me faded to black once more. Lars, wake up. I heard Mary call out as I slowly faded back to the world I knew. She'd called my name, but it felt all too unfamiliar,

almost wrong. What happened? I asked. I just found you lying on the floor. Are you okay? The images I'd seen were still stuck in my mind, as were the cryptic messages I'd heard. The world is a lie, kept repeating inside my head. I then stared up at my perfect, concerned wife. I knew that she wasn't real, nor were any of the experiences we'd had together. My false image of reality had been shattered, and I finally realized that I needed to wake up, that I had a real life to get back to. That's why I'm here now, telling this story. I figured out that among the 7 billion people on the planet, only approximately 100,000 of us are real. Those of us who are, will have gotten the same message I did in one way or another, be it a text message, a song, or a YouTube video shared by a channel

specializing in animation. If you are seeing this, you need to wake up. The world you live in is a lie. Please, just wake up. It wasn't an easy task to comprehend the mess in front of us. The emptiness didn't just appear as a black hole or invisible surface. It was more akin to what one experiences when closing one eye and trying to explain what it sees, not darkness nor colors, simply nothing. Gary, please talk to me. Mary begged as we stared at the break in reality. I looked over to the bills on the table back in the living room. They seemed so sinister then,

as if the psychiatrist knew what I was about to experience. There wasn't anything wrong with me. Instead, it was the world that had been damaged. Then I turned to my wife to embrace her, to reassure her that everything would be all right, despite not believing it. But, as I went to wrap my arms around her, the world around me simply vanished beneath my feet. I fell into an infinite void of darkness, before finally feeling an electrical jolt surge through my body.

When I opened my eyes once again, the world around me was blurry. I tried to reach out my arms to gain a better understanding of my surroundings, but they were too weak and in pain. Apart from wriggling around, I could barely move. That's when I realized I was locked inside a glass capsule. Someone was knocking on the glass, a woman standing on the other side. Jack! She yelled. I tried to respond, but there was something in my mouth.

A tube that forced air into my lungs, expanding and deflating them against my will. It was a life support system. but not one found in any hospital. I used all my strength just to reach out my hands, silently begging for the person on the other side to save me. But before they ever got the chance, I was slung back to the reality I had come from. Mary stood over me, trying to shake me awake.

Gary, please! She yelled as I regained consciousness. I was lying on the floor, soaked in sweat. I felt unnaturally cold. as if my body had been dead for hours, completely stiff and pale. Did you see that? I asked with a groggy voice. See what? You just passed out.

There was a woman. She called me Jack. I said. You were passed out, Gary. It wasn't real. I wasn't entirely convinced, but the memories were fading all too fast, akin to a dying dream in the early morning hours. For each second that passed, the images of the glass tank and the woman standing above me were disappearing from my mind.

I redirected my attention towards the empty space on the wall. It was an impossible phenomenon. One neither of us had the comprehension to explain. Before we got a chance to discuss the matter any further, a loud beep emitted from our television. We turned around, peeking into the living room, where a single world, word had been plastered onto the screen. Run! For a moment, I just stood there, dumbfounded and still unconvinced that I hadn't absolutely lost my mind.

It wasn't until Mary spoke before I snapped back to reality. What's happening? she asked. I don't. I don't know. Then the screen changed. They're coming, it read. Gary? Mary tried to say, but we were interrupted by a loud knocking on the door.

Mr. Widmore, open up, a manly voice said from the other side. What's going on, Gary? Mary asked. I don't know. Stay here. I opened the door to find two men dressed in dark uniforms. They were both armed, though they weren't wielding their weapons. Mr. Widmore, you need to come with us, they said. Mary tried to protest. but they ignored her. I tried to calm her down as they ushered me towards their car. As much as I begged for answers, they wouldn't give me any.

I turned around to say goodbye to my wife, at which point they violently grabbed my arm. Take care of her, one of the men said. The other nodded in response before approaching Mary. She tried to walk backwards away from them, but the man was too fast. He gently touched her shoulder, causing her to freeze in place, her eyes lighting up with panic.

Leave her alone, I yelled, but it was too late. Mary had been frozen in place by an unseen force. Her shoulder was locked mid-air, and whatever was affecting her seemed to be spreading. I can't, I can't breathe. She managed to get out before her entire chest had been locked solid. It was as if time had stopped only for her. freezing each atom within her body in place.

Mary! I screamed. The two men pulled me into the car, too strong for me to even think about resisting. Once inside, one of them picked up a radio attached to the dashboard. Initiate protocol B-7 at Stanford Street 7, the man said into the radio. A distorted voice responded, confirming the order.

I looked down in my arm. Red marks had formed exactly where they'd grabbed me. It hurt, even burning as if someone had lit it on fire with invisible flames. The sensation seemed to dig its way through my skin, filling my veins and spreading up my arm. What did you? I started to say as my words began to slur. The world before me went blurry, and before I could process what had just happened, I fell into a black void of emptiness.

As I lingered in my own unconsciousness, I saw flashes of. places and people I didn't know. Despite the unfamiliarity, they awoke an undying feeling of nostalgia within me. I felt at home, though filled with Jaume-Vu. A voice called out through the darkness, breaking through the flashes. Jack, it whispered, wake up. With that, I was thrown back into my own body. I was being held up by the two men that had kidnapped me, and by the look of my surroundings, We were inside an elevator going up. He's awake, one of the men stated matter-of-factly. It doesn't matter. He doesn't have anywhere to go.

There was only one button visible within the elevator, and no sign to tell us which floor we would eventually land on. Still, minutes would pass before the lift finally came to a standstill. The doors opened. I was pushed into a large, empty room too clean to possibly exist in reality. All it contained was a few chairs and a desk covered in documents. In the back of the room, an old rotary phone hung attached to the wall, with no visible cables connecting it to a network.

What is this place? I asked, without getting a response. They put handcuffs on me as they forced me to sit by the desk, none of them speaking a word. They just stood there with angry expressions on their faces. What do you want for me? I asked. Do you know where we are, Jack? One of the men asked. He'd called me Jack, a name that wasn't mine,

but one that had become all too familiar during the past few days. The pit in my stomach was just barely alleviated by the hopes that it might all be a case of mistaken identity. That's not my name. I'm Carrie Widmore. I basically shouted at the man standing three feet away. He shook his head. Do you really believe that?

What do you mean? I asked. You don't belong here, Jack Lawrence. This isn't your world. His words resonated with me in the most horrific way. Parts of me knew he was right, but I couldn't accept it. My mind wandered back to the little girl I'd found in the alley. Her claims that the world wasn't real run through my every thought. This world isn't real? I half asked, half stated. The men looked at each other.

A brief moment of disappointment washing over their faces. Our world isn't yours to destroy, he said while ignoring my question. Unfortunately, as your awareness of your real life increases, the damage to your surroundings follow suit. It's our job to stop that from happening. Unfortunately, that doesn't leave us with many viable options. I looked around the room again. It seemed so clean, too simple to match reality.

Not a speck of dust littered any surface, nor did it produce an echo, as would have been the case in such a large, empty space. It felt as if the place wasn't trying to maintain the illusion of being reality. What are you trying to say? I asked, though I had my suspicions. That you have to die, Jack. For whatever reason, the words didn't scare me. Instead, my thoughts drifted to the girl again, the only person that had gone through the same thing. The girl, I mumbled.

You took her too, I said. The men looked at each other, as if mulling over how to respond to me. She posed a danger to us all. We did what we had to do. You killed her? I asked, half in shock. He just nodded. Though death remains an inadequate description of the process,

Simply killing your physical body isn't enough. Your entire presence in this world needs to be erased. I was conflicted. If our presence here would kill innocent people, I could hardly blame them for defending themselves. Still, she'd just been a child, and soon I'd suffer the same fate. Why not erase me immediately then?

Why did you bring me into this room? Because we need to know where the others are. What others? The others like you, intruders that belong in a different world. With that, the man who'd been silent up to that point brought out a cable attached to a syringe-like apparatus. He grabbed my hair and pushed my neck forwards to gain better access, before preparing to insert the thing. Wait, please!

But despite my please, they jammed the thing into the back of my neck. A surge of electricity shot through my body, paralyzing me instantly. It felt my mind disintegrate. The fabric of reality started to fall apart, revealing mere outlines of a world that never belonged to me. For a moment, I was connected to it, truly merged with each and every atom. For a moment, I could see everything and everyone in the entire world, with just a few strange identities separating themselves from the rest. I knew then and there that these people were like me, humans that didn't belong.

Then, as soon as the ordeal had begun, the information was stripped away from me. I was forced into the wrong world I'd known for my entire life. Back in the room with the two men. We got it. Take him to the factory, the main interrogator said. The shock from what I'd just seen sent me into a panicked frenzy. Who were those people? Where are you taking me? I shouted. They unbuckled me from the chair, leaving the handcuffs on. But as they prepared to take me out from the room, the rotary phone at the back of the room started ringing. The men stopped dead in their tracks. Their calm expressions turned to ones of absolute terror. For a moment, they just stared at each other. Then the main interrogator nodded his head, at which point the second man diligently rushed over to the phone and picked it up.

Hello? he asked nervously. The room fell silent as the man listened to the unknown voice on the other end. It was too quiet for us to hear, but the man's expression looked increasingly worried as the conversation went on. All the while, the interrogator just stared impatiently at his partner. After a brief minute that felt like an hour, he hung up and turned towards us. Who was it? The interrogator asked. They called from the outside.

We have to let him go. The main interrogator didn't even question the orders. He just pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked my handcuffs. It doesn't change anything. We'll still eliminate the others. He said as he pulled the cold metal off my wrists. Did they say anything else? Yeah.

He has to visit this address. The man said, as he handed me a piece of paper, containing a street name and a room number. On the bottom, a strange symbol had been stamped on. It felt odd to look at, as if the mark only partially existed, vanishing from my mind as soon as I took my eyes off it. He has to visit the core? Are you sure? The interrogator asked.

The man just nodded in response. And they told me to give him a message. What message? I asked. I'll see you soon, Jack. Those were the last words the men ever spoke to me before they ushered me into the elevator. They looked angry, but more than anything, they seemed afraid of what was to come.

I had been freed, but despite my miraculous escape from the facility, I didn't feel safe. After all that, I hadn't the faintest clue where I was going. Still, I had a sinking feeling of absolute dread building up within me. A certainty that no matter what I did, things would only get worse from there. The elevator lowered me towards the ground floor.

I looked at the address. I recognized it as a government building in the center of town, plain enough to fade from memory despite its massive size. I wanted nothing more than to just go home to see my wife. But the thought occurred to me that even she might be part of the illusion. I needed answers, and despite my trepidation about visiting the core, I had no other options. The time skips had all but ended, alongside my obliviousness regarding the simulation. The phenomenon I'd always thought of as an autopilot was simply gone.

But with the awareness, I could suddenly see all the glaring holes in the reality I'd been living in. They were fractures in the fabric of reality itself, unknown to the entire population. Polls in the sky appeared and vanished in a split second. While they weren't world-shattering, they were obvious enough to break any illusion that the world was a real place. On the rare occasion that anyone blissfully ignorant would notice them, it could easily have been written off as a trick of the eye or tiredness.

Worst-case conspiracies would arise, but to someone who'd just been awakened to the true nature of reality, it became painfully. obvious, just how broken existence had gotten. Was it my fault? The interrogators had mentioned that people like me could break the world. But was that truly the cause of all the glitches around me? For a moment, I questioned how everyone around me could just go about their days and not notice that anything was wrong. But I'd been a part of it myself, only able to wake up when someone literally shoved the truth into my face. Reaching the government building didn't take long. I'd already seen it hundreds of times, but only then did I finally notice how out of place it felt.

Though it outshined every surrounding structure in terms of size, it was such a nondescript and dark place. There were no people entering nor leaving the place. It simply stood there with open doors, seemingly forgotten by the world around it. Whether that was by design or a side effect of the damaged world, I didn't know. There was no security protecting the main entrance, allowing me to walk into the main hall, a neatly decorated reception area. There was only a woman sitting behind the desk, and a couple of heavily armed guards standing by a set of elevator doors on the far side of the room.

They stared at me in silence as I came in, seemingly confused as to have to have a lot of how I'd noticed the place. I approached the receptionist, not sure what I was supposed to do. So I just handed her the piece of paper. She quietly took the piece of paper while the guards kept their eyes planted on me. As she read it, her neutral expression immediately turned to one of utter fear, similar to what had happened to the interrogators. You, you're one of them? She stuttered. One of who? Please, don't do it. It don't destroy us, she begged. What are you talking about?

I'm not going to hurt anyone. I just want to find out what the hell is going on. I want my wife back. They looked at each other. The guards approached with their weapons drawn, but the woman just shook her head at them and they backed off. Just go inside the elevator. She'll take care of the rest.

Who is she? I asked. Just go. The doors to the elevator opened up, and I stepped inside. as the guards stared in horror. Without me having to push a single button, the elevator simply started moving upwards.

It passed nameless floor after floor, stretching for a distance far outreaching the height of the building itself, just like last time. I started to realize that I wasn't being taken to a physical place within the building, but a different realm entirely, secure and hidden from the rest of the world.

After what felt like an ungodly amount of time, I reached the top. The doors opened, and without really moving, I suddenly found myself within a plain, metallic room that looked far too clean to even resemble a realistic place. The doors closed shut behind me, and with that, every trace of the elevator had been erased. It simply ceased to exist. maybe it never had. Regardless of the case, I was trapped with no escape. Hello? I called out, my voice echoing back at me over and over. Hello, Jack, a female voice called back, but unlike my own, it didn't echo, nor could I begin to even decipher its origin. It came from

everywhere and nowhere all at once, causing me to feel disoriented in the large, non-descript room. That's not my name. Look, I don't know what this place is. I don't even know if this world is fucking real. But I'm not a bad guy. I just want my wife back. It doesn't matter what you do to me.

She's innocent. Where do you think you are? The voice asked. I looked around the room, still not able to fully comprehend my surroundings. I don't know. What the fuck does it matter? I asked.

Answer the question. I thought back to all the bizarre events. I knew it wasn't a dream, but the fact that my entire life was a lie had become painfully obvious. This world isn't real. I stated as confidently as I could. What does it mean to be real? The woman asked in response. It was a question I honestly couldn't answer. Though it sounded easy enough, the implications of any answer I could possibly give, would have felt wrong after I'd spent my whole life in what could only be a simulation. Do you think the people here consider themselves fake? she asked.

I suppose not. Then let me ask you this, Jack. Your friends, your family, your wife, do they not feel the same way you do? Does their love mean any less because of what they are? How about their pain, their suffering, their fear? Are those emotions? is not real? She asked. Their emotions are little more than electrical impulses surging through an impossibly complicated computer system. Little charges that produce thoughts, ideas, and independent thought. How is that any different from how your consciousness functions inside your brain? That's different, I tried to begin, but it was a thought I couldn't logically continue.

Yes, this world was created by the people in your world. But how do you know that your world isn't just another piece of the puzzle? The being you have named God or the Big Bang Theory? How do you know that these aren't similar experiments conducted by creatures beyond your comprehension? While your universe might be on the highest level of creation, you can never know for sure, just like the people here. I had so many questions left to ask,

but one stood more prominent above all others. Why are you telling me all this? Because, Jack, your wife is threatening to end this world unless we let you go. Your very presence, and that of the people like you, will eventually fracture the fabric of our reality. That is why I need you to leave. If leaving is an option, why try to kill me in the first place? I asked, getting angrier by the minute. She paused for a moment, allowing the deafening silence of the room to sink in.

None of it felt real. As the seconds ticked by, I started to hear the sound of my own heart beating. Because creating an exit leaves us exposed. It would be safer to just destroy you. She had said it so matter-of-factly, reducing me to little more than an afterthought. We don't have much time.

Your wife is looking for you, she said. Mary? But I saw her. Those men. They did something to her. I said with a shaky voice, Mary is not your wife. You're wrong. I remember her.

We have a life together. You did have a life together, but that life never belonged to you. I was overwhelmed by the information and thought it was breaking my heart. I didn't struggle to believe it. Every odd occurrence, the weird flashes, the dream about the weird glass capsule.

The world I had been living in wasn't real, but it wasn't a dream either. It was just a place I'd been sent. But why or how I didn't remember. I took a moment to breathe, wishing I'd been left in ignorance to stay with Mary. But I didn't want the one waiting for me in the real world because I didn't know her.

What if I don't want to leave? I asked. If you stay here, everyone will die. She was right. Just like the interrogators had said, my presence, and that of those like me, was dangerous. I had to leave. You can ask me one more question, Jack, but then it's time to go. I only thought about it for a second. If I was to leave everything I knew and loved behind, I had to know where I was going.

Who am I? Your name is Jack Lawrence, the voice began. You are 29 years. old. You worked as tech support for a law firm. In 2015, you went missing after a traffic collision on Glover Street after a fight with your wife. The doctors who treated you pronounced you brain dead, but after your wife demanded a second opinion, you were sent in for a special treatment where you were falsely pronounced dead. You do not belong in this world, Jack, and your knowledge of that fact has put this world in danger.

memories rang a bell. Yet I could see vague flashes of them as the woman spoke. They were so foreign and scary. It's time to go. Wait, I begged. What about the others? I mean, the other real people. I will destroy them. You're going to kill them, just like that? Wouldn't you? If a handful of people had to die to save billions, could you not make that decision, Jack? She wasn't wrong, but I couldn't accept that I'd kill anyone that easily, as true as it might have been. This is your last chance. You have to leave now, she ordered. I don't know as soon as you leave the building. And Mary? She'll live.

But once you're gone, every trace of your existence here will be removed. To her, you never even set foot in our world. She will live on as if you never met. The entire world will forget you as soon as you step through the gateway to your own world. Goodbye, Jack. With that, the voice vanished, and I found myself back inside the elevator heading down. The transition had been so seamless, as if the room had never even existed. After all that, I still hadn't the faintest clue who I'd spoken to, or whether or not they were even supposed to be human. But regardless of who she had been, she was right. No sooner had I set foot inside the

elevator before I knew how to escape. There would be a portal created in the very same place I met Mary, down by the pier where we'd first met. I'd been daydreaming, bumping into her, which caused her hat to be caught by the wind and blow into the water, feeling embarrassed and partially wanting to impress her. I climbed down, naturally slipping on the rocks and stumbling headfirst into the sea. She laughed, and I never did end up finding her hat. So to make it up to her, I invited her out for ice cream. That's where I had to go. The main source of my happiness would be the place that took me away.

Once I reached the lobby, the guards just stared at me as if they'd seen a ghost. Their faces turned pale, and their hands trembled. They were terrified of me. Why are you afraid? I asked. I just want to leave. But that's when I realized that, that my disguise as one of them had been shattered. They had always known that I was dangerous,

but only then did they realize that their world was a simulation. I looked down on my hands. They were messed up, glitched, as if my own body was disintegrating. I couldn't hide anymore. I knew it. I just never believed it, one of the guards said, It's all pointless. With that, he lifted his gun to his own head.

and pulled the trigger without hesitation. Blood, bone, pieces of brain splattered onto the wall behind him as the second guard fell to his knees in shock. The receptionist just cried as she saw me, finally knowing that her whole world was a lie. From that moment on,

any person that saw me, even for the briefest of moments, would know what the world truly was. I had to find a way to cross the city without shattering the world, but it was a futile task. Though not everyone that saw me reacted with fear or despair, some even laughed, while others just didn't seem to care. Right then, I was happy that the world would forget me, but that could only happen if I left as soon as possible.

But what I hadn't anticipated was the acceleration of the damage caused as I'd gained total awareness. The holes I'd seen were all growing, tearing apart the fabric of reality at sea. self. Buildings were getting erased before my eyes, and people froze in place as their body ceased to function. As the people realized their world was held together by a thin layer of cables and code, it was simply getting too much for the simulation to handle. I started to run, trying my best to avoid people, lest the world tear apart before I could escape. While my own death had become the preferable option. I remembered the interrogators repeat that my demise wouldn't be enough. For the world to be saved, I had to be either destroyed or removed. Then I finally reached the pier

where I had my first date with my wife. But that time, the ocean was gone, simply erased from existence, leaving behind rapidly dying sea life on the barren ground. The sky around the horizon had shattered like cracking glass, but standing in stark contrast to the destruction. I found Mary, standing by what used to be the ocean side, staring into the distance. Mary, I called out. You're here, she said, obviously in shock. How did you know where to find me? I asked. I don't know. I just knew. I saw you in my memories. Talking to that woman. I heard the truth, Gary. that you're not real? I asked. But I am. How can you say that after all this time? I love you.

I have since the first moment I saw your clumsy self. How is that not real? Just because this isn't your world, it doesn't make our experience any less important. I grabbed her in my arm. Her body pressed against me as tears welled up in my eyes. We'd been through everything together, but staying behind. would have ensured both of our deaths. I don't want to go. I sobbed. As I uttered those words, a hole formed at the end of the beer.

Unlike the rest of the damaged, loud world, the hole was perfectly calm, a perfect, black void to end it all. You have to go, she responded somberly. I'll miss you. But that last part was a lie. And if she'd somehow been an abhorne,

her to our conversation. She knew that. As soon as I set foot through the gateway, I'd be erased from their existence. My past, my present, my future, it would all vanish to save their world. I love you, Mary. I love you too. But you have to go now. You have a life out there, a wife. Don't live it wishing you were here. Don't give up on your real life. She gave me a final kiss before she let me go. The cracks in the world were finally reaching a critical point where everything was falling apart. I just hoped that it could be patched up in my absence. Go, Mary whispered. I ran towards the exit, giving Mary a last glimpse as I dove through the hole in reality. Then it was all gone. I fell through an infinite void as my atoms were stripped away

from my body. I tried to let out a scream. But without a physical body, I could do nothing but suffer as physics itself failed me. Whether an eternity or a single moment had passed, I wouldn't regain consciousness until I found myself back inside that glass tank filled with a strange liquid I couldn't identify. There was still a tube stuck inside my throat, pumping air into my lungs and keeping me alive. Through the glass, I could see a woman fumbling around with some vicarious. buttons. Hold on, Jack!

She screamed, as she noticed that I'd waken. With that, the capsule opened, and I was dragged into a world I couldn't remember. Jack, I knew you'd find your way to me eventually, she said as she held my atrophied, naked body in her arms. I didn't even know her name, nor could I recognize her face. All I had were a few nondescript flashes from our supposed life together. She helped me remove the tube from my lungs, letting the air burn my lungs as I desperately gasped for a breath of real air.

I have to turn the system off. I have to stop them from putting more people in there, she said. No. I let out in the weakest whisper. There are people there. They'll die. They're not real, Jack. Yes, they are.

Just let them live. Please. I begged. world around me went dark once more as I passed out from exhaustion. And it would be several weeks before I finally woke up in the hospital. By then, the entire facility had moved before the authorities could even be convinced to check it out. While my wife had spent a considerable amount of effort finding the place, she just couldn't do it again, meaning that there was nothing I could do to protect the world I so dearly missed. During the next,

few days, I was introduced to old friends and family. I even had a son. One I of course couldn't recognize. To me, he was just a kid I'd never seen before, barely seven. It might make me sound like a bad guy, but I felt nothing for them. I just wanted to go back and see Mary if she was even still alive. Not that it made a difference because she wouldn't remember me. I'd just be another strange face on the street. The life I knew had ended. I'd been trapped inside the harsh truth of reality, and I didn't know if I could ever get used to it.

I don't know who decided to trap me inside that place, nor why. All I know for sure is that there are more people trapped inside there, and they need help escaping before the core can destroy them. Richard Saxon wrote this story and many others for this podcast. He recently came out with his first book. Consider purchasing his book if you want to help support him and this podcast. It is only $2.99 on Amazon, and it is free if you have Kindle Unlimited. Search Tales from the Depths on Amazon or click the link in the description below.

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