by Cameron Hale
“It won’t be necessary if you take some responsibility. She’s your wife, Dirk, not some engineering program you can redesign with a few modifications. Both of you are going to have to tackle this problem.”
* * *
The panel barely cleared when Mandy walked into the bedroom. Refreshed from her shower, she slowly strolled in, the air instantly filled with the wonderful aroma of jasmine. I thought I heard voices,” she said, glancing at the panel’s fading blue afterimage. “Who were you calling at this time of the night?”
Dirk busied himself at the amenity hatch. “I—left a message with Sam at headquarters,” he said, abstractedly making a selection. “Told him I’d be late tomorrow, that you and I had something urgent to attend to.” He studiously avoided Mandy’s curious gaze and downed a glass of mineral water. “I want things to be the way they used to be, but that’s not going to happen unless we get to the bottom of your nightmares.”
She approached and touched his arm. The contact electrified Dirk, and in her searching eyes, he glimpsed a softness that he had not seen for some time.
* * *
Early the next morning, Dirk and Mandy stood at the arched entry to the simulator. Though it was nothing more than an empty, circular chamber dotted by projection pinpoints, Dirk already felt uneasy as he stood before the solitary control podium. The stark whiteness of the room felt cold and barren, and not even Mandy’s presence beside him eased his anxiety. Despite the popularity of the simulators and the wide variety of programs to suit every taste, he had never embraced the fad.
He glanced at Mandy. Her golden hair a loose cascade, dressed in jeans and a denim shirt, she looked fresh and alluring. Her breasts swelled against the snug shirt, the top two buttons undone. The tight jeans hugged her cleft, emphasizing the tautness of her ass. It was clear she wore nothing underneath, a fact that pricked him with jealousy. He wondered if this is what she normally wore, and who else saw her in the clothes—or without.
His throat suddenly tightened at the thought. He swallowed, imagining the feel of the denim in his hands as unzipped them and pulled them down her hips. So snug, he would have to yank them down hard, maybe even rip them off. The smell of her would permeate the crotch, the dampness inviting his touch. It would be so easy to bend her over and slip into her…
He caught her impatient glance. “You sure you want to go through with this?”
She nodded. “Let’s get it over with. We can’t run away from this forever.”
Almost reluctantly, he activated the desert program with the voice override option. He paused before entering the initiation sequence. As soon as he input the last entry, fingers of color streamed from the projection holes and morphed into a vivid desert scenario. Turning to Mandy, he reached for her hand.
* * *
The sunlight was dazzling as they stepped into the sweeping vista. Scorching arid air immediately prickled their skin with sweat. Squinting from the brightness, Mandy pointed to an archaic vehicle parked on a single lane asphalt road ahead of them. She stared at Dirk’s puzzled frown.
“You do remember how to operate it, don’t you?” she asked.
Dirk approached the four-wheeled vehicle and inspected it. “This is one of those all terrain contraptions, isn’t it?”
“They’re called jeeps,” she said. “You tried one, rather, you drove one at the automotive antiques convention last year.”
“Jeep, yes,” he said, his eyes almost watering from the intensity of the endless azure sky. “I remember now. Some of them even had manual transmission. Interesting experience, if somewhat uncomfortable.”
“Shall I drive?” Mandy asked.
He shook his head. “No, I can manage. A child could operate one of those things.” He wiped the sweat beading his forehead. Despite the ultralight fabric of his meshsilk pants and shirt, his skin itched with prickly heat. “Jesus, it’s like hell out here. How you can stand this I’ll never know. Come on, let’s get moving.”
The pair piled into the jeep. Mandy fumbled through the glove compartment and withdrew a two heavily tinted pairs of sunshades. She handed one set to Dirk.
“You’ll need these,” she said. “The light out here is pretty strong.”
Dirk slipped the bug-shaped shades on. “How quaint,” he said, attempting to start the vehicle. “Even the UV is authentic.”
After fumbling briefly with the controls, Dirk got the jeep going. Apart from the haunting cry of a circling hawk, total silence enveloped them as they proceeded past a jagged landscape starkly sculpted in shades of sienna and umber. Huge, multi-limbed cactus and aromatic scrub comprised the only vegetation, the air ripe with the odor of baked soil. Seemingly unaffected by the heat, Mandy quietly observed the lonely vista.
“Is this all you do?” Dirk asked, fidgeting with the inadequate air conditioning. “Drive and look?”
“No,” she murmured. She pointed to the jagged profile of a distant mesa. “I drive to that point to sit and think. The view’s wonderful—it goes on forever. It so lovely and peaceful, nothing at all like the city. Out here, I can just be.”
Dirk looked unconvinced. Mandy caught his dubious expression.
“Relax, Dirk. Enjoy the experience. We can take a break once we get past the scrubland. Stop acting like a martyr.”
He frowned and shifted in his seat. The awkward driving position was already tweaking his lower back. Vainly, he searched the unrelentingly bleak terrain but found nothing appealing. Save for the squat, desolate hills brooding on the horizon, he saw nothing but the same wavering, potholed road that scythed the wasteland into infinity. Heatwaves shimmied across the engine, the jeep’s jerky motion unsettling. The tires droned monotonously against the rough asphalt.
Mandy retrieved a chrome cooljug from a satchel behind her seat and took a swig of water.
“Drink?”
“Thanks,” Dirk said, greedily gulping. “Glad to see the program has some amenities. This air conditioning is hopeless. You could have at least chosen a more suitable vehicle.”
She watched him with a cocked eyebrow. “Not ergonomic enough for you?”
He swallowed the retort brewing on his lips. Somehow, he felt at a disadvantage in this eerie place and did not want to encourage an argument. He drove tensely, the blowtorch heat draining his energy. A solitary hawk circling in the cobalt afternoon sky caught Mandy’s glance. She watched in silent communion. The bird kept a constant distance, as though pacing them. Through the partially open window she heard its haunting call. Dirk felt his hackles rise as the cry echoed throughout the hills.
“Did you hear that?” Mandy asked.
“Yes,” Dirk muttered. “Fits right in. This place is enough to give anyone nightmares.”
Mandy said nothing and turned back to the scenery. Dirk shuddered. The more he stared at the forbidding, dun-colored hills looming around them, the more sinister they appeared. Though deserted, there was a menacing air about the land that reminded him of an animal crouched in wait for its prey. The hawk disappeared with a final, piercing cry. Dirk glanced at the console clock. Though only early afternoon, the bloated sun hung low in the western horizon and cast the sky with a gaudy purple hue. He abruptly stopped, the jeep idling roughly.
“Look, Mandy. Let’s go back. I’m tired and aching. We’ve seen enough. That mesa isn’t getting any closer.”
She looked surprised. “What? I thought we could stay and watch the sunset.”
“I don’t think we should be out here at night. We can come back another time. Surely you can program a different entry point to avoid such a lengthy drive, perhaps directly to the mesa?”
She smiled. Her response was so unexpected that Dirk could only stare. Enjoying the moment, she leaned against the door. She twirled a strand of hair and let it drop down her cleavage before slowly undoing the buttons on her shirt. Her bare breasts spilled free into her waiting hands. Bending her head, she took the nipple of her right breast into her mouth and slowly sucked it, then repeat
ed the same process with the left until both nipples protruded like pencil erasers. Glancing obliquely at Dirk, she reached down to unbutton her jeans and raised her hips to unzip them. The zipper unfurled with agonizing slowness until it revealed a tantalizing peek of golden down. She pulled her jeans down to her thighs and spread them as far as the taut denim would allow.
Dirk watched entranced as she slipped her fingers into the folds of her cunt and began rubbing her clit. She swelled and opened before him, her wetness gleaming invitingly. He could smell her musky scent and in his mind, taste her warm saltiness. With half-closed eyes she leaned back against the window, her hips undulating. His unease momentarily forgotten, he wallowed to ease the dryness of his throat and moved toward her.
She slapped his hands away and wagged an admonishing finger at him. “Uh, uh. You can look, but you can’t touch. You want a bite, you drive on.”
The mockery of her stare was enough to quell Dirk’s burgeoning desire. “Dammit, Mandy, look around you. There’s something not right about this place. I can’t put my finger on it, but I can feel it.”
She buttoned up her jeans and shirt. “You mean you’re afraid of a simulation, Dirk?” she said condescendingly. “I thought you classified them as mindless entertainment?”
He leaned against the steering wheel and stared pensively into the horizon. The sickly sky cast a ruddy tint to his face. A faint, reedy wind lapped through the half-open windows like an endless dirge.
“I don’t know—we’ve been driving and driving and we don’t seem to be getting anywhere.” He waved at the sky. “And take at look at the time, Mandy. It’s only afternoon and it’s already twilight. I don’t imagine the sun set any earlier in the real desert.”
“Then what do you want to do?”
He rammed the gear into park and switched off the engine. “End program!” he cried. He looked at her clouding expression. “We’re getting the hell out of here.”
Mandy said nothing as the simulation continued, but merely stared at him as he repeated the command. “I said, end program!”
He paled and looked accusingly at her. “Okay, just what the fuck is going on here?”
She shrugged. “How should I know? You usually have all the answers. You tell me.”
“Don’t play games with me. This could be serious. Have you tampered with the program?”
“Jesus, Dirk I don’t need to. The nightmares are bad enough. Why would I want to create a waking one?”
“So how do you normally get out of here?”
“I drive back to the entry point and end the program there. I never gave any thought to reprogramming the exit spot.”
“But you should have the option to exit at any time, if necessary!”
“Why? There was never any need to leave in a hurry. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”
Dirk stared at the gas gauge, its indicator hovering at the halfway mark. “Does this thing have enough fuel to get us back?”
Mandy nodded. “It has an extra capacity tank.”
He started the jeep and awkwardly turned around. His foot slammed on the brake even before the vehicle straightened. Staring as though he did not quite believe his eyes, he pointed to a dirty smear of yellow undulating across the horizon. Even as he watched, it drew closer, effectively blocking the road. “What the hell is that?”
“It looks like some kind of dust storm,” Mandy said. “They were common in the desert.”
He looked hard at her. There are storms in this program?”
She shook her head, her expression tense. “Not that I was aware of.”
They both watched the wall of sand advance. It shimmied and writhed like some diabolical entity, challenging them to approach. “Wonderful,” he muttered, hurriedly turning the jeep back toward the mesa. “Now we have a mutating program.”
* * *
Within half an hour, the road rose and threaded alarmingly through barren, craggy hills. Dusk encroached, steadily bleeding the sky of the last remnants of light. Dirk felt claustrophobic and glanced nervously at the rocky walls towering over the jeep. He floored the gas pedal. Tires spun in an attempt to find purchase on the decaying road.
Mandy glanced uneasily at him. His hands clenched the steering wheel, his eyes fixed to the winding road.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
His eyes hesitantly met hers. “Damned if I know. I can’t shake this feeling of being watched. It’s the craziest thing, but I don’t feel we’re alone out here.”
A low growl shattered the silence as the earth began to shake and gradually rose to a timpanic crescendo. Rivulets of rock and dust cascaded onto the road. Dirk and Mandy ducked from the onslaught of debris pelting the jeep. Panicking, Dirk stamped on the gas and jackrabbited across the road, zigzagging frantically to avoid being crushed by churning rockslides.
The hills trembled violently. Mandy cried out as the ground lurched beneath the jeep. “Dirk! Hurry before the road is blocked!”
In a single motion, Dirk ruthlessly gunned the engine and fishtailed through a narrowing gap in the road. The tires squealed and skidded in protest. Mandy grimly clutched the armrest until the jeep straightened. Once past the slide area, Dirk pulled over to the shoulder and sat in stunned silence. The engine idled roughly, and an acrid odor of burnt rubber filtered through the gap in the windows.
Dirk reached for the cooljug with shaking hands and drank deeply. “Now do you believe me?”
“My God,” Mandy said, taking a swig after him. “Somehow it’s changed. It was never like this before. Not even in the nightmares. They were more disjointed, more fragmented. I was here, but it was like a different dimension overlapped.”
“What happens in your nightmares, Mandy? Will you tell me now?”
She paused and stared out the window. In the dim dashboard lighting, her face was little more than a study of light and shadow. Dirk glimpsed a myriad of emotions ranging from fear to uncertainty. “It started off as voices…” Her eyes widened. “Over there, Dirk! I think I see lights.”
He squinted into the distance and nodded. “You’re right.” His glance strayed to the sky. The ominous sweep of night was opaque and devoid of stars. “Jesus, it’s like we’re slipping into a void. We’ve got to get off the road, now.”
He slowly pulled away.
“Dirk—the headlights. Turn them on.”
He groped along the dashboard. “Where are the damned controls…?”
Mandy reached over and jabbed at a switch. Immediately, two narrow beams of light penetrated the choking darkness descending around them. “Let’s get out of here,” she said.
* * *
Cloaked in velvety darkness, the mysterious lights beckoned like disembodied eyes. Dirk drove at a crawl, his range of vision limited to the strips of road illuminated by the high beams. Neither spoke, the chilly air palpable with their fear.
Dirk fumbled with the dashboard controls until an anemic wisp of warmth emanated from the heater. “Damned primitive technology.”
The manufacturers of these vehicles could have at least attended to the basic necessities. The temperature’s plummeted in just the past half hour. We’ll freeze out here if we don’t find shelter soon.” He shook his head. “I still can’t fucking believe that we’re in the grip of some rogue program.”
Mandy rubbed her hands in the tepid flow. Her face was drawn, gaunt, her eyes furtive. “I—I haven’t been completely honest with you, Dirk.”
He sighed tiredly, the strain etching his face. “It’s the dreams—it’s all this, isn’t it?”
Not quite, but close. I’m trying to run from something. I never see what it is, though, and the lights are everywhere, following me like fireflies. But the voices are the worst. They keep running through my mind, whispering things, unspeakable things…”
“What kind of things, Mandy? Can you just tell me in simple English?”
She hesitated. “They tell me things about you, Dirk. About what you want to do to me, wha
t you want others to do to me.”
He shook his head, his grimace ghoulish in the faint dashboard light. “What the hell is all this bullshit?”
“You’re the nightmare. And each time it gets worse. The last time you watched while three men fucked me at the same time. But that wasn’t enough. Even with their cocks inside me, you wanted more. You got hold of a candle burning nearby and dribbled the hot wax all over me, then you told me you were going to shove it up my cunt…”
“That’s enough,” he said. “I don’t want to hear anymore.”
“You said you wanted to know, I’m telling you.”
He glared at her. “The hell you are.”
A fork in the road loomed from nowhere. Mandy gasped and cowered against her seat. Little more than a narrow, rutted path, Dirk had to swerve sharply to make the turn. The tires rumbled over potholes and fissures, causing the jeep to rattle unpleasantly. Mandy paled as they gradually ascended.
“No,” she murmured. “Not again. Please, not again…”
Dirk cast her a worried glance. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“It’s happening again, just like always.”
She had barely finished speaking when the skeletal outline of a decrepit log cabin rose before them. Ancient prospectors’ lanterns shone through the windows and cast a sallow, uninviting glow that barely penetrated the surrounding blackness. The front door hung crookedly, the missing knob allowing an anemic funnel of light to seep through.
The jeep rolled to a stop. Though a feeble wisp of smoke roiled from a narrow chimney, they saw no signs of life.
“What now?” Dirk asked.
Mandy vehemently shook her head. “We can’t go inside.”
“What else are we supposed to do? Stay here all night?”
“I can’t go in there, don’t you understand? If I do, it will start.”
“But I’m with you. How do you know it will be the same?”
“I just do.”
Dirk reached for the door handle. Mandy lunged at him.
“What in God’s name do you think you’re doing?” she cried.
“I’m going to exorcise the demons, Mandy. It’s the only way to finish this insanity. Some good advice that I intend to take.”
