Dreams
Might as well just work a 24 hour shift, not like rest is coming for me, they thought to themselves. They sighed and finished re-stacking the glasses.
They’d never understood how the bar stayed open when the holobars and AR bars existed. But here they were, working at Warlocks watching as patrons nursed their drinks. Their internal clock told them it was nearly 4am, shouldn’t these people go home?
The room seemed to shift, Lewis…. a voice whispered.
Lewis looked around, none of the patrons had so much as shifted their weight. He blinked and watched the room with audio cues, what was that?
Come to us, Lewis… another voice whispered.
No audio cues registered on Lewis’ sight. They shrugged. It had been days since they’d slept, maybe they were picking up a signal from a nearby AR hub. They guessed exhaustion may have something to do with it, though they never truly felt tired.
“Did anyone else hear that?” Someone else called. The audio cues directed Lewis towards one of the patrons, a regular. Lewis didn’t know his name, they didn’t care. “Is someone here named Lewis?”
“Quiet, it’s too late for you to be so loud,” another patron told the speaker.
“You can’t tell me you didn’t hear that!” They grumbled. Lewis looked at the person again, were they augmented as well? He guessed it wasn’t likely. There weren’t too many successful augments. The process required locking away too many traits others thought made you human. He shrugged, only difference they’d noticed was a lack of sleep and lack of concern about the past.
Lewis… come to us… it is time… the whisper was quieter this time. The room darkened. Lewis blinked. Was their augment malfunctioning? Light always looked the same to them. It had taken months to find the setting that was the most comfortable for their eyes. They’d picked that type of light that you only saw in movies, something they used to call golden hour. They couldn’t remember the last sunset they had seen. Lewis could only remember the bar, and didn’t care to remember anything else. But a sunset? That was something they’d love seeing again.
Come to us, come and remember.. the whisper again.
Something drew Lewis' gaze to the side room of the bar.They’d never been through that door. To be honest, they’d never noticed it until now. They were just in charge of pouring the drinks and keeping the glasses clean. What was behind that door? No, it wasn't any of their business. After all, didn't every slightly scary movie they'd tried to watch warn them about walking through randomly appearing doors?
Lewisss... it's time. Find the beacon... That voice again. At this the patron stood and walked over to where Lewis stood, still polishing the glassware.
"Hello, surely you must have heard that," he said. "I know there's still someone in there, please can you at least admit to having heard that?" Lewis blinked at the man. The room brightened a little, and they nodded.
"Oh that's brilliant!" The patron turned towards the rest of the bar and yelled, "A lot of good the rest of you are."
The rest of the patrons either shrugged or ignored the man. It was too late for them to care. Lewis was disappointed that none of them asked the patron to leave him alone. They probably thought he didn't have feelings as an augment, he'd heard of others choosing to lock that away. But not that, though he couldn't fully remember what they'd chosen to trade for their augment.
"You must ignore it, Lewis. You mustn’t remember," the man whispered. Lewis stepped back, running into the counter behind him. What could this man know?
"I will have to ask you to leave, sir. You've been disturbing the other patrons." Lewis said, just loud enough for the man to hear.
"You must ignore them, Lewis. All augments pay a price for their abilities, yours cannot be remembered, the beacon must stay hidden. The world must stay the same," there was a gleaming look in the man's eyes.
Beacon? Something in Lewis responded to the word - they stood up a little straighter. But why would a beacon matter to them? They were just here to serve the patrons And clean the glasses, nothing more than that.
"Again, I'll have to ask you to leave," Lewis stated. They blinked to take a picture of the man's face so that they could add him to the list of banned customers.
Don't you want to sleep, Lewis? Remember the price you paid, light the beacon, and sleep. Come to us, Lewis. Come to the door... that voice whispered. Lewis shook their head, he could have sworn the door had rattled. The man looked at Lewis one more time and left the bar.
Their internal clock chimed, it was about time for their shift to end. Lewis stared at the door as he reached for another glass.
You know he is wrong, Lewis. The voice called form the other side of the door. Come to us, light the beacon.
Lewis shuddered. Everything they’d ever learned told them to ignore the sounds they heard. But, why did the thought of the beacon draw them in. What would they find behind that door?
The door to the bar opened, Lewis nodded at the person coming in to relieve them. They’d never taken the time to learn their name, hadn’t seen the point really.
Lewis, come and remember. The voice called one last time.
Lewis knew they wouldn’t sleep. It felt like they hadn’t slept since they became an augment. But at least they could leave this whispering door behind.
His coworker waved at him as Lewis walked out from behind the bar. Taking a look at the door, Lewis sighed and turned their back to it. Who would hide a beacon in a bar? It had to have been a malfunction on his augment, that was all.
Lewis shuffled towards the exit, there was enough time to grab a bite and head back to their apartment. He’d signed up for another shift at the bar after this person’s was finished. It was a couple hours from now. They could stare at their ceiling at home until they returned to work.
He stepped outside the bar, staring as the neon signs flashed in the distance. He knew something was telling him to not explore what hid behind the door. But something in them craved that knowledge. Sure, that random customer clearly warned him away, but who even was that guy?
They had to know. Forget the warnings. Lewis walked back in and noted the look of surprise on his coworker’s face. Everyone knew Lewis never stuck around to talk with people. Lewis just nodded and walked over to the door. They felt vibrations coming from the other side.
“Hey Lewis, whatcha doing over there?” Their coworker called from the other side of the bar.
Lewis didn’t answer, opened the door, and walked through.
He shuddered as the door swung closed behind him. The was a draft that pulled the air in and ushered Lewis down the stairs. They resisted for a moment. They’d gone through the door, wasn’t that enough? It was odd, they’d checked the building when they’d gotten hired on here. They swore that this area was just supposed to be a storage room. But here they were.
They looked down the stairs, there was a small glow at the very bottom. Turning towards the door, they pulled on the handle and wasn’t surprised to find it locked. Closing their eyes, they took a deep breath and listened. But heard nothing.
Lewis gasped quietly, and tried to turn up the hearing on their augment, still nothing. It was like he was cut off from the outer world, but it was right on the other side of the door. They sighed, this is what they got for following whispering voices into a sketchy door. Well, it seemed the only way out would be through this set of stairs. The draft pushed them down the first step and Lewis wondered why they’d ignored the warnings.
The stairs only went down about a level, Lewis was thankful for that. He hated stairs so much, no matter if he was going up or down, they sucked. The glow didn’t get stronger the closer he got to the door at the bottom of the stairs. He sighed again when he reached the door and pulled it open.
The room was filled with a soft glow. When Lewis looked around the room they say that it was empty save for a small pyramid in the middle of the room.
Everything in Lewis urged them to find a way to leave. That pyramid would be a danger to them. It was time to leave. But when Lewis turned around, all he saw was a wall behind him. He walked towards the pyramid and saw that there was a crystal at the top of it. Was this the beacon the man had warned him away from?
Did Lewis want to remember? What had they left behind when they became an augment? It had to have been bad enough that they locked away their memories as a trade for being an augment. But it seemed like the only way out was to touch the beacon. And, a small part of Lewis, a growing part, really wanted to know what would happen. Damn the warnings, it was time to wake up.
Lewis touched the crystal at the top of the pyramid, and nothing happened.
But then.
The ground shook. The floor raced up like an elevator. Lewis was shoved to the ground by the force of the floor moving. They laid with their back on the ground, waiting for it to be over. They wondered how they never crashed into a ceiling, they’d gone down at least a floor to get here. But it was too late to turn back now.
Finally Lewis felt the air on their face, they’d closed their eyes after a while. The beacon shone above their head.
They felt the change in the air, and yawned. The floor was uncomfortable, but Lewis felt like he could take the longest nap. He felt his augment shift. It almost felt like it was getting an update, but they’d just sent one out a couple days ago. They weren’t due for an update for at least a month.
Thank you, Lewis… a voice whispered in the wind.
Lewis looked around and saw no one. It had to have been the beacon. Lewis sat up and touched it again.
Lewis remembered. The price for their augment had been the ability to sleep, no. But deeper than that, they’d lost their ability to dream. To believe that something else was possible for their life. But this beacon, whatever it was, it reversed the cost of the augment. Lewis smiled at the possibilities.
They wondered if the augments around the city had their losses reversed as well, they hoped so. For now, it was time to nap. Lewis laid down, crossed his arms behind his head, looked up at the sky, and promptly fell asleep.
Redeemed by Rina on Twitch
Prompt: An unsleeping bartender wants to ignore the many occult warnings and unearth a beacon, but they will have to release something they once locked away.