Roadies

He woke to a start. The dream had been so vivid, yet it was fading fast. He hated that about dreams, the good ones anyway. He scrambled for his notebook, so that he could write it down before it was gone. The first few words were usually scrambled thoughts, the things that stood out the most about the beginning. He found that the further back he could go, as far back as possible, the more vivid his recollection, even if it wasn't seemingly connected meaningfully to the sequence of events that took place. At least, not meaningful in this real life. But what was real life anymore? He wondered.

Pulling the lever of his car seat and adjusting himself, he took a few swigs of water. Looking at the horizon stretch before him he figured he’d better get going. He had a girl waiting and excitement filled his veins. It was his first road trip across the country. They had met virtually, as most did these days. The advent of tech brought many amazing things, such as social nets through your comp, in house med materializers, and robotic workers known as Server Interactives, or SIVs, to name a few.

Of course, these things brought many downsides. For instance, social engagement in the real was a challenge for many of the newer gens. SIV's were hated by many of the lower eco tiers that were replaced, even though most of those jobs were ones no one wanted anyway. The government had spent a decent amount on retrain progs, but some people were just resistant to change. He never got why anyone would want to stay in a dead end job, especially when they were being given a chance to retrain into something better. Everyone had their thing, he figured.

Cruising down the interstate, he began to feel the familiar pangs of hunger set in. He saw the typical stops and started browsing the menus in his mind. He was a picky eater, trying to eat healthier or at least try something unique. This was an experience after all, and hoped to try more local spots. Just then he noticed a sign on the side of the road, “Harold’s Diner”. He int searched it and it came up quickly enough. “Huh...oldest diner around...uh huh...stylized 1950’s feel, wow, almost 100 years old? Menu?”. He took a few minutes looking at the menu and then stopped himself. “Well, this is probably the coolest thing I’m going to find on this stretch for a while, so Harold’s it is!”, quickly swerving to take the exit before he whizzed by.

Getting to Harold’s took him quite a bit further from the highway than he’d have preferred. “Dammit, so much for just off the highway!” he said, irritated. As he coasted up to the diner he calmed himself down, replacing the feeling of irritation with one of wonder. Harold’s was the real deal, classic 1950’s styling: bright colors in and out, neon lights blazing, classic Chevy parked on the roof - the works. As he moved out of his car he was met with the delicious smell of diner food being cooked. Oddly, there were few others there, but he assumed it was because of the late hour.

Upon entering he was greeted by the sound of Elvis on a classic jukebox and a cheerful “Hay there hun” from the waitress behind the counter. “Oh, hello!” he said cheerfully as he saddled up to the counter stool, a bit surprised she hadn’t been replaced by a SIV. Handing him a menu, she struck up some small talk. “So, not from around here huh?” she said with a smile and knowing look. “Nope, just passing through. On my way to California for a girl. Haha, looking for adventure I guess.” he said smiling and looking around. She gave him a smile that said “how sweet” and he continued, “Kind of a quiet night for that I guess” pointing out the empty room. “Yeah, except for the owners over there” nodding in the direction of a booth towards the back. A group of 3 sat at the table. Wearing all black the long haired group looked like a metal band. “Huh, hadn’t noticed them..” he said, turning to look. “They came about a year ago and bought the place, shortly after the previous owner up and left. Not sure why they stayed here, they came in a tour bus and haven’t left since. They’ve been good employers though and keep the bills paid so can’t complain.”.

A few minutes later his food arrived and he ate, exchanging more small talk. “So, is there anything interesting to do around here?” he asked, hoping for maybe a weird museum or roadside attraction or party, or anything really. “Well, not much. Some folks go to the lake out west a ways, but other than that it’s fairly quiet.”. He wondered, then asked “Do you think they’d know of anything?”. “Well, they tend to keep to themselves, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Hey Garm! This young fellow here, what was your name again? This here is Roland, he says he’s passing through, wonders if ya’ll would know of anything interesting in the area?”. It took a few moments, and it almost seemed like they were going to ignore the question. Then one of the guys slowly looked over, as if he’d just been snapped out of a deep meditation. “Nah. No. I don’t think so.” returning to his quiet revere. “Huh. Well that sucks.” Roland said, a bit let down.

He finished up, paid, and thanked the waitress for the chat, wishing her well. Returning to his car, he sat in silence for a few moments, ruminating on how boring life could be at times. He started his chariot, rolled the windows down, and was about to pull away when suddenly a bright blue light pulsed from behind the diner. Curious. He sat for a minute, not sure if he should just ignore it and hit the road, or...or look into it?! This could be the adventure he was waiting for! “Ah, it’s a road trip, might as well make it interesting!”.

He pulled around to the side and hopped out. Looking around to make sure there was no one around, he started walking as quietly as he could to the rear of the building. A tall wooden fence concealed the area, light pouring through the slits in the planks. He moved to a gate and found it unlocked, so opened it. What he found inside was strange indeed. A SIV sat in a fold up chair, it’s arm inside what could only be described as a small puddle...on the wall of the diner. It was a strange murky water, almost like coffee and milk before it stirred together, billowing clouds luminescent with blue color that was almost metallic. “What the…” he said. Just then the SIV replied “What the…” copying Roland’s words. “Oh, I didn’t mean to, I mean, I saw the light and...what are you doing anyway?” he said, now confused as to what he was looking at.

The robot began to copy his words again, when suddenly it’s arm was yanked further into the hole, stopping at the shoulder as its body slammed against the metal siding making a loud bang, over and over. “Oh crap!” Roland wasn’t sure what to do. He started to back away when suddenly the door to the diner flung open and the three owners poured out. “What the hell are you doing here?! Agh hell! Something has it! Quick, pull it in! It might have something!”. His two companions quickly grabbed onto the machine and started pulling. Garm pointed to Roland “Well you are in it now. Grab the thing and help!”. Before he knew it he was helping to pull the SIV out of the portal. A few minutes later they had it on the ground. It’s arm had been damaged, pulled out of the socket, but still attached. Oddly, it wasn’t wet.

“Dammit! Quickly get the up-link we need to see if it picked anything up!” The other guy ran to grab a tab at a nearby table and hooked into the data port on the SIV’s chest, rapidly working some app on the thing. “I don’t know what the hell you think you are doing, but you don’t belong back here! It’s probably better that you go, and forget what you saw here.” said Garm, turning the Siv on it’s side and examining the damage. He was closer to the group than he had been inside, and began to notice strange scars on the two men’s arms and faces. He looked over at the woman and noticed the same. She was sitting next to the hole, staring at it oddly, looking lost. Looking back to the SIV, Roland tried to explain himself “Oh, uh, yeah I mean I just…”. Garm cut him short “Well you don’t belong here!”. Roland glanced up again, feeling a bit foolish now, but was met with a horrifying sight. The woman had placed her head into the pool, and her body was spasming. “Holy shit!” Roland cried. Then her headless body slumped onto the ground, lifeless. The other man let out an agonizing scream and ran to her corpse.

“Len, dammit what the hell!” Garm said, falling back on his ass as he tried to get away from the blood pooling at his feet. Suddenly the light began to pulse again from the pool. “It’s happening again.” Garm said, looking at the thing, terror in his voice. The three men looked on in horror, as the face of the woman, Len, reappeared from the fluid. The disembodied head floated there for a moment. Then, it’s eyes flashed open, jet black and lifeless, as the lips began to move. “It’s so bright in here. SO BRIGHT. You should see it. You should all see it. It’s perfect. PERFECT, hehehe…”. The voice was strange and echoed inside of their heads nauseating them. The light began pulsing faster now, almost rhythmic like the beating of a heart. They stood transfixed, unable to move, to run. All Roland wanted to do now was to run. Then everything went black.

A few moments passed, or maybe a lifetime. Roland’s heart racing, he looked around for any hope of escape. The light started again, pulsing dimly at first, but moving quickly to a loud beating that he felt in every bone. The other two were next to him where they had been. What he saw was almost indescribable. It was as if the world had been turned into a two dimensional sculpture, like a flat claymation yet 3D at the same time. Light pulsed and ebbed, as if they were under water and the light was shining down from above, and everything was covered in scratches or numbers like tally scars etched into flesh. A voice echoed from behind them, but they couldn’t turn to see it for some reason. “You’ve been trying so hard to figure it out. To unlock the secrets. Are you happy to have gotten where you are?”. The voice was deep and sinister. “Now it’s someone else’s turn. I have plans for you…”. The world went dark again.

The next morning a customer entered the diner, sitting at the counter. The waitress greeted them and gave them a menu. Shortly she could be heard saying “Yeah, that’s the owner right over there. Nice fella, been here for oh a year or so now. Bought the place, shortly after the previous owner left. Not sure why he stayed, but he's a good employer and keeps the bills paid..”. In a booth in the corner Roland sat, staring out the window. He wasn’t sure why, but he couldn’t leave now. He wasn’t even sure there was a reason to leave. He was the owner here, after all...