Better Future

by RoshelleD

The sun sauntered off into the clouds. A slight wind rustled the few leaves left in the trees. Lora remembered a time when there'd been so many of them. Big, small, short, tall. Her favorite tree had been one that sat in her front yard as a child. These days she was lucky if she passed by one over the course of her day. Lora caught sight of the digital numbers that spanned the tower across the street as the hover cars stopped at the light. She was running late to her next appointment. Flashes of light tripped the edges of her peripheral vision. Another "beautification ritual" was nearly complete. Everyone knew what was really going on and there damn sure wasn't anything beautiful about it at all.

Next to the remains of the latest failed Hamma Caprifia tree stood a group of bystanders dressed in green. The Toads on their shirts always brought a smile out of Lora. They chanted "Hail to the Green" while raising a banner emblazoned with the words "Almighty Toad King." The rest of the group waved towels as they looked to the sky. Lora looked up with them. She wished she could be like the Toadies and believe in something bigger.

Lora briefly entertained the idea of walking past the ten story monstrosity sitting two buildings away. But then she thought about the near empty vial of pills under her bathroom sink and ran faster. When the hair on the back of her neck prickled she broke into a run.

It didn't matter.

The cold metal pressed against her shaved head was what registered first.

"Gimme the bag and there won't be any trouble," the robotic voice said.

A synthesizer. Lora held her hands out. "Take it."

She breathed a sigh of relief. Everything important was always in her sock or inside the lining of her camisole. Not the best spot ever, but she had to be prepared in case something like this happened. Being robbed at sundown wasn't how she planned to end the day. Her breathing was getting shallow. The scent of processed alcohol seared her senses. Not nearly as good as the real stuff. A tall bottle of vodka sounded nice. Maybe she could pick some up to go with her nighttime dose of medicine.

"Don't turn around."

Lora shook her head, trying to ignore the headache that pounded at her temples. "I'm not going anywhere. Just please don't kill me." She had to make it to her appointment. Tonight she'd be sure to take two pills because this situation called for it. Her arm felt lighter once her shoulder bag was finally removed.

After that, Lora expected to hear footfalls. The guy should've been running back to the hole he crawled out of. A voice screamed in the back of her mind. Something wasn't right. He had what he wanted. So why was he still there?

Run!

Lora's brain got the message to her feet too late.

Searing pain pierced the back of her skull before everything went black.

******

Lora shot out of bed when the alarm sounded, her heart pounding a staccato as her feet hit the ground.

What the hell?

Once in the bathroom, she scrounged through her cabinet for a foil pouch, pounding the counter when she didn't find what she was looking for. Where was the bottle when she needed it? She pawed through the drawer, relief filling her once she felt the vial. She downed two of the red pills without water.

That damned vision again. It always started the same. She was walking down the street as it got dark. Then came the pain before it was Game Over. She was sick to death of reliving her death over and over. She looked at the paper on the counter as she went to grab a cereal pack. Time to get this shit taken care of. She'd agonized for weeks with her decision.

Time to make a move.

A few hours later Lora strode into the sixty story, gray building. Right in front of her, a glass wall of windows with the words "Better Futures" in gold held her attention. The sun shined off in the distance. This whole lobby had way too much light for her taste, but she knew the setup went along with the company's vision. The scents of rubber, decaf coffee, and lavender competed for her attention. It wasn't the worst of combinations, but it reminded Lora of something she couldn't have. Coffee sounded good, but no one could acquire the caffeinated version without some serious consequences.

Lora looked down at the paper in her hand.

Don't like the path you're heading down? Yearning for a brighter tomorrow? Change the course of your life today. A better future is in your hands.

For being so sure of herself yesterday, her hesitation annoyed her. She needed to get to the bottom of things. As much as people didn't understand why she was here, they weren't inside her head. The simple fact was, why should she have to die? Sure she had a bad habit she was dealing with, but she was a good person with something to contribute. More than she could say for the terrible people who got to live on and on. Lora shifted her feet while she gripped the paper. On the right of her, four TVs blared. A golden sunrise ran across one screen while a hodge podge of city images flashed across two others. The fourth TV flashed sentences in white which were read in a woman's soothing voice.

Lora stood frozen, still trying to decide if she should stay or leave. She was just about to take a step forward when a man's voice broke in.

"Hey, there I'm Ian. And you are?"

"Lora." She pasted on a smile.

"You seem a little lost. Can I help you out with something?"

"I was thinking about making an appointment."

The man gestured to the glass elevators on their left. "Luckily for you, I can help you out. By the time we're done, you'll be able to make a decision."

No doubt he was sure of himself. But he didn't even know what Lora was dealing with. Hell, what she'd been dealing with for the last few months. She kept those thoughts to herself while she followed him into his office.

******

Two months later, Lora couldn't keep the bounce out of her step. She traipsed around her living room, enjoying the smell of banana pancakes and scrambled eggs with cheese. She didn't want to think about the dark cloud hanging over the next room. On cue, her friend Serah banged plates down on the table.

"Might as well eat something while you can still bloody enjoy it."

Lora gave the woman a hug. "Don't be like that."

Serah frowned deeper "I can't talk you out of doing something stupid and it pains me."

Lora disagreed. "Doing it this way means I have control over my future."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that dreams were meant to be decoded?" Serah looked at Lora. "Figure out why you're having them and go from there?"

Lora tried to get closer to Serah but she quickly turned and stomped toward the sink. Dreams were also made to be broken. That's how her father had put it. He'd died less than three months later. No point in thinking about what could be, but rather what you could do. She finally had some control over things. Even if her vision was overwhelming everything, she had a way to deal with it. Ian was right. Had been ever since that day outside of his office. This was her way out. With Better Futures by her side, how could she go wrong?

"Keep shoveling down that shit they feed you at that damned place. You realize their whole purpose is to distract you?"

Lora shoved some eggs in her mouth. She didn't understand. "So you want me to die?"

"Of course n–"

"Because that's the vision. I get robbed. They shoot me. I don't pass go. Or collect $200."

"Why so dramatic? You get saved."

"And never wake up again."

"You don't know that." Serah slammed a pan. "Things change. What they can't do today, they can do later."

"So in the meantime you sit there and wait for who knows how long for when they might be able to wake me up? That's not much of a life for you or for me. This gives me the chance to avoid it."

"You can't outrun fate."

Lora took a bite from a banana pancake. She'd see about that. Besides it wasn't about fate. It was about wanting to live.

******

Fog hung thick in the air and rain drizzled as Lora made her way past the cemetery. Her mind raced as the gravestones blurred together.

Their last conversation had been just last week. After their weekly dinner together, Lora had told Serah she was off the pills for good. It was the least she owed to herself. What was the point of preventing her death if she slowly killed herself with meds? Serah had been so excited. Lora remembered how she couldn't help but smile at the woman's enthusiasm. Seeing someone genuinely happy for her had brought out some courage in Lora. The Better Futures business was done, and Lora would live for the foreseeable future. Serah was also quite beautiful. It seemed like the best time to confess how deep her feelings truly went for her good friend and neighbor. When Serah said she'd be open to the possibility of them being more, Lora couldn't believe it. How could something that made her so nervous have turned out so close to perfect?

Then the next day happened. A hover car accident. When she'd gotten the call, Lora had reacted so badly she'd been brought to the hospital. She was out now but that didn't change anything.

Serah was gone.

Forever.

Although Serah had been cremated, she was instantly reminded of her friend every time she took this route to her doctor's office, yet she would continue to take it. Tears burned behind her eyes. Lora wasn't sure how she'd made it out of bed today. Her urge to take a pill, hell the whole bottle, was strong. But she wasn't the sort of person to lose her shit over a person. It wasn't just that though. Serah had been one of the few people who understood her. She'd stuck by Lora even when she couldn't see past the pill vial. Had understood it was a sickness she had little control over.

She had to keep going for her friend. And she still had good to do. Lora dedicated her time to helping other addicts. In her spare time she worked against companies like Better Futures. They sold lies. Sure they might be able to change the future, but it came with a price because Serah was right.

One couldn't change, cheat, hide, or run from their fate. And if somehow you were able to escape it, someone else would have to go in your place. She hadn't even seen that until she'd read the fine print in the contract she'd signed. Death was a different beast altogether. Serah tried to tell her and Lora wished she'd listened. Everybody died. It was simply a matter of when.

Lora took off her coat once she was seated in a chair.

"Glad you could make it today, Lora."

Lora raised an eyebrow. "It's my regular checkup. Why wouldn't I be here?"

The doctor who was a tall, stocky woman in her early fifties with bright green eyes crossed her arms. "You mean you don't know?"

Lora shook her head. "What's going on?"

"We've finally figured out the reason behind your visions."

"Seriously?" Lora had chalked that up to being a lost cause. She still had them. But her death wasn't the focus. She was sure they were buried somewhere but she didn't remember them at this point.

Doctor Oliveres had already laid out the prints. She pointed to a red spot the size of a golf ball right near the center of her brain. "This is the amygdala which plays a role in memory."

"I don't have memories though."

"Of course you do. But your visions are a result of a genetic anomaly. You retain memories, but they're of the future."

Lora couldn't believe it. "Why? What's wrong with me?"

We'll have to do some more tests to figure out why this happens. Only about fifteen percent of the population is affected." The doctor clapped her hands. "The important thing which is also great news for you is that we've pinpointed the problem. And we have a way to cure it."

No way she was going under the knife. "I won't do any surgery."

The doctor beamed. "Won't have to." She held up a bottle of blue pills.

What the hell did that bottle say. Sarah squinted before she held out her hand and Dr. Oliveres gave her the medication.

Ecrivain's Specials?

"What is this madness?"

"A cure for everything. Created by none other than Doctor Ang Ecrivain. This medicine is all set to be released to the public."

Lora wasn't sure why she should care. She'd kicked her addiction. "I can't believe you would suggest some shit like this to me."

"You just said you don't want surgery. And in fact it would be too dangerous. There's no other way to combat this. Plus this pill won't kill you."

"Says you. How are you so sure?"

"There's no one hundred percent way to be truly certain, but this is a start. Doctor Ecrivain knows his stuff. With one of these pills three times a day, it will ensure your visions go away."

"How?"

"It's able to facilitate gene knockdown. You would go through the treatment and once the gene is gone, the anomaly can't do its damage."

"But I would have to keep taking the pills."

"As prevention. Ideally the gene knockdown treatment would prevent the gene from affecting you again. But the process is always changing, so yes you would be on this medication indefinitely."

Lora's anger dissipated, but only a little. Figured she would live while someone close to her died. What was worse was that she hadn't changed anything, just postponed it. She was eventually going to see her death.

But could this really help her? All this time she'd spent trying to avoid death. But maybe it was time to take a different approach? Maybe if she knew what was coming then she could do more to control the outcome. Although death was associated with her, the rest of the visions she had were able to help others. Could she really give that up now?

But on the other hand...

The visions would eventually go away. That had been the whole point of everything. Her going to Better Futures had been a way to change the outcome of her life. Lora understood now that it didn't mean she wouldn't die. Plus Serah was dead and taking pills again would somehow dishonor her memory. Figures the one cure available was in a form she went out of her way to avoid.

And she would have to keep doing so.

Because for Lora, being able to know what to expect, no matter how gruesome, was far more comforting to her now than not knowing at all.