Quietly I try to find the right position for sleeping, scared to alarm anything nearby.

  Damnit, this is going to be one long night. I think to myself while my eyes slowly close from exhaustion.

  As I open my eyes, I find myself leaning on something.

  It feels strangely uncomfortable.

  I look up to find above myself a bright white light that's on without flickering, almost like one of my flashlights, but bigger and more annoying.

  The room looks strange too.

  There are small, thin walls around me that for some reason don't go completely up to the ceiling. Making them useless for anything.

  Before me is a bright light coming from something I only recognize as something known as a 'computer screen'. More useless things I guess.

  Why did I decide to sleep at a place so useless and so unsafe?

  Suddenly a loud bell rings through the room and I quickly cover my ears in shock.

  "Hey are you okay?" The voice of a human can be heard from behind one of the walls.

  It's someone dressed in a very old fashioned way.

  I don't answer anything and keep lying low.

  What the fuck is going on?!

  The person who spoke to me walks over my way and places a hand on my shoulder.

  "Come on, it's just the lunch-break bell. Nothing is going to hurt you."

  The person smiles at me then looks down at my clothes.

  "Dear cousin of mine, who taught you to do your ties? Not your mom nor mine that's clear. Not even a tutorial video online can make someone do this in such a bad way."

  Not caring about my personal space he bows to me, his hands going to some strange black fabric around my neck.

  Wait, these aren't my clothes at all!

  I take another look around now that I'm standing, showing me a bunch of other small rooms.

  Cubicle, my mind answers for me.

  Then it hits me.

  This must be from the book I've been reading.

  One night without reading and I already start dreaming about it...

  Is that what people would have called a withdrawal?

  Does that mean that I just took the role of Farren in my dream?

  Then the person before me must be his cousin, Kathan.

  He fixes the tie and then looks at me: "Shall we go?"

  I've got to act normal. I think to myself, but also not having a clue about what that would mean. I've never been in a situation like this.

  "Sure." I say, clearly in my own voice, but it doesn't seem to bother Farren's cousin.

  I follow him to the cantine.

  It's busy, there are many people. None of them I feel like I recognize.

  We take a seat on a table with other people already waiting for us.

  One of them is even waving at us.

  It's so strange to see so many humans together, I'm just not used to it anymore.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Everyone around us seems to be in deep conversations or busy with strange metallic devices that seem to glow.

  Mobile phone, my head tells me.

  I look at a person sitting next to me.

  Someone reading a magazine.

  "What are you reading?" I ask, while secretly taking a peek at the many pictures of nature.

  He smiles and looks at me: "This is the first time you asked me something. I'm looking for a place I want to go on holiday."

  "Holiday?"

  "Yeah, I will soon have mine. It's just a month away."

  I smile and nod: "I see, is there somewhere in particular you want to go?"

  "I want to see the sea again."

  "The sea?"

  "Yes, the blue oceans... I always feel like they're calling me."

  "Then you just go there, right?"

  He smiles and looks at me: "Dude, it's not so easy you know. Things cost money."

  Money... right a currency people used to 'pay' with. Though I'm unsure as to how to use such things.

  "Then why not just go by yourself with a... car or something. Drive there with friends...?"

  The words come tumbling out of my mouth as if they are not my own.

  The person next to me seems surprised: "Yeah, that might actually work. I can get there if I just do it myself..."

  Even though we're worlds apart I'm able to have conversations with almost everyone sitting around the table and before I know it the bell sounds again.

  "Welp time to get back to work I guess." Kathan sighs.

  I nod: "I'm going to the restroom quickly."

  Kathan smirks: "Sure go for it, but be quick about it. You know the boss isn't very fond of those who come late."

  I nod: "I will."

  As I walk over I find two doors with strangely colored signs on them.

  Both are bathrooms... right?

  Well who cares.

  I just enter one of the rooms and find it empty.

  There is a huge spotless mirror on the wall.

  In it, I spot my own face.

  Strangely clean though.

  Dressed in a manner I'm not used to.

  Is this what they used to wear back in the day?

  As I go back to Farren's workplace, an angry looking man approaches me.

  He looks big and strong, but very clearly lacking in brain capacity.

  "How come you're back so late?" He asks in a threatening tone.

  I smile at him: "Oh, just had to use the bathroom. I made sure to get right back anyway."

  His face shows surprise.

  I wonder if Farren was afraid of this guy, he doesn't look so scary.

  I've seen much worse.

  But I guess when you live so long around your own kind, you might find some more of a danger than others.

  Ignoring the 'boss' I walk back to my cubicle.

  A thing my mind registers as a phone, starts making an annoying noise.

  My hand reaches for it and I pick it up.

  "Hello?" A voice that's coming out of it.

  "Good afternoon, how can I help you?" The words coming out of my mouth are again foreign to me.

  I don't understand anything about it.

  The person in the phone starts telling me of their problem and even though I would really rather, put the thing back and walk away from it. I can't.

  It's as if someone else has taken control over me and is now helping this person.

  It takes so long to finish, as I finally lay the phone down I feel terribly fatigued.

  Just why would people decide to do things like this for a living?

  I stand up and decide to walk outside.

  The boss walks over to me: "You haven't finished work, have you?"

  Tired and annoyed, I turn my head towards him: "I did finish it." And walk off.

  He seems very confused, I wonder why.

  Also... why do so many people keep sitting and working here?

  Under all of these electric lights.

  Do they hate to see the sky and the sun or something?

  There are no windows inside here, meaning that there is no natural light coming inside this room.

  I quickly get out of the building and before I know it I find myself in a city.

  So many people.

  And not one covered in blood or trying to eat another.

  But somehow all of them seem to be alone.

  It makes me feel a little sad in a strange way.

  This is a world that doesn't need my skills.

  Still... that such a peaceful world has been lost.

  Buildings look strangely clean and I almost nowhere spot any kind of plants growing over or through something.

  Did I ever live in such a world?

  I'm sure I did at one point.

  Those memories seem to be almost fading.

  I remember some... I think...

  But they're not important.

  They're useless now, once I wake up again, they will still be useless.

  Still... It's nice to read about other times once in a while I guess.

  Not sure if I would really want to live in the old reality.

  I walk through a busy street, past many buildings with many big windows displaying things.

  So that's what it was used for...

  People are dressed in a strange way.

  All different, yet almost all of them very clean and as if they never have to walk through the dirt. Though there are some just sitting around with something like a cup or a hat, where people throw coins in.

  Then there is a building that seems ever so slightly familiar.

  It's the old train station where I found the book.

  I feel like something is pulling me closer.

  Almost as if the floor itself is moving me in the direction of the building.

  Vigilantly I walk over to it, making sure that I'm able to defend myself even without a weapon against any zombies.

  Even though there aren't any, well that's if you don't count the people walking with their phones in hand not paying attention to whatever in the world is happening.

  I blink my eyes once and I stand before the bench with the book on it.

  People walk past me not noticing me at all.

  Trains are moving in and out of the station.

  But I don't see it, the book has taken my complete attention.

  There is no title on the leather, but I do know that it's that book.

  I reach for it.

  It feels strange.

  New.

  The paper inside it is almost as white at the electric lights in the building I was in earlier. Almost glowing.

  I take it and immediately open it.

  For a moment nothing happens.

  Then something dark starts coming from my hands.

  My hands are bleeding a black fluid onto the paper.

  Shocked I drop it.

  Again no one approaches me or even glances my way.

  Trembling, I look at my hands and find two big wounds.

  They're bleeding the same color as the zombies back in my reality, back in my world.

  The ink, I think it is, starts creeping onto me as well.

  It has started covering my eyes.

  Or perhaps I'm crying the ink.

  With every drop that lands on the white paper, letters and sentences start to scribble themselves onto the paper.

  I feel the urge to scream, but am able to stop myself just in time.

  Meanwhile people walk past me, walk through me.

  I'm like a ghost.

  No one knows that I'm suffering here.

  No one cares.

  The feeling of a thousand little spiders crawling over me has come over me, I recognized it too late.

  And ever so slowly, the world turns dark.

  My eyes fly open, I immediately start fighting everything around me.

  "Hey, are you okay?" Quiller asks me, bringing me back to reality.

  Out of breath I nod, whispering: "Y-yeah... just a weird nightmare."