If Peter hadn’t been strapped down so tightly, he probably would have jerked upright in a mixture of shock and fear. He swallowed a lump in his throat, breathing deeply in and out. Sweat had formed on his forehead and it began to drip down the sides of his face as he moved ever so slightly.

“How are you doing, Peter? Bad dream?” Ms. Bates approached the table. Peter was silent. “I’m sure you’d like to know how long I intend on keeping you here. I haven’t decided what I want to do with you yet. You know too much.”

”Know too much!” Peter’s voice squeaked as he said this. “How can I know too much when I know nothing?”

”That’s for sure,” she mumbled. “Look, the last thing I wanted to do was drag innocent people into this, but you obviously were not innocent. You were spying in my personal things.”

”We were spying for the good of the people. You’re not researching to help anyone; you’re doing all this to harm people. You’ve already hurt me and my friends so why not just leave us alone? You’ve done your damage.”

“Not quite yet. I’d like you to tell me the extent of your abilities.” Ms. Bates grabbed a pad and pencil, poised and ready to take notes.

”What?”

”Like what kinds of things you see in your dreams? Are your visions out right blunt or do you just get clues that you have to sort out?”

Peter’s face twisted into disbelief as he stared at her. The authority and demand in her voice had completely dissipated and was left with a woman who was curious to learn more about something she had created herself. Peter figured if anyone could help him deal with this new thing, she could.

“I see flashes of different things. They don’t connect and they don’t make sense.” Peter replied, “I’m always there just watching. Watching what’s happening to my friends and there’s nothing I can do to help.”

”You only dream about your friends?” Ms. Bates asked.

”Well, so far I have.”

“All right,” Ms. Bates was about to continue, but Samson walked into the room making a loud entrance. “Samson, what are you-“

”There’s an inspector here to see you. You might want to take care of him.”

”Does he know anything?”

”No, he was just interested in everything the scientists were telling him so he wanted to talk to you.” Ms. Bates nodded at Samson’s report and exited the room. Samson smiled at Peter and scooped the notepad Ms. Bates had abandoned and sat on the stool with a look of contemplation on his face. “So, tell me of your problems.”

Peter chuckled, even though it really wasn’t that funny. It was funnier when Micky tried to help him with his problems in that way. Thinking of Micky brought a frown to his face.

“Seriously, man. I can see why you wouldn’t want to tell the psycho woman, but to tell you the truth, I know more about this stuff than Ms. Bates ever will.” Peter opened his mouth to speak, but Samson interrupted, “I know you think I’m just a security guard. I’m not. I started projects like this years ago and Ms. Bates discovered it and offered to bring it to new heights. She promised me glamour and all that stuff and this is where I am. Disguised as a bodyguard.”

”You should stop her. This is getting way out of hand.”

”Nah, it isn’t a big deal.”

”Isn’t a big deal? Don’t you see what’s happening? I don’t even know what’s happening.”

”Why don’t you tell me about your dreams. I won’t tell her anything. Confidentiality all the way. I want to help you.”

”Well, my first dream was just dark. There was laughing and everything was dark. It was really brief.”

”I can’t tell you much about that one because it’s so brief.” Samson and Peter shrugged simultaneously.

“My second one was about Davy. We were on the beach together and it was raining. He was crying, but I couldn’t figure out why. I kept trying to calm him down, but he wouldn’t stop pushing me away from him.”

”Did either of you say anything?”

Peter sighed, thinking. “Yeah, I was repeating over and over that it was me. You know, stuff like ‘You’re OK, it’s just me. It’s me, Peter’.”

“And he said?” Samson leaned forward on his elbows.

“Nothing. I couldn’t hold onto him any longer. He ran away from me and I lost him.”

”You lost him?”

”I had this feeling that he was gone. I couldn’t really describe it. I just had this feeling. That was when the dream ended.”

“So you want to know what’s wrong with him?”

”Well, yeah! Do you have any idea?”

Samson nodded. “That night when you boys were here, Ms. Bates instructed me to give Davy a compound that in the end causes amnesia.”

”What!” Peter tried again in vain to jerk himself up, but was once again stopped by his bonds.

“Every time he falls asleep, he forgets everything that happened after that Monday when you boys were here. To the moment when he woke up that day. You see what I’m saying?”

”Sort of.”

”He didn’t remember being here in this room. The last thing he’ll always remember is waking up that morning. As the day goes by, he’ll know what’s going on. He’ll be able to remember things like what he ate, where he went, and all that stuff. But when he goes to bed, all that happened during that day will be forgotten. He’ll wake up the next morning, thinking it’s Monday all over again.”

“And this goes on forever? There’s no way to stop it?” Peter attempted to bring his arms up to express his point further, but once again…

“Do you want me to untie you?”

”That would help.” Samson reached under the table, cutting the rope with his pocketknife. Soon, Peter was sitting up on the table, stretching his sore limbs. “Now, go on. Tell me the rest.”

”After one week of all this, he’ll gradually begin forgetting more and more. He’ll forget small details from his past, which can lead to bigger details from his past. Eventually he may not remember anything about his childhood. As it all worsens, his memory will continue to die off and he’ll start forgetting things from his present.”

”Meaning…?” Peter was scared of the answer.

“He’ll start to forget you.”

“No,” Peter breathed in desperation. “There’s got to be a way to stop all this. I can’t let this happen to him. Isn’t there an antidote?”

”I’m afraid not, Peter. Ms. Bates wouldn’t allow me to create any antidotes. She wants everything permanent.”

”Does that mean you can, she just won’t let you?”

”I can’t. I’m sorry.”

”What do you mean, you can’t? You sit here acting all nice and understanding and then tell me you can’t help me? She doesn’t have to know. You can overrule her.”

”Look, she’ll probably be back soon. Don’t you want to talk about your other friend?”

Peter nodded, thinking back to his dream. “Micky. I still don’t understand where he stands in all of this. What I saw of him was unbelievable.”

“Go ahead. I’m listening.”