Counterfeit Reality

*TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of cancer, death, "extermination" and other dark subjects. Now onto the story!* BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. I hear my alarm going off, but don't bother to get up. 10 minutes later, I am approached with the glorious sounds of my military father playing taps to wake me up. "Alright alright i'm up..." I say, groggily. Then I stand up, and smile at my dad. His long, redneck beard, his brown hair, same color as mine, and his missing tooth. He served in the War on Terror, so I didn't see him much as a baby. "You sure, Sir Sleeps-A-Lot?" We both laughed. I love his loud, obnoxious laugh. It's what gets me up in the morning. I get dressed, and get my book bag. "Ready for school, champ?" My dad asked me. "Yeah, yeah." I get on the bus, and sit next to my best friend since kindergarten, Lucas. "Hey dude." I say to him. He's too tired to respond. "Did you seriously not get any sleep?" He nods his head. "Dude. You're going to fall asleep in class today!" He smiles, and closes his eyes, and then...BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. I hear my alarm going off, but don't bother to get up. 10 minutes later, I am approached with the glorious sounds of my military father playing taps to wake me up. Then I stand up, and smile at my dad. His long, redneck beard, his brown hair, same color as mine, and his missing tooth. He served in the War on Terror, so I didn't see him much as a baby. "Alright alright i'm up..." I say, groggily. Wait...this is weird. Eh..never mind it. I continue my routine, and get off the bus, and walk into school. First day of high school, and there she is. Cassandra Hargrove, the most beautiful girl in the grade. Her beautiful body, Her beautiful, crimson hair, the way her smile can pierce hearts, the way she walks, her angelic singing voice, her kind heart, and our mom's are friends. She's the perfect girl. She looks to me, waves and smiles. "Hey Dan." She says. I'm too love struck to speak. Lucas smiles, and speaks for me. "He says Hi." Lucas states, quietly. She laughs, and walks away. I was smiling the whole time. Lucas sees this, and decides to be cheeky, and says, "Dan, you look like a happy tomato." I look at him, and say, "Yeah, and you look like a sad stick." He smiles, and we walk to class. The teacher explains theme, and adverbs, and I close my eyes and...BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. I hear my alarm going off, but don't bother to get up. 10 minutes later, I am approached with the glorious sounds of my military father playing taps to wake me up. Then I stand up, and I smile at my dad. His long, redneck beard, his brown hair, same color as mine, and his missing tooth. He served in the War on Terror, so I didn't see him much as a baby. "Alright alright i'm up..." I say, groggily. Wait...this is weird. Eh..never mind it. I continue my routine, and get off the bus, and walk into school. First day of high school, and there she is. Cassandra Hargrove, the most beautiful girl in the grade. Her beautiful, crimson hair, the way her smile can pierce hearts, the way she walks, her angelic singing voice, her kind heart, and our mom's are friends. She's the perfect girl. She looks to me, waves and smiles. "Hey Dan." She says. I'm too love struck to speak. Lucas smiles, and speaks for me. "He says Hi." Lucas states, quietly. She laughs, and smiles. "Soo...wanna hang out tonight?" Lucas smiles, but I interrupt him. "Y-yeah! Sure..." Lucas smiles, and punches my arm. "Good on you!" Later, we get my dad to drive us to her house. We got to listen to some music on the way. We get there, and her mom drives us to the park. When we get there, Me, Cass and Lucas sit in the park. We talk about things, and laugh a lot. I tell stories, Cass tries to scare us, and Lucas does what he does best. He tells jokes. Not good ones, but jokes. "Soo, Dan. How's your grandpa been? With cancer and everything?" Lucas asks. "Well...he...passed a month ago." I say. "Oh...I'm sorry..." Cassandra says, sincerely. "Hey, hey, it's fine! I'm okay! Just know he's in a better place now." I smile, and ask Lucas, "Hey, is it fine if we get a little alone time?" He smiles, and says, "Sure!" He walks away, and looks back and gives me double thumbs up. I smile, and ask Cassandra, "So, I've been thinking..." And we both say at the same time, "I kind of like you." We smile and laugh, hug each other, and I lay on her, and close my eyes, and...BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. I hear my alarm going off, but don't bother to get up. 10 minutes later, I am approached with the glorious sounds of my military father playing taps to wake me up. "Alright alright I'm up..." I say, groggily. Wait. Why did it stop! It was just getting good! Wait a minute... Am I a lab rat? A pawn in a game? Am I living in a simulation? Does nothing I've ever accomplished matter? Is my whole life a lie? I look at the wall that holds my paintings of trees and mountains. I always loved the Rocky's when my dad took me there. Sorry paintings. I break the wall, and see a group of strange men in lab coats. Are these the voices in my head? The One True Creators? I never knew they experimented on humans. One, a skinny brown-haired white man with glasses, stares at me, smiles, and bends over to state into a microphone. Wait…is that Lucas’ dad? He says, "Subject 237 has discovered the system. Please...exterminate him." "Wait. No! You don't have to do this! What is going on?" I state, before I feel a poke of a tranquilizer needle in my back...and go to sleep for a long time. The last words I hear are… “Well…I guess now we’ll have to replace the test subjects. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of 237 and 238. Don’t worry young man…you’ll be in a better place.” As the light flows away, I ask one last question. "Is Cassandra alive..."