Elias approaches his building in his personal VTOL aircraft, which lands smoothly on the rooftop helipad. The Aircraft is equipped with advanced autopilot systems and real air-time traffic management.
He steps out of the aircraft directly into a sleek pod that welcomes him with an uplifting song. The pod uses biometric identification, including facial recognition, fingerprint scanning and retinal analysis to verify his identity, after which he was welcomed into his building by the voice of his RoboAssistant, STEVE which was integrated into every aspect of his building's system from security and climate control to communication networks and transportation.
The room was as he had left it, it was an expanse of sleek dark panels that were illuminated by the shifting glow of city lights through floor-to-ceiling windows. A soft hum filled the air, the omnipresent sounds of one of the many technologies he had built his home with.
"Surprise." A soft voice squealed behind him. He flinched slightly, turning to look at the intruder, but his face remained impassive.
She was standing in the center of the room, her figure framed by the ambient lights.
Eugenia, his best friend who he was now also romantically and sexually involved with.
"Eugenia, what are you doing here?" He asked calmly, trying to force a smile.
She glided towards him instead, her sharp suit blending perfectly with the hyper modern decor of his home. "You're home earlier than I thought." She said simply, reaching out to touch his chiseled jaw.
He subconsciously evaded her touch, hurting her feelings. But Eugenia was no stranger to the coldness of Elias Drayton, so she moved to take off his suit jacket instead. "I've been waiting for you. I made your favorite."
Elias blinked, gears in his mind whirring into motion. "My favorite?"
She giggled, unbothered by his hesitation. "You'll see."
Dropping the jacket on his bed, she brushed past him into the kitchen.
As the door closed behind her, he exhaled sharply, running his hands through his well styled hair as his thoughts went back to earlier that day.
Leila Vega, the memory sculptor he found by chance. Someone had transferred a file about her anonymously, he tried to track who the sender was but it seemed like they were really good at covering their tracks. At first, he suspected her and was convinced she plotted with someone to get him in her lab, only after running background checks was he satisfied that she had no reason to send that file to him anonymously. Her reaction to him that day proved it even further, and although he was a poor judge of character, he fully trusted her inability to hurt him.
Her wide set eyes were the first thing that drew him to her, they were an unusual chestnut color, with perfectly arched eyebrows. Her deep brown skin was smooth. Her shoulder length, wavy brown hair perfectly framed her oval face, the dainty nose and full lush lips, with a demeanor that couldn't be contained by her petite frame.
There had been something unsettling about her. Something raw and sharp.
He felt a spark when she touched his wrist with her small delicate hands, but he has since convinced himself that it was her drabby scanning chamber that electrocuted him. He made a quick note to himself to upgrade her equipment before he started any real project with her.
"Dinner's ready." Eugenia's voice shattered his reverie.
He turned to see her being trailed by his RoboAssistant, Steve. He carried a tray containing the said dinner, dropped it on his bedside table, then zoomed out without question.
"Osso buco." She announced proudly, "It wasn't easy to make, but with the help of STEVE, I think I was able to get just the right proportions and measurements to make the perfect dinner."
"Right." He said, forcing a smile. They sat beside each other, the silence punctuated occasionally by the soft clink of cutlery. Eugenia in an effort to keep the room lively started talking about some breakthrough her team was working on, something about quantum interfaces and neurohaptic feedback. He nodded, but his mind kept wandering to the fragmented pieces of his memory.
"Are you even listening to me?" Eugenia asked suddenly, her hurt betraying her voice.
"Of course." He looked up, startled by her question. The silence stretched between them for a moment before he stood and walked towards her, pulling her up into his arms. She melted instantly, wrapping her arms around him.
He pressed his lips against hers, tilting her neck so he could taste more of her. Eugenia opened her mouth to take more of him, and before long, they were both a tangled mess of limbs on the carefully made pod-like bed.
When he finally entered her, his long girth penetrating her moist entrance, he felt empty. He grasped her by the waist and pounded into her mercilessly, each thrust more intense than the last. She kept begging for more, locking her legs behind his waist and so he gave, and gave and gave till he could no more. In one intense grunt, he exploded, releasing his warm seeds into her.
Elias stood up, passing a towel to Eugenia as he walked to the bathroom, he felt just as empty as before and with a nagging guilt that he was doing something wrong.
"Don't go." His hands were stretched forward, as if to pull the woman towards him, but she simply kept walking away from him.
Elias ran, but it felt like the more he ran, the further she got. Suddenly, screams started reverberating around him. He couldn't place the specific location it was coming from. Colors were swirling round him. He found the source of the voice, the long and full hair, he got there too late, his hands desperately trying to reach her as she kept falling and falling into a dark abyss.
"Help me!" She shouted, her words clear for the first time. He tried to jump after her, to save her, but he was being held down by an invisible strong force. Her piercing blue eyes staring at him accusingly was the last thing he remembered, before his own deep guttural cry of loss.
He failed her again.
He failed to save her.
Elias woke up with a start.