Reality (Part 3)

Tracy got up after laying in bed for a while and couldn't understand what was wrong with her shoulder. She fully remembered the dream, but it was just a dream. How could a dream hurt her?
A shutter ran through her body as she sat on the edge of the bed and held her shoulder. She remembered the voice saying, "I am real".
Shaking her head she thought to herself it was just a dream and she slept on her shoulder. Just give it time and it will not hurt. Standing up she reached and turned on the bedroom light and went to the bathroom to take a shower. She figured she wasn't going to be sleeping any more tonight.
After her shower she was drying off and found that there was a very shallow bruise on the back of her shoulder. It was tender to touch and she wasn't sure how she got it. She was always a deep sleeper and never was known to move much during her sleep.
Getting dressed she decided to go to work early and just get the day started.
Throughout the day she had flash backs of the dream. Her should pain bit in protest each time she leaned back to pull off print from the printer. Once all the stories were approved, she gave the okay for her sections of the paper she was responsible for. Before she left for the day there was a buzz that started from another section of the building.
She was getting conflicting stories. The edition for tomorrow was going to be haulted, and others said it was going to continue and the news story was going to be postponed till the next days paper, but the director finally gave the go ahead to go with what they had on the story to get it out first if possible. It was certainly going to be in the news tonight so they needed to get it out. Tracy figured she would hear about it tonight on the news so she left and went home to put some ice on her shoulder. It had started to feel like it was burning as the day went on.
Once home, Tracy threw her clothes in the corner and pulled her favorite sweats on and tossed in a microwave pizza and flipped on the tv. Maybe now she could relax and have a peaceful night.
The microwave beeped signalling the pizza was done. Tracy got up and walked to the kitchen and she hear static on the tv for a moment and didn't think anything of it. The cable company has always been fuzzy at night when more of the apartment residents were home.
Coming around the corner and into view of the tv, Tracy saw the static of the tv. It wasn't black and white snow. The plate of pizza in her hand fell to the floor, the pizza flipping and sticking cheese side to the carpet and the paper plate drifted to rest just to the right of the slice. Tracy caught her breath and was unable to continue breathing. The static color was a yellowish-red like the light hue from her dream.
Finally remembering to breath she moved to the couch only a step to the left and sat on the arm. She waited a few moments to see if the cable would come back. No such luck. Her mind returned to the pizza and she took her eyes away from the tv and looked to the floor. It was then that she heard the chuckle. It seemed to come from the tv.
Her eyes darted back to the tv and all she saw was the static still, with the yellowish-red hue snow. Tracy couldn't believe what she was thinking.
"Good evening, Tracy...", the voice paused to take a breath in as it thought for a moment before speaking again.
"Looks like we have the night to ourselves, huh? You don't do much, do you? No parties or friends to go drinking with." That chuckle echoed again.
Tracy stood up from the couch and stepped to the kitchen, never putting her back to the tv. She stopped at the threshold between the two rooms and simply stared at the tv. She wasn't about to speak. Surely she was imagining this. She felt the burning in her shoulder before the tv spoke again.
"It burns, doesn't it." It was said not as a question, but as a comment.
Tracy stammered a moment and then laughed nervously, but quietly.
"Oh, it's okay, dearie, speak all you want. I can hear you. Say what you want to say. Ask me anything. Of course, I might not answer you, but you can ask." The tv speakers rumbled lightly from the bass of the deep gleeful laughter.
All Tracy said was a quiet mouse of a voice, "Hello?"
"Well, I suppose that's a start. There you go. Hello, Tracy. I've had much more inventive greetings in the past, but this will do. Tell me. You didn't happen to see the story your coworkers were whispering about today, did you?" After a long pause, Tracy was unable to speak at all still. Not because of any other force than fear and disbelief.
"Of course not. So silly of me. I know, you were busy and preoccupied. It's okay. I completely understand." There was another stifled laugh.
"If they only knew the things that floated around in your head at night when you sleep. Hell, if you only knew what floated around in your head. I don't think you'd leave the house. It's amazing what your brains can do by keeping parts of itself hidden from you. You know, I bet I could tell you anything right now and you'd forget I said anything to you by tomorrow morning. What do you think?"
Tracy simply shook her head. Not wanting to voice an answer. Maybe hearing herself answer would mean this is real.
"No, I don't think so either. So, how about we have a show and tell? What better way to get to know one another? Well, you need to know me better, but...hehe...I think I know more about you than you do. Anyway, that's a whole other story. Lets take this one step at a time."
Tracy stepped a moment from the kitchen and turned down a standing lamp light in the entranceway dimming the room instantly. Now the soft glow from the tv was almost the only light, other than the kitchen.
"Ahh, that's better, now, isn't it, Tracy. Thank you for doing as I asked."
Tracy stopped and looked to the tv then the light.
"You didn't..."
"I know, I know. I didn't ask so your ears could hear. It's a little benefit that I have. Just call it a direct line. Did you know, Tracy, that your brain is a very intricate thing in your body? So intricate that you don't know everything about it. What would you say if I told you that your brain isn't you? Would that confuse you?"
"Isn't....isn't me?" Tracy spoke with slight curiosity. Her own voice startled herself. Apparently she wasn't hearing the tv with her ears.
"Yes, isn't you. Your brain is a parasite. In the beginning you know nothing but what is natural for you to do. You call that instinct. Humans by your very nature are reactive creatures. Much like the animals that you say you have dominion over. That's one of the veils that have been placed. Your brain is a parasite that has been with you since birth. It's with you all since birth. Each time you have a baby, the parasite is passed to the child. If the child is born without the parasite it will die except in very few cases. Those cases that are left don't have the sense to look after themselves. They have focus problems and can't survive in a normal nature in your society. It's very ingenious actually. The parasite has created a seeming normal societal acceptance of behavior. Anything different and you as a society shun the malfunctioning human." The voice paused to let that sink in some.
"This parasite grows and nutures in itself the ability to partition itself off. It lets your body start to use one portion as a storage device and make itself seem a natural part of your body. Your unconscience part is the true form of the parasite. It keeps that part spared from your "human" portion. It has had so long to perfect the neural paths and networks that it seems a natural part of your body. As humanity advanced and technology moved forward you learned more about your bodies and the brain was understood as your main processing. But in your little understanding you missed the mark. Your brain isn't yours. It's a part of you that controls you. You're essentially a puppet. You do what it wants. If you don't believe me, think about why you can't do things to harm yourself. You think it's a natural instinct, don't you. No, it's the parasite. It's breaking into your conscious efforts that it grants you to deter you. Some people are able to bypass that and successfully harm themselves or worse. But in the long run, it's not worse. It just depends on your perspective."
"Enough. I don't want to listen to you any longer or your lies." Tracy was getting nervous. This was going on longer than a hilucination. Maybe she needed to go to the hospital.
"Tracy, you'll understand soon enough. No, don't go to the hospital. All that will happen there is they will watch you and transfer you to a mental facility. You don't want to go there. They are usually run by those humans that have stronger parasites and are able to help keep your natural state from becoming too uncontrollable by the parasite in your head. You think they help keep you sane. They make you less believing of the truth." After a long pause, the voice continued.
"I supposed I've gone over enough with you tonight. You might remember this tomorrow morning, but I doubt you'll remember it. When you sleep your parasite will file the memories away in the area it controls. You'll forget. Where do you think those things you forgot goes? They don't disappear. The parasite has had so long to learn to work with your body that it doesn't lose anything. It chooses what to make you lose. It's ingenious actually. It has made you think that your brain is a natural part of your body. It's basically hiding in you in plain view. Run it through a cat scan and you'll notice it like you notice the sun in the sky. But hey, that's your brain. No worries there. No more talking, Tracy. Go sleep now and we'll talk more tomorrow night. It's late and you need to let your parasite sleep."
Tracy was suddenly tired and wanting nothing else but to go to sleep and rest.
"Don't worry about a visit from me tonight. You'll not see me."
Tracy seemed to be in a trance and her mind barely focusing on what was said. All she knew was she needed to get to sleep.