Page 147 of Immersed
The memory of reality kept intruding, sharper and more persistent than before. The lab was real. The headset was real. The researchers discussing him like a lab rat was real.
And Asher...
A cold spike of fear shot through him. Where was Asher? Was he the blonde person in the other bed? Was he even here in this new scenario?
Levi swung his legs over the edge of the pod, testing his balance before standing. The artificial gravity felt lighter than Earth's, giving his movements an unnatural buoyancy. A viewport on the far wall showed a starfield—either an actual view of space or an extremely convincing simulation.
A simulation within a simulation,he thought grimly.
A door hissed open at the far end of the room, the sound triggering Levi’s instinctive retreat behind one of the larger sleep pods. After everything he experienced, caution was second nature. Hiding and finding an excuse for it was better than being torn apart minutes after waking up.
Footsteps approached—confident, measured, familiar.
“Levi?”Asher called out.“Are you in here?”
Thank God.He stepped out from his hiding place to see Asher standing in the center of the room, scanning the surroundings with predatory focus. His clothing matched the sci-fi setting—a blacktactical uniform with various equipment attached to utility belts, and what appeared to be a holstered sidearm at his hip. But his face, his posture, his eyes were exactly as Levi remembered.
He looks so handsome in a uniform...
For a heartbeat, they just stared at each other across the room, both processing the reunion, the new environment, the continuation of whatever this was between them. Asher’s expression shifted from alert wariness to something raw and vulnerable, his shoulders dropping as recognition flooded his features.
Then Levi was moving.
He crossed the distance between them in rapid strides, desperation overriding caution. He collided with Asher’s body hard enough to make them both stagger, arms wrapping around his waist with fierce intensity. Asher’s arms came up immediately, one hand sliding up to cradle the back of his head, fingers threading through his hair possessively.
The kiss happened before either of them consciously decided on it. Desperate, hungry, full of fear and relief and need. Asher’s mouth moved against his with urgent precision, like he was trying to memorize the taste of him all over again. Levi kissed back just as desperately, rising on his toes to deepen the contact, one hand sliding up to grip the back of Asher’s neck.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Asher pressed their foreheads together.
“I thought I’d lost you,”Levi whispered against Asher’s chest, embarrassed by the tears that sprang to his eyes but unable to control them.“When we were in that white place—”
“I found you,”Asher interrupted, his voice rough with emotion.“I always do.”
Levi pulled back just enough to look up at Asher’s face.“Do you remember anything? Between here and the sanitarium?”
A shadow passed over Asher’s features.“The white void. It felt... familiar. Like I’d been there before.”His grip tightened around Levi.“Then darkness. Then waking up here, without you. I started searching immediately.”
The confirmation sent a chill through Levi. Asher remembered the void. And Levi had seen the lab, seen what appeared to be Asher’s unconscious body in another bed.
Subject Kane.
Was Asher another test subject? A real person trapped in the same beta test? The revelation seemed both obvious and impossible. If true, it meant Asher wasn’t just a character in the game but a real person, a human being—one who didn’t remember that he existed outside of the game.
How long has he been here? When did he forget how to be a person?
“I saw something,”Levi said carefully, watching Asher’s reaction.“When everything went white. I think I... woke up, for a moment.”
Asher’s entire body tensed.“Woke up where?”
“In a lab. There were people in white coats. Equipment. I was strapped down with a VR headset on.”Levi hesitated, unsure how much to reveal.“I think you were there too. In another bed. They called us ‘subjects.’”
Asher’s expression shifted through several emotions in rapid succession—confusion, fear, anger, and finally a terrible, possessive intensity.“It doesn’t matter,”he said, voice dropping to that dangerous register that made Levi want to shrink away from him.“Whatever’s out there, this is where we are now. Together.”
His hand moved to Levi’s face, thumb brushing across his lower lip with deliberate pressure.“That’s all that matters. That we’re together.”
The touch sent a confused mixture of comfort and apprehension through Levi. This was still Asher—dangerous, possessive, focused entirely on him to the exclusion of all else. If he was a real person trapped in the simulation, his obsession with Levi was no less concerning. Perhaps even more so, knowing it might continue beyond the game.
“I’m not going anywhere,”Levi assured him, the words coming naturally despite everything, pressing himself harder against Asher.I’ll find a way to get us both out of here next time. We can leave together, and we won’t have to be scared or in pain or alone again.
