Chapter 10:

Dreams

TRUCK-KUN


PART TWO

INVESTIGATIONS

Monday – 22:00

I knew immediately that I was dreaming. I was in the same scene as the one that happened during all of my nightmares.

I was driving my truck towards a boy on the road. I tensed up, awaiting the black tendrils or vengeful whispers. However, they didn't show up. Instead, the large vehicle became unbalanced, and I missed the target. I got the vehicle under control and got out to approach the boy, who was facing the opposite direction.

I walked around the boy to get a look at him to apologize, but what I found wasn't a face. At least, not one face. It was a constant flow of various faces, many of which looked familiar.

They were all targets that I had previously Isekai'd.

The mouths all opened, and they started talking to him harmoniously. "Thank you! Thank You for not killing that boy. You have our thanks!"

"But it was an accident!" I admitted. But they didn't seem to care about the distinction.

"Thank you."

With that, everything started glowing until I was blinded by the glare, forcing me to cover my eyes.

When I opened them, I was in a room that was instantly recognizable.

It was my bedroom from when I was a kid.

I saw a younger version of myself playing with some toy trucks.

"Vroom! Vroom!" the young Toby yelled. He took one of the vehicles and started driving them around in circles. He had some toy people as well standing at various locations around the room.

"Oh, no! There is a man in the way. I have to swerve out of the way." The boy maneuvered the truck to just barely miss the man and made a sound effect with his mouth. "SCREEECH!"

His door opened, and his mother peeked in. "Toby, you need to go to bed. It's getting late."

"Come on!" kid Toby whined. "Just five more minutes. Please?"

His mother was kind and easily gave in to the simple request. "Sure thing, sweetie. Can I join you? We mustn't be too loud though. Daddy is sleeping and we wouldn't want to wake him."

Kid Toby loved when his mother played with him. "Sure!"

They spent the next few minutes driving trucks around and laughed together in whispered tones. The boy never wanted this to end, but time eventually caught up to them.

"Okay, time for bed," his mother said, getting up from the floor and wiping the dust from her skirt. "Let's clean up the mess first. I bet I can clean more than you can."

"Nuh-uh. I will," said kid Toby. He was very competitive. He then cleaned up most of the toys while his mother mostly smiled from the side, though she did pick up a few items and tossed them in the bucket. She knew exactly how to motivate her son.

His mother then picked him up and tucked him into bed with a kiss on the cheek. "Get a goodnight's sleep, my dear little Tobias."

"Mom, you know I don't like that name," kid Toby complained. "It sounds like an old man's name. My name is Toby."

"Of course, my little dear Toby," she said, kissing him once more upon the cheek. "Good night and have pleasant dreams." She walked towards the door and started closing it behind her.

When the door closed, the scene changed into another one that I was familiar with. The day I became the top-ranked agent of TRUCK-KUN.

I was in the manager's office, a scarce privilege given only to those that just became the number one T-rank agent. It was like a ceremony of sorts. I saw a slightly younger version of my current self seated across from the manager. His fingers fiddled nervously with the whistle he had just used for the latest mission since he hadn't yet had time to hang it on the wall in his room.

The manager sat at his desk right across from other Toby, congratulating him on the achievement. "So, Agent Tobias. I knew this day would come soon for you. You have reached the highest rank in record time and made other notable achievements on the way. I hope that you only continue to impress everybody in TRUCK-KUN.

"As for your reward, you will be given a certificate and a generous bonus. Additionally, I will tell you my code name, which you can call me casually when we are alone."

Tobias leaned forward in anticipation. He never thought he would be interested in learning the manager's name, but now presented with an opportunity to hear it, he couldn't resist being drawn in.

At that moment, they were interrupted by the ringing of the office phone. After staring at it for a moment, the manager answered it with a flustered look. "Hello, this is the manager of TRUCK-KUN. Who is this?... Ah, hello...over twenty souls? That's ridiculous! Tell K.D.STAFF that paying for six souls for a single season and expecting perfect results is unrealistic. Do they actually think that the masses will believe that they themselves animate so many shows per season? I will never understand how everyone is so gullible. It makes things so convenient...Ok, sir. Send the details of the targets. I will get on it right away." He then hung up the phone and focused on the screen in front of him. After spending a few minutes typing and clicking, he quickly dialed another number.

"Hello, Terry. I am sending you a list of the newest assignments. Please make sure that you notify all of the chosen agents by the end of tomorrow. When I get the details of the targets, I will have Tyler send you the modified devices. Thanks!" He then hung up the phone.

"Sorry about that," the manager said apologetically. "As you can see, I am a busy guy. So where was I? Oh yes! I was going to tell you my name."

The manager paused, letting the suspense build even more, and then told him. "My name is Theodore."

The other Tobias didn't know what to say. It was such an anticlimactic and unassuming name. He was expecting something a little more...intimidating. Theodore sounded like a name that a nerdy old university professor would have. It didn't match at all with the manager position of TRUCK-KUN.

"I am aware that it is underwhelming," Theodore remarked. "And that's why I prefer going by "Manager." Again, please make sure you don't accidentally slip the name to others. In fact, I would prefer you only call me that in this office, when we are alone."

"Of course, Theo," the other Toby said with a smirk.

Theodore sighed. "I already regret telling you my name."

They both laughed for a good while until the dream changed yet again. However, this time it wasn't a place that Toby recognized.

I was on a beach, sitting under an umbrella under the bright sun. The place was teeming with families having fun both in and out of the water. There were some surfers out on the waves and kites flying in the air. Despite the chaos and noise, it was somehow peaceful.

"Hey, Toby!" a voice called from behind me. "Come play with us." I turned around and saw a group of guys playing volleyball. I didn't recognize any of them, but they clearly knew me, so I got up and joined their game. I hadn't played sports in a long time, but that didn't matter. I still knew how to spike and serve just as well as everyone else there. They didn't keep track of points but rather played for fun. After the game, I began to return to the shady spot under the umbrella, but I found a woman sitting there, eyes closed.

It was Tammy.

She cracked her eyes open and smiled. "Toby! We were waiting for you to return. Come join us."

We? Us?

"Hello, dad!" a few voices shouted together. Three bodies erupted from the sand and hugged me. The three kids ranged from age six to twelve. Two boys and one girl. I saw signs of myself in all of them.

I hugged them back and joined them, staring out towards the ocean for what seemed like hours. The waves rolled harmoniously with the wind and the tide, seagulls flew in every direction searching for scraps of food or fish, and the sun reflecting off the water in a constantly shifting pattern of twinkling diamonds. That precious moment stretched out an infinite number of times longer than it should have been.

So this is what good dreams are. I had almost forgotten.

It was bliss, but I was well aware that it was all just a fantasy and knew that it would never happen. I didn't feel deserving of such happiness after all of the trauma I felt over the last five years. I deserved to be alone, preferred it even. So, why was I dreaming of this fictional family? In the end, it didn't matter. After all, even if that was what I truly desired, it didn't stop the wish from being what it really was.

Just another dream.

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