×

menu
Penana
US
search
search
Popular Tags
What Others Are Reading
Loginarrow_drop_down
Registerarrow_drop_down
Please use Chrome or Firefox for better user experience!
close
Comments close
Show more...


favorite
0
comment
0
arrow_back_ios_new
Prev
arrow_back_ios_new
Next
format_color_text
Style
open_in_full
Expand
list
Menu
coins
Sponsor
campaign
Request update
share
Share
report
Report
×
Login first to show your name as a sponsor, or donate with Pena Coins.

× Pena Coins Credit Card

Close
People Who Like This
#88

SCENE 85 – "The Dreams They Dreamed"

Author Author
May 2, 2025 8 2 Mins Read
x
No Plagiarism!yed0vQ33AuL1AbgDQwnWposted on PＥNAＮＡ

INT. THE CUBE – DEEP NIGHT

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocNDCZEfi8

The room is heavy with stillness.

The only sounds: faint hum of cooling fans and Emily’s steady breathing.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdE9kSmFxa

As they sleep, the dreams unfurl one by one.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HuNa9Phru

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQr1CM71v5i

---

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXiBhTu4ON

A’s Dream

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaTG8CJWVXI

The world around him is soft and grey, like a memory left too long in the sun.

Two figures—an old Labor bot and a battered Security bot—stand together at a lonely station, hand-in-hand.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1Vj9ykwBB

No words are spoken.

No promises made.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXA2tR7wf55

Yet the air is heavy with meaning.

The Labor bot leans their forehead against the Security bot’s, sharing one last fragment of warmth before parting ways.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcOQMK1IiM

As A watches, the figures drift apart, swallowed by distance and the silence of the world.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8JH5dkCuMQ

A clutches his chest in the dream—there's a pang there, foreign and sharp.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3UXZnV8zX

A (softly, whispering to no one)

"If only they were given a little more time."

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RFvHoTcam

The dream blurs into white.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0Ds9a6ObF

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRi83yTlZ2G

---

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB10I0bljzq

K’s Dream

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDsYjcyWdP

For K, it’s quieter.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMptIFUNdU

He's standing in an endless black void, holding a strange, flickering thing in his hands.

It looks like a spark, stubborn and trembling, refusing to die.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZnon0Hpi9

Far off in the distance, two blurry shapes laugh together.

They’re indistinct—one is tall and flickering, the other small and stormy.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg35ZNgaU3I

K looks down at the spark in his hand.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡptfZQZU9sd

He knows it came from them.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmrBDqPStH

He turns away at first, pretending he doesn’t see it.

Pretending it doesn’t matter.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8iozunv4K

But the spark clings to him anyway, humming, alive.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MfvXv3rDO

K (monotone, but almost gentle)

"…Annoying."

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFl0k6YxLnC

He cups the spark carefully before the dream fades.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVd6YGnMJ6

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWsQLKTMet

---

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gZGr9Iy26

Jason’s Dream

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRmgBbc3MP

Jason’s dream is heavy.

The color of old rain.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFXxgxV6yd

He’s sitting alone on a broken bench in the middle of nowhere.

The wind cuts through him, sharp and cold, but he doesn't move.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblKaPuLFxt

Far away, the same story A read plays out again—two robots parting, losing each other under cruel skies.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJLai1XxBt1

Jason watches without blinking.

His joints ache with something unnamed.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDLPx8czH8

He reaches out instinctively—but there's no one to reach for.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6FeYqgFZr

His hand falls back to his side, limp.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qj9uyXt4z

JASON (to himself, a bitter chuckle)

"Real tough guy, huh?"

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8B9l9Fo0y

The bench creaks under him.

The wind whistles.

And somewhere deep down, Jason admits it—

he hates this feeling.

The loneliness.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFPjr0tdso

He buries it under another smirk, another joke, another punch.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GUZosJaNI

The dream shatters like glass.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTuqpoMc98

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7QvPTTKym

---

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCMaoUZDaj

BACK TO REALITY – INT. THE CUBE

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJZpcGLHiq

Morning light creeps into the windows.

Jason stirs first, groaning like death itself, dragging the blanket over his face.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYREOcMBMSM

A yawns next, stretching dramatically like a lazy cat.

K simply opens his eyes silently, already alert.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvv9fdRSu7z

Emily sleeps peacefully between them, warm and safe.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjLPCvD3qzr

They don't speak at first, still heavy with the dust of their dreams.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqtQRBheQ3

But somehow, even without words, there's something soft and invisible between them now.

A kind of silent promise:

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Fdlp3lIAW

"You’re not alone anymore."

3.144.94.139

ns3.144.94.139da2
favorite
comment 0
coins
0 likes Suggest Edits
Be the first to like this issue!
Next Issue >
close
Robotic Essences
home
Bookmark!
campaign Request update 0
Table of Contents
#0 Intro
#1 Welcome to Central City
#2 SCENE 1 – “Security Life” pt1
#3 SCENE 1 – “Security Life” pt2
#4 SCENE 2 – “Quiet Doesn’t Last”
#5 SCENE 3 – “Unwelcome Footprints”
#6 SCENE 4 – “Break the Silence”
#7 SCENE 5 – “The Parts We Don’t Talk About”
#8 SCENE 6 – “Still Breathing”
#9 SCENE 7 – “The Smiling Knife”
#10 SCENE 8 – “Ghost in the Pipes”
#11 SCENE 9 – “Right-Hand Problems”
#12 SCENE 10 – “Drag Marks and Doubt”
#13 SCENE 11 – “Below the Skin of the City”
#14 SCENE 12 – “What Shouldn’t Be There”
#15 SCENE 13 – “Echoes of Vision”
#16 SCENE 14 – “Fragments of a Dying Empire”
#17 SCENE 15 – “Shadows Don’t Bargain”
#18 SCENE 16 – “Rust Between Circuits”
#19 SCENE 17 – “The Breach”
#20 SCENE 18 – “Three Bots & a Parasite”
#21 SCENE 19 – “Paperwork and Parasites”
#22 SCENE 20 – “Smuggle Me Softly”
#23 SCENE 21 – “Oil, Info, and Idiots”
#24 SCENE 21 – EXTENDED: “Sleepover Protocols & Other Malfunctions”
#25 SCENE 22 – “Robot Makeover: Low Budget Edition”
#26 SCENE 23 – “Caffeine, Cloaks, and Casual Paranoia”
#27 SCENE 24 – “Rustfields”
#28 SCENE 25 – “Buzz and Circuits”
#29 SCENE 26 – “Tune-Ups and Tightropes”
#30 SCENE 27 – “Errands and Egos”
#31 SCENE 28 – “Groceries and Good Lies”
#32 SCENE 29 – “Dinner and Disclosures”
#33 SCENE 30 – “Steam, Suffering, and Swords”
#34 SCENE 31 – “Dicey Decisions”
#35 SCENE 32 – “Good Night, You Weirdos”
#36 SCENE 33 – “Dreamscapes”
#37 SCENE 34 – “Office and Off-Duty”
#38 SCENE 35 – “A Pleasant Stroll… with Minor Homicidal Undertones”
#39 SCENE 36 – “Wings and Wires”
#40 SCENE 37 – “After-Hours”
#41 SCENE 38 – “Alcohol & Stuff”
#42 SCENE 39 – “Shutdown.exe”
#43 SCENE 40 – “The Weight of Peace”
#44 SCENE 41 – “Midnight, Glitches, and Blankets”
#45 SCENE 42 – “Dawn of the Mildly Functional”
#46 SCENE 43 – “Commute to Doom”
#47 SCENE 44 – “An Office Full of Violence and Vending Machines”
#48 SCENE 45 – “Lunch Break and Clickbait Nightmares”
#49 SCENE 46 – “Rise and Resist (Routine)”
#50 SCENE 47 – “Unauthorized Research”
#51 SCENE 48 – “Wardrobe Upgrades”
#52 SCENE 49 – “Field‑Trip From Hell”
#53 SCENE 50 – “Afternoon Idleness”
#54 SCENE 51 – “Uno and Other Emergencies”
#55 SCENE 52 – “Tech on a Budget”
#56 SCENE 53 – “Delivery, Disobedience & Discoveries”
#57 SCENE 54 – “Questions & Quirks”
#58 SCENE 55 – “Privacy Settings”
#59 SCENE 56 – “Entertainment Planning”
#60 SCENE 57 – "Loyalty Reinforcement Seminar"
#61 SCENE 58 – “Friday‑Night Free Play”
#62 SCENE 59 – “Spire of Panic”
#63 SCENE 60 – “Lines, Orders, and Vines”
#64 SCENE 61 – “Infiltration”
#65 SCENE 62 – “Regroup & Re‑Arm”
#66 SCENE 63 – “Through Flesh and Steel”
#67 SCENE 64 – “Descent Protocol”
#68 SCENE 65 – “The Lungs Below”
#69 SCENE 66 – “Dead Air”
#70 SCENE 67 – “The Heart of the Hollow”
#71 SCENE 68 – “Overheat Protocol”
#72 SCENE 69 – “Sanitized and Sampled”
#73 SCENE 70 – “Totally Normal Roommates”
#74 SCENE 71 – "The Long Walk to Judgment"
#75 SCENE 72 – "Welcome Home, Idiot"
#76 SCENE 73 – "A Promise, A Vacation"
#77 SCENE 74 – "Field Trip to Food"
#78 SCENE 75 – "Cabin Fever"
#79 SCENE 76 – "Manners, Please"
#80 SCENE 77 – "Errands with Extra Steps"
#81 SCENE 78 – "Books, Pills, and Poor Decisions"
#82 SCENE 79 – "Pharmacy Phantoms"
#83 SCENE 80 – "Digital Birds and Binary Bees"
#84 SCENE 81 – "Babysitting? Seriously?"
#85 SCENE 82 – "The Babysitting Begins"
#86 SCENE 83 – "Chaos, Baby-Sized"
#87 SCENE 84 – "Midnight Meltdown"
#88 SCENE 85 – "The Dreams They Dreamed"
#89 SCENE 86 – "The Morning After"
#90 SCENE 87 – "Return of the Parents"
#91 SCENE 88 – "The Reveal"
#92 SCENE 89 – "System Error: Josh.exe Has Stopped Responding"
#93 SCENE 90 – "A Totally Normal Lunch"
#94 SCENE 91 – “Business As Usual”
#95 SCENE 92 – “After the Storm”
#96 SCENE 93 – “The Rim of Opinions”
#97 SCENE 94 – “Tales, Tails, and Talking at 2AM”
#98 SCENE 95 – “Surgery, Solo”
#99 SCENE 96 – “Sleepless Core”
#100 SCENE 97 – “Unknown Systems”
#101 SCENE 98 – “Orders and Oil”
#102 SCENE 99 – “Key Moments”
#103 SCENE 100 – “Three Days of Sky”
× Share Email
Click to Share!
Share to Facebook
Share to Twitter
 content_copy
Copy link to clipboard
 share
Other options
Share this Publication by Email
Add a personal message
×

Proceed

×
format_size
remove_circle_outline 20 add_circle_outline
format_line_spacing remove_circle_outline 20 add_circle_outline
REGISTER
LOGIN

Forget Password?
OR
Login with Facebook
×
Subscribe
Go to the magazine
/
+ Add tip
The tip will be charged every payment period
+ Add promotion code
Apply close
Recipient Name

Shipping address



Phone Number


JOIN
Pay with
xxxx xxxx xxxx
Update payment method
Confirm Cancel
This is a one-time purchase.
If you don't cancel before the trial ends, you will automatically be charged the subscription fee every until you cancel. Renews automatically every , unless you decide to cancel. You can cancel your subscription at any time.
You can pay with non-card methods if you subscribe for 12 months.
Please leave your contact phone number here..
We will reach you soon by Whatsapp at the tel number you provide.
Please enter phone number.

Credit card payment

You have subscribed to this plan already!

Never miss what's happening on Penana!
Turn on notifications
Later
Close
×
Interface Language:
Story Language: