"Have a good day, honey," my wife Holly said as I descended the stairs.
"What? No goodbye?" I smiled at her.
"Sorry," Holly said as she rushed toward me. "Have my head in the clouds," she said as she kissed me on the cheek. "Have to take the kids to school. Be safe!"
I nodded and picked up my briefcase, and the to-go breakfast Holly had packed for me.
Being the police chief had its advantages; today was one of those days.
"V.R.," I said as I got to the downtown laboratory.
"Yes," the lady said standing in front of me said.
"Virtual Reality," my assistant said to me.
"Yes, I know what V.R. stands for Thomas," I barked back at him.
"How does this help my officers?" I asked. "We have in real life situations, how is this going to simulate that?"
I had other chiefs with me from different cities and nearby states.
Supposedly this company was trying to get us all to start using this technology to help eliminate some of the accidental police shootings.
Of course, the media got wind of this new technology, and all of us were in a bind to try it out, just in case it would help. I had my doubts, as well as many others.
"Well, all of you have been in many situations, and with each person that trains on it, the more it learns," the lady said.
"So, this thing learns, from each situation?" one of the others asked.
"And person, that plugs into it," the lady added.
There was talk between the rest of them. "You should try it first Dalton, you have the highest casualty rating," Bernie smiled.
"Actually, we have enough for all of you," one of the lady's assistants said.
"To hell with it," I said. "I'll try it," I smiled as I took off my blazer and sat in the large seat. "My kid has one of these things at home, it's not that bad."
"Yes, it is just like a kid's game," the lady said.
I saw the others looking at me. Some were sitting down. Others were shaking their heads.
"It's a fucking video game, for Christ's sakes, man up!" one of the others sitting in the oversized chair beside me said.
"What he said," I nodded. As the assistant next to me lowered the V.R. monitor.
"Can you hear me?" I heard a voice say it was the lead's voice.
"Yes," I said.
"You don't have to talk out loud, you can think it, and the program will do the rest," she said.
"Will do," I replied.
"Perfect," she said back.
"Now, putting you into the simulation, remember you cannot be harmed while in here, your body will react, but it will do no harm," another voice said.
"Okay," I replied.
For a moment, nothing happened, then I found myself standing in the street. "I know this place," I smiled. "My old beat," I said as I started to walk. "Wow, I can even feel the pavement."
I knew my body was lying down in a laboratory downtown, but it truly felt like I was walking the streets of my old neighborhood.
' Just do what comes naturally,' the computer voice said.
"This feels so real," I said.
I could even look down at my hands and feet. I felt the wind on my face and smelled the food from the shops. I looked in the shop window and saw myself, well, a younger version of myself.
"Playing to my ego, extra points," I said.
'This simulation is of the younger you when you were just an officer,' the voice said.
"Understood," I nodded.
Then I heard it, shots being fired across the street.
I quickly reacted and rushed over to the shop. Customers were coming out. I called it in and got dispatch's reply informing me backup was on the way.
'React normally, remember if you are shot the simulation will end, and you will not be harmed,' the voice said.
I went in and saw the gunman holding a hostage.
I remembered my training and went through all the steps, one at a time.
'Where is my back up?' I thought as the situation was not going my way, he was intent on killing what I now knew was his ex-girlfriend. Her current boyfriend was dead on the floor.
"Just leave man, I don't want to kill you too," he said as he pushed his gun into the side of his girlfriend's head.
All of it felt so real. I knew I had to do something and fast. He was losing patience, and at any moment, he would kill her.
"Just wait," I said as I slowly knelt on the floor, putting my gun down. "We can talk," I said.
I had him. He was looking down at my gun and not my other hand. I nodded to the girl, and she nodded back. Quickly she reacted and pushed off him. I promptly shot him in the shoulder. He dropped the gun, and I rushed him.
'Simulation ending,' the voice said.
"Wow, that is perfect," I said as I found myself back outside on the street.
'Want to try another?' the voice asked.
"Yes," I nodded.
I tried two more scenarios, and then I told it no, that I was done for the day.
'Exiting simulation,' the voice said.
"Where did the rest go?" I asked as I sat up in my chair.
"You enjoyed it more than most of them," the lady said as I looked around and saw others still plugged in while some had left.
"It's good," I nodded. "You have my vote."
"That's good," she nodded.
Thomas stood by, and we walked to the car.
"Had a good day?" Holly asked as she woke me from my chair.
"Yes," I said, yawning.
I looked around my living room. I didn't even remember coming home. I remembered getting in the car, then laying back. I must have fallen asleep, and Thomas brought me home.
"Where are the kids?" I asked.
"The usual," Holly said.
"It's just us?" I asked.
"Yes," Holly replied as she went into the kitchen.
"Been a while," I smiled.
"I have to make dinner," Holly said as I put my arm around her.
I felt her ample breasts, and she shook her head. "Dalton, dinner, remember?"
Holly had been my wife for many years, and I knew all I had to do was keep going, and she would turn to putty.
I squeezed them harder and kissed her neck.
"Dalton Andrews," Holly said, shaking her head as she put her hand on the counter.
I had her. I started moving my hand down the front of her body, unbuckled her pants, and let them fall to the floor.
"You can be a brute sometimes," Holly said as I pushed into her.
It had been months since we last had sex. And even longer since I had taken her from behind. Holly didn't like this position. She always said it felt like I didn't want to look at her.
I pushed deeper and grabbed her waist as I fucked her. Holly didn't complain or say a word as I fucked her in the kitchen.
I grabbed her waist firmly and pushed deeper as I came inside of her.
"Happy?" Holly asked.
"Much," I replied.
"You can cook dinner," Holly said as she picked up her pants and walked out. "No ordering anything, this time!" she said as she looked back at me.
"Okay," I nodded.
I looked in the pantry and decided to make Spaghetti Bolognese. It was easy to make, and the kids loved it.
When I finished, I went upstairs, thinking Holly would be in her office. She wasn't there. I went into our room, but she wasn't there either. I looked outside. Her car was still there.
"Holly!" I yelled as I frantically searched the whole house.
Holly was nowhere in the house.
I went outside and searched the backyard. Nowhere.
I called her cellphone. It went straight to voice mail.
Then something hit me. I went back to the front of my house. Except for my home and Andrew's house, no cars were in the other house's driveways.
"What is going on?" I asked myself.
Another thing slowly dawned on me. How long had it been since I came home? I fell asleep, woke up, had sex with my wife, and cooked dinner.
The sun was still beating down like it was midday.
"What the hell is going on?" I said.
I walked back inside and called Thomas's number, straight to voicemail.
'Welcome!' the computer voice from earlier blurted out.
"What!" I said.
'Welcome to the new world scenario,' it said.
