Second Life

Chapter 1: Waking Up

The repetitive beeping of a heart monitor pulls me into awareness. Its cold, and my head, chest, everything really, is just aching non-stop. It's so bright even with my eyes closed, I don't try to open them; it would probably make the headache worse.

It comes to my attention that I don't know where I am. Was I dead? Was this the wonderful place a girl at school told me about called heaven? If it was it wasn't nearly as nice as she described it.

"He-". The soreness in my throat catches me off guard and I start coughing.

I hear a door creak open and the shuffling of feet coming towards me.

"Are you okay? Can you breathe?" A male voice asks as a hand slides behind my head and sits me up. I keep my eyes squeezed shut when the movement makes my head spin.

When the coughing fit ends I try to lay back down, but the boy wouldn't let me.

"You should.. stop sleeping for a little bit." He says and makes me sit back up. "I mean, you've been asleep for a long time now, s-so it would be better if you got up and started moving."

A long time? Impossible. I was playing in the factory a little while ago and then.. I fell and got hurt. It only felt like a few hours had passed at the most.

Everything was confusing. I couldn't really remember anything after falling and laying there for a minute or two. I didn't know where I was or who I was talking to.

So I started asking questions.

"How long is a long time?" Was the first thing my muddled brain could think of.

It was quiet for a minute while he counted to himself.

"Uh.. about a month. 27 days to be exact. We thought you woke up a few days after you got here but.. you, uh, didn't." He sounds unsure about the last part. Like he was trying to hide something.

I was shocked that it'd been so long since I'd fallen. Mom must be at least a little worried by now. I thought. Even though she never really acknowledged me, one time when she'd yelled at me I decided to run away, and hid in the woods for almost a week. Eventually I got tired of sleeping in a pile of leaves and eating acorns and went back home.

When I got there my mom was sitting on the couch. She jumped up when I walked in and stomped over to me.

"Don't you ever do that again do you hear me?!" She screamed and grabbed my arm, shaking me angrily.

"If something had happened to you the police would come and haul my ass to jail!! Do you want that to happen to your mother?! Do you?!" She shoved me towards my room and told me to 'think of the consequences next time I tried to pull something like that'.

"Ok." I said going onto my next question.

"Who are you? Are you a doctor?" I asked.

He seemed reluctant to tell me but answered anyway.

"Well, my n-name is Toby, and no, I'm not really a doctor, but I know how to bandage things and insert IV's into people arms. In fact I prepared and put yours in myself."

To be honest I didn't have a clue what an IV was, or why I needed one.

"A what?" I asked flatly.

"Oh. It's a tiny needle used to put fluids into your body. It's stuck in your wrist and it's attached to a little tube, which is attached to a sack of liquid that's pumped into your veins." He explained, his voice rising as if he were excited to talk about it.

I shuddered at the mention of a needle. I hated sharp things near me and now I had one stuck in my arm.

"Can you take it out since I'm awake now?" I asked and moved my arm towards his voice.

"I-I don't know. You might still need it. I'm sorry." Toby said.

Sighing I pulled my arm back gently so I wouldn't accidentally move the needle.

So if he wasn't a doctor, then was I even in a hospital? My eyes open cautiously and the first thing I see is Toby.

He's got thick, brown, unbrushed hair; a pair of goggles sitting on top of it. His skin is a weird grey color and his eyes are brown too. He looks like he's trying to smile, but it's all crooked looking.

I notice things don't look as clear as they used to. Everything is kinda blurry and.. dimmer.

I look down at myself and see I'm covered in bandages and my left arm is in a sling.

The room I'm in is completely white; very clean looking. There's a few more beds lining the wall next to me, all empty and neatly made, there's a door on the wall adjacent to the one my bed is against; two large windows on each side of it.

Glancing back at Toby I see he's watching me anxiously, waiting for my reaction.

"Where am I?" I ask curiously, not expecting a straight answer.

"Ah.. I've been told not to answer that question. But I will go get someone who can." He said and hurried to the door.

"I'll be riiight back. Just sit tight." He called over his shoulder as he left.

I flopped back against my pillow and waited. Only a few minutes later did I hear footsteps coming down the hall. It was definitely more than one person.

There was a quick knock at the door and I saw Toby stick his head in front of one of the windows and wave.

"Um.. come in?" I called loudly.

The door opened swiftly and three people walked in. One was Toby, and I had no clue who the other two where.

As they got closer I saw one was a woman. She was taller than Toby and had shiny black hair. She was pale too, but not grey like Toby's skin. She smiled sweetly at me when she noticed I was watching her.

The last person was really tall. They were dressed nicely, in a suit and tie so I assumed they were a man.

He stopped in front of my bed and knelt down so I could see him more clearly.

My eyes grew wide when I looked at his face, or lack of one really.