The doctor's clinic looked like a witch doctor’s clinic. Masquerading as an antique and otherworldly trinkets shop, the shelves were lined with unusual items like fertility dolls, potpourri, incense, dried plants, pentagrams, pentagram rugs, statues of deities, and a whole assortment of other peculiarities.
The shop was called “The Afterlife” and it was run by Doctor Helio, an actual doctor with an actual M.D. The problem was, that Doctor Helio’s clinic was illegal. His actual clinic was hidden at the back of the witchy shop and it only catered to his most loyal customers.
On the stretcher lay a skinny young woman, her eyes sunken and her breath shallow. She had an oxygen mask strapped to her face as the doctor watched with a wrinkled worry-ridden face.
“Why shoot the heart?”
“You know how Farley is? They advertised it as being hyper-realistic and that's exactly how it is. My rifle jammed and I misfired.” A young man with dark hair answered.
“I know, it’s why people get hooked on it easily. Shouldn’t you have taken better care of your gun?”
“It’s an LS-450K laser sniper rifle, an expensive but virtual weapon. I’m not about to waste my time maintaining a virtual weapon.”
“These are people’s lives we are dealing with. If they are exposed to trauma like that, it affects their actual body and their sanity. We talked about this. You’re the most accurate deadeye sniper we’ve got.”
“It’s a game Doc, a VR game. I’m not a frickin sniper, I’m just a gamer, and that almost dead slash dying zombie over there is a RAD-junkie.”
“Zombies are already dead though.”
“Soooo not the point. She has learned the language of the Dhrokan, she’s probably been in Farley for a long time.”
RAD-junkies are humans who are addicted to R.A.D (Reality Altering Device) an advanced type of Virtual Reality Machine. A device often used by many to escape reality. Farley was the latest, hyper-realistic open-world game developed by Ionic Studios, a mega-corporation that didn't care about people dying due to addiction. Their C.E.O. had recently mentioned that people who get addicted, deserved to die and that it was natural selection. His exact words were….
“Let’s just say, we’re saving the planet from overpopulation.”
***
I could hear two distinct voices bickering. I was too weak to move, too weak to speak. I could feel the plastic tubes transferring fluids into my veins. Sometimes it hurt, and then it was numb and then it just felt weird. I tried to move.
“Oh look, it’s alive.”
The doctor rolled his eyes. “Leave me to my work son.”
“Ok fine, I’ll be at the cafe if you need me.”
I tried to open my eyes. Through my blurry slits, I could see a man talking to me. As my eyes opened wider I could see a handsome face and greying hair. I tried to say something.
“Where…..”
“You’re at my clinic Sara. Blood pressure is at 119/80, pulse 120 beats per minute, Sp02 at 99%. You’re doing good but you need to relax. ”
“Farley…?”
“No, you’re no longer in Farley. This is Nova Ridge, we’re on the outskirts of the city where we found your body.”
“Body….? Dead?”
“Not yet…. Uh…. I mean, you’re one of the lucky ones.”
The man removed my oxygen mask and brought a cup of water close to my lips. “I’m Doctor Orson Helio. We can speak once you’re feeling better.”
I heard what sounded like a doorbell ring and the doctor, who was initially calm, had a panicked look on his face.
“Excuse me…., you just rest ok?…, I’ll be back.”
The doctor was oddly dressed. The place looked like a normal clinic with white, greys, and green but the doctor was oddly dressed in many attractive colors. Like a parrot and peacock hybrid. Wouldn’t the contrast affect his patient's mental state?
Why am I worrying about something as irrelevant as interior decor or a person’s fashion sense? Where the hell am I?
“Kotek gek” (translation : ********)
I heard glass shattering and shouts coming from the front.
“Gek gek gek”
I guessed the doctor was in trouble and I needed to get out. Will they search this place? I needed to hide. I pulled at the tubes attached to my arms splattering some blood onto the sheets. I saw a huge vent right above some shelves and decided to try escaping through there or at least hide there.
The footsteps were getting closer as I rushed to climb the shelves in my weakened state. My legs still felt like jelly, so I had to use my upper body strength which was severely lacking as well.
Fortunately, the cover was loose enough and I was able to pry it open with my newfound adrenaline-boosted strength. The metal door slid open and I heard some footsteps but I was already making my way to the other side of the vent.
Keep going Sara, ignore the tight space.
I slid through a downward slope and ended up in a heap of trash. Would they have known that I crawled through the vent space? Just when I thought I had escaped, someone tugged at my hospital gown and sprayed something in my face. I felt myself lose consciousness and then everything turned black.
