Saluting the Journey to a New Life (Sci-Fi) 15 and 16

15

"You're not real!" I yelled, swinging my fist in anger!

At that instant, from the nape of my neck, there came a faint 'thud' as if a cable had been snapped away.

Then, just as quickly, the vision of numbers and codes that filled my view vanished—

"What on earth is happening?" I looked around in shock.

But then it was as though nothing had happened; Dr. Brian was there before me, his expression etched with worry.

"Calm down, Jack. You're just coming to," he said, his voice tinged with reassurance.

At that point, a female doctor wearing a red dress entered through the door to the hospital room...

Her silhouette was hazy yet strangely familiar — a déjà vu I couldn't shake off.

My mind was a whirlwind, struggling to place her.

Fixated on the woman in red, my thoughts whirled at breakneck speed.

She had to be the same person I had met within the game, so what was she doing here, in this hospital that felt so real?

“Are you... Sophie?” I asked tentatively.

"Doctor Su Fei." She corrected with a gentle smile, walking up to my bedside. “I’m the attending neurologist. You seem to have me confused with someone else.”

"What?" My eyes widened in astonishment.

"Dr. Brian has briefed me on your situation," she spoke as she perused my medical file, "It's apparent you're grappling with pronounced schizophrenic symptoms, which necessitates further neurological intervention."

My gaze was locked on her, wrestling with the possibility that she might merely be a phantasm from the game world or another trick played by my mind.

As her medical file fell to the ground, a fleeting glimpse of 'Mirage Hospital' on the cover caught my eye.

Was she an echo from the game, a figment spun by my unravelling psyche?

"How are you feeling?" Dr. Su Fei inquired with evident worry, "Your expression implies you're mistaking me for an illusionary figure?"

My breaths came fast and hard, and my thoughts were a tempest of confusion.

The reality before me was palpable, and yet, she wasn't Sophie from the game. Was I confronting a new layer of reality, or plunging into yet another illusion?

"Schizophrenia can indeed conjure vast delusions," she reassured me as she took a seat, her tone soothing, "But put your faith in us. We're here to support your journey back to clarity."

As her eyes met mine, I fought to calm my erratic breaths.

Maybe this was the touchstone of reality; it was time to cling to the anchor of scientific truth to navigate out of the mists of falsehood.

"The CT room is prepared," Dr. Brian announced seamlessly, breaking into the moment.

16

"The CT room?" I repeated, my voice tinged with a mix of confusion and concern.

"Exactly, we need to perform a brain scan to ascertain the patterns of your cerebral activity," Dr. Su Fei explained, her smile infused with an attempt to reassure.

I rose, my legs wobbly with trepidation, and trailed behind them to the room situated at the very end of the ward.

The stark white door announced "CT ROOM" in bold letters.

"It's going to be over before you know it," Dr. Brian reassured me as he positioned me onto the central gurney, "Just a routine preliminary scan."

However, as he began to manipulate the nearby console, a wave of dread overcame me—was it possible that the scan could inflict damage on my brain?

An instinctive panic set in, and I yearned to escape!

"Don’t make any sudden movements!" In my agitated state, restraints were quickly fastened around my limbs and forehead! A wave of horror washed over me as I found myself utterly trapped, on the cusp of being engulfed by the CT scanner's ominous reach!

"Stop this, what are you planning to do to me!" I squirmed with all my might, but the restraint belts held firm, impervious to my efforts.

Dr. Brian operated the controls with a stoic face.

"There’s no need to be scared, we're doing this for your well-being," Dr. Su Fei consoled from the side.

Just then, my eyes caught a flash of a cryptic symbol on the cuff of her lab coat—a fleeting sight, but one that struck a nerve. It was the very same "SH - 16 A.I." that had graced Sophie's wrist back in the world of the game!

Yet, that inscription swiftly dissolved into obscurity.

"Just who are you? Release me!" I cried out, my voice a mixture of astonishment and demand, even as I frantically rubbed my eyes.

Doctor Su Fei observed me, her gaze unsettling and intense, before suddenly brandishing a device that closely resembled a remote control, pointed ominously at my forehead!

A shiver of dread ran through me; this was the same kind of "remote control" device that Sophie had wielded in the "Red Shield" bar!

As my world turned incomprehensible, a sensation took hold as though my blood was flowing backward in my veins!

Just as that chilling apparatus nearly grazed my skin—

A resounding "crash" echoed as the CT room's metal door was violently thrust open!

A silhouette burst forth, launching Doctor Su Fei away with a powerful kick.

It was none other than Abraham, the administrator from the gaming universe!

"This cannot be..." Doctor Su Fei gasped, her expression one of sheer incredulity.

"There was a system aberration; my original self was ensnared within a mirror dimension, now rectified and reconnected," Abraham declared in an even tone, effortlessly clicking his fingers to free me from my bonds.

A tidal wave of emotion capsized my thoughts.

Whither was fate now pulling me?

As a surge of instinct washed over me, my hand latched onto Abraham's proffered grasp...

Continue Reading

Click Here: Saluting the Journey to a New Life (Sci-Fi) 17 and 18