Robert had visited Keung every day for two weeks. The anticipation of the young man awakening had him at a stand still in his own life. Nothing seemed to have any flavor or excitement in comparison to the information the boy holds. The boy could reveal the mysteries of life to him, he could feel it. It consumed Robert far more than he realized, but the obsession was not lost on Michael who had been watching with the worry of a grandmother.

Robert’s routine had changed dramatically. Rather than taking care of his personal training each morning he had been going to the hospital to visit the boy before work. Rather than surfing, driving, or cooking after work, Robert had been going to the hospital to check on Keung’s status. He had forgotten all about his pet, so much so that it passed from starvation and had been rotting in the terrarium for some time. The boy had become his obsession, a drug that only gave him a persistent loss when he was away from the source.

It was after work on the fourteenth day that Keung had been in hospital that the young man awoke from his coma.

Keung’s eyes fluttered open. He could hear a familiar voice reciting the words from a book. It was a story that Keung was familiar with but had not read in years. He had read it before he had moved to California. The voice was reciting, “Go to Rhuidean, son of battles! Go to Rhuidean, trickster! Go, gambler! Go!”

Keung had read the majority of the fourteen books as they were released years ago. This one, The Shadow Rising, was one of his favorites. He has a signed copy in storage.

The young man blinked the sleep from his eyes and scanned the room for the owner of the voice. He was not surprised to see Robert sitting there, though he was surprised to see how disheveled the man appeared. His facial hair was overgrown and unkempt, his hair was not brushed and he had a fair layer of body oil catching the light. The boy smiled wide at the man’s obvious obsession over his well-being.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Robert stopped reading and pulled off a pair of glasses to vigorously rub his eyes. He then stretched and stood up to walk to the door and look around the hall. He tipped his head to the right and then to the left hearing the cracking of his joints releasing tension and gas as they stretched. He pushed his hands into the small of his back and moved to crack his spin as well. After stretching Robert walked to the restroom at a slow even stepped pace.

Keung smiled wide and looked around the room through blurry half focusing eyes. His clothes were missing and he was in a standard hospital gown beneath the scratchy standard hospital blanket. He could see Robert’s water bottle beside him half empty, as well as three empty or near empty soda cans. He could also see several energy bar wrappers on the table before Robert’s chair and one or two that are poking from his jacket pocket resting upon the back of the chair.

Keung attempted to sit up and felt his body complain from tension and weakness. He reached up and rubbed his eyes in an attempt to clear the fog from his vision. The action didn’t seem to help much at all. He reached out for Robert’s water to clear the cottonmouth he was currently suffering from when he heard someone gasp audibly, followed by footsteps dashing toward him.

“Hold on there! Careful.” The nurse shouted to Keung as he was dangling precariously from his bed. She ran up and helped him back into the bed. He was so weak from his time in the coma that he couldn’t resist even if he wanted to.

“Well, I am embarrassed to say, I am unsure as to why I am here.” Keung mumbled.

The nurse pressed the button beside Keung’s bed and called a doctor to his room. As Keung was resettled, he looked to the door and saw Robert peering in, his face beaming with a smile. It was not a joy filled smile, no Robert’s smile was something closer akin to the grin a cat makes when it sees a bird falling from its nest.