Brandon awoke to the sun coming through the curtains of his apartment. I lived through another night, then, he grimaced to himself. Brandon lived in an aged care village on the outskirts of Melbourne, recently placed there by his daughter, Sarah. It was a small village, only recently opened.

Dad, you’re getting older now; we can’t always be around to look after you. What if you fall while I’m at work and can’t get help? he remembered his daughter telling him, concern in her voice.

What if I fall? I’m 76, for fuck’s sake! I’ve seen people older than me still working, he grunted to himself in frustration, trying to ignore the pain in his back as he got himself out of bed.

He lived in a small apartment, which consisted of only three rooms: a lounge/kitchen combination, a bathroom, and of course, his bedroom. The place was sparsely decorated, having only recently moved in.

In his bedroom, he had a pretty standard single bed with some shabby covers. The people who ran this place really didn’t provide great-quality furnishings. However, Brandon had brought his own dresser and TV, which he had placed in his room.

Next to his bed was a nightstand that almost matched the disgusting brown color of the room’s walls. On it, he saw his medication for the day—mostly for his back. The doctor had also advised him to take care of his heart, so he ended up with a nice cocktail of pills he had to take daily.

Honestly, I spend more on this damn medication per month than I do on food, he thought, still annoyed and frustrated about the whole situation.

He eventually grabbed the walking stick he kept next to his bed and made his way to the kitchen, where he filled a glass with water for his medication. I wonder if they will visit me today? They did say they would visit whenever they could. Hmph. Kids always say that when they're getting rid of their parents, he muttered, shaking his head as he took his medication.

Moving back to the kitchen, he wanted to make some breakfast. It’s a small kitchen—very small. Nothing like what I was used to back at home.

Home? I guess this is home for me now, he thought, looking around. Home, he said, disgust evident on his face.

He scanned the kitchen for the toaster. There wasn’t much here—only the bare essentials: a shitty stove and oven, a sink, and a shitty island used for storage that separated the kitchen from the equally shitty lounge.

He quickly found the toaster and made himself some Vegemite on toast—a staple of a good Australian diet, or so he would tell everyone. In reality, he was just too lazy to cook any eggs or bacon.

He quickly finished breakfast and tried to recall what he had to do for the day. I think I have a doctor's appointment for my heart, or was that tomorrow? he wondered. He couldn’t remember exactly and didn’t have the doctor’s number to call and check. I guess I’ll have to go to the admin building and ask them, he groaned to himself. They make us all tell them whenever we have an appointment we need to leave the village for.

Sighing, he stood up once again and went to grab his cane and get dressed. He looked into the mirror to make sure he hadn't left any tags on his clothing or had any holes or whatnot. There shouldn’t have been any, as he’d only just bought these clothes, but nonetheless, he checked anyway.

Brandon was a tall man, around 6'2", even at his age. He still had a full head of brown hair cut short and a stubbly beard. He had brown eyes and had chosen to wear some brown sweatpants with a tan shirt. He also put on his favorite fedora, which he always liked to wear outside.

Getting around the village was easy enough; they had little shuttles that you could call, and one would come to pick you up and take you to the main building.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Morning, Gary,” Brandon nodded as he got on the shuttle. “How’s the kids?” he asked, smiling.

“They’re great, thanks! Lissa says thanks for that steak recipe you gave us; we had it last night.”

Gary had been the shuttle driver on duty when Brandon was moved into this place, and due to it being a fairly boring day, he helped Brandon and Sarah move things into the apartment. They had quickly gotten along. He usually checked up on Brandon at some point during the day if they didn’t see each other during his work hours.

Sitting at the front of the shuttle, Gary asked Brandon, “Where are you off to today?”

“Oh, you know, big party going down in the city. All the cool guys are heading in,” Brandon chuckled in reply.

“Oh really? And why wasn’t I invited? I thought there was no one cooler than a shuttle driver in a retirement village?” Gary smirked.

“You know how computers are these days; they must have forgotten you or something,” Brandon laughed. “But no, I can’t remember if I have a doctor’s appointment today or tomorrow, so I need to head to the admin building to check,” he said to his friend while looking out the window.

It was a nice area, he had to admit. All the lawns were cleanly cut and green, with no trash on the streets and nicely trimmed hedges and leaves. But it wasn’t for him, he thought. This isn’t me. I can still do things for myself, he reflected, a look of annoyance on his face.

Gary looked a little more serious. “Did you hear old man Ben went missing yesterday?” he asked Brandon.

“Sorry, what was that?” Brandon replied. “I was off in my own little world there.”

“Old man Ben? Have you heard he went missing yesterday? Broad daylight as well—almost like he just teleported to a new world,” Gary said, a look of concern on his face.

“I’m sure he just got sick of this place. He’s been here for what, four or five years now? His kids barely come to see him. I’m sure he’s just gone somewhere to do something different. And ‘teleported to a new world’? You need to stop reading those stories to your kids; you sound more insane than I do!”

“Hmmph, you’re probably right,” Gary said, a smile returning to his face. They pulled up to the admin building at the northernmost part of the village.

“Just be safe, yeah?” Gary shouted as Brandon got off the shuttle.

“Me? I’m always safe. What could possibly happen to me?” Brandon shouted back to his friend, waving as he shut the door.

Brandon turned and walked up the stairs, his cane tapping each one in a rhythm. “A new world, huh? Well, if it would get rid of this damn back pain, I’d go there willingly,” he chuckled to himself. “Though I do hope the old bastard’s okay; he owes me a beer,” he thought as he buzzed the front door of the main building.

He was buzzed into the building, and the young receptionist asked, “Ahh, Mr. Larente, how can I help you today?” with a smile on her face.

“Jenny, good to see you well. I’m having some difficulties remembering if my doctor’s appointment was today or tomorrow. Could you find out for me?” he asked, giving her a nod.

“Of course, sir, give me a moment,” she replied, clicking away at her computer.

“Can you stop calling me sir? I don’t need to be reminded I’m old all the time. Brandon is fine,” he said, a slight tinge of annoyance in his voice.

“Of course, my apologies. It appears your appointment is today. Do you need us to arrange transport for you?” she replied, giving him her sweet smile again.

“No, it’s okay; I can do it myself, thank you,” he replied, turning toward the door, his cane tapping on the ceramic flooring once more.

Brandon made his way out of the admin building and toward the main gate. A guardsman stopped him as he approached. “Sir, are you intending to be back today?” he asked, giving the impression of a man just fulfilling his duties and not actually caring.

“I’m not sure it’s any business of yours,” Brandon shot back, walking through the gate. The guardsman simply sat back down and returned to looking at his phone.

Brandon reached the bench outside the village and sat down to take out his phone to call an "Uber," as they called them today. “We just called them taxis when I was young,” he shook his head in bemusement.

As he opened his phone, a screen popped up:

'YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED. DO YOU HEED THE CALL?'

'YES'

'NO'

“What the fuck is this?” Brandon said, clearly confused. “Is this one of those stupid bugs that Sarah kept telling me about whenever I used the computer back home, and things would just pop up?” He thought, pressing "No" and dismissing it as he proceeded to order his Uber.

“$24 for this small of a trip? I should just bloody walk,” he grumbled. But as he considered it, he felt his back ache. “Hmm, maybe not,” he conceded. As he went to confirm his order, once again the screen displayed:

'YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED. DO YOU HEED THE CALL?'

'YES'

'YES'

“That’s not even an actual fucking choice anymore,” he muttered, pressing "Yes" to try to make the popup go away.

The instant he did, he heard a loud, piercing monotone voice:

“Level 1 Wizard obtained. 0.0% to next level. Choose your specialization.”