Several days later and I've still not received a response from Sam Paul or any member of staff from the Nephilim online team. I shouldn't be surprised, they've probably received hundreds if not thousands of emails all saying the same kind of thing. I clench my fists. There's probably no chance I even got through the spam filters.

I'm interrupted from my thoughts by the sound of opening doors as Stephanie enters the room. Visits from her are a daily occurrence, she keeps a close eye on my health and monitors me closely.

"Good morning Michael!" she greets me with a smile.

"Morning" I respond.

Stephanie starts taking my blood pressure, checking my temperature and doing general Doctor-y things "How are you feeling today? Any changes?" she asks as she flips through some notes.

"Actually, I've been feeling pretty terrible."

"In what way? All the stats I'm looking at seem normal for you"

"I think I'm suffering from Video Game Withdrawal." Stephanie rolls her eyes.

"I'm serious!" I protest. "That new game is being demoed in this city today. If you could maybe just pay them a quick visit I'm sure you could convince them to come to the hospital and let me try it out. They'd lap up the easy promotional material."

She snorts. "Not happening Michael. Too many germs, too much to organise."

I huff. She looks at me with a seriousness that I normally only see from her when she's in hardcore Doctor mode, like when she told me they were planning on inducing me into a coma.

"Why is this game so important to you?"

Ha, that's an easy one.

"Three hundred and sixty two, three hundred and sixty three, seventy two, twenty one." I reply.

She raises an eyebrow. "I assume those numbers have some significance.

Damn right they do. "That's the number of ceiling tiles in my room, the amount of days I've been here, the amount of times you've visited me and the amount of other people who have entered and left the ward I'm in, respectively."

"I thought I visited you daily?" She says.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"You do. On my first day here you checked in on me again just before I went to sleep to double check I was comfortable."

She taps a finger against her chin, deep in thought. "What does all that have to do with why you want to play this game?"

"Because." I feel a cold anger. "I've been here for three hundred and sixty two days, over those days I've seen you three hundred and sixty three times, counted the ceiling tiles more than I can remember, and seen twenty one other people get to leave the hospital. A break from reality would be really nice right now."

She looks taken aback at how venomous my tone of voice has gotten. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself down a little. "I'm sorry Stephanie, but I've been led here for nearly a year, and now you want to put me in a coma that I might not even wake up from. This would be possibly the last thing I ever get to enjoy."

She seems placated by my explanation. "Ok" she says.

"OK?"

"OK. I'll see if I can get in contact with the game company and get them to come here."

Holy shit. Holy shit. "Thank you thank you thank you!" I stammer. Finally. I should have tried the pity route first, I'd have saved so much time! "Sorry for getting angry with you."

She holds up a hand. "No, I understand what you're going through" She furrows her brow. "Well, not understand, but I can sympathise with your frustrations. It's easy to forget that when I leave the hospital and go home, you're always here."

You don't have to remind me!

"I'll see if I can organise it with the head of the hospital for you. But I can't make any promises." And with that she starts to make her way out of the room. I close my eyes and lean back in my bed.

I need a nap.

***

It's dark when I wake up. The digital clock next to me shows the time in bright red.

21:39

It's not uncommon for me to wake up around this time. The illness takes itws toll on my body, so I'm always exhausted. They tried to set me on a regular sleeping pattern but all it did was make me feel worse.

The door to my room opens. I look over to the doorway, confused. I'm not normally due a check up at this time. What gives?

Two figures walk into the room.

"I believe he's in here." One says. Sounds like an older man? The light flickers on and I squint against the brightness.

"Can I help you?" I say, still partially blinded.

"I should hope so," the other figure responds. "And I was also hoping I could help you." As the light clears from my eyes I can finally make out his face. No way.

"Hello Michael" the man says.

"My name is Samuel Paul, and I'd like you to be my new tester for Nephilim Online."

"You what." Smooth, Michael, very smooth.

He takes a seat on the side of my bed. "I hear you're in a rather...unique situation."

What's he on about?

I try to make sense of what he means. "You what?" Why do I keep saying that!?

"I hear from Alexander here that you're due to be placed into a coma soon to help treat an illness?"

I look at the other man who came in with Sam. I recognise him as the head of the hospital. Why would he know the head of a video game? "Yeah, that's right."

"I've also heard from your Doctor Stephanie that you're absolutely dying to play Nephilim Online before that happens." He grimaces. "Sorry, poor choice of words."

I sit stunned as what he is implying sinks in. "Are you telling me that you're going to let me play the game!?"

He laughs and leans towards me. "I don't just want you to play Nephilim Online" he says with an almost maniacal smile.

"I want you to live it."

"...you what."