I woke up to the incessant BEEP BEEP BEEP of my alarm clock. I looked at my alarm clock and slammed the off button on top. It was 9:00PM, almost time for my shift at St.Charles. I got out of my bed quietly, Stefan goes to sleep pretty early compared to my other roomates and I think he's nicer than the rest of them. So I'll spare him that annoyance.

I turn out of my bedroom and walk down the main hall of our house to the laundry room where my uniform is. It's pretty quiet until I hear the sound of anime in the main section of the house. Likely Kaleb, he usually stays up pretty late watching anime. I once came home to him snoring in front of a weird one with... I won't describe it. I walk into the laundry room and grab my nurse uniform hanging off the shelf along the back wall.

"That isn't clean." a low voice rings from behind me.

" Well Stefan, I have an extra for times like these." I start walking back towards my room.

Stefan rubs the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry, extra work came up and I didn't have the time I thought i did."

" I should've done it myself anyways, divine punishment amiright?" I smirk before entering my room.

Stefan pokes into my doorframe "heh, still man, my bad I promised and let you down."

I groan and lean back "Stefan, you pay like 2/5ths of the rent out of five of us you don't have to do any more for the rest of us."

"David, you guys are my best friends I'd help you anyday, though are you gonna be home before 7 this morning? We're gonna plan another smash tournament." He has a hopeful smile on his face.

"Well that depeeeeennnnnddsss I may have to stay late. I'd love to play in the tourney but I'm not sure I can miss the sleep to help plan it."

"Don't worry, Kaleb has already got a plan for that."

I find my uniform and check my watch, which is my fathers old analog one. It's already 9:18. Time flies when you're half asleep still.

"well I gotta go now, I hope Kaleb has a really good plan." I start throwing on my clean uniform and heading towards the door. I grab my keys on the old wooden hanger next to the door.

Stefan doesn't follow and yells, "No worries! you go save some lives!"

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

"You know that's not exactly what I-" the door falls shut, cutting me off. I sigh, and look into the dark for my car. I parked it down by the street, my parent's money bought me a grey nissan leaf and that is more than enough. I really do owe those bastards that at least.

I hop in and my mind drifts back to my parents, they had wanted me to be a surgeon or Doctor. I remember them demanding that I do not go to nursing school and realize what I was doing was stupid. I turn onto the road out of the neighborhood. My mother was not a nice person, but she was a rich one. Then head towards the highway to the hospital.

My father had inherited a huge amount of money from his parents who had gotten it from theirs. I assure you they did very little work to earn it. a sudden honk knocks me out of my trance. I need to pay attention to the road and stop thinking about them.

                  ...

As I'm reading the report from a previous shift, I hear a loud crash on the floor above me. Probably Peterson dropping something again. The guy's missing 2 fingers so nobody gets too hateful of his clumsyness but oh my lord it's annoying. He's always dropping clipboards, medication, and sometimes equipment.

I focus back on the report, Two patients in my section both here due to similar gastrointestinal issues. The first one is an older woman who's been having really abbhorrent and painful bowel movements for, I flipped to the next page, THREE YEARS??? She hadn't thought to tell the doctor and had just gotten used to it before they'd recently gotten worse.

The second patient was a young boy who's skin is shedding too often and easily so his skin can't keep up producing skin at the same speed it's losing it. Scary but the report says its noncontagious, I'll check with him first.

The room number is 418, on the fourth floor. When does he need his prescription? I flip through the report, but no dice on a medicine calendar. I head to Dora's desk a few rooms over.

I step in and she doesn't look up, saying "The no medicine for the boy right?"

Dora is always one step ahead, "yes, is there a plan or am I just going to check vitals and record symptoms?"

She shakes her head, "The doctors have never seen anything like it before, so you're just checking vitals. Avoid any obviously damaged areas, maybe sweep some of the skin out of his bed. It's noncontagious SO FAR as well, be clean and fast"

"Poor kid, doesn't deserve something like this to happen to him." Dora nods.

I step out of the room, the kid is likely higher priority so I'll help him first. I put on some scrubs and bring a small vacuum for cleaning crumbs usually.

The elevator door opens to the fourth floor, the lights are out. This happens sometimes when we're trying to cut back on power costs and help patients sleep. I drag my friendly vacuum (It's got googly eyes on the side) to room 418. I lightly open the door and look inside.

What.

Is.

That.

There's a cocoon, not a boy. Where the bed used to be. A light fleshy orange cocoon.

      Welcome to the system, human.

       You are going to be tested.

      You will not stay human, and you are not Ready.