He opened his eyes and all he saw were blurry shapes.

Fading. Gray.

There was a sound of shoes, nurse shoes, squelching along the tiled floor. He wondered again how he got here and recalled his Step Father, Gil, using his head like a soccer ball, kicking trying to get to the goal line, and then stomping down on the side of his face. While Gil punished him, James smiled knowing he saved his mom from Gil’s anger and would direct it at him, and finally the cops would come.

He felt along the bed cover and tried to make sense of what was around him. But all he got were cool sheets and then gray. He tried to move his head but a cast was around his forehead and neck. Pained lanced and he stifled a scream. He wasn’t sure how long he had been in this hospital.

A few hours ago, he recalled talking to a police detective but James was heavily medicated and could only speak in short sentences. The detective named Smith told him that he was brave and should have been dead. The detective also told him his stepdad, Gil, would be placed in jail and his mom would be safe.

James's arms itched. He tried to move but more pain hit him leaving him out of breath. He lay there not caring about the itch. Oddly, he thought he heard the sounds of birds chirping but he realized it was the sound of a cell phone ring tone. Somebody was near him in his room.

He knew that sound. It was his sister.

“Sally?” He said.

“Hi, how are you feeling?”

“Like hell.”

The cell phone made the chirping noise again. James saw in his mind's eye his sister looking at her iPhone and turning the sound off. Her usual pale, pretty face would look at him with pity and also sadness. She always had the sound on and she always forgot to turn it off.

Sally said, “Mom’s fine. I told her Gil would finally go berserk and try to kill her. I’m glad you were there.”

“It’s nothing.”

She made a noise with her teeth. “The police want to give you some type of metal. It’s called the Medal of Valor. It’s for a civilian.”

“Really. Why?”

“It’s because you saved mom. How’s your eyesight? You said it was getting better.”

“I said that. I can’t remember that.”

She said, “You had a concussion. The doctor said you might have memory problems.”

“What about my eyes? All I see is dark shapes.”

She said, “How about pain? Maybe, we can go outside?”

“What? I have a cast.”

“You’ve been in bed for about a week,” Sally said.

“The pain is bad. I can’t get up.”

Footstep. It sounded like the crackle of plastic. It was a men’s shoe.

Sally said, “Hello Doctor.”

The male voice said. “Just call me Carl.” A light gray shape came close to him.

“James, how are you feeling?”

“I have pain around my head and arm.”

James felt a cool hand on his head.

“How about your eyesight?”

“I can’t see anything.”

Doctor Carl said, “How’s the cast?”

“It’s fine.”

James realized the cast was around his forehead and neck leaving his face exposed.

Sally said, “Doctor, James doesn’t remember yesterday.”

Doctor Carl said, “Is that true?”

“Yes. I thought I just awoke and that’s it. I remember talking to a detective.”

“So,” Doctor Carl said, “do you know where you’re at?”

“At a hospital.”

Sally said, “You’re at LA Downtown Medical Hospital. You have been here for a week. Do you remember that?”

“No.”

Nobody spoke for a few minutes but James sense the doctor was looking at Sally. He knew they talked about him and his diagnosis or problems without him present.

Doctor Carl said, “I will consult an eye specialist on your sight. You damage retinas and it’s not my expertise to help you. I think it’s a good sign that you good see anything.”

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

James said, “When can I go home?”

“Right now,” Doctor Carl said. “I think you need to get better first. How about you go outside? We can get some pain meds.”

“Will it help me?” He said.

“Yes,” Doctor Carl said.

***

James was giving a shot web few pain pills and with the help of two male nurses was helped into a wheelchair. The wonders of science. He didn’t feel anything. Blurry shapes were all he saw and he didn’t understand the point of all this. Yet, he knew Sally wanted to talk to him but waited until he was wheeled toward the outside.

He noticed the scent of sterile air was changed to something cleaner with a hint of dirt. Birds chirped and he heard people talking. The wheelchair stopped moving.

Sally said, “I’ll take it from here.”

“Whenever you’re ready, just go back inside and get one of us,” a man said.

James felt the wheelchair was moved again.

Sally said, “Remember, when dad was alive, you loved to go to the park.”

Warmth was felt on his hands and feet. He wore a soft shirt and pajama bottoms. James wondered if he was here for a week and if the nurses bathed him.

She said, “Do you see anything? The doctor thought this might help.”

James looked ahead. The gray shapes were brighter but he couldn’t discern any colors or anything else. It seemed as if a very dark veil was cast over his eyes.

“No, I can’t see anything.”

“It’s fine. Let me move us under a shade of a tree.”

It got darker and cooler. She position the wheelchair so he could see her blurry shape of her. He smelt the cherry lotion that she always wore.

He said, “How’s mom?”

“She’s doing fine. She is concerned about you. We want you with us but right now the hospital is the best place for you.”

“And Gil is in jail?” He said.

“Yes, you know he fled after he beat you up,” she said.

“Yes, that’s how bullies are. That’s how I knew I had to get in the middle of their fight.”

“I knew it was going to happen. I should have stayed at home,” Sally said.

“No,” James said. “You need to lead your life. Your new job is far away. The job you wanted.”

“Look, things have changed. I want you and mom to live with me.”

James didn’t like the sound of this. But he wasn’t in the position to argue with her.

He said, “I’ll get better and find a better job. I can take care of mom.”

She didn’t say anything for a while. “The doctor said you might have permanent damage to your brain and your vision. He doesn’t think you’ll be able to see him again.”

“What? I thought he wanted to talk to a specialist,” he said.

“You already saw the specialist. But you don’t remember. You saw the ophthalmologist who specializes in trauma.”

“I don’t remember,” he said. “What did he say?”

“Your eyes are damaged and there’s nothing the doctor can do. Surgery is risky and can make you blind.”

James understood why Sally took him out here. She wanted to soften the blow.

“So, what do we do?”

“Later today a social worker is going to visit. She’ll help us with your care and how to live in your condition,” she said.

James's hands tighten. His condition was now considered disabled.

***

James lay in his bed. The nurse came into his room. She checked his temperature and his blood pressure. The nurse whose voice sounded like a young woman. She could be pretty but he couldn’t see her.

She said, “Mr. Rue, do you want me to turn on the TV for you?”

She sounded unsure as if caring for a blind person was somewhat different than other patients. He almost yelled at her but realized she was being nice.

“Sure, change it to the news. I need something to listen to. But not too loud. Thanks.”

He heard the TV turn on. Then he heard the sound of the nurse leaving.

The newscaster said, “It’s the top of the hour 6:00 in the evening. Our top story is…”

It was a female newscaster talking and the sound help him drown out his incessant helpless thoughts of himself being permanent disabled. He wished he could see and if he was a religious man he would pray, but he never believed in God or any religious teachings. The news droned on and he felt along the bed and also the railing.

A wall of text appeared with a voice speaking.

Welcome to the Earth’s System Trials. You have been selected as one of our participants.

James, at first, thought it was something on TV and didn’t pay attention to the sound. But the words appeared before him clearly as if he had his eyesight back. The text glowed an incandescent white light and then it disappeared.

“What?” He said. This must be a side effect of the pain pills he took.

The voice now softer intoned. A wall of text appeared.

James Rue, son to William, and also ancestor to Jackson the Courageous, do you wish to proceed? Yes or No?

“What the hell is this? I just want to be left alone,” he said. “I don't want to have hallucinations,”

James shouldn't be talking back to his imaginations. The prompt disappeared and another group of words appear.

The answer cannot be processed. It is an honor to be part of the Trials. You’re being distinguished from millions of people on Earth to become a participant.

James decided to entertain his imaginings. His concussion could had cause a tumor but why not?

“Yes,” he said.

A bright light surrounded him and he started to float upwards.

Please get ready for the Purge.

“Wait,” he said.

The light became more intense. His body started to shake. Extreme pain stronger than any pain he felt before came over him in such sudden violence that the beating he received by Gil paled in comparison with this torture. He bit down on his teeth, gritting.

Screaming to the heavens above to stop, James's eyes bulged, and then tears fell from them. Then the torment was over. Bright light hurt him but he could see. His eyesight was restored. He also noticed the cast that was over his head was gone. James was still floating in the hospital room. His mind thought he died and that he was going to heaven.

He tried to look downwards on the bed to see his body but he couldn’t. A cocoon of light shot around him and his body thrust upwards through the ceiling of the room as if he was merely a spirit. And he flew up past Los Angeles city into the sky and upwards into the black inkiness of space.

Light filtered around him. He wore a white gown. Next to him on both sides, left and right were other people also dressed in white gowns. They floated above the earth and face away from the sun toward space.

Before James could see the beautiful sight of the cosmos a platform appeared. Five people stood and looked at them. He saw them as clear as if they were on TV. The five people of beings looked familiar.

There was a person who looked like an elf with long tall features and pointy ears and almond shape eyes. Above each person was a glowing script. On top of the elf like creature was a name called Elron.

James tried to speak but he couldn’t. A creature with light blue skin, web feet, and hands spoke. On top of his glowing script read Razen.

We are the Dominion. We will pass judgment over humanity. As the representative of your race, you’ll be placed in the Judgement Trials. When your test is done, we’ll decide humanity’s fate.

The Razen moved his hands and head in a charismatic way.

Remember, we will be watching. We will contact you if need be.

James was trying to look at the other creatures on the platform. His mind whirled with the words - trials, judgment, fate.

Darkness flooded his senses and eyes and everything went black.