Chapter 1: Blood Bank
A pulse. A warmth spreading through me. Return. Darkness all around me. Then sensation returns. I feel wet to the bone, rain jackhammers down upon me. I raise my head from the cold seeping mud, looking up at the sky above lit only by sporadic forks of lightning. Then suddenly my ears pop and sound rushes in from all around. The sound of the sky, the sound of the air around me vibrating with the guttural shouts of a thousand voices. Around me on every side: thick with a throng of bodies. As I feel the sword hilt in my hand, the urge arises, again, for battle…
Brother, how I hate those dreams, so distracting. I shower and wash off the residue of haunting apparitions. Roll my neck and remind myself, it’s time to get to work.
Half an hour later, I stare down at the thread bare carpet of the doctor’s waiting room and ponder whether to check my messages again for the umpteenth time, when a young woman in uniform pops her head out.
“Mr Jacobs”, she says tilting her head with a smile. I nod and get up, passing her my completed paperwork.
“Come right in”, she says holding the door.
I can’t for the life of me place her accent, I park that thought and go into the room.
“Hello, Mr Jacobs, take a seat”, a very slick sounding Dr Miles says leaning back in his thickly upholstered chair.
The nurse wheels over a table with a small device on it. She hovers next to me for a second before receiving a nod from the doc. Rolling up my sleeve and connecting the device.
“Well let’s see how you’re doing!” says Dr Miles, interlacing his fingers and turning to his screen.
The prick of the needle is no shock but the momentary flinch on the Doctor’s face as he stares at the screen is.
If I was a canine I’d growl but instead I say “All ok”, flatly.
“Oh, yes, yes, all perfectly fine, Mr….Jacobs”, he drawls turning and planting a smile on his oily face.
Before I get a chance to say anything else the door is flung open wide, another assistant is there with a face squished like they’d eaten a lemon.
“Miles we have a situation in Room 31, can you…” a tall bespectacled man says trailing off.
The doctor hoicks his eyebrows up making a disgusted face, sighs and makes his way out the room. Turning he says to the nurse, “Clean up on aisle five, deary”.
Soon as they’re gone I pounce on his computer but have to do a double take. WTF.
My name is at the top but the rest is set out like an RPG character sheet with HP, strength, stamina etc listed. I stop for a second thinking my strength seems a bit low then fire my synapses into overdrive, thinking shit I need to get a picture of this. I manage to get a picture onto my phone and dash back to my seat before they get back.
Stats
HP
28
MP
0
SP
1
STR
6
INT
9
SPR
1
DEF
1
MEN
0
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
PRISM
0
AGI
2
MAGI
0
SAGE
1
DEX
1
HEX
0
ESS
0
Special Abilities: None
Status effects: None
Race: Human
I feel the back of my neck burning when they come back, a few seconds later.
“Mr Jacobs”, says the doc turning to face me in his chair. “How would you like the opportunity to make some…money?” I let out a breath I was holding, and give him a blank look.
“Yes, I think you would be the perfect candidate, I have your figures here and you look a great match”, he starts rambling on but I’m just watching his body language as he looks at the other two who have followed him in. Its bullshit, I have a sixth senses for it by now, but I hear him out.
“Are you a gamer Mr Jacob?” waiting for a microsecond for me to reply in the affirmative he continues. “Well it’s an experimental heads up display like Iron Man, you do remember those movies don’t you…anyway long story short all you need to do is wear some special contact lens for a week or two and well give you a couple of thousand pounds, what do you say? Mr Jacobs?”
“Ok, sure”, I say not believing my luck.
“That’s all Mr Jacobs and be back here next…” looking up at the tall man who I notice is still waiting in the doorway.
“Tuesday”, says tall man.
“Do I get the money now?” I query.
“No problem”, says doc like he’s just eaten a canary that is me.
Miss Nurse puts the contacts in my eyes and surprise, surprise there are my stats again. I feign shock.
When I get back home to my second floor apartment, I recount what happened to my girlfriend. She takes the news ok, when I eventually convince her that I’m not making it up, by showing her the picture of the doctor’s computer screen.
“You idiot! You absolute idiot! You had two choices, either say no way you people are freaking me out or ask them for way more, to do their weird experiments”, Sam said rolling her eyes.
“I can’t believe you!” she added. I proffered the phone again to show her the picture.
“No, I mean you do realise there is no technology that exists that can do that, so they must have put a chip in your head when they took the blood sample or something, you could sue them for that. You’re such an idiot!”
“I don’t know about going in once a week I think you need more like 24/7 care, you're such an idiot”
“I wonder exactly what their setup is. Too weird and with the incident in the other room as well.” I trailed off.
“Too weird! Nothing’s too weird for you, honey! What about that lady that was trying to do some voodoo on you. Not that was weird shit. Anyway, tell me, you have had ten times more fun than I have today stuck in working, while you’re out James Bonding it.”, she chides me.
“Nothing happened they just rushed out saying there was an incident and the doc said something quaint, I don’t remember. But I think this is something big, I can just tell,” I say lamely.
Wait now it’s getting even weirder, for real I’m getting onto the papers. Not really that’s anticlimactic”, she responds dejectedly.
Tuesday rolls around. I had been turning my stats screen on, every time I had to replace these dumb contacts in the hope of some change, like an idiot. But I guess a few days of working out doesn’t do squat (pun intended).
Stats
HP
28
MP
0
SP
1
STR
6
INT
9
SPR
1
DEF
1
MEN
0
PRISM
0
AGI
2
MAGI
0
SAGE
1
DEX
1
HEX
0
ESS
0
Special Abilities: None
Status effects: None
Race: Human
I tried to look up some of the stranger STATS but just the fact that they were there at all, was plain weird. Magic power, Hahahaa. Maybe I get to link up to a game later? Who knows?
I wondered to myself if I would have the nerve to ask about my stats or whether I’d rather not know. I can just imagine “Yes, Mr Jacobs you are a puny maggot should I text that too your girlfriend or should I say your ex haha”.
Arriving early at the surgery, I look down at the same threadbare carpet wondering inanely what its stats are. I hear from inside the Doc, with tall guy talking about merchandise. Just as I’m thinking I wish I had half their money, the same nurse ,of unknown origin, ushers me in and before I get to ask any of my ,assorted, dumb questions, the lights go out. KO.