Jake squinted as his computer screen his eyes had become worse over the years and even more so now that he has gone past his usual bedtime. He should probably sleep after all he was well past the age where all-nighters went unpunished. Tomorrow will be a horrible day but that was in the future and he was very much immersed in the present. Or more accurately he was immersed in the final stretch of the 4X game he has been playing for the past year and a half. At this point he lived to play it as with all the other games he chose to drown himself in.
There was little point to not playing when you have little else to do. He was old and retired with a bank full of cash and little to spend on. All his friends had died years ago and his wives and children had cut him off long long ago. He had enough money to buy companions but he would rather be alone than surround himself with strangers lusting after his bank account. Or more likely surround himself with people he thinks are only after his bank account. He always expected the worst from people. His own actions when he was young and filled with greed made it hard to trust others lest they be the same as himself.
The clicks of his mouse and the clacking of the keyboard were his only companion. At ninety years old he had no idea how he was still so healthy or even why he was still alive but he didn't dwell on it. He would indulge himself till the end of his time which currently meant getting perfect completion on every 4X strategy game he could find while living like an old goblin.
Having been released more than a decade ago, “The Final Crown” had bombed hard. Not that it was a bad game per se but its developers were a little too excited with the great AI revolution and chose to make every npc across its game a fully emulated entity. A 4x game where every single citizen of the expansive game map. tens of millions of them were coded like you were playing a simulation game. Safe to say nothing short of a supercomputer could run the game at launch and even those struggled. The game was truly far ahead of its time and now a decade later his top of the line desktop could play it with relative ease.
He had won as every faction with every known strategy to collect the achievements. Only one final achievement had eluded him. The game wasn't exactly hard though it was incredibly complex. When playing as the stronger factions it basically played itself the fight was yours to lose which was precisely what made the final achievement so difficult. In a game so unbalanced winning a top rated pvp match as the Wood Crown the weakest faction was almost impossible.
10 years was alot for a games pvp scene and TFC was a game that created a cult following due to the absurdity of its emulated world. Every player that still played the game had thousands if not tens of thousands of hours on it. Winning a pvp match as the Wood Crown was hard enough against noobs but even the greenest player had a few hundred hours at this point and this achievement needed a victory in a game containing only top 100 players.
The hardest part of the achievement was actually getting a game that even qualified. With a game as old as it is most of the top players aren't exactly present most of the time and even if they were the rank scene has gone stale some years back with most preferring to play with friends or modding the game for a better offline experience. It took him creating an entire privately funded tournament to get enough of them playing for a full lobby of 16 to qualify for the achievement. And here he was after a year and a half of grinding through this old niche game at the precipice of getting the final achievement to placate his obsessive soul.
He had done the impossible. He had led the weakest faction to the top against the best players this shitty game could offer. It was probably because the players were a bit rusty but they were some of the best nonetheless. And finally the 100% achievement platinum banner popped out on the side of the screen. And the dopamine hit came and he basked in it for a minute or two before it inevitably wore off. Now he had to find another game to finish. He grumbled to himself the sweetness of victory all too fleeting, weighed down by the feeling of loss that came from finishing a game most enjoyed.
He squinted at the corner of his screen. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust in order to read the clock. 5:43am it read…. Yep today and tomorrow would definitely feel like shit but at his age everyday felt like shit anyways. This next few would just be shittier than usual.
It's time to sleep I guess.. He thought to himself.
As he moved his chair back and prepared to stand up. Maybe it was the lingering energy from getting the achievement or maybe it was the lack of sleep clouding his judgment but in the end the result was the same. He did the unthinkable act of standing up faster than usual, the last action he would do before his legs unsurprisingly failed to adjust to the sudden act of gymnastics and failed him. He didn't even have time to think before he slammed his head on the desk and darkness took him.
Jake woke up to the light burning his eyes.
“Turn off these lights damn you!” He growled as he lifted his arm to block the godforsaken beam.
How am I alive? He thought to himself then quickly after.
Who the hell kept me alive? Became the question as his confusion turned into rage.
He had a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ tattoo plastered on his chest for a reason and even had all the legal paperwork framed in his living room. He would sue them oh he would sue them all for this. He would make their lives hell for as long as he lives. That would teach them to be more mindful of others' wishes.
His eyes took awhile to adjust after being blasted by the blinding lights which turned out to be the sun shining through the bedside window. He stared incredulously at the room he found himself in. It was a well kept but visibly aged log cabin. Through the window was a sea of massive snow covered pines, the same trees the cabin and most of the furniture were made from given the look of them.
“What the fuck!?”
He expected to be in some hospital of some kind but this did not look like a medical institution. He looked around searching for some well hidden medical equipment. For all he knows it's one of those newfangled “nature” hospitals or whatshits in some nordic country. Hell's it could be a gulag in the pits of Siberia given his relationship with some remaining acquaintances.
He takes a deep breath preparing to sit up. Getting out of bed was always a battle but oh boy does age make it worse. Not to mention he apparently just woke up from a coma he expects things to be much worse this time.
Slowly he turned to his side, finding the act much easier than he expected. He was up on his feet nearly as fast as when it nearly killed him. He hasn't felt this good in decades. Whatever this place is, their doctors were good.
He slowly walked around the room testing his balance taking care to stay close to objects he could grab if his legs failed him. As he moved about he could not help but notice inconsistencies with his body. His hands and feet were still wrinkled old things but they had much more meat in them than he remembered. He was stronger and maybe just a few inches taller too but that was probably because he was able to stand upright for the first time in years.
The cabin was a single massive square room akin to a studio type apartment, its walls were made of logs that spanned its twenty meter sides. The roof started around two meters up at the walls meeting more than four meters high at the center of the cabin. A large rectangular table dominated the middle of the cabin with fourteen chairs placed around it. six on each length and one on each width. Above the table hung a large white globe a meter in diameter which Jake assumed was an oversized lamp. A large stone fireplace at the left side of the entrance heated the room with smoldering coals. An impressive array of walking sticks were arranged beside the fireplace. Most were plain wooden sticks but some wouldn't be out of place in a fantasy movie. One was bone white with gold veins decorating it from top to bottom. Another was some sort of steampunk abomination with moving gears and vials of colorful liquid embedded at its oversized circular top.
On the other side of the cabin was what looked like a fantasy alchemy movie set. Tables filled to the edge with glass paraphernalia to the point he wondered how in the world anyone can untangle them. Dried herbs hung from a wooden grid chained to the ceiling and even more bursting from several cabinets. Bottles of mysterious liquids lined two shelves. And to round out the theme a large cauldron stood on the floor on top of a circular stone stand in the middle of the entire setup. He made his way to the supposed alchemy table.
“Where the hell am I?” Jake asked himself for the nth time since he awoke.
He thought a look around would give him some answers but this whole setup just increased the questions. For one thing, where were the brands? One would think with all the items in the room he would find something that had ‘made in China’ plastered on it with a nonsense English word mashup for a brand name but for all he could see every single glassware, woodwork, trinket and doodad in the room was bespoke. In the 21st century that was a feat of its own.
He knew that the quickest way of finding an answer was probably to walk out of the cabin but without knowing his situation it was best he put that off until he had a better idea of things. If he was a patient here there would be a nurse or a doctor that would check on him sometime. Given the impressive state of his body that would be soon. Comatose patients deteriorate quickly without excellent care and without an IV drip anywhere in site they had to be feeding him manually.
Before he could figure out a way to gather more information the initiative was taken from him as someone knocked on the front door. He was too far away from the bed and he wasn't too keen on testing his new found health by attempting to sprint over. Even if he did, he doubted he could trick a medical professional into thinking he was still comatose.
He ran his fingers through his hair and now apparently grand beard before patting down his robe and standing straight. He might not have any control over the situation but he certainly had control over himself and most of the time that was enough.
Seconds went by without a sound then another set of knocks. Jake wondered what the person was waiting for after all he was supposed to be comatose. It's not like he was going to tell her to come in. After a few more seconds passed by until finally a young woman's voice announced herself.
“Elder, I'm restocking the embers.” The voice said with a respectful tone.
Jake furrowed his brow in confusion. Was the woman expecting this elder to be in the cabin with him? Or was he the elder? His train of thought didn't get far as the door knob turned and the door slowly opened.
A young woman poked her head into the cabin. Her features looked northern European with brown hair and eyes. Fairly nondescript if not for the fact she was holding a metal bucket glowing red with embers with her right hand completely oblivious to what he expected was extreme heat.
She stood still at the doorway smiling at him before speaking.
“Oh sorry elder did I interrupt your brewing?” She asked, still smiling while scanning behind him towards the alchemy setup.
Jake was caught off guard by the casualness of the interaction. He was a comatose patient that just woke up and started walking about after what he assumed was quite a long time given he had already healed from what he expected was a horrendous head injury. But if that was the case why is the girl talking to him like she knew him all her life. His mind raced trying to piece together a coherent explanation for his situation.
“No, I was just stretching my legs.” He answered.
He chose to ride the limited context of the situation for now. If he was the elder then so be it. This wasn't the first time he got blindsided by a random situation; he just needed to keep his composure and pretend he knew what was going on long enough to get context for firmer footing.
Jake saw a trace of worry on her face for a moment before she continued her smile and entered the cabin.
“Everyone is in the hall for breakfast, Elder. Let me just get these embers into the fireplace then we could go together.” She started while walking towards the fireplace with glowing hot bucket in hand.
She tossed the embers into the fireplace with one fluid motion not missing a single piece of ash. She then took a moment to observe the array of staves at the side of the fireplace before grabbing a simple dark wood staff with her left hand and turning towards him.
She handed him the staff before grabbing his right arm with her left as if supporting her weak kneed grandpa.
“Let's head to the hall for breakfast, Elder.” she said. Taking charge of the situation and not even asking for his opinion.
Jake just went with the flow, taking the staff and allowing himself to be led towards the door. He was still very confused about all of it with the short interaction barely giving any context to the situation. The woman was acting like some kind of grandchild-adjacent acquaintance. And the look of worry she showed when she entered the cabin was raising some deeply hidden fears inside him. He remembered that type of face, hells he gave the same sad look before to many of his now long deceased friends. A look of sad worried understanding towards a confused loved one that wasn't all there anymore.
Was he not a comatose patient and instead a dementia ridden senile old man? The very thought shook him to his core. He buried the feeling deep, clutching at the belief that he felt far too clear of mind for such horror to be true.
The door opened letting in a chill wind. The woman picked up what he assumed was a coat hanging at the side and placed it on his shoulders before leading him outside. The cabin was situated on top of a small hill noticeably separate from the other buildings in the sprawling town that stretched from the base of the hill towards the horizon. A short stone fence enclosed the area surrounding his cabin. The entire town looked to be made of the same wood as his own accommodation. Houses were spaced out with small fields in between. Tight roads barely large enough to fit a car snaked along the inconsistent lots. The houses were respectable but nowhere near the size of his now obviously oversized abode.
Who makes a four hundred square meter single room cabin in the first place. He thought to himself.
He was removed from his thoughts by the sound of the heavy door being closed behind him. The woman once again took him by the arm and guided him down the steps leading to the town.
“Watch your step Elder, the thaw had made the steps slippery.” she told him while walking a step ahead her hand firmly clamped around his arm in case he fell.
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He fought to contain a frown from forming on his face at what he considered was too much coddling. I could walk down the damned steps myself thank you very much. He had lived most of his life alone and he had convinced himself he wanted it that way. But he kept his thoughts to himself no point making a mess of an already confusing situation. And if his worst fears are true this was some form of dementia village. Although seeing the sheer scale of the town and his cabin at the edge of it lessened his fears.
There was no way they would leave a dementia ridden old man on top of a hill at the edge of town. Or would they? He wasn't too sure there were many novel treatments being tested all the time and for all he knew neglecting the elderly was the new trend.
He scanned the town comforting himself at the fact that there were quite a number of children running about and few elderly.
He was led down the hill and towards the largest building in town. The hall as the woman called it looked almost identical to the oversized cabin with the largest difference being the intricately carved wooden double doors that lead into the hall.
The strangeness of his cabin being equal to the largest building in town didn't quite register in Jake's mind. Too many years of always getting the best of the best had made such things the norm for him. The size of the cabin might have been unusual but it being the most impressive accommodation wasn't. If this was a dementia village it just made sense he got the best abode.
He was led inside the hall. The general structure of the interior was identical to the cabin but instead of a fireplace there was a massive three meter by three meter raised stone firepit smack in the middle of the room bathing everything in its orange light. Pots and pans along with an impressive amount of meat hung on top of the firepit slowly roasting. Tables and chairs filled the entire space with the largest table equal to the one in the cabin placed on a raised platform opposite of the entrance. For all the space in the hall there were only six people present aside from him and his guide. Five of them sat on the main table partaking in a shared meal while an old man sat near the edge of the firepit tending to it with a glowing metal poker.
The old man by the fire had almost completely gray hair with some fleeting traces of the black it once was. The man wasn't that old at least compared to Jake. Looking like someone in their early sixties he was fairly young in comparison. He wore a dark red robe not dissimilar to the attire of buddhist monks, several bangles made of a wide variety of materials hung from his arms. His skin was also intricately tattooed with a deep blue ink covering most of his arms in an intricate webwork of tribal tattoos leaving only his face bare. The old man gave a quick nod acknowledging their arrival before going back to stocking the fire.
As he was led to the main table Jake stared at the firepit as he passed by in confusion. It lacked the painful heat he expected walking close to what was far too much fire for any indoor space yet the wooden roof was not catching fire and the room that seemed to lack ventilation was not choked in smoke and best of all he wasn't getting cooked alive.
Was it some kind of high tech hologram? But the hanging meat and stew in the pots were definitely cooking. A high tech hologram paired with a cleverly hidden induction stove perhaps? But that still doesn't explain the roasting meat.
Jake frowned remembering how the woman now leading him had just minutes ago nonchalantly held a glowing metal bucket. He was starting to have some serious doubts about this not being an overly intricate dream of a comatose patient.
The head of the table was occupied by a young man that looked like he was in his late twenties. The others were a bunch of people that were at most a few decades younger than Jake himself. Safe to say they were all old.
He was led to sit directly to the right of the young man. The young man smiled at him with arms spread in welcome.
“Elder Elas, you are welcome to join us for breakfast.” The man said while gesturing for him to sit.
Jake’s guide pulled out the chair and helped him sit, taking the coat she put around his shoulders and hanging it at the back of the chair. The young man glanced at her with confusion on his face at Jake's silence. Apparently receiving a gesture back as his mouth formed an ‘o’ before going back to a smile.
Jake’s mind was too deep in confusion at being called Elas to bother with the fact that he was obviously doing a horrendous job at acting normal and everyone and their dog was already aware there was a problem with him.
The young man stood up from his chair.
“Let me get you something to eat, gramps.” He said with all the familiarity of a family member. Before heading towards the old man near the firepit.
An old woman with faded red hair sitting at the opposite side to Jake looked up from her meal seemingly noticing him for the first time since he arrived.
“Well aren't you quite nice today eh old bat.” She spoke while chewing on a piece of meat.
The young woman that guided him moved close to the red haired old woman leaning in to whisper. A few seconds later the old woman started laughing like she was just told the joke of the century.
The young man came back to the table with a ceramic plate full of roast meat and what looked like boiled potatoes along with a mug of a dark alcoholic smelling beverage. The smell was fantastic albeit lacking his own blend of strong spices he usually used to compensate for his ailing sense of taste.
Jake's stomach growled as the plate was placed in front of him. The young man handed him a metal fork, knife and wooden spoon.
“Thank you.” Jake thanked the young man.
The man gave him a nod in return before resuming his own meal.
Judging from the fact the young man sat at the head of the table he must be of some importance. Either that or he was the favorite grandchild of the oldies present. Jake didn't bother to think about it too much; his chances of acting normal were already blown the moment these people acted incredibly familiar. Convincing acquaintances that you are perfectly fine was easy. Convincing family and friends on the other hand was next to impossible. Not to mention that he was at this point fairly certain this was all a dream.
He chowed down on the meal. If he truly was just dreaming then he will enjoy it while it lasts. For all he knew he would wake up paralyzed in hospital soon. The meat was scrumptious, the flavors so much more complex and intense than he had grown used to. It was like he was young again or at least he thought so. He couldn't actually remember what food tasted like before his sense of taste started to fade.
He heard the young woman calling out the door for someone to get something for her. At some point the old woman had stopped giggling and resumed her meal though she continued looking at him with glee in her eyes like he was some kind of zoo animal. Halfway through his meal a young boy came running in with a conical flask filled with swirling gray liquid in hand. His little legs barely pushed him faster than an adult's casual stroll. Jake barely took a glance at the boy before continuing his meal which caused the old woman to raise her eyebrows.
“Damn you really are that far gone eh.” The old woman said as she stared at him with a hint of gloom spoiling her mirth. “Didn't think I'd see the day you don't yell at someone for mishandling your brews. Name is Rikia by the way, hopefully you remember it soon.”
Jake didn't know how to respond to that so he just chewed his food in silence. He didn't even know where to begin to understand the situation he found himself in. If this was a dream then great he got to enjoy some delicious dream food. If it wasn't then it was far better for these people to think he was this dementia suffering Elis or whoever. For all he knew he was in fact Elis and all his current memories were a sham. God knows what old age and head trauma can do to a man.
The boy ran up to the old woman lifting up the conical flask for her to take.
“Grandma, Flask!” the kid said while bouncing in place with the flask on top of his head.
Rikia reached out to grab the flask but the child jumped backward and hugged the flask to his chest.
“Grandma, Pay!” The runt shouted with a mischievous grin.
“Oh you evil little merchant.” Rikia grinned at the child. She reached into her robes and magically produced a pair of cookies with a sweeping hand motion of a street magician.
“A sweet little prize for a sweet little man.” She crooned at the child while exchanging the cookies for the flask.
The child ran away towards the young woman holding his prize up to brag.
Rikai turned to face Jake.
“Mug.” she said with a grabbing gesture towards his untouched beverage.
Jake grabbed the mug and handed it to her. Rikia unplugged the flask cork and poured the contents into the drink. The liquids mixed with a viscous fizz that barely stopped before overflowing from the mug. She once again reached into her robe and produced a piece of folded paper. She opened it and dropped the powder contained inside into the drink before flattening it on the table. She placed the mug on top of the paper as if it was a coaster. Before sitting and placing both palms down on the table.
Jake felt a strange movement all around the table causing him to glance around but he saw nothing. The others were still sitting around totally unbothered about the impromptu witchcraft taking place on the table they were eating on as if this was a perfectly normal daily occurrence.
Rikia had her head chanting something but there were no words coming out of her mouth. At Least no words that could be heard. Jake couldn't describe the feeling but he knew there was something being said that some sense in him could tell and even understand. She was chanting a prayer, equations and all sorts of descriptions of things all at the same time yet somehow he understood it even made sense to him. She was simply mixing the materials she had placed in the beverage. Materials that very much did not want to mix or even touch. Yet she guided the reaction, layering the push and pull of the mixture into an elaborate tapestry until they had no choice but to mix.
After about a minute the ritualistic chemistry experiment was done. The mixture now shone with a brown gold color not far from a mixed cappuccino albeit far too shiny to look normal.
Rikia pushed the mug towards him.
“Drink.”
Jake stared at the mug for a moment.
“Are you sure it's safe to drink this with alcohol?” He asked.
He was no doctor but last he checked mixing drugs and alcohol was not advisable.
Rikia shrugged at him.
“Well if it kills ya you got only yourself to blame. You're the one who told me to do it this way, I'm no alchemist.” she said as she stabbed a slab of roast meat with her fork.
Well that's that I guess? Jake thought to himself. Elas was apparently an alchemist or some quack. If this mixture was his dementia meds then so be it.
Jake held his breath then chugged the entire thing in seconds, not daring to give himself time to taste whatever it was.
Jake heard Rikia talking to the others around the table. “Look at this old bastard. Didn't want to touch it when I gave it to him but guzzled it like gods nectar after he heard it was his concoction.”
The mixture was nasty like a mudslide mixed with pure menthol, capsaicin and gasoline. His entire respiratory system felt like it got doused in oil set on fire then thrown down a ski slope. He gagged but nothing came and he knew why. Part of the mixture was stopping him from doing so. Damn you Elas and your sick genius. He thought to himself as he dry-heaved.
“I tried to convince you to put in some honeysprout while making it but of course you didn't bother.” Rikia remarked at him.
“You could have put something while mixing it with the drink.” Jake grunted in response.
“Honeysprout ain't free.” Rikia answered him matter-of-factly. “Better you sleep it out for a few hours. You told me it would take a day or so to work.”
“You could have told me that before I drank it!” Jake spat the crippling nausea and the overall confusion of the day had worn down his patience.
Rikia snorted. “I wanted to see you squirm for a bit.” she admitted with a grin as she raised a piece of roast meat and tossed it into her mouth.
“Break it up you two I don't want you slinging fireballs at each other once grandpa gets better.” The young man interrupted the emerging quarrel.
Jake continued to heave and shiver on his seat. He didn't know when it started but things that were not in his mind had slowly started to emerge. Information, sights and smells, memories his memories just lost now returning to their rightful vessel. Jake realized it now Elas had begun to return the moment he arrived. No it was their return, the memories were still blurry but he knew they were not separate not anymore.
The young man laid a hand on his shoulder in worry. No, not just any young man, he had a name and Jake remembered it now. He was Baron Rein of Farhaven, the lord of the most far-flung territory within the Eternal Empire.
Jake tried to give Rein a reassuring smile and succeeded at growling at him.
“I’m fine Baron Farhaven. The old witch is right I just need to rest” He spoke in the most authoritative voice he could manage.
His show of improving memory brightened the baron's face. Jake stood up, the concoction and the nausea it came with robbed him of any desire to finish what was left of his meal.
“If you all may excuse me I have some recuperation to do.” He said to no one in particular.
“Grandpa, let me help you back home.” Baron Rein offered while standing up with him.
“Call me Elder Elas while in your public hall lord Baron. What would you do if a foreign delegate hears” Jake corrected.
“Oh come on! Delegates are never present.” The baron retorted.
“There was a courtier from House Leron fairly recently.” Jake pressed.
“That was last summer gramps.”
“Still fairly recent.”
“At your age maybe.”
“What would the late baron think seeing you like this?”
“My father had a spit pot and smelled like horse.”
“Do not talk about the late baron that way child.”
“Aha! You called me child.”
“Bah!” Jake waved his hands in surrender. He doubted Elas would have made that mistake but the day or two needed for the concoction to take effect was no lie. He was operating with fragments of the whole.
“Still no. You have duties lord Baron duties that are already piling up as we speak.”
Jake denied the baron firmly this time. They both knew he was too busy to be wasting time here. Honestly Jake was surprised he even decided to eat in the main hall. The first days of spring were some of the most administratively hectic days of the year for Farhaven. The infrastructure needed to be checked and repaired, the fields cleared of last year's blessings to make room for new ones, material for said blessings accounted for and the mass rituals that the baron had to personally officiate as the lord of Farhaven. Safe to say there was no shortage of work for the lord of Farhaven. It would take weeks just to anoint the newborns with the vitality of spring.
Rein's shoulders slumped. Jake didn't know if it was due to his refusal or at the reminder of the mountain of tasks that awaited him.
Jake saw the young woman who guided him stand up from the table..
“That is a no to you too Baroness Lia.” Jake preempted her.
The baroness grabbed his coat which he forgot was still on the back of the chair and tossed it at him.
“What makes you think I want to?” She pouted.
“I know so. You should be embroidering the ritual flags by now if you weren't trying your best to do everything else to avoid it.”
Having denied the two, Jake turned towards the old man who was still sitting by the fire.
“And you Finnan, what are you doing making the baroness do your chores.” Jake pointed at the fire druid.
“I still lack an apprentice.” Finnan said as if that would explain having the baroness personally deliver hearthfire embers.
“There are thousands of children in town, go pick one.” Jake replied.
“I already did but she got taken from me.” Finnan growled.
Jake turned towards the baron.
“You heard it all Baron Rein, you still owe Elder Finnan an apprentice.” Jake told the baron while wiggling his eyebrows.
That should be enough interaction to convince them I'm me. Jake thought to himself as he turned towards the doors.
Jake slowly made his way back to his house. He made it up the steps huffing and wheezing after taking nearly five times the time it took to walk down. He was beginning to regret not allowing them to help him. But there was no way in hell Elas would have allowed such a thing.
He stumbled into the cabin now that there were no eyes present neither Jake nor Elas could be bothered to act tough. His everything burned and the continuing nausea didn't help either. He grabbed the water jar placed on the main table and drank from it without bothering with a cup before making his way to the bed and laying down.
New Memories were still returning to him constantly. Soon he would be neither Jake nor Elas but some ungodly abomination of both. But for some reason he didn't feel any dread from the prospect.
Jake found himself slowly drifting off. He had been awake for scarcely more than an hour but with how he was feeling sleep was the only real option. With no further delay he allowed himself to be taken by the darkness once more. Whether his next waking was as a paralyzed hospital patient or some otherworld abomination he was ready for it.