I had flashes of reality, I felt the weight over me. I was still cold and still sweating. I remember two people talking about me. I could not hear what they said. I plunged into the dark. At times I could see my father or ads that did not make sense. I saw my screen flicker and I heard the System saying my name.

“Rico,” The System said.

My eyes fluttered open and they focused. There was a purist looking at me. An older one, with gray hair and gentle wrinkles around the eyes. She was calm and kind. She wiped my bow with a cold damp rag. It felt good as I stared at her. I could not speak. She nodded her head and I slept back into my new dream world.

“Rico,” The voice said again.

I opened my eyes again. She was still there with a smile. It was calming. I force my eyes open, tried to keep them focused.

“You with me?”

I nodded my head, it took all the strength I had.

“Good, you’re doing well,” She said, “Jon hand me that bag of fluid.”

“Jon?” I muttered.

“Yep, I’m here,” He said as his face entered my view, “You look a little bit better.”

She disconnected and empty bag off of a metal pole and took the fresh round bag from Jon and hung it on the pole. She connected it to a tube that ran to my arm.

“N-No Drugs,” I stammered trying to pull my arm away from her.

“It’s OK,” She softly said, “It’s just fluid, you are dehydrated.”

“How long have I been here?”

“A couple of days,”

I was missing work, I tried to sit up but I could not get my body to respond. I realized I was not in an EC. Jon held me down.

“You need to rest,” He said.

“My EC?”

“It’s fine, it’s at your home, waiting for you, just rest now.”

“What’s wrong with me?”

“You are going through withdrawals,” The woman said, “Almost lost you at one point.”

“Withdrawals?”

“It happens when anyone leaves their EC, The System has all kinds of drugs in your system. It was rash of you to go cold turkey like that. You were lucky. I’ve seen too many who tried the same thing and it did not end up well for them,” The woman said.

“If the System did not call for me, there was a good chance you would have died,” Jon added.

“I felt trapped, I needed out.”

"Like Liz here said, you were lucky," Jon responded.

“I need to get back to my house, my job,” I struggled to sit up. My head went dizzy again and I floated back to the bed, to the damp pillow.

“Take it easy!” Jon said trying to reassure me, “You need rest, it will all be there when you choose to go back.”

"When I choose?" I was laying here sweating and dizzy. I could barely move. I did not have my EC. How would I move, walk, eat, or anything? I ached. Is this better? When I was with my EC I was always safe and I always felt fine. I felt strong in it. I’m weak now, useless. My eyes started to close, I could not stop them. I'm tired, my head was hurting. I felt no relief, except when I slept. It was the only choice I had.

I sat on a hill under a tree with no leaves. The city seemed dark and dead. The landscape was gray and the protective dome was gone. I sat there looking over the park and I saw EC’s slumped everywhere littering the ground, devoid of users.

“System,” I asked.

“Yes,” The System replied.

“Where are the users?”

“What users?”

I woke up with a mighty twitch. It was dark. I could not see much. I looked around. I was panicking. The room was old and had pictures of art on the walls, not sterile like all the rooms I have seen. I was in a bed without my EC. I struggle to sit up and I managed to do so. I swung my legs out of the bed. I was sitting. There was no support on my back and I felt myself slump. I could feel the cold floor under my feet. I closed my eyes, it was a new sensation to feel cold organically. It felt good. My muscles were there, kept in shape, enhanced to prevent deterioration, but I had no idea how to use them.

It was very calming in here. It smelled good, smells I have noticed in the parks, floral. It was also very quiet. I have never ever been alone with this much quiet. It was a deafening lack of sound. I could hear my ears ringing. I closed my eyes again and then lowered myself back down into the softness of this bed. I pulled my legs in and laid there, listening to nothing.