《Human: Paradigm》Chapter 6
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The ceiling of the room is white. The lights, they're bright.
A dull pain flows through my head. I raise my right arm, and a sharp sensation stings.
Several wires appear in my line of sight, and they seem to be patched in my skin. There's a clip that's attached to the middle finger of my right arm. I follow their trail, and it leads to the cold apparatus on the same side.
Beep...... Beep......
The quiet sound it produces is so faint that I feel light-headed. I embrace the darkness.
Beep...... Beep......
What happened to me?
Beep...... Beep.....
Why am I here?
Beep...... Beep...
What is this place?
Beep...... Beep...
Who am—! A tingling sensation suddenly runs down the back of my head. In a blink, it becomes a hot throbbing pain.
I open my eyes. The white ceiling greets me again. W-what is this pain? Why does my body hurt so much? What happened to me? Who... what's my name?
Thump
I hear a wooden sound. Looking on my right, there's a man at the door. The top of his head shines as the light strikes upon it, his black eyeglasses cling tightly to his enormous face, and the stethoscope around his neck looks short compared to his round torso. Behind him stands a woman in blue attire holding a folder.
The doctor creeps to my bed. Coming closer, he shudders with narrowed eyes.
"You're awake."
He turns his head to the nurse. As if understanding him, the nurse leans to the apparatus and moves her hand in the folder. Then, she walks beside me.
She gazes at my arms. Again, the pen in her hand starts moving, and when it stops, she gives it to the doctor.
"This is good."
He staggers toward me. "How are you feeling?"
"M— ehem, ehem, ehem."
My throat feels itchy and hot, and my voice is strained.
"Oh. Cille, please give him water."
"Yes, doc." she rushes outside.
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"Don't worry. Your throat is dry because you haven't drunk any liquids since you're admitted, but you're not dehydrated."
Even though I want to speak, I can only nod.
"Many questions may arise, but please be calm. You're in safe hands. This is a hospital."
After a while, the nurse returns.
"Please sit down," he says.
I put my weight onto my arms to support my body, but the pain prevents me from doing so.
"Here, let us help you."
They place their hands on my shoulders and on my waist. In a synchronized manner, they lift me from the bed, and I become seated. My back rests against the pillow.
The nurse feeds me water. Each gulp I take stings the back of my throat. I try not to make any expression.
"Are you feeling any better now?" the doctor asks.
"Y-yes. Thank you." I sound dry.
"How are you feeling?"
"My body hurts whenever I try to move it."
"I see. Apart from that, do you experience anything else?"
"There's a dull ache in my head. When I try to think of something, it suddenly becomes sharp."
He bobs his head.
"Doc?"
"Yes? What's it?"
"What happened to me?"
"Ah. You're from an accident. The trauma you received must have caused the pain in your body and your memory loss."
"Accident?" and memory loss?
"Erm... I don't want to shock you, but I think that you really need to know."
"Please tell me."
"So this was what happened, you're on a field trip at Subic Bay. Suddenly, a bomb was dropped at your location, and the explosion caused your admission to this hospital. You've been here for a month and a half already."
A sensation that's similar to what I felt earlier flows on the back of my head. I wince.
"I'm sorry. For now, just take a rest while we inform your parents that you've regained consciousness."
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"Ok."
The nurse does another inspection. She checks the wires on the apparatus and takes a look at my hand. After that, they leave the room.
Turning to the curtain reminds me I forgot to ask the time, and also my name! Now, I'm left alone with unanswered questions again.
I roam sight with minimal movement. A flat-screen TV is mounted on the wall. Beside my bed is a desk where a remote control lies, and I reach for it. The pain attacks, but I try not to mind.
The screen flashes an entertainment show. There's a man in his early 50s singing an unfamiliar song while female dancers in their early 20s have surrounded him as they're dancing. He grinds his body to the dancers. My stomach churns. This is disgusting. I turn the TV off and close my eyes.
Click
Is it the door?
Tall in the plain olive blouse and black trousers, wearing a platinum blonde bob, shows a young woman at the doorframe. Her gaze falls on me. Suddenly, her blank expression changes to a teary-eyed one.
"Matt!"
The plastic bags in her hands fall to the floor. Afterward, she hurries at me.
"It's good to see you awake," she says, enclosing me in a hug.
Her hands are warm.
"I'm really shocked when I heard the news about the incident," she adds.
This is comfortable.
"Matt?" her voice calls to my attention.
"Oh. Yeah."
I shake my head. "I'm sorry. Who are you?"
She widens her eyes. "Hey, are you alright? Maybe I should call the doctor?"
"No. It's fine. They're just here a few moments ago."
A shallow smile appears on her face.
"You don't remember who I am?"
"Y-yeah. I'm sorry."
"No. Don't apologize, but are you sure you're fine?"
"The doctor said earlier that I acquired memory loss. He wasn't sure either, but said it was only natural because of the trauma."
"I'm Anne."
"You're my sister, right?"
"What?" she breaks into laughter. "No. I'm your stepmom."
Stepmom?
She's my stepmom at this age?
I glance away.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I'm your stepmother. And your name is Isaiah Matthew Cruz."
"That's a long name."
"But people call you Matt."
Oh, that's why she called me that earlier.
"How are you feeling? Aren't you hungry?"
"I am."
"Alright then. Let me peel some fruits." she stops. "Where are those?"
She looks around the room, her head goes to the door. There, the plastic bags she brought have scattered on the floor.
She raises her eyebrows. "How did they end up there?"
My stepmom picks up the bags. She tears the plastic of sliced fruits arranged in a plastic container.
The apple leaves a sweet taste in my mouth, which pushes me to remember another feeling. This taste is familiar. It's weird.
I turn my head to the side where my stepmom is sitting. "Thank you."
"How are you feeling now?" she asks.
"My body hurts whenever I try to move it."
"That's bad. But it's only natural. The doctors informed us about that except for the memory loss." she keeps in separating the oranges. "Are you aware of what happened to you?"
"The doctor told me what happened when I ask."
She gazes at me. "I have something to tell you. You won't be able to go home until next month because you need to take therapy sessions to regain motion."
"So, I should be staying here in 2 months' time then."
"Right. And also, you won't be able to return to school. The time you'll be discharged here is the first week of April. That's the closing ceremony."
"It can't be helped. It's for the better."
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Gnarlroot the Eld
Skeletal Minions aren't supposed to be sentient, but when a Spirit Mage called Azwold bends game rules to complete step 4/11 of his epic questline, he summons the only talking player pet in the game. Join the Eld, his player 'master', and a cast of unforgettable party members as they explore Realms of Lore and work their way through "Gnarlroot the Eld's Stolen Bones" questline.Can they thwart a mounting, game-breaking threat from the cult-like Telemoon guild? Will they discover how the Eld ended up stuck in the role of a video game player's skeletal minion? Or will the Eld remain trapped, forever hungering for answers?***Book One is complete. Finishing 2nd book Summer 2022***Thanks for reading!***Cover art by the lovely and talented Oona Machina***
8 108The Bridge, A Science Fiction Survival Story
A starship is struck by an asteroid on its way to colonize a distant planet. Now, hundreds of years later, the inhabitants must learn to survive deep space without technology or perish.
8 77Unprecedented
*SEQUEL UNPRECEDENTED!!*Freddie Matthews is finishing off her school year and is going to college soon. But before she leaves she uncovers the mystery of her father's death 14 years ago...While also living a normal teenage high school life of course..Copyright © 2019-21 AmbiizaAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Freddie Matthews is finishing off her school year and is going to college soon, but before she leaves, she uncovers the mystery of her father's death when she was just a toddler. She finds out that her father just might be alive and well... But not in the way she expected.... Copyright © 2019-2021 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
8 188HEfTY
What if everyone in the world gave you $1? That’s what Hefty, a fat and cocky 14-year-old computer hacker tries to do. He bets on Bitcoin, and becomes a millionaire. Nevertheless, it’s short lived because Hefty is under the beck and call of his BPD mom. Hefty’s mom has leukemia. After seeing his mom’s hospital bill, he goes full tilt on the internet, selling crazy things on the Dark Web, like drones, drugs, and guns. And under his nose, someone’s been watching Hefty. Before he knows it, he’s abducted by ISIS and transported to Syria. ISIS’s chief tech officer was blown apart in an airstrike. All of ISIS’s money freshly minted into Cryptocurrencies. The passcodes in his mind blew up with the airstrike. The King of ISIS, forces Hefty to find the passcodes. At gunpoint, Hefty can’t say no, but tricks the King. The King makes a deal with him: If Hefty gets the money off the server, he gets to keep his life (and 10%). Hefty agrees and sees the amount from his 10%: $1.1 Billion in BTC. Drunk with money, Hefty joins the King and naively agrees to help ISIS, and starts buying everything he’s always wanted. He still misses home though, and after a google search brings up his mom, he throws bread crumbs through the internet. He creates digital trails throughout the back end of sites he hacks so people can find him. Even though his lifestyle is fun and exciting, ISIS starts to look less inspiring. Hefty sees the cruelty of ISIS’s cause and it disillusions him from thinking the Caliphate is noble. After some ISIS friends start dying, Hefty sees that war is dumb. Hefty tells his dying friend, on his last breaths, that he is going to take down ISIS. Mistake. With his last yells, his friend tattles on Hefty. Overnight, he goes from Multimillionaire to POW. The King gives him 2 options: blow up his favorite team on a game day of the Cleveland Browns, or his mother dies. Hefty chooses his mother. Within weeks, Hefty covertly writes software to defeat ISIS, leaving enough breadcrumbs to attract the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, General Tarvish. Acting quickly, General Tarvish works to find Hefty and uncover the Brown’s Stadium plot. Hefty finds a way to bomb the stadium, using an order that the president enacted putting all combat planes: no matter where over the US, had to be fully loaded and ready for war. Tarvish didn’t plan this into his counter measure. Hefty has set up ambushes against the Caliphate of ISIS… but the joke turns on him when he forgets to delete his code, and his terror attack on Brown’s Stadium goes off. Hefty’s location goes live, and an air campaign against the Caliphate starts. The US President angrily tries to drop a nuclear bomb on Hefty and the Caliphate. Tarvish kills the President before he can order the attack. The King flees by truck into the desert, but brings his cyber weapon: Hefty. Fed up, unafraid, and frankly pissed off, Hefty grows some balls and kills everyone in the car, giving the King his just reward, and careening down a mountain in the process.
8 316The Falcon And The Winter Soldier: Made This Way
Gabriella 'Gabby' was rescued from hydra by Steve when she was 13, Hydra had been experimenting on her and using her as a weapon, She was given the power of Sound Manipulation and Telepathy.
8 280Why The Hell Not
Sweat started to form all around my body as the pain consumed me. It was 9pm and this had to be the worst wave of heat I've ever experienced! My body ached as the flames traveled from my core, spreading to the rest of my body. I hate heat, every type of heat, but mainly this one. Heat, in my pack, is a bitch! The second you turn 16 your heat starts. Then for the rest of your life you get a heat cycle once a month, as if having a period isn't bad enough. The heat happens right after your period, leaving you 2 weeks of peace as a woman if you find your mate your 16 years of life! If you did not find your mate at 16, when you turn 17 it will be every 2 weeks! Your period is still once a month, thankfully, but the heat cycle directly after your period is the strongest! Leaving you ONE week of peace...unless of course you don't find your mate by the time you turn 17. If you are unlucky enough to not have found your mate by the time you are 18, then yes it will be EVERY week! Leaving you NO peace!!Basically the longer you go without finding your mate, the more heat you will go through. If you're 20+ then it could be EVERY hour! Once you find your mate it goes back down to once a month, thankfully. Lucky, or lucky for me, I'm 17...meaning I've gotta deal with this every 2 weeks. This one in particular is the worst one yet! I grabbed the water on the side of my bed and tried to fix my dry throat.......
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