Mind Upload (The Power Series of Short Stories) by Mark Oetjens

Author:Mark Oetjens [Oetjens, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Conquer Publishing
Published: 2013-07-19T22:00:00+00:00

*

"Can you hear me?" he thought he heard someone say. It sounded like a man's voice, but it was too far away to be certain. "Can you hear me?" the voice repeated.

"Roy, can you hear me?" This time it was a woman's voice, but it was still distant.

"I thought you weren't supposed to use its name," the man chided, closer this time.

"Using his name makes it easier to wake him," the woman explained.

Both voices were still far away, but seemed to be getting closer.

"Roy, can you hear me?"

Roy tried to tell her he could, but it came out as barely a moan.

Why were they waking him up? All he wanted to do was sleep, to return to the nothingness.

He tried to think back. The last thing he remembered was Carolyn telling him she loved him, and something about a promise. He tried to remember, but the effort was too much. He just wanted to sleep.

"We're losing him," the man said, again from far away.

"Roy." It was the woman. But she was distant, too. "Roy, concentrate on my voice."

She had a nice voice. Calm. Reassuring. But with a hint of determination behind it. Like Carolyn's voice.

Carolyn? He promised to see her in recovery after the surgery. What surgery? What had they done?

It did not matter.

He had to keep his promise to Carolyn.

"Roy, can you hear me?" She was much closer this time.

He attempted to say her name, Carolyn, but could only grunt.

"Open your eyes, Roy," she insisted.

He tried.

"Come on, Roy. Open your eyes."

He tried again. But the room was too bright.

"That's it, Roy," she encouraged. "You can do it."

"Light," he somehow managed to croak out.

"Turn the lights down," she said to someone. He could tell by her tone she was not talking to him. Then, "Okay, Roy. We've turned the light down. Now, open your eyes."

His eyes fluttered open. Everything was blurry. He tried to rub them but could not. Something was holding his arms down. He blinked a few times to try and bring his surroundings into focus.

"Hold on," she said. "We'll get you some eye drops."

"Thank you." His voice still sounded raspy.

"Would you like some water?"

Roy nodded. Trying to talk hurt his throat.

She held a straw to his lips. "Drink it slowly," she said.

He did as she said, taking small sips, but his throat still hurt.

Then the straw was taken away, and his eyes were forced open.

Cool liquid saturated first his left eye, then his right. The overflow trickling down his cheeks. He blinked again, several times, and with each blink his surroundings became a little clearer.

Roy expected to see his wife standing over him. Instead a woman he did not recognize smiled down at him.

"Who—who are you?"

"My name is Leslie," she said. The smile never left her face. "I'm here to help you through your confusion."

"Where's Carolyn?"

"She's not here."

Roy eyed his surroundings. He was not in the recovery room at LET. He had never seen this room before. It was a small, bland, windowless room, barely big enough to fit the gurney he was strapped to and a small table.

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