Chapter 4

I felt my consciousness returning but i was feeling to too tired to open my eyes. I could feel that i was lying on a bed. I wasn't very comfortable so i tried to shift a little bit but my body wasn't listening to me and the effort was too much because i fell back into unconsciousness.

I woke up again after what felt a long time to the sound of muffled voices nearby, and opened my eyes to a crisp white ceiling. I was on a hospital bed hooked up to beeping devices and grey tubes, or maybe those were wires. I lay there trying to get my bearings as i try to remember what happened before i lost consciousness. I was just going about my day when something went wrong.

There was no other person in the library so i don't think i was assaulted.

Deciding that groundless speculation was going to just waste my energy i decided to call towards the muffled voices from outside my door, to only be able to release a barely audible croak. It must have been enough because i heard hurried footsteps and urgent voices followed by the sound of the doors sliding open.

As the door slid open the first person i saw was a doctor who approached me with a concerned look on his face, followed by a nurse and a cart full of medical equipment and colorful fluids.

"Hey buddy, you must be feeling like hell. Let us get you some hydrating fluids before you speak, you must be thirsty."

Well. I was, so i drank the suspiciously transparent and sweet fluid i was handed in small gulps. Feeling a little energy returning to my body i questioned the doctor," What the hell happened to me?".

"We will get to that in a minute Aelod, we just have to run some tests and then we will talk."

"Sure."

I just stared at the cart full of medical clutter as i waited for the nurse to finish her job, while answering stupid questions like "On a scale of 1 to 10 how tired do you feel?" with a unenthusiastic mutter. As i was about to explode from the discomfort of being poked and prodded, the nurse finished her routine and i was finally able to relax.

"Alright perfect, passed with flying colors. Everything seems to be working correctly." the doctor declared.

"Great, so what happened? Why am i lying down on a hospital bed?"

"I am sorry, you are of course confused about your situation. Let me start by saying that we at the Better Health Hospital ( a subsidiary of Happy and Healthy Corporation ) are very happy with your recovery. I know you have a lot of question but your case is being jointly handled by the ICC Security Forces. All i know from the news is that there was a terrorist attack and there were a lot of casualties, someone set off a High Yield EMP Explosion in the middle of the city."

"And that is all i know, i am gonna notify the Security Forces and you can direct any other questions you have to them." the doctor said, as he made a hasty exit and left me to digest the news.

"Wait."

I must have have gained mind reading powers recently because i can tell exactly what the doctor is thinking.

"I don't get paid enough to deal with this sh**."

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What followed were several days of laying in bed, answering pointless questions from nurses determined to bore me to an early death. All the while i was getting increasingly upset that i had not hear anything from anyone of any importance and as i was not allowed to access the internet or watch the TV while recovering, i was amusing myself with a steadily depleting supply of patience and the constantly changing Ad board outside my door.

Finally one Morning, I was greeted by the hostile faces of two ICC agents.

"Good Morning, Mr. Aelod Helm. I am Agent Charlie and this is Assistant Agent Oscar."

They cant be serious, agent Charlie and Oscar. They could at least try to make their lie believable, but I digress there are more important matters at hand.

"Good Morning, Agents. I was told to ask you any questions I have."

"Yes. Let me start Mr.Helm by asking you if you saw anything suspicious that day? Maybe on your way to work?"

"I don't remember seeing anything out of the norm, I was just going to work as usual."

"What about anything you heard or felt during the incident in question?"

"I was just sitting down at work, felt the ground shaking moments before i blacked out."

"And how do you feel right now, Mr.Helm?"

"Much better, better then when I woke up a couple days ago.", I continued "If someone set off high yield EMP device why did I black out? As far as I am aware the only implants I have are low powered ones from the previous century."

I feel something odd about this situation, I shouldn't have lost consciousness from a EMP blast unless i was very close to it. Also I'm not poor but I know for sure I shouldn't be able to afford a fancy hospital like this. I cant quite put a finger on the feeling. Trying to concentrate on the feeling just resulted in me feeling increasingly lightheaded and very quickly lose consciousness.

Again.