"Your total is 9.47 sir"
Casimiro Mariano had his last ten dollars ready. Sighing, he handed the bill over to the attractive blonde clerk as he wondered what he was going to do now. This was his last remnant of wealth, having been fired a month ago the job hunt had been going poorly to say the least. It wasn't easy for an architectural engineer whose last project collapsed during construction to find work...
"Your change is 53 cents" The clerk said with a smile.
"Thanks" Cas mumbled as he quickly scooped up his change and grabbed his bag, an energy drink, a pack of cookies and two cup noodles. From lobster and steak dinners to this in a month was truly a depressing turn of events. He exited the store lost in thought, eight and a half months into a 15 month build the high rise (and his dreams) came crashing down. Evidently the design was flawed, failing to account for the weight of the top ten levels, a stabilizing pillar had given way, toppling the entire structure onto the shopping center next door. He had reviewed the plans enough to know the numbers all checked out, the fault had to be with the contactor, Cas couldn't prove it, not yet at least but he would.
Mulling the various possibilities Cas made his way through town, he lived in a well to do section of the city, his apartment was small but more than enough for his bachelor lifestyle. Rounding the corner he came to an intersection, cars sped passed, he looked across at the pedestrians waiting. A little girl holding a bright blue ball stood in front of a young couple holding hands.
The numbers counted down
5...4...3...2...Walk
Everyone began moving in unison, the little girl bounced ahead joyfully.
"Walk slow Delilah" the mother said sternly, she looked up and whispered something to man with her.
Cas looked left as he walked, in the distance he could see a man playing guitar for the passersby on an adjacent street. He heard the sound of an engine, he turned his head right and saw a viridescent colored truck rapidly approaching. Was the driver not paying attention!? Cas looked forward.
Time seemed to slow
The little girls smile seemed to fade as her bright blue ball slipped from her hands bouncing onto the pavement. Immediately, she gave chase, her short legs carrying her closer to danger with each step. There was no time to shout, he alone had the opportunity to intervene. Cas pressed his heels hard into the pavement propelling himself forward.
The ball bounced, Cas stepped beyond it, bending he lifted the girl and turned, intending to complete her journey across the street. A glow from the headlights shined into Cas' dark brown eyes.
A shout from the mother signified time was running out, his momentum wouldn't allow his body to complete the 180 and then take the steps back to safety! In that moment, Cas had one option, he tossed the wide eyed child onto the pavement.
Instantly he was met with shocking impact.
Crashing off the hood, into the windshield and over the roof, his body flew akin to a dandelion in the wind, pavement rushing to embrace his falling petals.
"Call an ambulance!" a frightened man yelled.
"Delilah, baby, are you okay!?" The mother desperately called as she rushed to pick up her sobbing child.
"Mommy, he throwed me! My ball, Mommy, whys that man turning red?" Half crying the startled child cawed.
"Oh my God, I'm sorry! I didn't see the light change!!" A desperate voice called from the vehicle stopped in the intersection. "Is he dead?"
Cas blinked, warm streams blurred his vision, from his vantage he could see the mother hunched over, holding her child tightly, she looked back, her eyes meeting his vestige full of fear. He was dying, his body a broken red ruin, he gurgled, trying to summon words.
"Hold on man, help is on the way." A man kneeled beside him, it was the father. Holding Cas' hand he assessed the damage, recognition of the situation flickered in the mans eyes but his voice conveyed no fear, only comfort. "You're a hero, you saved my daughters life, thank you, thank you so much, just hold on, help is coming!" Sirens wailed in the distance, Cas felt strangely calm, it felt as if someone placed a warm blanket over him, had he function of his muscles, Cas would've smiled as he slipped from consciousness.
Somewhere between a moment and a lifetime passed before Cas regained awareness. His world had gained a vibrant prasine hue, he stared at the broken body laying before him. A medic frantically tended its wounds, calling conditions out that his partner relayed over radio. He was inside the ambulance, traveling with his dying humanity, was he spirit? Cas pondered this new found reality, technically, he wasn't dead, yet everyone with eyes could see it wouldn't be long.
Suddenly, the ambulance turned hard to the right, coming to a stop in front of waiting medical professionals. Opening the doors, a burly bald man surveyed the scene, his eyes registering the extent of Cas' injuries with surgical precision. "Is the patient an organ donor?" A gruff gravel voice bellowed
Slightly startled by the unusual question, the EMT responded "Yes sir, Patients name is Casimiro Mariano, Male, age 30, struck by a vehicle while crossing the street, multiple fractures, has lost a substantial amount of bloo..."
Checking his watch the burly man bellowed "21:47, Patient is D.O.A. Ann, collect the cadaver and take it to B.3 room 23"
"But sir, we still have a pulse, he has a chance!" The EMT working on Cas said with a hint of confusion in his tone.
"Rodger, the patient is D.O.A, there is nothing more we can do" The burly doctor coldly pronounced. "We will take it from here, get back out there, you have lives to save..."
"Hey, what are you doing? I'm not dead! Why are you not helping me??" Erupting, Cas attempted to grab the Doctors shirt. His hand and body passed straight through the burly man causing Cas to exit the ambulance. Looking back, Cas watched as the nurses removed his body from the ambulance and began wheeling it inside the hospital. "What the fuck is happening?" Confused, Cas, glanced at the burly doctor shutting the doors tot he ambulance and then to the nurses hauling his body away.
"Ann, prep the body for Experiment Xternity, I believe we have an excellent chance for success this time..."
"Yes Sir" Nurse Ann said with a hint of enthusiasm, she hurriedly chased after Cas' body.
"What the actual fuck is going on? I'm not dead, I'm right here, are they going to let me die? What the hell is Experiment Xternity?" Cas tried to process the bevy of information he was receiving. Realizing he had no choice but to follow himself, Cas glided towards the entrance. The automatic doors had closed behind Ann as she entered yet they didn't seem to notice him at all. "Am I a ghost? Fuck, I don't even believe in ghosts!" Cas propelled himself forward, floating effortlessly through the doors and into the hospital. He could see the nurses transporting his body enter an elevator. Cas followed, easily passing through the elevator wall and down the shaft in pursuit of himself.
Exiting at the lowest floor the nurses wheeled his body down a corridor that one wouldn't think existed in a hospital. They passed various rooms with ascending numbers on the doors, Cas could see most were empty, yet rooms 9 and 19 had occupants. He did not pause to inspect further, choosing instead to enter room 23.
Inside, the room was rather large, containing a comfortable looking operating table, tons of gadgets and wires Cas couldn't recognize and an observation room. They causally hoisted his body onto the operating table, skillfully moving his limbs and hooking up various wires. The doctor from before entered in full surgical gear.
"Patient is prepped for upload Doctor Carter" Ann said matter of fact.
"Excellent." Doctor Carter positioned himself at the head of the table, he proceeded to saw open Cas' skull exposing his brain. Horror gripped Cas, what was he watching? These people weren't saving him, they were doing some freak shit to what remained of him! Admittedly, the condition he was in was dismal, his body contorted in ways it shouldn't, his left leg was nearly gone while his right leg was bent backwards, flesh was removed in chunks all down his side, blood seeped from the wounds. Could he be mad at them? He was going to die, that fate was sealed the moment steel impacted his flesh in that crosswalk yet... These "Doctors" intended to bypass life saving measures in hope of what? Cas couldn't fathom this reality, his world was careening to a halt and all he could do was watch at the mercy of these people...
Sticking wires into his exposed gray matter, Doctor Carter seemed satisfied with his work. "Connection established, begin the upload."
A shock reverberated through Cas' entire being, he grimaced, his new world fading to black and back to the greenish hue accustomed to his ghost form.
"Upload Starting, 0% completed" A mechanical voice filled the room.
1%
Another shock brought Cas to his knees, his existence seemed to pull towards his former body
2%
Forcefully, his world turned black and the sensation of falling into himself overwhelmed Cas' senses
3% 4% 5%
Cas screamed, the pain shut off his connection with the surroundings. He was spinning out of control, as if he was thrown from a plane he fell at break-neck speed. This reality seemed to close in around him, thrusting his remnant of awareness deep within himself.
31%
For a period of time Cas' stopped existing, the Ever-ness of the black around him had no boundary. For how long this lasted Cas couldn't say, he simply wasn't during these moments.
97% 98% 99%
Cas' last grasp of the material world, was through his real eyes, he stared up, into the bright lights and Doctor Carter and nurse Ann's faces. A word almost reached his lips before his soul was rocketed into another dimension.
"Upload Completed, Welcome to Xternity "