An affectionate smile on her face. She had grown a little, compared to how lithe she used to be… can someone grow in the afterlife? A question to be had when the time comes… Looking up, he floats towards the vast and shining white expanse, Nataly staying behind him.
"My friends, I'm coming to you." This time, he will stay for the grand finale.
(...)
Once again, a white light shines on him. This time, from a lightbulb. A familiar yet unknown white room. A hospital room, like the one he had visited many times in the past. Not even one additional glance was needed to understand what was happening.
"Guess I'm alive due to machines." Such an ironic fate… when they meet in the afterlife, a new bonding topic will be there. What were the chances for him to end this way? Life is full of surprises, always.
His whole body throbs, his heart clenching painfully. A wave of heat washed over him out of nowhere, feeling like every cell of his was set on fire, begging to be free of pain, to explode forward.
K.J takes a deep breath, trying to push the pain and fire to the depths of his psyche. It shan't make another commotion, not while a last mission still needs to be completed.
Voices break the concentration, both his and of the flames. "Doctor Yan, the boy awakened. We should contact the others." So people are waiting for him. Spencer, Cain… how is James?
"The last thing I remember is him running— Oh." He ran straight into the fire. He should be in bad shape right now. "Liking it or not, I did hurt him…" The question is: Which one of them is in the worst state?
If anything went as close to a "good ending" as they can, the one on the precipice of death is himself. Looking around, there are monitoring machines, wires, and IV bags. "I was out for how long?"
Things appear to still be standing, a good sign that nothing has gone bad, yet. Maybe they even sorted themselves while he was out. Who knows. "The patient awakened… Can you talk?" A doctor asks, entering the room.
An old man, not the tall and grumpy doctor he met before. "I think I can, for how long I was out? My friend, James, redhead and tall, how is he?" The doctor is taken aback, widening his eyes for some reason.
"You surely are eloquent for someone who awakened from a week-long coma." This is interesting. A week-long… a week had passed already. A whole week out cold. "About your friend…. his recovery was miraculous, to say the least. In a way, you are the worst one despite having fewer injuries."
So things went in the "Best route possible". The machines around are already a telltale of what's to come, but it doesn't hurt to be sure of his fate. "How much time before I kick the bucket?"
The doctor's expression darkens, how many coma patients ask how much time they have before finally dying? Many, probably. It is the type of thing that will never get easy, probably. "Around a week or so."
More than enough time for a proper goodbye. More time than he thought he would've. Time to spend it well. "Can you bring my friends in? Call tell them in." The doctor seems to shut up, staring blankly at him.
"We can't, you have to be kept in quarantine for your own sake and healthy—"
"I will be honest with you, I don't give a fuck. I'm going to die anyway, having a proper goodbye is all I can ask for." The doctor frowns, showing in his eyes the intent to not budge. Good work ethics, they should've thought of it years ago. "I will accept until tomorrow, then I will rip myself out of these machines and go meet my friends anyway."
The doctor's frown deepens. "Be warned, you will die sooner. The protocols are in place to help you—"
"I said to you. I'm going to die anyway. I'll fucking die. I will just settle my matters here and then go to the afterlife." Instead of pressing the matter further, the doctor chose to stay silent. A good choice.
"How much time will they take to get here? What happened in a week?" Much could've changed, or nothing at all. James also got hurt but is recovering. How are the others? Lily?
Looking to the side, the sunlight is shining up high. The day just started. Good, they will have a lot of time to spend together. "A week, huh? My suffering, no, our suffering won't be prolonged too much, then."
Just enough to solve all their problems. Taking a deep breath, an intrusive smell makes itself present. The smell of rotting wood. The smell of a forest. It has grown quite strong since the last time. For some reason, a foreboding feeling washes over him.
"The forest smell has grown stronger… is it expanding?" Even if it somehow expands, from where it is growing or coming closer? "Ha, soon it won't be my problem… but I should at least alert the others shouldn't Cain already have done that."
Cain probably already warned everyone at this point, but there is no such thing as a lack of warnings. Unexpectedly someone climbs the window. A familiar blonde hair is already signaling who is trying to enter the room.
Surprisingly, she manages to open the window, forcing the inside locks to break somehow. Opening it, she enters the room, Lily. "This brings far too many questions." How and when did she learn to climb a window?
How could she do it being so small? Is she part goat or something like that? "Mister! You are awake." Her polite voice, weak and quiet, shows awareness of what is truly happening. She was always intelligent…
A small laugh echoes silently. "So it seems, Lily." Was she doing this for the entire week, or was it because he awakened? It doesn't matter in the end. With her there, it boils down to waiting for the other three to show up too. "Say, Lily, how did you get here?"
"I always know the shortest path to where I need to be, Mister. I already said so, no?" Yes, she had said when they met each other back in the city. "James and the others will be here soon too."
"Good."