Location: Maple Ridge General Hospital
Time: 6:00 PM
Day: ???
The view of a hospital ceiling was permanently imprinted into Leon's mind despite him being half awake with his eyes shut.
His only talent in life was stacking life-threatening adjectives, being a pale and terminally ill young man, bedridden for most of his life, while patiently waiting for his inevitable demise.
Beep, beep, beep—
The beeping of the heart monitor beside his bed was the only thing reminding him that he was still 'alive,' despite appearing so malnourished he might as well be an organic-looking stick.
"So loud." His room was relatively silent compared to the panic and screams occurring outside, but if Leon has to guess what was going on, it's most likely related to the deceased.
Anomalies…
Indeed, the world suffered from an outbreak years ago that originated somewhere in urban Tokyo, Japan, in which people turned into monsters and the dead walked once more. They were rampant and rapidly evolving, and national militaries didn't stand a chance.
They wanted to nuke the dead but most countries ended up nuking themselves due to human retardation.
But miraculously, some people developed 'systems' that allowed them to evolve in unique ways themselves.
They're called the "Evolved."
It allows one to be strong but horrendous-looking due to the nature of forced mutation, making a human look like they came from 'Dead Space', but at least they can perform superhuman feats out of a action movie directed by some mediocre director, and Leon did happen to possess his own system; however, it may have come with such an unfavorable condition.
He can always see it every time he opens his eyes, a red U.I. flaunting on his face with an offensive message.
[System: Dormant, Condition for Awakening: Die.]
Leon let out a weak breath, his chest tightening painfully. Even that simple motion felt like intense labor in the quarry.
"What did I do to the world to deserve this?! There's people out there evolving past human limitations, and mine is telling me to kill myself?!!"
Believe it or not, that exact thought has been repeating in his head over and over again, and every time he thought so, the system in front would flash an even more intense red.
[Condition for Awakening: DIE.]
[Condition Difficulty: VERY EASY.]
"I get it! Stop!"
Leon started coughing; it was loud enough to get the attention of the hot Russian nurse nearby to check up on his condition.
"I have had a crush on Nurse Natalia all these years, but the age gap between us is astronomical; maybe I shouldn't be worried about our age gap since I'm literally dying."
Leon let out a really deep audible sighed.
The door creaked open.
Nurse Natalia rushed to Leon's side; she first checked his pulse on the monitor. Well, his vitals are normal, but she realized that the nearer she was, Leon's heart rate kept spiking; she even tried walking back and forth to test it.
beep, beep, BEEP, BEEP, beep, beep, BEEP BEEP.
"Always excited to see me? Leon?" nurse Natalia asked.
Leon nodded in absolute approval, However, despite the nurse's mature beauty, her expression was sad and full of concern.
It was difficult for Leon to speak, but he squinted his eyes to peek maliciously, only to witness the nurse's uniform was wrinkled, her face pale with exhaustion.
There were faint stains on her sleeves.
That's definitely blood.
Nurse Natalia started gently caressing Leon's hair. "I'm sorry it had to end this way," she said, but the boy was confused.
What is she talking about?
Then another man barged into the room. He was a tall and muscular fellow, the kind of macho man you see in American movies, wearing a blue and red bandana while holding a machine gun. "Natalia, we don't have much time, we have to go!" His voice was urgent.
"Is there any way we can bring Leon with us? Any?" Natalia pleaded, but the macho man held a somber expression before confirming that there was no way of bringing the boy with them.
Macho man got closer, with his eyes on Leon's vertically thin body.
"I'm sorry, kid," he said, and at this point, Leon had a clear idea of what was going on, with all the gunfire and activity outside.
The Maple Ridge General Hospital was now being overrun by the horde of undead, and evacuation was being done.
The people, and especially the military, were trying their best to save whoever they could, but in Leon's case, he was essentially a severe liability.
They didn't have much supplies left, and too many people had died outside while being munched on by the dead.
Armed personnel vehicles gathered and were being filled quickly, and since it's a hospital, they had the harsh decision to leave those who would only slow them down.
Unless you have money and connections, which Leon all lacked.
"You can't leave him here alive... You have to… Euthanize him," the macho man said, and he felt his stomach twist at his suggestion, but it was the best idea he could've come up with his oil per eaglewingspan thought process.
There's no one to save them; the evolved people are preoccupied somewhere else, like saving the president's daughter or saving the world from man-made BoWs..
Nurse Natalia looked at Leon's eyes with sadness on her face, perhaps seeking for some kind of forgiveness, but Leon held out his hand like E.T, on which Nurse Natalia promptly held on.
Leon mustered every ounce of strength from his fragile body to speak, "Don't feel guilty, Nurse Natalia, it's okay, I understand." His voice was weak and hoarse.
It's not like I was going to survive this anyway.
"Can I… can I taste vodka before I go?" Leon requested, and the nurse and macho man looked at each other, baffled. But why not? Nurse Natalia opened the nearby cabinet below the heart monitor.
There she saw numerous medical apparatus and her high tax-bracket spirit.
Macho man stood on guard, while Nurse Natalia gave one shot of vodka to her dying patient.
It wasn't one shot, it was the entire bottle.
"Take it easy, Leon, ok?"
Leon took it like a man. "This sh*t good," he uttered. Despite the bitterness and strong alcohol, he genuinely enjoyed it.
Nurse Natalia was glad the boy liked it.
However, the fluorescent light above flickered softly. Nurse Natalia prepared the needle, her hands were visibly trembling.
This is it.
Time to die.
The macho man turned his head away; he couldn't bear to watch a dying kid. "Don't worry, kid, I've heard it's actually peaceful when you're crossing into the afterlife."
Leon let out a weak, breathless laugh at that.
"Sir, I'm gonna die a virgin…" he whispered.
The macho man started bawling his eyes out and Nurse Natalia's eyes widened slightly.
"Leon… I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't worry, kid, I heard the afterlife is full of goth women and all the beautiful blondes in the world. You did great, kid, you did great." The macho man tried to comfort Leon with questionable remarks, and Nurse Natalia turned her head, gazing at the macho man with a stern look. "сука блядь, what are you saying?" At her words, the macho man couldn't take it and left the room.
"I'll be waiting for you outside."
A heaven full of goth women and beautiful blondes, I don't mind dying after all!
Nurse Natalia prepared to inject the needle into the palm of Leon's hand, but she hesitated. Leon then looked at her, without fear and without anger, just pure understanding.
"It's okay, I can take it." he said softly.
There are other kind nurses here in this hospital, along with single mothers and fathers doing their best to provide for their kids. I remember some of them, even orphans, visiting me and trying to play with me.
I'll miss all of them.
Nurse Natalia appeared to be… in a pause, facing this heavy decision; it will give her nightmares in the days to come.
"I can't give you more time, or the life you deserved… I can still wish you another beginning. When you open your eyes again, Leon…" Nurse Natalia's kind words, she hesitated once more as she battled her morals, but ultimately, she knew what to do.
A new beginning? We'll see…
Leon thought about it. If he was given a second chance at life, he dreamed of a place where everything was silent and comfortable, maybe his own bungalow by the seaside, with a beautiful woman by his bed, without worrying about finances or anything else in life.
"Живи, как Шут." Nurse Natalia whispered.
Then she kissed Leon's forehead, and the boy felt the needle press gently in.
"Huh…? Oh…"
Then the world felt strangely distant.
Death… It's strangely peaceful… and painless...
The beeping beside his bed began to slow… then stretch… then fade.
Beep… beep… be—
Silence.
Leon's vision begun to dimmed.
And then—
Nothing.
---
[System Detecting Vital Failure…]
[Condition Met.]
[Dormant System Awakening…]
[ANALYZING DEEPEST DESIRES…]
[RECONSTRUCTION INITIATED…]
[EVOLVING CORPSE…]
[INITIATING THE RED DREAMER…]
---
Something shattered in the dark.
Then—
A system that did not belong to this world spoke inside the void.
[Welcome, Chosen Candidate.]
[You have fulfilled every criterion dictated by Mister W####.]
[System Type: InnKeeper?]
Chapter End.