Virtually Innocent

Try Again

Anthony always hears Nurse Harper when she comes in to do her vitals checks and rotations. The first time she came in, Anthony told her that something was wrong with the virtual environment and that nothing had populated. Diligent as she is, the report of an issue was submitted in a timely fashion. However, when she returned the next time, nothing was changed and Anthony still wandered around in his virtual limbo with nothing in sight to differentiate up from down, left from right.

After the first week or so, Anthony stops bothering to report the issue. Nothing changes. Nothing gets fixed and he's just left wandering around, creating his own pastimes and entertainment. Anthony can't actually prove when its morning and when its evening, but he uses the strength of Nurse Harper's perfume as a measure. It's always stronger at the start of her shift than at the end, and he knows that she's the primary nurse making her a daytime staff. The overnight nurse only comes in once to record his vitals and then leaves without saying a word. Unlike Nurse Harper, she doesn't talk to him to explain what she's looking at to him. Anthony doesn't care for her, but only because she doesn't seem to care for him either. They're both just existing in the same space.

In knowing that Nurse Harper has strong perfume when she comes in for her first round in the morning, Anthony uses this as his reminder to 'start' his daytime routine. He practices sprints with his eyes, tracking how many steps he takes before he trips up, or see how long he can go before his facial muscles start to weaken. Once he is forced to take a break, he reminds himself how to make choices, should they ever reappear. If he grows mentally tired of reviewing the user interface, he'll hum some of his favorite songs or simply close his eyes and reimagine his favorite movies and shows. It doesn't fill the whole day, obviously, so when his facial muscles feel rested, he'll keep exploring the expansive nothingness in hopes of finding the boundary.

He knows it can't be endless. Anthony has enjoyed enough video games in his life to know that even the most open-world concepts have invisible walls to stop the player's progression. It doesn't matter if the world is still rendering beyond that point, there's no way to get there. Well, unless the game is bugged. If Anthony keeps pushing hard enough, eventually something will have to trigger. That's his hypothesis, anyway. By the time Nurse Harper's afternoon shifts come, Anthony is ready for another break. She always offers him a drink of water, so his mouth doesn't dry out, but if he's really lucky, she'll bring a juice pouch or a chocolate milk box. Even though he doesn't have anything meaningful to share, he enjoys Nurse Harper's company and chattering. It breaks the monotony of the day, which is the relief that he needs to keep his sanity as the weeks keep coming and going - one blink at a time.

There comes a day when Nurse Harper isn't wearing perfume, though, and she's very quiet. She doesn't make as much small talk as usual. Anthony isn't sure if he should try to fill the silence himself or not, and he sits on the idea of it until her evening checks, right before she leaves.

"You seem kind of sad today?" Anthony remarks as clearly as he can manage, struggling to gauge his own volume after always sitting in so much silence.

Nurse Harper doesn't respond, initially, and Anthony assumes it's because he's overstepped. Talking to her unprompted must've crossed a line. He doesn't press her for an answer and simply waits for the inevitable door shutting that follows her visits. Just as he was finding that comfort in the quiet again, she answers.

Through sniffles, "I am sad today. My granddad passed away in his sleep last night and my brother told me about it this morning on my way to work in a text."

"I'm so sorry for your loss," his condolences come softly, with genuine hurt in his heart. There will be people he loves that die on the outside, and he'll find out from a staff, if he finds out at all. It's a terrible situation to be in, regardless of how free a person is, and his heart does break for her. "Will you be taking time off?"