Infinity

Chapter 25: Mechanical Illusion

With white still all that Jake could see, he stood completely still. He couldn't move at all. Then, randomly, he earned the ability to move and walk again. He started walking around, but it seemed that it was just white for miles and miles.

After some time, Jake began to hear a faint sobbing. Jake listened closely to the sound and started walking towards where the sound was coming from. As he walked more and more, it got louder and more hysterical.

Out of nowhere, a flash of light blasted in front of him. He fell over in shock and looked up at where the flash had been. It was a hologram... or a mechanical illusion. It was definitely not real, it was a vision, but it glitched as if it was mechanical in some way. That gave Jake the conclusion of it being a mechanical illusion. And it was Rose. She was the one hysterically crying.

"Rose?" Jake gasped. She couldn't hear him, being only a hologram. She continued to sob in misery with her head buried in her hands and tears seeping in-between her fingers. It took Jake only seconds to realize this was happening as he was watching it. At that very moment, she was in his hospital room crying hysterically in front of his unconscious body.

"It should have been me," Rose sobbed, her head still buried in her hands. Jake's stomach turned. She was blaming herself for his injuries and his coma.

"But it was the Dublekas' fault, not hers," Jake thought. "Why would she blame herself?" Jake sighed as he began to feel guilty for Rose blaming herself for his injuries.

"Rose, if only you knew that nobody blames you," Jake sighed. "All I see is a broken-hearted soul now in this mechanical illusion." Jake tried to walk away from the hologram, but it would appear again. It kept on popping up in front of him... until the miles of white turned into the hologram of Rose's hysterical sobbing.

Jake sat down and thought about the emotions Rose was having. He tried to think of ways to make her feel less guilty about his injuries and his coma. But... that was hard since anything he did or said was locked away in his conscience.

"What do I have to do to make you feel better?" Jake whispered. Then, before he knew it, his dream went dark and his body went numb. He waited a minute, very confused about what was going on. He opened his eyes slowly after.

He felt immediate pain when he turned his head. He felt even more when he reacted to the pain by putting his arms on where the pain in his head was. Jake then realized... he was lying in a hospital bed. He was in a hospital. There were bandages covering his body, and there was a large on on his head. Rose was sitting right next to him, also covered in bandages, and in a wheelchair, crying. He was back in reality.

"Oh my gosh... Jake," Rose cried when she looked up and saw him. She hugged him tightly and bawled even more than before. Jake hugged her back, even though he was in a lot of pain from trying to hug her. Shortly after, doctors came rushing in. They drew his blood and gave him multiple evaluations at a time. It lasted for a solid ten minutes.

After all of the tests were taken care of, Jake and Rose were alone in the hospital room. Jake started noticing the bandages covering Rose's face, arms, and legs. He was upset seeing her that way, injured and hurt. She caught him staring at them intently as they were hugging once again.

"They're not that bad," Rose whispered.

"But they look like they hurt," Jake sighed.

"They do, but not as much as yours must," Rose admitted. She was right; Jake was in some of the worst pain in his life.

"Yeah..." Jake sighed. He was starting to get an intense migraine. "You're in a wheelchair. Are you paralyzed?"

"No, but I was restrained to bed rest," Rose answered. "My doctor was being mean and wouldn't let me stay with you. He threatened to take you off life support, which would have killed you. Luckily, his boss fired him and let me stay here with you."

"So... so you stayed here, with me, while I was in my coma?" Jake asked. Rose nodded and added, "Day and night."

"Thanks," Jake muttered, feeling appreciated. He blushed and stared at the floor. Rose blushed back.

"We promised each other that we'd stick together no matter what, right?" Rose reminded Jake. He smiled and nodded.

"I have a question..." Rose sighed. Jake was silent, waiting for her question. "What... what's our plan now? What do we do now?"

"Our plan?" Jake asked with a laugh. "We rest. Obviously, we'd die if we were to try and fight the Dublekas now." Rose nodded and stared at the floor. "But after, we're going to search through every open door possible to end this war with the Dublekas. We will reset the evolution of the world to a new one. When we rest, we'll be stronger than ever. Then we'll finally get justice for the world and finish this once and for all."

"Wow, what gave you the motivation to think of that plan?" Rose asked with a small laugh.

"Just some friends and family members that died from the Dublekas," Jake answered with a large sigh. Rose stared at the floor again. "But their deaths have driven me to accept no more deaths from the Dublekas. They sacrificed their lives to be my motivation to save billions of other people in the world." Rose nodded and smiled.

"I'm so tired," Rose realized, yawning. Jake scooted over on his bed and made room for Rose. She sat in Jake's bed next to him as they both fell asleep.