Plant Boy

Chapter 1 - Awoken

     My eyes seemed to open for the very first time as I walked through a tunnel. The lights weren't too bright nor too dim. The occasional whisper seemed to sound as I continued to walk.
     My eyes didn't require me to blink neither did my lungs need oxygen. All tiny aches, itches and pains seemed to have never existed.
     I extended my arms out to the faded area around me. My fingers hit nothing but smooth, motionless air.
     "Hello", said a faint whisper. All other whispers up until this one had been so distant and unrecognizable. This one seemed to top the rest. The voice sounded like neither male or female. Neither angry or calm. It was just meaning put into the air.
     "You don't belong here", It said.
     I tried to speak but no words came out. What was wrong with me? Suddenly fear shot through my veins as feeling started coming back. My world around me shattered like glass hit by a hammer.
     Blurry light was hitting my eyes and coughs escaped my mouth frantically. My breaths were quick as lightning when I wasn't hacking. After a while of hacking and numbness, ache settled in my limbs as my sight slowly came to. I was laying on a comfortable white mattress. Doctors surround my bed. Something sharp was in my arm pumping a blue-green liquid into my veins.
     "Nine", a doctor to my right called. "Can you hear me?"
     It took me a moment to process his words. Once it came clear in my mind I nodded weakly.
     The doctor who had spoke looked in my eyes. His blue eyes pierced through me. His hair was gray and he had a light blue thing covering his mouth.
     "These doctors saved you Nine", the doctor said calmly.
     I emitted a small cough. I thought for a hard moment scrambling meaning into words.
     "What?" I asked weakly.
     "Nine", the doctor said softly. "You lived in a simulated environment meant to keep you comfortable, to keep you alive. There has been major power outage and it shut down."
     I was still confused. Even if I wasn't in this state it would be hard to comprehend. A second doctor stepped up
     "Look, I know this is all hard to take in. Get some rest", the second doctor told me. "We are going back to the simulation in the morning."
     "Wait", I coughed. All the doctors stared at me more intently as I spoke.
     "Was everything in that world fake?" I asked. The first doctor smiled and patted my head. "Get some rest", he urged.
     Rage seared through me. "Was everything fake?" I asked again. It took more to speak loudly, but it seemed worth it to try.
     The first doctor frowned and nodded to the rest. Just like that the other doctors left the room. The remaining doctor turned to something out of sight for me. Something clicked and rage turned to panic as the blue liquid being pumped into my arms turned black. I moved as much as I could to get out of the bed.
     "Help!" I yelled as loud as I could. It wasn't as loud as I hoped. The doctor held down both my arms as the black liquid came into my veins.
     "Nine!" The doctor called. "You aren't in danger."
     Suddenly my eyes felt all droopy from sudden tiredness. My bed felt really comfortable. The urge to fight died as my eyes closed and my head fell onto my pillow. The last thing I recalled was the doctor letting go of me and then footsteps leaving the room. The final sound I heard that night was the slam of a door.

     My eyes fluttered open slowly. I was laying flat on my back looking up at a light gray ceiling. The room was now lit up by natural light coming from the window at the right end of the room. I felt the silky soft sheets under me with my palms. My fingers felt the unfamiliar fabrics and textures for truly the first time. I took a couple deep breaths, relaxing, as the skin on my hands absorbed whatever sunlight they could. The light seemed much different than it had at home. It felt more rich, more natural. At the same time this natural light seemed so unnaturally precious, almost as if it was pure gold from a mine.
     I sat up ever-so-slowly and felt the dull ache in my back and midsection. A small pricking sensation came from my upper left arm. Slowly, I had brushed my right hand over the area on my arm. The same sharp thing was in my arm pumping in blue fluids from a machine. I tugged at it softly seeing if it would come out and flinched when the effort only made it more uncomfortable.
     I heard the soft creak from the left side of the room. My attention darted to the door as it opened. The same doctor from yesterday stepped in calmly. I still remembered his scream from yesterday before I fell asleep against my will. I wasn't in danger. Was I?
     He walked to the side of my bed silently after he closed the door behind him. The doctor was heavy enough to make the stool go a full foot down after sitting on it.
     He pulled up multiple pieces of paper. After looking at the black text printed onto them he looked up.
     "Partial Human Experiment Nine", The doctor remarked. "The single human in this world who has plant DNA and has not died past age two." The doctor stuck out his hand in front of me. "We started off on the wrong foot yesterday. It is an honor to meet quite a celebrity."
     I looked down at his hand in front of me, confused to what he was doing. I shooed his hand away gently with my hand. The doctor chucked a bit and shook his head. From adults doing this I would usually be enraged. This time I had no reason to be mad. Did I?
     "I recall you weren't raised like the rest of us", He continued. "This is called a handshake. You shake my hand and I shake your's as a symbol of respect."
      I looked down at his hand again. I didn't respect him at all. The only thing that was true was that I wasn't like "the rest of them."
     After a moment of stillness the doctor sighed and backed his hand away. He wasn't about to earn my respect after last night. Even with my slight rage and a bad feeling in my gut, my monotone expression remained unchanged. The calmer I seemed the less trouble people gave. That's usually how people work right?
     The doctor looked down to something next to me. Whatever it was I couldn't see it, metal on the side of my bed blocked my view. The metal figure appeared to be a sort of rail to grab on to.
     "You seem normal", the doctor remarked.
     "What?" I asked. It was the first time I ever heard that one. I'm quite the opposite of normal.
     "You sound offended", the doctor claimed. "Is there anything wrong with having good health?"
     "Okay then", I blinked somewhat embarrassed of my mistake. "And how do you know?"
     "You will be brought back home in an home in an hour", the doctor told me, completely ignoring the question. The doctor gathered up his papers and proceeded to leave the room. The door shut behind him.
     I wondered at this moment if my reality in this so called "simulation" was real. These thoughts trailed back to my one and only friend, my favorite tree. Was it fake too? Was everything in my life just a sick lie?
     I sniffled as a tear started to come out of my eye. My mucsles relaxed as I flopped back onto the bed. For once in my life I had let my tears drop on a different surface than bark. I eventually turned my pillow over so I wouldn't be laying my head in a puddle of my own tears.
     The door creeked open and I jumped. My muscles tightened as I saw yet another white labcoat. Only this time it was the doctor who fed me. I tried to brush away the tears from my face as quick as I could. Upon moving my arm the needle got jostled around. I emmited a painful groan from it.
     "Nine", the doctor said softly. I froze. The sound came from the side of my bed. I didn't even dare look at her to risk her seeing the tears.
     "Let me get that out for you", she spoke. The moment she touched my arm I jerked it away causing more pain.
     "Nine", she said again. "Keep still. I promise it wont hurt anymore after."
     "Why should I trust you?" I said, trying to control my voice. Instead, I ended up sounding like a child as I sobbed. "Everyone just lies to me anyway."
     The doctor looked down and sighed. Her eyes darkened where the light couldn't hit. Within a moments notice, her hand gripped the neddle. My heart almost leaped out of my chest when she yanked it out. A small amount of red liquid leaked from the spot the needle had once been.
     "You said it wouldn't hurt", I breathed as the pain got worse for a moment.
     The doctor pulled something out of her pocket and stuck it onto my small wound. It was nealy my skin color so it was hard to notice.  Yet I could still see a tiny blotch of blood clustering under it.
      "What is this?" I asked. As I spoke, my arm steadily hurt less and less.
     The doctor gave a smile. The same one that doctors would give before they gave you the bad news. It was so obviously fake and yet she still did it anyway.
     "That is a band aid Nine. It will stop your bleeding soon enough", she told me with her fake smile still on her face.
     A thought occured as I let my sight trail back to my band aid. If she didn't lie about the pain going away...
     "Was everything fake?" I asked softly. I looked back at the doctors face. Her fake smile turned to a small frown. The expression, as I could tell, was genuine.
     "What do you mean?" She asked softly.
     "The simulation", I explained. "Was it fake?"
     She glued the smile back on her face. "It's as real as you want it to be. Your world is what you make it", she explained.
     "So is that a yes?" I asked. I never asked for an excuse. I wanted an answer.
     Once again her smile faded. "A team of really smart inventors made an enviorment to best suit your needs. It-", I cut the doctor off when I asked again, "Is that simulation fake?"
     The doctor sighed softly and nodded. "It was created to keep you happy. To keep you alive. The real world is too harsh on your skin."
     Silence stayed upon my lips. A tear slipped out of my eye when I finally got my answer. The doctor couldn't have said it better if she admitted, "Yes Nine, your whole life as you knew it had been a lie."