Game Boy

30 - Offline

"Genesis...Exodus...Levitic--"

The memory of reciting those words was all Kenneth could remember before the anesthesia had pulled him under. That and the cold discomfort of the nurse's hand on his shoulder.

Kenneth blinked and looked over at his shoulder. The nurse wasn't there. He could still sense people, though. His eyes lifted and he squinted, inhaling quietly through the oxygen mask. His chest was...sore, but nothing burned. He put his hand over his heart and inhaled softly again, eyes staring at the stranger in front of him.

Who? I can breathe...why are there so many people? Am I in a game...dreaming? His eyes scanned the room. It was a hospital room. White lights. Real people. The VR headset he saw still securely locked up in its dock. Not a game. 

Kenneth finished his scan of the place. His mother was there, standing near the other side of the bed. He started to recoil before realizing she wasn't touching him. She wasn't alone, though. A couple of teens--Kenneth assumed they were around his age--and a younger man with a woman who appeared to be his wife also stood in the room, and back by the door he thought he spotted some older couples.

This isn't my family...who are they? His chest tightened and Kenneth dug his fingers into the fabric of his hospital gown, his breathing getting short. A slight beep reminded him of that and he swallowed, gulping down the pressurized air again. It tasted cold, but he could feel it reaching his lungs. He was breathing. In and out, painlessly. 

He inhaled again and exhaled, feeling the air rush into his lungs. His eyes widened slightly and he held his breath, counting to ten. No pain came to stab him in the side other than the dull throb leftover from the surgery. The tubes and respirators remained in place, but he no longer heard the dull wheeze of his own breath as he inhaled and exhaled. I can breathe. His lips wavered into a thin smile, barely holding back the joy that he could feel brimming up inside of him. 

The person beside him shifted closer. Kenneth jumped and the joy sank back down into his stomach as his head snapped up and he hazily blinked at the almost familiar man standing in front of him. 

"Hey, he looks a little nervous, back up some." The woman beside the man standing at the right of the bed pulled him back, whispering. Kenneth's eyes snapped to them. He looked up and squinted again.

Daniel. The name came to mind after a second and his eyes widened. Recognition of the youth minister brought a wave of relief that washed over him and Kenneth relaxed back again.  He watched the man's gentle eyes as he stayed where he was.

"Hey, how do you feel?" the youth minister asked after Kenneth's gaze had lingered a moment. 

Opening his mouth, Kenneth inhaled deeply. He felt his chest constrict and expand, air filling his lungs. Fresh air, unrestricted air. Lungs that didn't feel frail or sickened inside of his chest. Lungs that expanded of their own free will. He smiled thinly. "B-Better," he said, his voice still thin. "Why are y-you...here?"

Daniel chuckled. "Oh right, we didn't tell you. Well, I kinda let the church know we were going in for an operation today, and my wife," he patted the shoulder of the woman beside him, "the youth group, and several others insisted on coming to see you after you got out." He looked around the room and then rubbed at the back of his head. "Sorry Byrd isn't here, she's still coming back into town."

Kenneth looked around the room. His smile grew bit by bit as he shyly glanced at each face and nodded to the kids and people standing there. He got a few waves and grins in return. One of the younger girls told him hi and inched a little closer. Kenneth's eyes landed on his mother last, and he looked up at her. Her lips thinned.