2 :
New York Presbyterian Hospital, 08/02/2012, 01:05.
"... And finally this is our long term resident Nathaniel Lyndon!" Said a middle aged nurse called Nancy Dejet to a twenty something years old intern, a finger pointing to the bed in front of her.
The two women approached the bed while the experienced nurse took the file of the patient beside the door and handed it over to her new colleague.
"What happened to him?" asked the intern, Melanie Gams, too focused on the young boy in front of her to look at the file.
The nurse sighed bitterly and sadness filled her eyes.
"Drunk driver. He was walking with his mother on the street, She looked at something for two seconds and then she heard a horn blaring and a car hitting something. When she turned around she saw her son bleeding and unmoving on the ground. Not far away a woman was kneeling on the ground with her 10 month old daughter in her crib." She said patting the hair of the young boy on the bed affectionately.
"My god…" said the young woman with her hand in front of her mouth.
"Yes, he threw himself in front of the car to push the woman and her baby out of it. He was only twelve at the time".
Opening the file, the intern starts reading the record.
"Broken ribs… shoulder dislocated… cranial hemorrhage … 4 years of coma without any sign of cerebral activity… Why did they keep him…" the intern starts asking before being interrupted by her colleague.
"Because they believe as long as there is life there is hope, and as long as his heart keeps beating, he will come back." Said the nurse in a neutral tone but with severe eyes.
"Did you know him or the family prior to the incident?" Said the intern, trying to change the subject.
"No I did not, but I was there when he was admitted. I was on rotation in the emergency department at that time."
"It's a pity, he looks kinda cute"
He really was. Silky blond hair, thin eyebrows, an aquiline nose and even his slightly sunken cheek couldn't hide the fact that he would be handsome if he was allowed to grow in the future. Which in his actual state, was a bet that no one would make.
*****
While the two women were talking, a scene completely different was taking place a foot away from them but it could as well have been a million miles away. Nathaniel was there, in the form of a pure untainted white ball. That ball was representing everything Nathaniel was, everything he knew and everything he ever experienced. In that ball was everything that was making Nathaniel a person, that was making him a human being. His accomplishments, his faults, his feelings, his qualities and of course, his default.
What Nathaniel never knew on the other hand was that he was trapped inside his own mind. He had tried an incalculable number of times to break his chain and to get free, to escape that endless darkness and to come back with his family but everything he tried failed. He didn't even know for how long he was trapped here. It could have been hours since that accident or eons, he had no way to know but he knew one thing. He was tired. Tired of trying and tired of failing. Most people would have already stopped fighting and let themselves go to another plane of existence but not Nathaniel. He had fought and tried more than anyone ever before in human history but sadly he didn't know that and his will to live was starting to weaken.
He was missing his parents, he was missing his family. He never had many friends or any friends for that matter like other youngsters have. He was always different from kids his age, far smarter too, which made it difficult for him to connect with people that he viewed as being too childish despite the fact they had the same age. An odd thing to hear from a twelve year old kid at the time but that was the truth. He didn't like to run around or play silly games and fun video games. The only games that could keep his attention for some time were games of strategy. Age Of Empires2 was one of his favorite games even if it was limited in the way he could organize his civilization and a little too warlike for his taste.
The first thing that he was the most interested in was books. In all of his childhood and since the moment he learned to read at five years old, you could hardly find a moment when he wasn't reading or with a book near him. At a young age, he already had a curiosity and a will to learn that was simply incredible. No subject was left untouched as he was devouring everything that fell into his hand. His most favorite subjects were history, language and music.
Music was the second thing that he was the most passionate about. That wasn't very surprising since his mother was a talented guitar instrumentalist and he was basically born into it. Which made it extremely funny considering the fact that Nathaniel disliked the guitar. He knew how to play it as his mother insisted on doing but was preferring the piano and the violin. He always found the guitar was somewhat lacking in comparison to the piano, that the sound was less refined and less versatile. An opinion that unsurprisingly sparked many arguments over the years between the mother and son.
This was at this moment that something started to happen around him. It was like the universe around him was starting to vibrate at an extremely high frequency. Nathaniel was starting to feel it, around him for the first since the moment he arrived here, he was experiencing pressure, something was starting to happenned. He knew that it was the occasion he was hoping for and so he did not hesitate. Gathering all of his strength, his light seemed to expand around him and for the first time ever, he managed to move and with that movement, everything around him seemed to explode.
*****
*BIP... BIP... BIP...*
The two women who were still beside his bed stopped their conversation and stared in disbelief at the heart monitor.
"Something is happening! His BP is rising! Check the electrodes!" Said Nancy while resetting the heart monitor. The intern removed the blanket and got to work.
"Electrodes are good." She answered.
"Heart Monitor too, his BP is still rising. We need the doctor on call, now!"
*****
Seeing the darkness around him fading, Nathaniel wanted to shoot his joy about being free to the world but something wasn't feeling right. The pressure around him was still rising and he was starting to feel a sense of foreboding coming his way. Looking around him, he finally spotted what the origin of that sense of doom was. A ball of light similar to himself was coming his way.
The similarity between them was stopping at their shape because where Nathaniel was all white, the other ball was totally crimson. Their feeling they were exuding was also completely different. Where Nathaniel was calm and soothing, the other ball was exuding blood and killing. That's when Nathaniel realized something. That ball hadn't come to save him like he thought naively at first.
"That ball is trying to take over my body!"
Gathering all of his strength once again, Nathaniel braced himself for the impact he was sure was coming. He was quickly proved wrong when the mysterious ball stopped just before hitting him.
*****
While the nurse and the intern outside were working hastily to control his vitals, suddenly the light in the room started to flicker and one of the monitors shut down.
"No please, not now! Not a power failure now!" Judith exclaimed in distress.
*****
"WHO ARE YOU? AND WHY DO YOU WANT TO TAKE MY BODY?" Yelled Nathaniel at the crimson ball.
Nathaniel could only think about the unfairness of the situation. The moment that he finally escaped his jail, someone magically appeared and wanted to take what was rightfully his. He could only look at the ball curiously, that was then that he instinctively knew that this ball was a man and there seemed to be a strange link between them. Which was surprising, especially considering they were so different.
"What the hell are you talking about kid!? I don't even know what you are talking about for Christ sake!" The crimson ball angrily replied.
"So, you are not here to take my body? Really?" Nathaniel asked, his anger diminishing.
"Of course not!"
"Oh, all good then. My name is Nathaniel, what is yours?" Nathaniel asks in a timide voice.
"Marc and for Christ sake kid don't be that guileless. I could lie just to steal your body!" Marc exclaimed fiercely.
