Fever Dreams

Adam came to on top of his bed with the gaming helmet on his head. You would think he fell asleep while playing. Adam felt sick. He was hot and sweaty. Part of him knew he should be in the middle of the Tengu village, sitting by the fire, as this was where he last remembered being.

On the other hand, he felt like everything that happened in that world was just a dream. Adam looked around and found his room was as he left it a couple of nights before. His clothes on the floor, a half sandwich on top of his desks.

He tried to stand up from his bed, but he failed on the first attempt. He felt awful. His head was killing him, and he still had the feeling of hot spikes growing from his arm to the rest of his body.

"Weird" Adam told himself. He had vivid dreams before. But never this detailed or long-lasting. He assured himself he was back to his old life and tried to forget everything else.

Adam got up on the second attempt and dragged himself out of the room.

"John" he called out. "Are you home?".

John is Adam's brother. They live together, and essentially John was the only family Adam had since he was a small child.

Adam spent almost half an hour calling for John and dragged himself to the house's first floor. He checked the kitchen and living room, he even checked on John's bedroom, but the place was utterly empty.

Being alone in the house was not unusual for Adam. John was young but had to grow up fast to provide for Adam and himself. He was juggling several gig jobs and his studies at the university. That left little time to share with Adam.

"It figures" Adam told himself. "Big dream adventure, and there is no one to tell it to before I forget it. I need to take some medicine."

Adam was still feeling sick. His fever was not going down. He knew that high fevers could cause hallucinations and things like that. He was beginning to hear the Tengu again.

"What a weird dream. I hope I don't get obsessed with it" Adam told himself. "Now, where do we keep the fever pills?"

He had to solve it on his own. Since he was small, he had to fend for himself in these kinds of things, so it was a familiar feeling for Adam. He has been attending an online school, which is not conducive to having friends and meeting people. So, no friends. No daily contact with his brother.

Where else would he get his social interactions of the day?

"I want to connect to the game" said Adam. "This new one is the best yet, and I want to be high in the rankings".

It always made him proud when he sent a screenshot to his brother with him on the first places of the character rankings for his games. He even usually got an answer—kudos or congrats.

Adam wanted to log in and start playing, but he did not felt OK. He heard more and more the low rumblings of a savage village around him, and he still felt like there was something weird going on his arm. It even felt like it had grown past his arm and was now in his chest.

He sat down and tried to remember what to do in case of extreme sickness. Adam was sure his brother had prepared in case this happened. He always had a plan and the correct steps ready to solve any issue. He did not remember.

"Well, I just need to get in contact with John. He will solve everything right away," Adam told himself.

He opened his phone and tried to call his brother's number. There was no dial. The line was dead.

"AAAH. Nothing wants to work now" Adam yelled.

He went back upstairs to his bedroom. He started his computer and tried messaging his brother.

<John>

<I don't feel well. I think I got sick>

<What do I need to do?>

There was no answer.

It seemed the app was down, or there was not a connection on the network.

<John help me> Adam wrote once again.

No answer.

That is until he got a text pop up, not on the computer but directly in his line of sight.

<Adam, wake up>

<You are hallucinating>

<The change is complete>

<We are the system now>