Rewind: A Grimdark LitRPG Series (Pyresouls Apocalypse, Book 1) by James Callum (reading tree .txt) 📕

ready for the last two Graceful Penitents that would come falling from the dark rafters above.

He thought it was an ancient dining hall since it had a large rotted table in the middle. Though why somebody would build that inside of a bridge – even one as startlingly massive as the Steps of Penance – was beyond him.

Just as he saw the creatures fall, darker shadows against the black abyss above, Jacob felt a terrible wrenching feeling behind his navel. He jerked back as if somebody lassoed him with a rope and was giving him a sturdy yank backward.

Everything tasted like blue raspberry for a second and it took him another few seconds to wrap his mind around what was happening. That strange sensation was a common byproduct of FIVR technology, upon connection and disconnection some users experienced nonsensical sensations.

Largely harmless, but jarring all the same.

May 7th, 2045 – 10 Years Post-Collapse.

“Alec, hold him down,” Alice said. “He is seizing.”

No, I’m not, Jacob tried to say but found his jaw unresponsive.

“Ian, give me the levetiracetam!”

Jacob winced, though his body wasn’t responding to him, expecting the sting of a needle. He hated needles. In a world where zombies were real and monsters stalked the dying land, he still hated needles.

Slowly, Jacob found himself back in control of his body. His eyes fluttered open and sensation came back to him. And what he felt was a wave of pain. He could tell he wasn’t injured but every one of his muscles was wrung out as if he overworked himself with intensive all-day training.

“Good, he is coming around,” Alice’s face appeared above Jacob. “Bonjour!” she said with forced enthusiasm. “How do you feel, Jacob? Can you sit up for me?”

Struggling to breathe, in a body that no longer felt like his own, Jacob did as she asked and slowly – so very slowly – sat up. The glass half of the FIVR pod was already opened but he only realized that after he sat up. He would have conked his head like a moron without ever noticing.

“Hey, man, how’re you doing?” Alec asked, clapping him on the shoulder.

Jacob felt a small tug on the inside of his elbow and his green eyes were drawn down to the small IV taped there. Of course, he had no reason to worry about needles. He already had one jammed into his arm. They weren’t about to poke him again when they could just inject into the IV.

As if suddenly realizing Alec spoke to him, he looked up at his friend’s smiling face. “I feel like crap.”

“Well you were thrashing around like a madman,” Alec said, trying to downplay things.

He wasn’t a very good liar. Perhaps that was why he liked the man so much. He rarely lied and when he did it was usually for a good reason, but it was so painfully evident that Jacob couldn’t hold it against him for long.

“Yes, yes, now tell us everything,” the Doc said, brushing aside Alec and leaning down to inspect Jacob intently. She flashed a small penlight into his eyes, looked into his mouth, his ears, and up his nose with a small black tool. Finally, she straightened and nodded. “So, out with it. Did it work?”

The question made no sense. “What do you mean, ‘did it work?’ How don’t you know?”

“It was pretty scary from this end, dude,” Alec said, hopping up and sitting at the foot of the FIVR’s bed. “As soon as you went under, the Doc said your brain lit up like a Christmas tree and then you started to have a grand mal seizure. We brought you back immediately. You’ve only been gone – to us – about ten minutes.”

“Whatever happened to putting me in for an hour?” Jacob asked, starting to feel a bit more in control.

The familiar cold sensation of being without a Pyre settled into his bones. All he wanted at that moment was a Pyre to rest at and to have some idle conversation with the Fire Oppa that would wash away all his pains and aches.

“As Alec has said,” Alice put in, straightening her white coat, “you began to seize shortly into the process. A calibration error, nothing more. You could have ridden it out but Ian-” She turned to glare at the aging doctor. “He thought it would endanger your health, so we shut down the machine and brought you out early.”

Rubbing his head, Jacob nodded to show his understanding.

“If you have had enough of abusing my patient, I would like to examine him for myself,” Ian said.

He was a tall man with swept-back black hair that was graying at the sides. Ian was one of those people that aged well, despite the horrors of the world he only looked more refined and handsome as the years went on.

The doctor, one of the two resident physicians in their refugee group, shooed out anybody still left in the room and shut the door with a loud bang. He turned back to Jacob with a fatherly smile.

As always, Jacob’s eyes immediately latched onto the man’s upper lip. The only thing that detracted from his looks was that ridiculous pencil mustache he insisted on wearing.

“Now, tell me truthfully. How are you feeling Jacob?” Ian placed a hand on his shoulder and looked him straight in the eye.

“I feel like somebody ran me over, realized I was still alive, and then backed up over me again with a truck.”

The doctor chuckled. “Seizures can do that, but you don’t seem to have suffered any long-term damage. You didn’t bite your tongue off, or crack your head thankfully. Though that would be hard to do inside one of these chambers, wouldn’t it?” He pressed against the pillowy soft gel padding.

“Aside from that, you feel okay? Do you know what year it is?” Ian said, his soft brown eyes fastened to Jacob’s green.

It took him more time than it should have to say, “Twenty forty-five.”

Ian patted his shoulder with a broad