Off Limit System

Ethan opened his eyes and realized that he was back in the ward. He sighed softly, it was very painful to be slapped by reality. Before his return, Ethan had been so worried about Miriam's condition. Shouldn't he worry about himself?

The young man felt the need to take a leak and got out of bed. Ethan stepped into the bathroom until he realized he was turning the doorknob. He was walking without feeling dizzy or his body shaking. Normally, he would have to push the button to get a nurse to help him into the toilet.

The door opened, and the nurse was stunned to see Ethan's figure about to enter the bathroom.

"What are you doing, Ethan? You're going to fall and faint," the nurse said, quickly grabbing Ethan's waist. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I just..."

Ethan didn't know what to say. But he didn't feel any of the usual symptoms he felt every day.

"Come on, I'll take you to the toilet."

"I can do it myself, Susan."

"Ethan, please!"

The young man gave up and allowed Susan-the nurse-to walk him to the bathroom. When he was finished, Susan carried Ethan to bed and, as usual, checked on the young man's condition.

"You've been asleep a long time," Susan said. "I'm worried about you, so I'll ask Dr. Ross to examine you as soon as possible. Maybe tomorrow morning," she continued.

"I'm fine, Susan."

Susan nodded. "I know. Just to make sure."

It was the policy of all the nurses there to always say the patient was "fine" so as not to increase the stress level. Despite the reality in front of them, all the patients there were just waiting for death to come.

One or two might survive. Ethan's case? It seemed impossible.

"You know, you have a new friend tomorrow," Susan said. "A patient is being transferred from another hospital. I hope you can be good friends."

Ethan just shrugged. "I don't know."

Susan's hand pointed to the console game lying next to Ethan. "Want to play that? Shall I give you a snack as a small reward?"

Ethan shook his head quickly. "Later. I don't feel like playing."

Susan picked up the console game and looked at it. "What year is this game? There are more sophisticated games on cell phones."

The nurse suddenly turned on the game and Ethan gasped in surprise. Just as Ethan was about to grab it from Susan's hand, the game's bad music started playing. Susan laughed, then sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Gee, old game," she said. "Hey, is it okay if I play this for five minutes?"

Though surprised, Ethan simply said yes. "Yeah, of course."

"That's funny, there's a story to this game. I want to see it," Susan said with a little laugh.

"What's the story?"

"You don't know?"

"I-I skipped it," Ethan pretended.

"It's in text form. You want me to read it?"

Ethan nodded. Of course, he needed information about OFF LIMIT. He didn't know anything about it. Maybe there was a clue in the game which seemed normal to Susan.

Susan began her story, explaining, "It says something like, 'The Vetiti appeared on Earth and hosted a game. It's a very dangerous game, but it gives amazing prizes to the winners. In fact, this game can give life to those who want it.

"Win every level and become a champion. But remember, you only get three chances to survive. If you don't? Then death awaits you," Susan concluded.

"Is that serious?"

"It sounds like a threat to an eight-year-old," Susan replied lightly.

Ethan laughed quietly. Meanwhile, Susan turned off the console and put it on the nightstand.

"I'll play it next time," Susan said.

"Yeah, you can come over anytime."

"Okay, I'm going out. Do you need anything?"

"Chips sound good."

Susan nodded. "Yeah, I'll get them for you."

...

Few hours later,

Ethan couldn't sleep all night. The reason was obvious: OFF LIMIT.

There were too many secrets and things Ethan had yet to solve, even though it was only a game. But was that really all it was? Susan's description of The Vetiti made Ethan's hair stand on end.

OFF LIMIT was like a demonic circle, but it drew everyone back. Whether they had to or not. Even Ethan tried to stay out of the game, forcing himself to rest. Unfortunately, he got insomnia instead.

That morning, Ethan's body felt tired. He yawned many times because he could only close his eyes in the early morning. After breakfast and feeling bored looking at the same view from the windowsill, Ethan decided to sleep.

The bedroom door opened just as Ethan was closing his eyes. He thought it was Dr. Ross, but there was the sound of a wheelchair coming into the room. Ethan's eyes opened slightly, and he noticed the patient coming in. He saw a middle-aged man, either in his early or late fifties, but he looked so tired. Behind the man, Susan pushed a chair, followed by a relative.

It didn't seem like Ethan would be good friends with an old man. They were from different generations.

"Ethan? Are you asleep?" called Susan.

Pretending to be asleep in front of Susan was an act of futility. Ethan cleared his throat and sat up, then shook his head.

"No," Ethan replied.

"This is Mr. Montgomerry, your roommate," Susan said. Then she turned to the older man in the wheelchair. "This is Ethan, our most handsome and favorite patient here."

"Jeez, Susan," Ethan sighed.

"Albert Montgomerry," Albert nodded to Ethan. "You really are handsome."

Ethan was really awkward, he just chuckled. "Nice to meet you, sir."

"Yeah, so am I," Albert replied.

Realizing that someone was watching, Ethan glanced at the relative who had been standing outside the bathroom door after he had entered. The girl looked familiar, even though she was wearing a hoodie that covered her head. Their eyes finally met.

Very familiar.

Albert's relatives gasped in surprise. So did Ethan.

"Chloe?" Ethan hissed in disbelief.

"Ethan?"

The atmosphere became completely awkward. Ethan didn't know what to say, especially when Chloe found out about his true condition.

"You two know each other?" Susan said as she helped Albert onto the bed. "This is a nice surprise, isn't it?"

"Sort of," Ethan replied with a swallow.

"So where do you know each other from?" Albert asked. "Chloe doesn't have any friends here, as far as I know. Isn't that right, Pumpkin?"

Chloe and Ethan looked at each other. They didn't know what to say.