Chapter 38: Surrounded?
Damon chatted with Mark for a bit, mainly about Earth Online. The guy simply couldn’t believe that a video game would be so lucrative. Damon could only inwardly smile at the thought of the truth. Money was not even the best thing the game gave.
Mark did not feel comfortable leaving Kate alone for too long, so the two of them ended their conversation pretty quickly. Damon waved him goodbye, saying he would visit tomorrow during the daytime visiting hours.
Mark nodded, clearly grateful but too exhausted to put it into words. He gave Damon a brief, tired smile before heading back down the corridor. Damon watched him disappear past the restricted ward doors, then turned on his heel and stepped outside into the night.
The chill hit him immediately, but it was bracing in a good way—like cold steel sharpening his thoughts. He took a slow breath, the hospital’s fluorescent light fading behind him as he blended back into the dark of the city.
Money wasn’t the best thing Earth Online had given him—power wasn’t either. What it gave him was control. In a world where reality constantly pulled the rug out from under people like Mark and Kate, Damon finally had a say in what happened next. And he wasn’t planning on wasting that.
He tugged his hoodie tighter around him, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and walked toward the nearest bus stop. It was time to get back to the game. The hospital visit was a bust, but he at least made sure that if he drank enough blood, he could wake up from the game normally and not be bloodthirsty.
Now the question was how long would he remain satiated?
For that, he did not have to spend his time outside of the game. These first few days were very critical, and he did not want to waste any of them. He sat on the bus silently, thinking about many things.
Obviously, the idea of using his blood to heal Kate’s illness crossed his mind, but he did not want to rush into any hasty decisions. Maybe Kate did not need that. Maybe she just had a complex procedure for which they needed money, and that was all there was to it.