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Jim descended the staircase as if it was about to break. He crept slowly down, wary of his surroundings. Gingerly stepping from one plank to the next, he scanned his location. His first thought was of a hallucination. Specifically, the one he was in now. 'Obviously, I am in a hospital' he reasoned. 'So it's entirely possible that this scenario is just a figment of my drugged mind. I've had some kind of an accident, and I'm pumped full of who know what. None of this is real.' He now stood at the bottom of the stairs, half expecting to close his eyes, and awaken in a trauma ward, or an operating wing. After a few seconds had gone by, Jim open his eyes, and started to walk again.
'Well, let's examine the facts, shall we?' Upon finding the hospital's cafeteria, Jim had proceeded to prepare himself a tasty, if not entirely healthy, meal of Jello, Toblerone, and Orangina. There he now sat, eating and thinking aloud. 'Fact one; Either this is a very long (and very scrumptious) drug-induced illusion, or I really am in the biggest hospital in Manchester. Fact two; I am the only person here'. Jim mused the over the facts while finishing off the final triangle of Toblerone. 'Fact three; I talk to myself much too often'. With a smirk, Jim tossed the wrapper in the rubbish bin and headed out of the hospital and onto the streets of a London.
'Holy shit'. Jim stood agape, staring at the streets of the once bustling city. Overturned cars littered the streets and small fires raged every few yards. 'Shit, shit, shit. No way. No bloody way. This can't, this isn't.' Trailing off, he continued to stare at the carnage. Still in shock, Jim walked down the narrow walkway of the hospital and out onto the deserted thoroughfare, yelling as he navigated the labyrinthine streets. 'Hello? Can anybody hear me?' His shouts echoed off the city walls, but remained unanswered. Suddenly, Jim felt an overwhelming sense of panic. He frantically searched the block for anyone who could hear him, sprinting across vacant streets and through abandoned tunnels. Finally, he collapsed outside a metro station. Still out of breath, he peered down into the depths of the terminal. Without electric lights, he could only see far enough to make out a single object.
'Oh my God'. Jim slowly turned away from the station and vomited across the black asphalt. Slowly backing away from the station, he started to run again.
