It hadn’t felt impossible when Rex had started. In fact, dropping into the bowl felt like the easiest thing in the world. Once you lose your skateboard and smash face first into the cement, you prove that it is.

Rex woke up three weeks later in a head trauma recovery unit. A lemon puckered nurse gave him an exhausted look when she noticed he woke up. She walked over and hit a button on a machine to his side. The world went fuzzy again.

The next morning Rex woke up suspicious of whether what had happened yesterday was a dream or not. The nurse has been replaced— this one looked more like a Salisbury steak dipped in milk. Rex didn’t envy the man, but he was a little jealous of his ability to walk right now. The initial pins and needles let him know things weren’t the worst they could be, but without the ability to get out of bed on this own, they weren’t too peachy either.

Rex croaked at the new nurse “where am I?”

“Oh, shit. I didn’t realize you were back!” The man’s eyes bugged out for a second. “Don’t worry, bud. You’re in a safe place.”

“Where’s my board?”

“Your board? Oh, you’re the skateboard crash. Sorry, man. I don’t think the EMT’s grabbed it. Maybe your buddies got it for you?” Rex tried remembering where he went wrong. Too much weight on the back foot? The YouTube tutorial warned him of that.

“Can I-“ The nurse held up a hand to silence him. His eyes went flat. Rex felt a chill enter the room.

“Stop talking. You only have five minutes before the shift change and your chance of escaping this place disappears.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That other nurse? Callahan? She’s going to Angel of Mercy you.”

“What the hell… that’s insane! Why don’t you tell the police?”

“Because, Rex Hanson, I don’t exist here,” he said slowly turning see-through and vanishing. Rex’s stomach felt like rotten water. He ripped the IV out of his arm and flopped out of bed. The cold floor gave extra motivation to get out of the hospital. His muscles felt like he just escaped a three hour pool party. Straining from his core, he rose off the ground. He shuffled towards the door— he snatched a grey jean jacket pulled it tight around his hospital gown.

A cool, sterile breeze froze his exposed backside as he shuffled down a lemon meringue colored hallway. Rex focused on taking deep breaths and alternated between wanting to see the male nurse again and wondering if he was crazy now.

Fuck Thrasher and fuck Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 Rex thought as he heard steps behind him. He just wanted another identity instead of being known as “Rigatoni Rex.” Stupid nickname. Stupid fucking boarding school. He wasn’t going to have his mortal chain yanked by a wannabe Nurse Rachet. He was going to escape this hellhole.