All debt must be paid

chapter fifty five

[ Ah! ]

I let out a shout as I got up from the bed.

The system woke me up before my eyes even opened. My body jerked like someone had poured cold water on me. My head throbbed, and my chest felt heavy. I gasped for air and sat up fast, my eyes darting around.

I wasn’t in my room.

The first thing I noticed was the smell—clean, too clean, like disinfectant and metal mixed together. The second thing I noticed was that my walking staff was gone. My heart raced. Whoever had brought me here knew exactly what they were doing.

I rubbed my temples, trying to remember what happened. The car. The gas. The dizziness. Then—nothing.

My phone lay beside me on the small table. I grabbed it quickly, but the screen stayed dark. Battery dead. Of course.

“Damn it,” I muttered under my breath.

The room was quiet. Too quiet. I looked around again. White walls. No windows. Just one door. The bed I sat on looked simple—metal frame, thin mattress, white sheets. The kind you’d find in a hospital or a lab.

Som