FRAGMENTS OF A GOD

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

John

Beep!

Beep!

Beep!

My eyes slowly curled open but I had to shut it again as the fluorescent light from the ceiling collided with it.

Where am I?

I tilted my head slowly, and next to me was a monitor that read my heart rate.

I’m alive?

I sat up and looked around, confused, I touched my body, felt my face,

I was alive.

How? How is that possible? How did I survive the beating? The stab wounds? The bleeding from my head?

But all that didn't matter.

May!

May and Ara.

I have to find May and Ara.

I got out of bed, yanked the IV off my wrist, I wallet inside the drawer by my bedside, I yanked the money inside and rushed towards the door of the ward. I yanked it open and staggered out. I bumped into a maid who screamed as she saw me.

It was as though she had seen a ghost.

I ignored her and continued to find my way out of the hospital.

“Mr Dom!”

“Mr Dominic Volkov!”

“Mr. Dom, please return to your room, you shouldn't be moving around.”

I heard the nurse call out to a patient but that's none of my business. I needed to find Ara.

I got a cab that drove me down to her apartment in the quiet part of the city.

I rushed to her door, banging on the gate.

“Ara!”

“Ara! Open up, it’s me!”

“Ara!”

I called out but no response, no one came to answer.

“Ara!” I called again.

“Excuse me, Mr.” I heard an elderly woman’s voice from behind that made me turn around.

It was grandma Louisa. An elderly woman who lives in the same neighborhood as Ara. Ara told me about how the woman had helped her especially after she got pregnant with May. And I had also met Louisa a couple of times.

I rushed towards her, “Grandma Louisa,” I cheered.

Her brows furrowed as I got closer.

“Where? Where is Ara? And May? Where are they?” I asked, urgency slipping out through my voice.

“Did you not hear?”

“Hear what?”

She sighed, “Her daughter died and her brother too. There were rumors that he killed someone and then he got killed in prison and after his funeral, Ara went missing, no one knows where she is or what happened to her.” she narrated, sadness not failing to fill her words. Tears strode down her eyes.

What?

What is she talking about?

I am… I am right here, what did she mean I died?

And May?

What did she mean, May is dead? How is that possible?

“Louisa, what are you talking about? What do you mean May is dead? And me? I am alive, I am right here in front of you, what do you mean I got killed in prison?” I rambled, placing my hands on her shoulder as I leaned closer so she could see my face.

She leaned back and pulled away from me, “I don’t know your relationship with Ara and her family but I can tell you the cemetery where they were buried, May and John.” She muttered. She wrote the name of the Cemetery and ran away from me like she was frightened,

Why does she keep saying I was dead even though I was standing in front of her?

I got another cab and went to the cemetery Louisa had told me to visit.

A part of me feared what I would find but I still wanted to know.

And then there I was standing in front of my eight-year-old niece's grave.

She was just a kid.

I crumbled to the floor and burst into tears as memories of her flooded my mind. I was there when Ara gave birth to her, I was there when she started school. She was my favorite little person and they took her away from me. They took her away from my sister.

Nancy and her family took her away from me.

I will make them pay! I will make them all pay.

With tears in my eyes, I caught sight of something else, something strange that sent chills all over my body.

I fell back in fear as I saw the name on the slate next to May’s slate.

Johnson Boston… November 18, 1992 - March 30 2022… May his soul rest in peace.

Why.. Why is there a grave with my name on it? Why is it there?..

It was then I saw a reflection of myself in the car that was parked nearby.

It’s… It’s a different face…. A different body.

Why? Why am I in a different body? Whose body is this? What the hell is going on?

Instantly, I saw a glitch.

A glitch similar to the same thing I saw before I… Died in prison.

The glitch came again and before there was a screen, I looked around but I was the only one that I could see.

[Hello, John]

What the hell?

[You have been transported into the body of Dominic Volkov, an average businessman who was almost killed but fell into a coma.]

“Who are you? And what do you mean transported.”

[I am a revenge system and I am here to help you get the revenge you need.]

“What?”

[You died but your soul was transported into Dominic’s body.]

[You will now live your life as Dominic Volkov]

[You will complete tasks that will help you achieve your goal.]

“And what is the goal?”

[To be the biggest company in the country and Dominic’s company is not on the chart.]

This is absurd. This is crazy!

I am in another man’s body? I am talking to a system? How is this even possible?

Wait… does that mean I have a chance to get my revenge on Nancy and her family? Does that mean I can avenge my death and May’s?

[Would you like to proceed to your first task?]

“Wait! Can you talk?” I asked, even though it was a bit absurd but it was better, reading off an invisible screen that was only visible to me.

If this System-possessing thing is going to work, I have to make sure I don't look crazy doing it.

[Yes, would you prefer to listen to me?]

Yes.

[Hello, John.] Its voice was rather deeper than I expected.

“Do you have a name?”

[No, Would you like to give me one?]

“Yes, I’ll call you Ace.”

[Processing! Synchronizing! Complete.]

“So, Ace, I have only one question, can I get the revenge I want?”

[Absolutely, as long as you complete the daily and weekly tasks, you are allowed to pursue your revenge.]

“Good, Because from now on, I am Dominic… Dominic Volkov and I am going to take down every last one of them.”

[Would like to proceed with your first task, Dominic Volkov?]