2026-01-20 20:10:26Mark reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He lit one. The smoke filled the room.
Ryan started to cough weakly, but he couldn't turn his head away. The smoke burned his nose.
"Hey," Clara said, "don't smoke in here. The fire alarm might go off."
"Relax," Mark said. His voice was rough and deep. "So, when do we get the money? I am tired of waiting, Clara. I did my part."
Ryan’s mind started to race. “Money? What part?”
"Be patient, babe," Clara said. She walked over to Mark and put her arms around his neck. She kissed him.
Ryan stared. His eyes felt like they were burning. His wife. His Clara. She was kissing this stranger. She was kissing him right in front of her dying husband.
The pain in Ryan’s heart was worse than the pain in his broken spine.
Mark pulled away from the kiss. He looked at Ryan and smirked. "You know," Mark said, "I was worried that night. It was raining hard."
"You did perfectly," Clara said softly, stroking Mark's arm.
"I saw his fancy car coming around the bend," Mark continued, looking straight into Ryan’s eyes. "I turned on my high beams. Blinded him. Then... Smash." Mark clapped his hands together loudly.
Ryan flinched.
Suddenly, a memory exploded in Ryan’s mind.
He was driving home. It was raining. He had bought flowers for Clara. He was happy. Then, a bright light appeared out of nowhere. A massive truck. The horn blared. He couldn't see. He swerved. The metal crunched. The glass broke. He was upside down. He could taste blood.
He remembered lying on the wet asphalt. He remembered a man walking up to him. He thought the man was coming to help. But the man just stood there.
The man had said, "Sorry, buddy. Nothing personal."
Ryan looked at Mark. He looked at the mouth. He listened to the voice.
It was him.
This was the truck driver. This was the man who destroyed his life.
Ryan felt a wave of heat rush through his cold body. It was not love. It was not sadness. It was pure, hot rage.
"It was a good crash," Clara said, laughing. "The police think it was an accident. 'Tragic weather conditions.' They are so stupid."
"And the insurance?" Mark asked.
"Ten million dollars," Clara said. Her eyes sparkled with greed. "Plus the company. Plus the house. Once he is gone, it is all ours, Mark."
"So," Mark said, throwing his cigarette butt on the expensive carpet and stepping on it. "Why are we still waiting? The doctor said he could live for years like this."
Clara sighed. She looked at Ryan with disgust. "I know. I am tired of playing the sad nurse. I am tired of wiping his mouth. I want to go to Italy. I want to spend our money."
She walked closer to the bed. She leaned down. Her perfume used to smell like flowers to Ryan. Now, it smelled like poison.
"Ryan," she whispered. "Can you hear me? I know you can. You are in there."
Ryan stared at her. If he could kill her with his eyes, she would be dead.
"You were a boring husband, Ryan," she said. "Always working. Always talking about the future. Well, you don't have a future anymore. Mark and I... we are the future."
"Do it now," Mark said from behind her. "Let's finish it."
Clara nodded. "Okay. Tonight is the night. The nightmare ends."
She reached out towards the machine. The machine that went beep, beep, beep. The machine that helped him breathe.
"No marks," Mark warned. "Make it look like heart failure."
"Don't worry," Clara said. "I'm smart."
She put her hand on the power switch of the ventilator.
Ryan panicked. He tried to struggle. He tried to send every ounce of energy to his arms. “Move! Move! Stop her!”
His finger twitched. Just a tiny bit.
Clara saw it. She laughed. "Oh, look! He is trying to fight back. How cute."
She flipped the switch.
Click.
The rhythmic puffing of the machine stopped.
Silence filled the room.
Ryan’s chest felt heavy. His lungs screamed for air. He tried to breathe, but his muscles would not work. He opened his mouth, but only a silent gasp came out.
He felt like he was drowning on dry land. The room started to spin. The darkness at the edges of his vision began to close in.
Clara stood over him, smiling. She held Mark’s hand. They watched him die. They watched him suffer.
"Die quickly, darling," Clara said. "We have a plane to catch."
Ryan felt his heart pounding against his ribs.
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump.
It was beating fast, fueled by anger.
He hated them. He hated them more than anything in the world. He did not want to go to heaven. He did not want peace. He wanted revenge. He wanted to make them pay.
“I cannot die,” Ryan screamed in his mind. “I cannot let them win!”
The edges of his vision turned black. The face of his wife blurred. The sound of their laughter faded away.
He felt the cold grip of death. It was pulling him down into the void.
His heart gave one last, painful beat.
Thump.
Then, nothing.
Ryan floated in the darkness. Was this death? It was quiet.
But the rage was still there. It burned like a fire in the nothingness. I want them dead. I want power. Give me a chance.
Suddenly, a bright blue light pierced the darkness. It was brighter than the sun. It did not hurt. It felt powerful.
A sound rang out. It was not a voice. It was a mechanical chime. Clear and crisp.
Ding!
A blue screen, like a hologram, appeared in front of his mind’s eye. Words typed themselves out across the screen in glowing letters.
[HOST DETECTED]
[HATRED LEVEL: MAXIMUM]
[DESIRE FOR REVENGE: CRITICAL]
Ryan did not understand. Was he hallucinating?
The voice spoke in his head. It sounded like a computer, but it also sounded like a god.
"Welcome, Player One."
"System Activated."
"Initiating Reboot Sequence..."
Ryan felt a jolt of electricity shoot through his soul. It wasn't the end. It was just the beginning.
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Chapter 6: A Close Call
The sound of the door handle turning was loud. Click.To Ryan, it sounded like a gunshot.He was lying in his bed. He was supposed to be in a coma. He was supposed to be a "vegetable," a man who could not move, think, or speak. But he was awake. He had just been reading the blue System screen floating in the air.Panic hit him hard. His heart started to beat very fast. Boom-boom, boom-boom. If they saw his eyes open, it was over. If they saw him sweating, they would know. They would kill him for real this time."System!" Ryan thought loudly in his head. "Help me!"A blue box flashed in his mind.[Skill Available: Hibernation Level 1][Effect: Lowers heart rate. Lowers body temperature. User appears dead or in a deep coma. Pain is reduced by 50%.][Cost: 2 Energy Points]"Activate!" Ryan screamed in his mind. "Do it now!"The door began to open.Ryan shut his eyes tight. He let his body go loose. Suddenly, a cold feeling washed over him. It started in his chest and moved to his toes. I
Chapter 5: The Lawyer’s Visit
The morning sun came through the window. It was bright and harsh. It hit the white sheets of the hospital bed. Ryan lay perfectly still. He looked like a statue. His chest moved up and down very slowly. To the world, he was in a deep sleep. To the doctors, he was in a coma.But inside, Ryan was awake.His mind was a storm. He could feel his toes, but he could not move them. He could feel the itch on his nose, but he could not scratch it. It was a prison of flesh and bone.Ding.A blue screen appeared in the darkness of his mind.[System Status: Active][Energy: 15%][Recovery Mode: Ongoing]Ryan watched the screen. It was the only thing that kept him sane. He waited. He knew they were coming. He did not know when, but he knew Clara would not wait long. She loved money more than she ever loved him.Then, he heard it.Click-clack. Click-clack.High heels on the hard tile floor. Ryan knew that walk. It was fast. It was impatient. It was Clara.The door handle turned with a squeak. The d
Chapter 4B: The Kind Nurse
That watch was from his father. His father gave it to him before he died. It was the most important thing Ryan owned. It was his lucky charm."He put it in his pocket," Lily said. "He stole it. I wanted to scream. But I was scared. Mark is... he is dangerous."Ryan was furious. The anger was hot and red. It filled his brain. It filled his chest. He wanted to jump up. He wanted to grab Mark by the throat. He wanted to yell, “Give it back! You thief!”But he was a statue. He was a stone in a bed. The helplessness washed over him. He wanted to cry, but his tear ducts did not work. “I am weak. I am nothing.”"I am sorry, Ryan," Lily said. She looked like she was going to cry. A tear slipped down her cheek. "I am so sorry I didn't stop him."Ryan looked at her tears. She was crying for him. She cared. The anger inside him turned into energy. It was a strange feeling. Usually, he felt numb. But now, the rage and the gratitude mixed together. It felt like electricity.He focused on his hand
Chapter 4A: The Kind Nurse
The hospital room was dark. It was not a peaceful dark. It was heavy and thick. It felt like a heavy blanket that covered everything.Ryan lay in his bed. He was perfectly still. He looked like he was sleeping, but he was not. Inside his mind, he was wide awake. He was screaming, but his mouth did not move. He was running, but his legs did not move. He was a prisoner inside his own body.The only sound in the room was the machine. Beep. Beep. Beep.It was a cold, robotic sound. It counted the seconds of his life. Ryan hated that sound. It reminded him that he was alive, but he could not live. He stared at the ceiling. He could not close his eyes. He could not look away. He just stared at the white tiles. He counted them. One, two, three... a hundred.His body felt like stone. It was heavy and cold. He tried to wiggle his toes. Nothing happened. He tried to make a fist. Nothing happened. It was like shouting into a deep, empty well. No echo came back.Then, he heard a sound.Click.The
Chapter 3B: The Evil Plan
Mark pressed buttons randomly. He punched the safe. He tried again and again.Eeeernt. Eeeernt. Eeeernt.Finally, Mark let out a loud roar of frustration. "It’s useless! This metal box is too strong. We can’t break it, and we can’t guess the number. It will lock permanently if we try one more time."Silence filled the room again. The only sound was Ryan’s heart monitor. Beep... beep...They walked back toward the bed. Ryan felt their eyes on him. He felt exposed, like a bug under a microscope."So, that’s it?" Clara asked. Her voice was trembling. "We lose the money? All those millions... just gone?""No," Mark said slowly. "We don't lose anything. We just change the plan."Mark sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped down. Ryan felt Mark’s heavy weight pressing against his leg. It was disgusting."What plan?" Clara asked."The safe is Step One," Mark explained. "But we forgot about Step Two. The insurance."Ryan felt a chill run through his paralyzed body. The life insurance
Chapter 3A: The Evil Plan
The room was cold. It smelled like old medicine and bitter lemon. Ryan lay on the big bed in the center of the room. He did not move. He could not move. His body was like a heavy stone, sinking deep into the mattress. His eyes were closed, but his mind was wide open. He was awake inside the darkness.Beep... beep... beep...The heart monitor was the only sound in the room. It was a slow, steady rhythm. It was the music of his life. It told the world that Ryan was still alive, even if he looked like he was already gone.Ryan felt a small itch on his nose. He wanted to scratch it. He tried to send a signal from his brain to his hand. Move, he told his fingers. Just move one inch. But his hand stayed still. It lay limp on the white bedsheet. He was a prisoner in his own skin.Suddenly, the heavy wooden door creaked open. A slice of yellow light cut across the dark floor.Footsteps entered the room. There were two sets of footsteps. One was heavy and loud—thump, thump, thump. The other w
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