2026-01-20 20:12:18Mark 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 policy. He had signed it years ago. It was worth two million dollars. It was meant to take care of Clara if he died in an accident.
"The insurance pays out only if he dies," Mark continued. "If he stays like this—a vegetable in a bed, we get nothing. We just have to pay for his doctors. We have to pay for his medicine. He is draining our money, Clara. He is costing us a fortune just by breathing."
"But... kill him?" Clara whispered. "Mark, I can't. He is my husband."
"He is not a husband!" Mark shouted. Then he lowered his voice. "Look at him, Clara. Look at this piece of meat. He isn't Ryan anymore. He is just a shell. There is no mind in there. No soul. You would be doing him a favor."
Clara was silent. Ryan waited. He prayed she would say no. He prayed she would scream and kick Mark out of the house. Please, Clara, he thought. Show me you still have a heart.
"How?" Clara asked.
Ryan’s hope died. She didn't say no. She asked how.
"It needs to be clean," Mark said. His voice was full of excitement now. "No blood. No guns. It has to look like natural causes. Or a machine failure."
Mark tapped his finger on the plastic case of the heart monitor. Tap. Tap. Tap.
"When?" Clara asked.
"Two days," Mark said. "What is the date in two days?"
Clara paused. "Tuesday. That is... that is his birthday."
"Perfect," Mark smiled. Ryan could hear the smile in his voice. "His birthday. It is poetic, isn't it? He enters the world on that day, and he leaves the world on that day. People will say it was fate. They will say his body just gave up. No one will suspect a thing."
"His birthday..." Clara repeated. She sounded like she was in a trance. "We were supposed to have a party."
"We will have a party," Mark promised. "A party with two million dollars. Imagine it, Clara. We can leave this town. We can go to the islands. We can buy a boat. No more taking care of a cripple. We will be free."
Free. The word hung in the air. They wanted to be free of him. Ryan felt a new emotion rising inside him. It wasn't sadness anymore. It wasn't fear.
It was pure, hot anger.
It started in his stomach and spread to his chest. It felt like lava. They were planning to murder him on his birthday. They were standing right next to him, discussing his death like they were discussing what to have for dinner.
"Okay," Clara whispered. "Okay. Let's do it."
"That’s my girl," Mark said. He stood up from the bed. "Two days. Tuesday night. We turn off the machines. We wait five minutes. Then we call the ambulance and cry. Easy."
Mark walked around to the head of the bed. He was standing right above Ryan’s face. Ryan could smell him. He smelled of sweat and expensive cologne—cologne that Ryan had paid for.
Mark leaned down. He leaned so close that his breath hit Ryan’s cheek. It was warm and moist.
Ryan felt a surge of adrenaline. His brain was screaming. Get away from me! Get away!
Mark placed his hand on Ryan’s forehead. He patted him, like a man patting a dog.
"You hear that, old friend?" Mark whispered into Ryan's ear. His voice was low and mocking. "You have two days. Enjoy the view."
Mark paused. He looked at Ryan’s closed eyes.
"Die quickly, buddy," Mark hissed.
Boom.
Something inside Ryan snapped. The anger was too big to hold. He couldn't move his arms. He couldn't open his eyes. He couldn't scream. But his heart... his heart could respond.
The slow, steady rhythm of the machine changed.
Beep... beep...
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep.
The green line on the monitor began to spike. The sound grew faster and louder. It was like a warning siren. It was the sound of a man screaming without a voice.
Mark pulled back suddenly. "What is that?"
"The monitor!" Clara gasped. "Why is it beeping so fast? Is he waking up?"
"He can't wake up!" Mark said, but his voice sounded unsure. He looked at the machine. The numbers were climbing. 110. 120. 130.
Ryan poured all his hate into his heart. I hear you, he screamed inside his head. I hear you, and I will not die!
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!
The noise filled the room, loud and frantic. It was the sound of war.
Mark stared at Ryan’s face. For a second, just one second, he thought he saw Ryan’s eyelid twitch.
Mark took a step back, fear flashing in his eyes.
Ryan lay still as stone, but the machine told the truth. The battle had begun.
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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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