Seconds To Zero

CHAPTER 11

Silas began to act. He twitched his hand. He looked at the door. He looked like a man who had made a mistake. He was playing the part of a scared gambler.

In the first timeline, Evan had said "No." He had tried to be safe. And the House had moved the ball anyway, killing him.

Evan looked at the red screen. He looked at the 15% win probability.

"Give me a moment," Evan said.

"Time is the one thing we don't have, boy," Silas teased.

Evan focused on the System. Help me, he thought. Calculate the cheat.

The blue text scrolled across his eyes.

[CALCULATING...]

[DETECTION: ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD DETECTED UNDER TABLE SURFACE.]

[SOURCE: HOUSE INTERFERENCE OVERRIDE.]

[WIN PROBABILITY: 0.00% (FORCED LOSS)]

Evan felt a cold rage. The House didn't just have an advantage. They had the result already written. If he played the game, he would lose. Period.

What can I do? Evan thought.

The System responded.

[OPTION: STABILIZE OUTCOME]

[DESCRIPTION: OVERRIDE LOCAL GRAVITY SENSORS TO MATCH USER BET.]

[COST: 1 SPECIFIC MEMORY (RANDOMLY SELECTED).]

Evan shivered. A memory. What would he lose? Would it be the name of his mother? The smell of his first home? The feeling of his first kiss?

He looked at the exit. He thought about the Enforcers. He thought about the pain of the shock-baton and the dark, wet tunnel. He thought about the 0.00 on his wrist.

If he didn't win here, he was dead anyway.

"I accept the multiplier," Evan said.

The room went silent. Even the spectators behind the glass stopped moving. A rookie was betting ten years on a 15% chance. It was madness.

Silas’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second. His act slipped. A real smile—a cruel, dark smile—tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Brave," Silas said. "Or very, very stupid."

"Drop the ball," Evan said.

"Wait," Silas said, his voice dropping to a hiss. "Let’s make it more interesting. Since you are so confident... let's raise the stakes. I will match your ten years. If you win, you take ten years from the House. If you lose, the House takes everything you have left."

This was it. Silas was going for the kill. He knew the magnets would win the game for him. He was trying to drain Evan completely.

[SYSTEM WARNING: TOTAL LIFE DEPLETION RISK.]

[DO YOU WISH TO ACTIVATE 'STABILIZE OUTCOME'?]

Yes, Evan thought. Do it.

[PAYMENT REQUIRED: MEMORY OF 'THE BLUE BICYCLE'.]

Suddenly, a vision flashed in Evan’s mind. He saw himself at age seven. He saw a bright blue bicycle with shiny silver handlebars. He remembered the feeling of the wind on his face as he rode down a hill. He remembered his father cheering for him, holding out his arms as Evan learned to ride without training wheels. It was a happy memory. It was one of the few warm things he had left.

And then, it started to fade.

The color of the bike turned gray. The sound of his father’s voice became static. The feeling of the wind vanished. It was like a photo being dropped into a fire. It curled, blackened, and disappeared.

Evan felt a hole in his heart. He knew he had forgotten something important, but he didn't know what it was. He just felt a lingering sadness that had no name.

[PAYMENT ACCEPTED.]

[STABILIZING OUTCOME...]

"Drop it," Evan said, his voice cold and hollow.

Silas pressed the button.

The digital ball appeared. It was glowing red now. It dropped.

Ping.

It hit the first peg and flew to the right.

Ping.

It hit the second peg and moved toward the center.

The spectators leaned in. Silas was staring at the table, his hands flat on the black surface. He was waiting for the magnet to pull the ball into the "Zero" slot.

The ball reached the final row of pegs. It was heading straight for the black slot. The House’s slot.

Silas smirked. He began to stand up, ready to collect his prize.

But then, the table hummed.

It wasn't the low hum Evan remembered from before. It was a sharp, high-pitched whine. The hologram flickered. The red light turned a brilliant, blinding blue.

The ball was one inch from the black slot. Suddenly, it stopped. It didn't bounce. It didn't roll. It hovered in the air for a micro-second, defying every law of the game.

"What?" Silas whispered.

The ball jerked. It didn't just move; it was shoved by an invisible hand. It flew across the screen, skipping over three pegs, and slammed into the gold slot.

[JACKPOT]

The word filled the room. The mechanical voice screamed it.

[WINNER: EVAN KENNEDY]

[PAYOUT: 10 YEARS]

The silence in the room was absolute. The rich people behind the glass stared. Their drinks remained frozen halfway to their mouths.

Silas stared at the screen. His face was no longer bored. It was pale. His jaw was hanging open. "No," he breathed. "That’s impossible. The system... the gravity..."

"The physics were a suggestion, right?" Evan said. He leaned forward, mimicking Silas’s movement from earlier. "That’s what you told me."

Evan looked at his wrist. The numbers were moving. They weren't spinning down this time. They were climbing.

8 years... 12 years... 15 years... 18 years.

He felt a rush of energy. The stiffness in his joints vanished. His vision sharpened. His heart beat with a powerful, steady rhythm. He felt like he could run for miles. He felt like he could punch through a wall.

"You cheated," Silas hissed. He stood up, knocking his chair over. "You did something to the table!"

"The House controls the gravity, Silas," Evan said calmly. "Maybe the House just likes me better today."

The guard with the thick neck stepped forward, his hand reaching for a weapon. "Kid, you better start talking."

"Wait," Silas said. He held up a hand. He was looking at Evan’s wrist.

The bio-watch was glowing. But it wasn't just showing the time. A new symbol had appeared above the numbers, a golden hourglass with wings.

Silas backed away. His eyes were wide with fear. "The Mark," he whispered. "He’s a Backed Player."

"What are you talking about?" the guard asked.