The Price Of A Sacrifice

Adrian Critical

Adrian tried to move his fingers, but a surge of agonizing pain struck again, causing him to jerk so violently that his metal gurney let out a sharp, piercing screech.

Pain... let this pain remain, he thought, his heart seething with a burning vengeance. Don't let this pain fade, so that I will always remember what you all did to me today.

Outside, the faint sound of fireworks echoed from a distance. The Durnevra family was likely celebrating their heir's recovery under the beautiful night sky. They had no idea that in this stifling basement, the seeds of their destruction had just begun to sprout.

Adrian’s eyes, once filled with tears, now flew wide open in the darkness. There was no longer a glimmer of hope left in them. There was only a cold, profound emptiness.

"I will return," he whispered into the darkness, his voice no longer sounding like that of a pitiful nineteen-year-old boy. "And when I do, you will all beg to die by my hand."

Suddenly, the heart monitor in the corner of the room, which had been dead until then, emitted a single, incredibly loud beep, even though the cables were not connected to Adrian’s body.

Adrian startled. His heart began to beat with an unnatural intensity. He felt a strange sensation crawling from his scars, something cold, like an invisible current of electricity.

"Who's there?" he hissed into the gloom.

There was no answer. However, a pale blue transparent screen suddenly manifested before his eyes, hovering in the air with glowing text.

[ INITIALIZING THE ALTAR OF LOSS: SUBJECT WITH MAXIMUM DESPAIR DETECTED ]

Adrian gasped, his eyes widening as he stared at the words. "What... what is this?"

[ DO YOU WISH TO TRADE YOUR REMAINING HUMANITY FOR THE POWER TO SEEK VENGEANCE? ]

At that exact moment, the door to the room creaked open, revealing the shadow of someone standing there with a scalpel in hand, not to provide treatment, but to ensure the 'spare' would no longer be a burden to the Durnevra family.

Adrian stared at the shadow in the doorway with bated breath. The transparent blue screen in front of him continued to glow, floating in the air like a mirage mocking his sanity. The figure stepped forward into the dim light, and Adrian recognized the silhouette. It wasn't Dr. Vane. It was Nurse Mia, her hands trembling violently as she held a metal tray.

"Nurse..." Adrian’s voice was barely a whisper, nothing more than the dry rasp of air in his throat.

Mia jumped, nearly dropping her tray. She glanced back at the tightly closed door, then rushed toward Adrian’s bed. "Adrian? You’re still conscious? Oh, God... you’re supposed to be under the influence of the sedatives."

"The bell..." Adrian moved his pale fingers toward the nurse call button at his bedside. "Dead. No one... came."

Mia looked down, her eyes welling with tears as she checked the call bell cable, which had been intentionally pulled from the wall panel. "They don't want you disturbing anyone, Adrian. Dr. Vane ordered total isolation for this ward."

"Where is Mother?" Adrian asked. The question felt like a thorn lodged in his tongue. "Dimitri? Are they... waiting for Julian?"

Mia fell silent. She placed the tray on a rusted table and began replacing Adrian's IV bag with frantic, unsteady movements. She didn't dare meet the young man's eyes.

"Tell me, Mia," Adrian urged. The pain in his left abdomen began to throb again, sharper than before. "Where are they?"

"They’re gone, Adrian," Mia finally whispered, her voice breaking. "An hour ago. The Durnevra private jet took off for the Alps."

Adrian’s world seemed to stop spinning. "The Alps? For what?"

"A celebratory vacation," Mia answered softly. "They said Julian needs the clean mountain air for his post-op recovery. They... they took the entire personal medical staff with them, except for me."

Adrian laughed. It was the most wretched sound Mia had ever heard, a short, dry laugh laced with poison. "A vacation. They’re celebrating Julian’s recovery on top of the pieces of my body, while I’m left to rot here."

"I’ll try to find help, Adrian. But this hospital belongs to Durnevra Corp. Everyone here is paid to look the other way," Mia said, clutching Adrian’s ice-cold hand. "I smuggled in some antibiotics, but the supplies in this old wing are almost gone."

Suddenly, Adrian convulsed. His body arched off the bed as an excruciating pain tore through his chest. He coughed violently, and a thick red liquid stained the dull, white sheets.

"Adrian!" Mia cried out under her breath. She immediately checked the remaining manual monitor. "Your blood pressure is plummeting! Oh, no... this isn't just the surgical wounds."

"It hurts... my chest..." Adrian clawed at the sheets, his fingernails turning white.

"Secondary organ failure," Mia murmured, her face turning deathly pale. "Your right kidney... the workload is too much, and it looks like there's internal bleeding near the liver. You need an operating room right now!"

"Call... call them..."

"I already tried calling Master Dimitri’s assistant!" Mia began to sob in frustration. "They said not to disturb the family’s rest. They said... they said Subject B-02 has fulfilled its purpose."

Adrian stared up at the cracked ceiling. So, this was the end. He was no longer a son, no longer a brother, not even a human being. He was a disposable item. A battery that had been drained of its energy and tossed into the trash.

Subject B-02 has fulfilled its purpose.

That sentence echoed in his head, shattering the last remnants of affection he had kept in the furthest corners of his soul. He remembered how he had always tried to be the perfect child, how he had studied so hard just to earn a word of praise from Dimitri that never came, and how he had given up his toys just to see Julian smile.

It was all for nothing. Nineteen years of sacrifice were worth no more than a scrap of meat on a butcher's block.

Do you see it now?

The voice returned. Heavy, cold, and vibrating deep within his bone marrow. The blue screen that had momentarily vanished reappeared, brighter and more vivid than before.

[ STATUS: CRITICAL ]

[ HEART FUNCTION: 22% AND DECLINING ]

[ FINAL OFFER: SURRENDER YOUR 'FILIAL PIETY'. EXCHANGE IT FOR LIFE AND POWER. ]

Adrian stared at the text as his vision began to blur. Beside him, Mia was frantically searching for an oxygen tank, only to find it was empty. He could feel his life force beginning to seep out of his very pores.