When The World Ended, I Stole Tomorrow

Chapter 4: Hard Decisions

Choose or die at dawn. These words were stuck in Ronan's mind like an omen. He was in a motel room with three files floating in front of him. The room was dark and cold. Time seemed to be moving slowly. The clock on the nightstand was not ticking anymore. It was like the whole world was waiting for Ronan to make a decision.

Ronan looked at the files. File Three had the names and locations of the five assassins who were coming to kill him. It was an option. He could use this information to run and hide. Ronan did not want to run. He wanted to fight. He wanted to be strong.

Then he looked at File Two. It said Tomorrow's Combat Experience. This file would give him the skills of a special forces commander. He would be able to fight like a pro. It was a risk. He would not know who was coming to kill him or how they would attack. He would have to rely on his instincts.

Ronan thought for a moment. He did not want to survive. He wanted to win. He wanted to destroy his enemies. "I'm done running ", Ronan said to himself. He reached out. Chose File Two.

As soon as he made his choice, the room started to spin. Ronan felt a pain in his head. It was like someone was pouring lead into his brain. He saw visions of war and bloodshed. He felt like he was fighting for his life.

His body started to change. His muscles were getting stronger. His heart was beating faster. He was becoming a warrior. The pain was intense. Ronan did not scream. He just gritted his teeth. Waited for it to be over.

When the pain finally stopped, Ronan collapsed on the floor. He was. Tired.. He was also feeling strong. He looked around the room. Saw things differently. He saw the door as a weakness. He saw the wall as a barrier. He saw the window as a way to escape.

Ronan got up. Started to prepare. He took a metal rod. Bent it into a hook. He took some glass. Made it into a sharp knife. He made a trap for the door. He was ready to fight.

The time was 4:00 AM. Ronan had four hours before the assassins arrived. He did not waste a minute. He kept preparing and waiting.

At 7:55 AM, the room was quiet. Ronan was hiding in the bathroom. He had his weapons ready. He was waiting for the signal to start fighting.

Then it happened. The door exploded. The room was filled with smoke and noise. Ronan saw his chance. He jumped out of the bathroom. Started to fight.

The first assassin did not see the trap. He got caught in the wire. Fell. Ronan used this chance to attack the assassin. He hit him with the metal rod. Killed him.

The third assassin tried to shoot Ronan. Ronan was too fast. He grabbed the assassin's wrist. Threw him to the ground. Then he killed him with the glass knife.

It was over, in two seconds. Two assassins were dead. One was injured. Ronan had won the round. The fight was not over yet. There were still two assassins to kill.

The ambush was not over yet. From the hallway, another guy started shooting at Ronan with a big gun. The bullets were heavy. They went through the walls of the motel room, making a lot of noise and sending pieces of wood and plaster falling on Ronan's back.

Ronan pulled the body of the guy who was trying to kill him over his body using the heavy vest the guy was wearing as a shield. The bullets kept coming, making a lot of dust and noise. Ronan's mind was calm, and he was thinking about what to do next. He was waiting for the guy to stop shooting so he could do something.

The shooting stopped. Ronan heard the sound of the gun being empty.

Now was his chance. Ronan pushed the body away, rolled across the floor, and grabbed a rifle that one of the guys had dropped. He did not even look through the sights. He just rolled past the door. Shot the guy three times.

The guy fell, hurt badly. Ronan looked around the hallway, his chest moving up and down. Four guys were down. He knew there were five guys in total.

Where was the fifth guy?

Ronan felt scared for a second. He thought maybe the fifth guy was high up, like on a roof or something.

Then a bullet came through the window and hit the wall. Ronan threw himself backward into the room. The fifth guy was a sniper. He was shooting from across the street.

Ronan crawled across the floor, staying low. He got to the guy who had tried to kill him, the one who had tripped and hurt his ankle.

Ronan stepped on the guy's hurt ankle. The guy screamed. Ronan took the mask off the guy's face. Saw that he was a man in his late thirties, sweating and scared.

Who sent you? Ronan asked, putting his knife to the guy's neck. Tell me. You will die slowly.

The guy spat blood. Said Ronan was supposed to be just an office worker. What was he doing, fighting like this?

Ronan did not like the guy's answer. He twisted the knife, hurting the guy.

The guy said it was the Vance Group who had sent them. They had gotten a tip that Ronan was trying to buy some military stuff, and they wanted to stop him.

The Vance Group. Ronan knew that name. It was a group led by a man named Commander Vance.

That was not supposed to happen yet. Vance was not supposed to be a problem for another two years.

Ronan asked the guy who had told the Vance Group about his plans.

The guy said he did not know. The order had come from someone in the bank, and that was all he knew.

Ronan realized that someone was trying to hurt him using the timeline to get to him. He looked at the guy, who was crying and scared.

Ronan did not feel sorry for him. He killed the guy with his knife.

He stood up holding the rifle. The sniper was still across the street waiting for him to come out.

Ronan was not going to go out the front door. He went back into the bathroom. Looked up at a ventilation opening in the ceiling.

As he reached up to open it, his vision got blurry. He saw a message from the Future Archive System.

This time the message was red, not blue.

It said that Ronan had changed the timeline much and that some things were going to be erased in three days.

Then it said that Ronan's memory of a whole month, October 2026. Was gone.

Ronan stared at the message, his hand frozen. He had gained some skills. He had lost something important. He was moving forward into a future that was getting harder to understand. The thing that was helping him was also hurting him.