2025-11-17 03:50:24James sat in the back seat of the car, his tiny legs swinging while his father drove through the early morning traffic. The soft hum of the engine filled the silence. Dr. Nelson glanced at him through the mirror. “You’re unusually quiet today.”
James looked out the window. “I’m thinking.”
Nelson smiled. “About toys?”
“No.”
“School?”
“No.”
Nelson chuckled. “Then what do three-year-olds think about?”
James turned his head just enough for his father to see his eyes, calm, observant, frighteningly adult. “People.”
Nelson frowned. “People?”
“People who pretend.”
Nelson tightened his grip on the steering wheel. This again. “James,”
he said gently, “about yesterday… that man didn’t mean any harm.”
“He will,” James whispered.
Nelson swallowed. “How do you know that?”
James leaned back against the seat. “I just know.”
Nelson didn’t argue. He was beginning to realize something: His son wasn’t guessing.
He was certain.
AT THE HOSPITAL
Nelson carried James into the hospital lobby. Nurses greeted them warmly. “Oh! Doctor Nelson!”
Nurse Rebecca waved. “And the little genius!”
James forced a smile. “Good morning.”
Nelson whispered, “Be nice, James.”
“I’m always nice.”
Rebecca bent down and pinched his cheek. “Children aren’t supposed to talk like old men, you know?”
James blinked. “Most old men aren’t supposed to talk like children either.”
Rebecca blinked. “What?”
Nelson coughed. “Sorry, he’s been saying strange things lately.”
Rebecca laughed it off. “Kids and their imagination!”
James didn’t reply. His eyes were already scanning the hospital corridor. He could feel it. A familiar energy. A scent. A presence that didn’t belong in this peaceful place. A ghost from his past life. A monster wearing perfume and a fake smile. Tom.
THE MEETING
Nelson carried James into his office, And stopped. Tom sat in the visitor’s chair. Nelson looked confused. “Sir? Can I help you?”
Tom stood with a bright smile. “Doctor Nelson! So good to see you. I didn’t want to come without calling, but your secretary insisted you were available.”
Nelson forced a polite smile. “Of course. Please, have a seat.”
James stared at him from his father’s arm. Tom waved playfully. “Hey, little man.”
James didn’t respond. Nelson placed him carefully on a chair. “James, sit here. Don’t move.”
Tom chuckled. “Kids don’t sit still.”
“They do when I tell them to,”
James said quietly. Tom froze. Nelson frowned. “James, don’t be rude.”
James folded his hands. “I’m not rude.”
Nelson sighed and turned to Tom. “What brings you here?”
Tom gave a rehearsed smile. “A company checkup. I’m representing the health foundation. We want to partner with your hospital.”
James leaned forward. “Liar.”
Nelson’s eyes widened. “James!”
Tom’s smile cracked. “Excuse me?”
James stared straight at him. “You’re not here for partnership.”
Tom scoffed. “And what would a child know about hospital partnerships?”
James blinked slowly. “I know what fear looks like.”
Tom stiffened. James continued, voice soft but sharp: “You’re afraid right now.”
Tom swallowed. Nelson looked confused. “Tom… is something wrong?”
Tom forced a grin. “Just not used to… children with strong personalities.”
James tilted his head. “You mean children who can see through you?”
Tom inhaled sharply. Nelson cut in. “Tom, please ignore him. He has a wild imagination.”
James looked at his father, sadly. “I wish it was imagination.”
AFTER TOM LEFT
Nelson shut the door behind him and turned to James. “What was that?”
Nelson demanded softly. “Why are you acting like this? That man did nothing to you!”
James stared at the floor. Nelson knelt down. “Look at me.”
James didn’t. Nelson’s voice softened. “James… please.”
James finally lifted his eyes, silent, old, tired. “If I tell you the truth,” he said quietly, “you won’t believe me.”
Nelson frowned. “Tell me anyway.”
James hesitated. Then whispered:
“I met him before I was born.”
Nelson blinked slowly. “James…”
“I’ve seen his face,” James said steadily. “He helped kill someone. Someone who trusted him.”
Nelson rubbed his temple. “James… you’re three.”
“No. I’m not.”
Nelson froze. James whispered: “Dad… I’ve lived before.”
Nelson stared at him, speechless.
James continued softly, “I died. They killed me. Poison. Betrayal. A woman I loved. Friends I cared about. I remember everything. And one of them, one of the men who murdered me, is here.”
Nelson stood abruptly. “Stop. Stop this.”
James sighed. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”
Nelson paced the room, hands on his head. “James, this is not—this is not normal. Kids don’t—kids can’t remember past lives.”
James looked away. “I know.”
Nelson whispered, “You’re scaring me.”
James whispered back, “Good.”
Nelson stopped. “James!”
James pointed at the closed door where Tom had stood minutes ago.
“That man will destroy our family if you let him close.”
Nelson stared at him, shaken. But before he could respond, A nurse knocked on the door. “Doctor Nelson! Quick! A Code Blue!”
Nelson rushed out. James remained still. His small hand clenched into a fist. “This is only the beginning,” he whispered.
LUNCH BREAK, HOSPITAL CAFETERIA
James sat on a bench, swinging his legs, eating rice slowly. Nurse Rebecca brought juice and sat beside him. “You miss your mom?”
she asked. “No.”
“You’re bored?”
“No.”
“You’re angry?”
James looked up. “A little.”
“Why?”
He picked a grain of rice. “People lie too much.”
Rebecca laughed. “Honey, that’s the world.”
James shook his head. “No. That’s their world. Not mine.”
Rebecca looked curious. “What do you mean?”
James whispered, “My world ended once. I won’t let it end again.”
Rebecca blinked. “James… you talk like an old man.”
James looked up.
“I am an old man.”
Before she could question it, Nelson returned. “James,”
he said, “we need to talk on the way home.”
James nodded and slid off the bench.
INSIDE THE CA
The silence was heavy. Nelson started the engine. “What you said… about past lives, murder, betrayal… James, that’s impossible.”
James stared out the window. “Impossible things happen every day.”
Nelson exhaled shakily. “Do you really believe what you’re saying?”
James turned to him. “I don’t believe it,”
he said softly. “I remember it.”
Nelson clenched the wheel. “You’re three.”
“Age doesn’t erase truth.”
Nelson swallowed hard. “James… are you… okay?”
“No,” James murmured. “I’m not okay. But I’m patient.”
Nelson blinked. “Patient for what?”
James looked forward again.“For justice.”
THAT NIGHT
James couldn’t sleep. He sat on his bed, knees pulled to his chest. A cold wind blew through the open window, stirring the curtains. He whispered into the darkness: “One returned.”
He thought of Tom. “Six more remain.”
He thought of Maria. “My wife,”
he whispered bitterly, “my murderer.”
His tiny fingers curled around the blanket. “I’m coming.”
His voice was soft. But the promise inside it was sharp as steel.
MEANWHILE , AT TOM’S MANSION
Tom paced the living room, sweating. Mike, one of the seven friends, sat on the couch, confused. “What’s wrong with you?”
Tom stopped. “Mike… something is wrong.”
Mike frowned. “You’ve been acting paranoid since yesterday. What is it?”
Tom sat heavily. “The boy.”
Mike scoffed. “What boy?”
“The kid at the doctor’s house.”
Mike rolled his eyes. “You’re losing it.”
Tom leaned forward, voice trembling. “He knows.”
Mike laughed. “Knows what? That we stole candy? Tom, stop.”
Tom slammed his fist. “He knows about James Wood.”
Mike froze. Tom continued, voice harsh: “He looked at me like James used to. He spoke like James. He said things only James could know.”
Mike went pale. “Tom… James Wood is dead.”
Tom whispered, “Then why did I see him in that child’s eyes?”
Mike swallowed. “You’re imagining things.”
Tom shook his head. “No. I’m not.”
Mike stood. “Okay, calm down. We’ll talk to the others.”
Tom nodded slowly, rubbing his face. “Yeah,”
he whispered. “We have to.”
He looked at the window, his voice shaking. “Because if that child really is him… we’re all dead.”
BACK IN JAMES’S ROOM
James whispered into the darkness: “One by one.”
His eyes glowed with a calm, terrifying certainty. “I will tear your world apart.”
He lay back down, closing his eyes. But he didn’t sleep. Vengeance stayed awake with him.
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CHAPTER 39 — THE DAY THE HOSPITAL LOCKED ITSELF
The first scream came from the seventh floor at exactly 3:17 a.m. It was sharp. Animal. Wrong. James Wood was awake before it echoed a second time.He stood by the window of his office, hands clasped behind his back, watching the city lights flicker like dying stars. When the scream cut through the hospital walls, his lips curved, not into a smile, but into something colder. James (quietly): “So it begins.”THE PATIENT WHO SHOULD NOT HAVE SCREAMED. Nurse Elina burst into the corridor, breathless. Elina: “Dr. Wood! It’s Victor, Room 712. He’s, he’s screaming about fire under his skin!”James didn’t turn immediately. James: “Vital signs?”Elina: “Pulse unstable. Blood pressure spiking. He says his nerves feel like they’re, like they’re burning alive.”James picked up his coat. James: “Good. Stage One has fully activated.”Elina froze. Elina: “Stage… One?”James finally faced her. James: “Prepare the isolation room. And notify the others.”Elina: “The others?”James: “All seven. Tonight,
CHAPTER 41 — PHASE TWO: THE DARK THAT REMEMBERS
The darkness did not feel accidental. It felt chosen. Total blackout. No emergency glow. No hallway lights. No machine hum. Just breathing. Seven different rhythms of fear. And one steady pulse of control.James Wood stood unmoving in the pitch-black room. He could hear them. Victor’s shallow gasps.Maria’s trembling inhale. Michael trying to mask panic behind anger. Rebecca whispering numbers again.Samuel muttering prayers. Sandra choking on silent sobs. Reeves pacing blindly. Then James spoke. Soft Precise. James: “Now… we remove distraction.”Maria’s voice cracked. Maria: “James, please… stop this.”James: “You said that before.”Silence swallowed the room again. THE SYSTEM HE BUILT IN SECRET Emergency backup lights flickered on, but only dim strips along the floor.Just enough to see outlines. Not faces. The monitors behind them rebooted. A new interface glowed on screen. PHASE TWO, COGNITIVE RESTORATION PROTOCOL Michael read it first. His voice shook.Michael: “Restoration? Wha
CHAPTER 42 — THE AUTOPSY THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST
The first mistake James ever made… Was believing he was the only one who could plan. The second… Was believing the past stayed buried. The Oversight Director did not blink. Security escorted the seven patients out of the sealed wing one by one.Maria looked back at James as they wheeled her away. Not hatred. Not love. Something worse. Unfinished truth. When the doors finally shut, only three people remained inside the dimmed chamber: James. Elina. The Director.The Director held up the tablet again. “Three days ago,”he said calmly, “an anonymous petition demanded the exhumation of James Wood.”James did not move. “Grounds?”he asked. “Suspicion of financial coercion before death. Alleged irregularities in the inheritance transfer.”Maria. Or one of the seven. Or someone else entirely. The Director studied James carefully. “You’ve taken a remarkable interest in these patients, Doctor.”“They are under my care.”“You’ve built an entire research wing around them.”“They volunteered.”Th
CHAPTER 38 — THE CONTRACT OF FEAR
Rain hammered the hospital roof like fists demanding entry. Inside St. Haven Medical Center, the air felt heavier than before, like every wall remembered what had been said yesterday.James Wood walked through the corridor, coat swinging behind him. Nurses stepped aside. Patients lowered their eyes. The silence that followed him felt like a crown, and a warning.He had returned to the world not just as a man. But as something reshaped by betrayal. At the nurse’s desk, Elina hurried after him.Elina: “Dr. Wood, your seven private patients are here again. They came early. All of them.”James: “Good. Let them wait.Elina: “They look… terrified.”James paused.James: “Terror means progress.”THE KILLERS GATHERIn Room 12B, the seven conspirators sat around a table. No laughter. No arrogance. Only fear. Samuel’s left arm twitched uncontrollably. Rebecca blinked rapidly, her vision flickering like broken film.Victor massaged his temples, murmuring to himself. Clinton Reeves fought for bre
CHAPTER 37 — THE SYMPTOMS OF GUILT
The storm rolled across the city like a warning. Thunder rattled the hospital windows. Lightning flashed through the halls, white and violent. The air smelled like rain and electricity, like a world about to change.Inside St. Haven Medical Center, the waiting room overflowed with patients, but seven chairs remained reserved. Seven chairs, separated from the rest. Seven chairs with seven names.Maria Wood. Michael Tenneson. Sandra Blake. Dr. Clinton Reeves. Rebecca Hall. Victor Dane. Samuel Cray.Every one of them here. Every one of them trembling. Nurse Elina rushed to James with a clipboard. “Doctor,”she said, anxious, “they’re all waiting. They want answers.”James slid on his gloves. “They’ll get them,” he replied.“One by one.”CONFLICT IGNITES IMMEDIATELYBefore James could step forward, Samuel Cray staggered out of his seat. Sweat drenched his face, and his left hand twitched uncontrollably.“Wood! We need to talk!”Samuel shouted. The room went silent.James turned slowly. “M
CHAPTER 36 — THE UNSEEN HAND OF JUSTICE
The morning fog clung to the hospital windows like ghostly fingerprints, distorting the light and giving the corridors a muted, dreamlike glow.Dr. James Wood walked through those halls with measured steps, his lab coat swaying behind him like the cloak of a monarch who ruled in silence.His face remained calm, professional, reassuring to anyone who saw him, the very image of a kind, brilliant doctor. But beneath his skin, beneath his pulse and breath, something darker flourished.Vengeance had roots now. It was growing."Seventeen years they've lived without guilt,"James thought, passing a group of nurses. "Seventeen years since they stole my life. Seventeen years since they murdered James Wood the first time."Now, he was ready. Not for their death, not yet, but for their descent. Slow, crawling, inevitable. Like sickness.He reached his office, closed the door, and stared at the files spread across his table. Each one had a name. Each one belonged to a killer.Maria Wood. Michael
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