Chapter 2 - System Activated!
1433 Words
Leonard's head was spinning as he was pushed towards a table. The raucous cheers of the thugs echoed in his ears.
He stumbled and fell to his knees, his heart pounded with fear and confusion. He looked up to see a huge guy leering down at him, his fists clenched and ready for action.
The last thing he remembered was looking for a cab. And then… Oh, he remembered he was forced into a van. Oh! The arena Jamie spoke of. Damn! He knew what had befallen him.
He looked around and saw rows of chairs arranged in circular form. He could see the cloud, but the chairs, filled with thugs, made the walls.
He smelt booze, and smoke from fired-up drugs made the air thick and heated up.
When he fully regained consciousness, he felt a surge of panic wash over him as he realized he was pitted against this giant in the twisted game of violence.
Leonard's limbs felt heavy and unresponsive as he struggled to stand, his feet seeming to betray him at every turn.
He glanced around wildly, searching for some means of escape, but all he saw were the harsh faces of Jamie's lackeys, their grins twisted with malice.
And then he saw her. Maggie, his wife, sitting on a chair next to Jamie, her eyes cold and distant, her lips pressed in a cruel smile.
Leonard's heart clenched at the sight of her, remembering the love they had once shared, now lost to the depths of Jamie's manipulation. And somewhere in the shadows, his daughter lay hidden, her innocence tainted by the darkness that surrounded them.
“Damn me!” Leonardo cursed himself. Not for his failure anymore but for his daughter. He wondered how she would be reared to a positive lifestyle with a man like Jamie with his wife. He wondered how she wouldn't end up being a junkie.
Leonard shifted his gaze to his opponent, the huge guy across the table. He looked at his arm, thick as a giant, and he knew he had no chance.
He knew what Jamie intended for him at the moment. Jamie wanted him dead.
The first slap came in and the crowd cheered.
Jamie felt the cold sand on his cheek. In the instant, he was reminded of his own failings, his own weaknesses. The first slap stung like a physical blow, but it was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.
He had failed as a father, unable to protect his daughter from the clutches of Jamie Doss. He had failed as a husband, losing the love of his life to the darkness that now surrounded them.
Then, he felt his feet again and when he opened his eyes, he saw his opponent waving his hand again, ready for the second shot.
The second slap came harder, sending shockwaves of agony through Leonard's hard and down to his entire body.
His vision blurred with tears as he thought of the life he had once known, the life he wanted to live, now shattered beyond repair. His daughter's laughter echoed in his ears, a ghost of happier times now lost to him forever.
This time, he was prevented from hitting the floor. He was held by the thug behind. He couldn't hear the crowd anymore. But his eyes were opened and all he saw was his daughter - Pamela.
“I will find you, Pam,” he whispered.
But it was the third slap that drove the final nail into Leonard's coffin. The force behind it was like a sledgehammer, crushing his spirit and his will to fight.
He fell to the ground, blood pouring from his broken nose, torn cheek, and crushed jaw. His body was wracked with pain, and he lay there, gasping for breath. He knew that this was the end.
The last thing he said resonated in his cranial nerves and he heard the reverberation. “I will find you, Pam………….”
***
Leonard slowly opened his eyes and found himself standing on a cold, metallic platform. All around him, the walls were made of sleek, shiny metal, gleaming under the bright lights that seemed to come from nowhere.
“I was dead!” he said to himself. “Am I dead?” Now he questioned. “Is this heaven, or hell?”
He remembered his last scene, the pain of missing his daughter. He was himself - breathing, thinking, scared, imagining, and hoping, as he called. “Pam?”
The air had a faint metallic tang to it, and the only sound was the quiet hum of machinery in the distance. It felt surreal like he had stepped into a sci-fi movie.
As he took in his surroundings, Leonard noticed that there were screens lining the walls of the room, displaying various data and images.
In the center of the room, a massive board caught his attention. It was adorned with a large clock featuring digits from 1 to 12, reminiscent of a traditional watch. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was no longer in the world he knew.
Before he had a chance to fully process his situation, a door on the far end of the platform slid open with a soft hiss, and a robotic figure emerged.
The robot moved with a grace and precision that seemed almost human, its metallic frame shining under the lights. It stood before Leonard and spoke in a voice that was oddly soothing yet mechanical.
"LEONARD ST CHADWICK, WELCOME TO THE SIX SHADE SYSTEM," the robot intoned. "YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO REDEEM YOURSELF AND BUY BACK YOUR LIFE, BUT AT A COST. ARE YOU WILLING TO TAKE THE OFFER?"
“What offer?” Leo asked. “Redeem myself?”
“FOR YOUR INFORMATION. YOU ARE DEAD!”
Leonard jolted backward. “What?”
“YOU WERE KILLED IN THE SLAPBOXING SPOT THAT JAMIE PUT YOU IN. HE'LL SOON SELL YOUR WIFE AND USE YOUR DAUGHTER TO MOVE DRUGS. JUST AS YOU FEARED”
“Oh my God!” Leonard exclaimed and then called himself to order, wondering... “What are you?”
“I AM THE PATHWAY TO THE SIX SHADE SYSTEM. A SYSTEM CONCERNED WITH RESHAPING THE WORLD AND DEALING WITH BAD ORGANIZATIONS IN ORDER TO STOP THE OCCURRENCE OF SOME INCIDENTS. YOU ARE A SOUL SEEKING RETRIBUTION. ONE CHEATED AND KILLED UNDULY. YOU WANT TO FIND YOUR DAUGHTER? YOU WANT TO FIGHT BACK? THIS IS WHAT I'M OFFERING.”
Leonard's heart raced as he struggled to make sense of the robot's words. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he was dead, that he had lost everything he held dear.
The pain of his loss still burned fresh in his chest, and the thought of having a chance to undo it all felt like a cruel twist of fate. “If I am dead, how am I here, feeling everything?”
“BECAUSE YOUR SOUL IS HERE. YOUR BODY IS DEAD.”
“Then how? How do I find Pam? How do I get revenge?”
“YOUR SOUL WILL BE REINCARNATED INTO ANOTHER BODY. YOU WILL RETAIN YOUR MIND, AS WELL AS THE HOST'S MIND. THE CLOCK INDICATES YOUR MISSIONS. IT WILL BE TWO MISSIONS PER SHADE. ONCE THE MISSIONS ARE COMPLETE, YOU WILL BE BACK IN YOUR BODY.”
“Body? Where is it?”
“RESERVED. ONCE WE ARE DONE, YOU'LL BE BACK IN IT.”
“I get to see Pam? Do I get to fight back? In whatever Shade? Whatever mission?”
“YES. YOU'LL BE REINCARNATED INTO A POWERFUL CHARACTER, ONE REQUIRED FOR THE MISSION. BUT THE MISSION IN THE SHADE IS IMPERATIVE.”
He knew that he had nothing to lose. If there was a chance to make things right, to see his daughter again and get revenge, he would take it, no matter the cost. “I accept. Launch it,” Leonard said. "I am willing to do whatever it takes to redeem myself and buy back my life."
The robot's mechanical face remained impassive as it nodded in acknowledgment. "VERY WELL, LEONARD ST CHADWICK. YOUR JOURNEY BEGINS NOW. WELCOME TO THE SIX SHADE SYSTEM.”
Immediately after the announcement, the metallic platform clanged, and the clock ticked to the first digit, indicating that the first mission was in sync.
With a soft whir of its servos, the robot turned and gestured for Leonard to follow. As he went, his vision faded and all he heard was beepings . . . . . . . . . . “
- Writer
