Chapter 4: Car Accident
The violent roar of gunfire shattered Gloria's thoughts about her son's future.
She barely had time to react before the windows of their car exploded, bullets tearing through metal.
On their right, a pink off-road vehicle was keeping pace, its driver—a muscular Animal Gang thug—leaning out of the window, gripping a gold-cased heavy machine gun.
The trigger was pulled.
Ta-ta-ta! Ta-ta-ta! Ta-ta-ta!
Shell casings flew as a storm of bullets rained down, first shredding the windows of David's car, then striking the corporate sedan on their left.
David instinctively flinched back, heart hammering, as glass shattered around him.
Across from them, the black Arasaka business car was taking heavy fire, but its reinforced plating absorbed the bullets.
David's car?
It wasn't built to withstand this kind of firepower.
The engine coughed. The dashboard sparked. The hood was full of holes.
Then, the corporate sedan suddenly accelerated.
The Animal Gang's SUV gave chase.
David's breath caught as he saw a gunner climb onto the roof of the SUV, lifting a red RPG rocket launcher onto his shoulder.
"Don't let the company dog get away!"
The launcher locked on.
David watched in horror as the gunner fired—
The rocket screamed through the air—
And then, at the last second, the black sedan braked hard, swerving.
The RPG hit thr the target.
BOOOM!!
Bang!
The SUV flipped.
The corporate vehicle twisted in the air, crashing down onto the pavement—
Then exploded.
A blazing fireball erupted skyward.
David barely had time to scream.
The wreckage tumbled toward them.
"Mom! Brake!"
Gloria's hands twisted the wheel, her foot slammed down on the brakes.
But the car was already moving too fast.
The wreckage hit them head-on.
Bang!
The world spun violently.
Then—darkness.
---
A sharp, metallic ringing filled David's ears.
Pain pulsed through his skull. His vision swam in red light.
He was hanging upside down—his seatbelt the only thing keeping him from crashing into the roof of the overturned car.
His mother.
His vision focused, darting around the wreckage—then froze.
Gloria lay just beyond the broken windshield, motionless on the pavement.
The fire was spreading.
David struggled violently against the seatbelt.
His fingers scrambled for the buckle, yanking, pulling—
It wouldn't release.
His legs were pinned.
He couldn't move.
Outside, flames crept closer, at his mother's unconscious form.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
"Mom!"
The heat was unbearable. The smoke thickened.
A mechanical whir filled the air.
David jerked his head up as a floating Trauma Team AV descended from above.
Two medics in green health suits jumped out, their boots crunching against broken glass.
David nearly sobbed in relief.
"Help! Please—my mom—"
One of the medics squatted in front of him, scanning his vitals with a biometric reader.
Then, in a cold, detached voice—
"This man is not a client."
David's chest caved in.
A second medic scanned Gloria.
"Neither is this woman."
No.
No, this wasn't happening.
They were leaving.
"Wait!"
David's voice cracked as he thrashed against his restraints.
"She's still alive! You can't—"
The first medic turned away.
"Our priority is our clients' safety. These two can be left for the municipal corpse truck."
The Trauma Team boarded their floating vehicle.
David's world crumbled as he watched them lift off.
They were gone.
His lungs burned, his body weak from blood loss.
Gloria was still in the fire.
And he was powerless.
His vision darkened.
Just before he blacked out—
Footsteps.
Someone was approaching.
David, with the last strength left in his body, raised a trembling hand.
His fingers pointed weakly toward the fire.
His voice, barely a whisper—
"Save my mother…"
Then—darkness.
---
The neon surgical sign buzzed faintly above the doorway.
David sat slumped on a worn plastic bench, his school uniform torn and stained with blood.
His hands were wrapped in bandages, his head aching from the crash.
The clinic smelled of cheap antiseptic and old metal.
A gruff-looking doctor pushed through the doors, his face hidden behind a dust visor and green surgical mask.
In one hand, he held a digital tablet, the other scrolling through hospital fees.
He didn't even look up.
"The surgery was successful, but she's still in a coma."
David's throat was dry.
"Can I see her?"
The doctor didn't bother to stop scrolling.
"No. The cheapest package doesn't include medical visits."
Silence.
Then, the doctor handed him a hospital bill.
"Three days to pay."
David's fingers trembled as he took it.
"This is why everyone in Night City buys insurance."
The doctor walked away.
David sat motionless, staring at the crippling debt.
His mother's blood-stained belongings sat in his lap.
He had nothing.
No money.
No options.
No way out.
A deep breath.
David hugged his mother's things tightly, forcing himself to stand.
He walked out of the clinic into the neon streets.
The lights of Night City stretched endlessly above him, glowing like false promises.
He made his way back to Santo Domingo, reaching his apartment building—only to find a red holographic warning flashing on his door.
"Entry Denied. Rent Overdue."
David's hands balled into fists.
He kicked the iron door hard, frustration surging through his veins.
Then, without a word, he crawled through the ventilation shaft, slipping inside his own locked-out home.
The exhaustion was unbearable.
But he couldn't rest.
His mother was still in the hospital.
And he had three days to pay.
David searched through everything he had, desperate for money.
Basketball gear.
Old game consoles.
Random junk.
Nothing.
Hours passed.
By dawn, his desperation had turned into something darker.
He called the prosthetic doctor who had sold him the pirated upgrade chip.
His voice was flat.
"How much can I get if I sell a kidney?"
The answer was almost enough to cover the bill.
It was his only option.
The surgery was scheduled for tomorrow.
David didn't care.
All that mattered was saving his mother.
Even if it meant giving up a piece of himself.