Rude Awakening

David's eyes fluttered open to a dull ache pounding through his skull. The dim, flickering overhead lights buzzed like insects. Cold metal pressed against his arms and legs—he was tied to a chair, wrists and ankles bound.

Across from him, Chloe sat with her head lowered, her lip bleeding, her wrists tied. Beside her was a young girl, maybe fourteen—terrified, shaking. Her sister.

David let out a dry breath. "Great. Just great."

A door creaked open behind them.

Footsteps—calm, confident.

A man in a black coat stepped into view. Broad-shouldered, shaved head, a snake tattoo coiled up his neck and curled around his jawline. His smile was as venomous as the inked serpent.

"Well, well," the man said, pacing slowly around them. "Looks like my lucky night. Three little birds, all in a row."

David narrowed his eyes.

"You must be the boss," he muttered.

The man grinned. "Name's Vess. But you won't need to remember it, since you won't be keeping your brains much longer."

Chloe raised her head, glaring at him. "This wasn't the deal. You said if I brought David, you'd release my sister. You swore."

Vess shrugged. "And you believed me? That's adorable. Look, sweetheart… that's how business works. The moment you put your trust in someone desperate enough to sell people like cattle, you already lost. You walked into a game rigged from the start."

Chloe gritted her teeth. "You're a monster."

"And you're naive."

David suddenly chuckled. A dry, hoarse laugh from deep in his throat. Blood trickled from his nose again.

Vess turned, raising a brow. "Something funny, freak?"

David looked up slowly, a crooked smile on his face. "Oh… no. Not funny. Just… ironic."

The room went quiet.

Chloe blinked, confused. "David…?"

Vess leaned in. "You better explain quick before I blow a hole in your chest."

David tilted his head. "You really think this is real? That this is actually happening the way you believe it is?"

Vess scoffed. "We're not playing mind games, kid."

"But we are," David said. His voice grew calm, eerie. "You just don't know the rules."

His breathing slowed. Blood now streamed from both nostrils. His hands trembled slightly.

"You asked me what my power is… and I've been vague. I see from all perspectives, sure. But there's more to it."

Vess paused.

"When I look at someone," David continued, "I don't just see what they see—I become them. I feel their memories. I read their thoughts. I know their fears, their desires. Their lies. Their truths."

Chloe stared at him, eyes wide. "You… knew?"

David nodded. "You had the betrayal thought in your head all day, Chloe. That memory kept flashing behind your eyes. You didn't want to do it. You kept trying to convince yourself it was the only way."

She looked down, ashamed.

"But the best part," David said, looking back to Vess, "is that once I connect… I can manipulate what you see. I can feed illusions directly into your perspective. Make your mind believe in false realities as if they were truth."

He smiled wider. "Nothing around you is real unless I want it to be."

Vess's face tightened. "Bull."

David leaned back slightly. "Go ahead, then. Prove it. Shoot me in the head. Find out if this is real."

Vess raised his gun slowly, hesitating.

David tilted his head. "What's wrong? Scared the dream might break?"

"You're bluffing."

"Maybe," David said. "Or maybe this is all just happening in your head right now—and I'm already free."

Vess's hand twitched.

David's smile faded into a calm stare. "Do it. Pull the trigger. Let's see which one of us is real."

BANG.

The gunshot echoed through the room.

David's head jerked back violently, blood splattering the air. His body slumped forward in the chair, lifeless, the sound of his head hitting the floor deafening in the quiet aftermath.

Chloe's breath caught in her throat. "No…"

Vess lowered the gun slowly, his hand shaking, a grim satisfaction creeping over his face. He had done it. The freak who had been playing mind games with him, manipulating the situation, was now dead.

He stepped closer, inspecting the body—no movement, no twitching. David was gone.

For a long moment, the only sound in the room was the faint buzzing of the overhead lights.

Chloe's face was pale, her hands trembling as she stared at David's motionless form. She had failed. She had put everything in jeopardy for nothing.

She had brought David here—straight into the trap—and now he was gone.

Vess stepped back, his voice low. "I told you. This is how business works. No one gets out alive."

And as the warehouse stood silent, the weight of that truth pressed heavily on everyone in the room.