2025-04-17 19:10:23CHAPTER 2: The Trash You Are
The cold wasn’t what woke him.
It was the sting in his chest.
Rowan coughed, a sharp sound that echoed off brick walls. The world around him was hazy, streetlights buzzed above like dying fireflies, and garbage bins lined the alleyway he’d been dumped in like yesterday’s leftovers.
A flash of pain jolted through his ribs, forcing him to roll onto his side. His shirt was soaked with blood, or with maybe the filth from the ground. His face ached. His left eye throbbed. His lips were cracked, split down the middle.
He’d been beaten before. As a teenager in high school. But this? This was a different kind of cruelty.
And it all played back in his head like a horror movie.
FIVE HOURS EARLIER.
“Teach him a lesson,” Mr. Cooper’s voice echoed.
Two bodyguards. Not even well-trained, just goons with fists like sledgehammers.
Rowan had barely raised his hand before the first punch collided with his stomach, forcing bile up his throat.
“You’re trash!” Mrs. Cooper’s voice rang in his ears.
Another blow. His head whipped to the side.
“We should’ve left you on the street when you were brought to us.”
A kick to his ribs.
His legs buckled. He hit the floor hard.
Aurora just watched, then turned to Carson.
“He’s really an idiot. He thought i loved”
Not a flicker of guilt.
Not a word to stop the pain.
Rowan lifted his face from the floor, blood dripping from his nose. His body shook as he tried to rise. His hands trembled as he reached for the table leg to steady himself.
That’s when Carson stepped forward, crouched low, and whispered into his ear.
“She moaned my name last night, you know. While you were upstairs... folding laundry.”
Then, with a chuckle, Carson stood and gave a nod.
The guards dragged Rowan to the front door and tossed him down the porch steps like garbage.
Literally.
Into the gutter.
The sky was already dark, the air crisp with a coming storm. His fingers clawed at the concrete, trying to rise, trying to breathe.
But every breath hurts.
Every breath reminded him he was nothing to them.
***
PRESENT.
Rowan coughed again and felt blood rise into his mouth. He spit it out, watching the red stain the sidewalk.
His ears rang. His vision was cloudy.
That was when he saw it.
A flicker.
White. Clean. Out of place in a city like this.
It hovered above him, like a hologram.
‘[SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
Welcome, ROWAN STORMONTSync Level: 0.01%Vitals: CriticalMission: Survive. Reclaim. Rise.’“What... the hell?”
Rowan blinked. He rubbed his eyes, but the text didn’t disappear.
“What’s this?”
He tried to sit up. Failed. Tried again. Succeeded, but barely.
The words remained in front of him, glowing softly, shifting as he moved, like augmented reality.
“Is this... a dream?” he mumbled, then it turned into fear. “Wait, Am I dying? Am I dead?”
‘Cognitive Response Detected. Welcome, Host.’
“What the fuck? “Host?” he whispered.
‘You are now linked to the STORMONT CORE SYSTEM
This system is unique. It belongs to your bloodline.Syncing...WARNING: Sync Progress Delayed due to Physical Damage.’Rowan coughed again. His fingers trembled.
“Is this a hallucination?” he whispered.
‘You have been in a dormant state for 23 years. Activation was triggered by emotional trauma and betrayal.’
His eyes widened.
“You’ve... been inside me all this time?”
‘Affirmative.’
“And you can hear me?”
‘Affirmative’
Rowan still could not believe what was happening. Despite the pain he felt in his arms, he waved his hands in the air, but the hologram remained, like a virtual television meant only for him
“But…But Why now?”
‘You reached your breaking point. This system responds only to authenticity, pain, purpose, and need.’
Rowan wanted to laugh.
He was bleeding. Homeless. Betrayed.
Authentic enough?
A low growl of an engine made his head snap up, his body flinched in fear.
A sleek black limousine pulled up beside the alley.
The car door opened slowly, and out stepped a tall man in a crisp black coat, tailored like money and mystery. His face was half-shadowed by the streetlight, but his presence radiated something far more commanding than wealth.
He walked over calmly, looked down at Rowan, and pulled a clean white handkerchief from his pocket. Without a word, he crouched, wiped the blood from Rowan’s face, then extended a hand.
“Rowan Stormont?” the man asked.
Rowan eyed the outstretched hand warily. “Who the hell are you?”
“My name is Conrad. And I’ve been waiting twenty-three years for you to wake up.”
Rowan hesitated.
‘Trust Level: 42%
System Suggests Temporary Alliance’He took the hand.
Conrad helped him into the limo. Inside, it smelled like leather and luxury. A tablet blinked on the center console.
As the doors closed, Conrad poured water into a glass and handed it to him.
Rowan drank like a starving man.
“Urm.. kind sir”. He stammered “Where are we going?” he asked, clearing his throat.
Conrad didn’t answer. He simply turned the tablet toward Rowan.
On the screen was a live feed of a private hospital suite. The bed was pristine. Staff bustled around, prepping it.
“For you,” Conrad said.
“Why?”
“Because your parents left strict instructions that if the system ever activated, you'd need full medical attention... and answers.”
Rowan froze.
“My... parents?”
Conrad nodded. “You were never meant to grow up with the Coopers. You were hidden. For your safety. But the world forgot. Until tonight.”
Rowan leaned back, every word pulling him deeper into a world he didn’t understand.
‘New Quest: Unlock Tier 1 Memory. Estimated Time: 24 hours.’
He blinked. “What memory?”
‘Parental Memory Locked. Tier 1 Access Pending System Recovery.’
He clenched his jaw. "Then let’s recover."
The limo moved silently through the city.
But Rowan’s mind was in a riot.
The betrayal, the revelation, this... system.
He glanced at Conrad sharply, eyeing him suspiciously. “How do I know you’re not using me?”
Conrad smiled faintly. “You don’t. But your system will.”
‘Lie Detected: 0%
Current Trust Status: Neutral-Positive’He was fascinated, and his curiosity kicked in.
“So Conrad. Wait, that’s your name right?”
“Yes Young Master”
“Young Master?”. The name sounded weird to him. He had to stare at Conrad for some seconds but quickly waved it off. “ So you are saying that just by looking at someone, this weird system can tell me if they are telling me the truth or not?”
“Yes Sir”
“Woaww!” Rowan could literally feel his head swelling. If only he had this system years back, he would have been able to see through Aurora and her family. “ So what else can it do?”. He changed his posture curiously, leaning towards Conrad.
“I don't have any more information sir. It is left to you to find out for yourself.”
Rowan let out a breath.
“Fine. But I want answers.”
“You’ll get them,” Conrad said. “But first, you need to survive.”
Rowan looked out the window. The city blurred by.
He didn’t know where this road was leading.
But it wasn’t back.
He was done being used.
Done being quiet.
Done being the trash they all threw out.
The system pulsed again.
‘Next Mission Unlocked: Infiltrate. Recover. Retaliate.
Location: Cooper Enterprises.Timer Begins: 24 hours.’Rowan narrowed his eyes.
“Then let the storm begin.”
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