OPPORTUNITY SYSTEM: THE RISE TO FAME

Chapter 1. The opportunity system

James didn't know whether he was alive or not. It was as though he was helplessly trapped in between the thin line that separated life from death and death from life. He could not move but he could feel, he could feel pain, excruciating pain. His brain was pounding in his skull and the whole of his body ached, as though he had been beaten. His heart beat faintly. Even inhaling and exhaling took massive effort from him.

He could also not see anything but hear faint, distant, jeering voices mockingly calling his name.

"....look at him, lying there like a piece of shit……"

".....what a loser he is. Definitely doesn't deserve her……"

".....she chose me over you for a reason. You are nothing, nothing compared to me……"

Those words flitted in and out of his head, leaving no meaning behind. They seemed to bounce and echo around his skull and he could not make it stop.

The faint, mocking voices seemed to grow louder and louder until it seemed as though  people were beside him, bellowing in his ear. He wanted to clap his hands over his ear but he could not. His hands seemed stiff and unmovable like they were not his to control. The voices got louder and louder until it all became too painful for his ears.

His eyes snapped open and the voices disappeared at once. Where was he? He didn't know. He was lying on his back in the dust, the sun was blazing hard in his face. His eyes swivelled from left to right, taking in his surroundings. He seemed to be in some sort of desert or sandy wilderness. A warm breeze was blowing sand across his face and into his eyes and mouth. His throat was parched with thirst.

With a great effort, James managed to get himself into a sitting position and eventually stood up. He looked around him again. Yes. He was definitely in a desert. All he could see across the far horizon was sand. He could not see any trees or grasses. No houses, no roads, just him standing in the middle of a vast sea of hot, desert sand to his left and right.

He scratched his head and tried to remember what had happened. How had he landed here? All he could remember were fuzzy memories in his mind of him walking into a gym to make a delivery when he had run into his girlfriend cheating. He got into a brawl with the guy she was with and he punched him, hard in the face making him lose consciousness.

So he was confused. The last thing he remembered was losing consciousness in a gym. That didn't explain how he had ended up in this desert or wilderness or whatever it was. He wasn't even wearing his normal clothes. His feet were bare and the hot sand scorched it. Was it possible that he was dreaming while his real self was lying in a hospital bed somewhere?

Something suddenly caught his eyes. Something or someone was approaching him from far off in the horizon. He squinted in the gleaming desert sun to see what or who it was. It slowly took shape as it approached until he realized that it was a horse, or something that looked like a horse, galloping towards him. Closer inspection made him realize that the horse was not alone. There was actually someone riding it.

The horse and the rider finally got to where he was and reined in. The rider jumped down from the horse with accustomed ease. He turned to face James.

 The stranger was of middle height and had exposed and scarred, muscular arms. He was completely hooded and masked so it was impossible to see his or her face.

They stood there for a few moments staring at each other without a word. James contemplated the stranger. Was he here to help him or to do otherwise?

The stranger started towards James making him to back away quickly in alarm and stumble back to the ground.

The stranger stopped and regarded James who was panting fearfully on the floor.

"Hello, James Jackson."

James blanched. How did he know his name?

"How do I know your name?" The stranger said amusedly, as though he had read James' thoughts. "As to that, I can't tell. I could explain from now till evening time, even for weeks and months and ages to come and you'd still not understand how I know. All you can do is just believe that I do know, dear James."

James' throat, which until this moment had seemed clamped shut, gave way and he was able to force some words out for the first time.

"Wh…who are you?" He spluttered.

"Who am I?" The stranger said. " I have been known by several people over several ages by several names, but you James Jackson, can call me; "the opportunity system".

There was silence for a moment. The stranger had not taken his eyes off James for a second. James imagined that he was smiling under his mask.

"How did I get here?" James asked. "I was at the gym and……and then I got hit and…." He closed his eyes and grimaced. "How did I get here?" James repeated. "How can I go home?"

"You'd be able to go home in good time." The stranger replied. "As to how you got here, that was the wrong question to ask. The right question is: why did you get here?"

James sat up, a little confused at this statement. He was about to reply when the stranger spoke again.

"I am just a messenger, James." He said. "I am here to deliver a message. Brace yourself. In a short while you will be given a million dollars. This money, however, comes with a task. You are to spend it completely within three days. Failure to spend it completely would mean some serious consequences."

The stranger's words made little sense to James. He would be credited a million dollars? He was to spend it within three days? What the hell was he talking about?

"Do not worry, James Jackson." The stranger said. " In a short while, when you are fully awake, you will know exactly what I am talking about." The stranger once again shows his ability to read James' thoughts.

The stranger turned and mounted the horse. He turned to James once more before he rode off again.

"Remember. You've only got three days, three days or there would be dire consequences." The stranger said. He took something from a pouch slung over his shoulder and tossed it towards James. It was a sort of small, spherical object.

"Your time is ticking." The stranger said.

After taking a last look at James, he spurred his horse on. James watched as he galloped away, becoming more and more fuzzier in the distance until he could no longer see him.

James picked up the object. It was a sort of hourglass with purplish sand in it. James felt frustrated. He had hoped it was something that would help him get back home. He threw it away angrily and it landed on the floor.

Suddenly, a voice shouted his name loudly.

"James!"

James's eyes snapped open and he woke up.