The Abandoned Son's Rehabilitation

Once in a Lifetime Chance

On the edge of a skyscraper, a man stands still, emotionless as he embraces the cold air. The cool wind blows a tendril of hair in his face as he stares down at the crowd below.

“Don’t jump.” EMS calls out from several paces away. “Stay right where you are.”

Snickering to himself, The man takes off his glasses and lets himself fall backwards over the building. Succumbing to gravity, he allows his body to tumble in the air, crashing against the wind as he aproaches his final destination.

As the man is falling he can see a figure standing at the top floor balcony looking down with an expression that reads as if she's been waiting for this exact moment. She raises her hand up into the air and waves it back and forth like someone playing a game on their phone.

As she does so an odd box containing a message appears in front of his face. It reads: "Do you truly wish to end things this way? Do you not wish to take revenge against those that have stripped you of your dignity?"

The man absentmindedly reads the message in front of him as the wind hits the back of his head. His eyes scan around until he can feel a rage building inside of him.

"Of course I want revenge. If I could, I would take everything from those bastards," the man replies with a voice full of anger, his yells reverberating in the air.

"Good, hold on to that anger. Hold onto it tightly." The message box flashes these words in front of him before everything goes black and the sound of his impact resounds throughout the city streets below.

*beep-beeeeep*

A small beeping noise rings through the room. A young man lies in bed covered in bandages. His eyes open slightly as he looks down at his tattered body. He tries to get out of the bed but fails to move his arms or legs.

Soon, an older woman enters the room carrying an expensive looking purse. She stands next to the man with a look of disgust on her face.

"Ugh, You cant even kill yourself properly. How pathetic!" she says in a high pitched tone.

She places one finger on her forehead and closes her eyes. After a few seconds she opens them again. Her lips curl upward into a smile.

"I have a great Idea. Since you want to die, how about I help you out?" the old lady says as she pulls something from within her purse.

Her fingers wrap around the object hidden inside the bag and then they pull it free. Within her hands is a small syringe filled with an unknown liquid. With a smooth motion, she inserts the liquid in the man's IV.

"Have a nice rest, Luke. And don't blame me, You should blame yourself for being such a failure to your family. Now go ahead and let your brain turn off. It will all be over soon." The old lady says with a sinister grin.

With that said, she walks toward the door leaving behind nothing more than the silence of Lukes mind.

Luke opens his eyes as he hears the door close and allows his eyes to gravitate towards the IV's hanging from his body.

"What the hell did that old hag try to do to me! Even in this state, everyone thinks I'm just some worthless loser!" Luke yells out causing himself to recoil from the pain.

Ripping the IV from his body, Luke throws it across the room, groaning a bit from the effort required to throw the thing far enough to land across the room.

He takes a deep breath and slowly exhales, staring blankly at the ceiling above him. Then he begins to think.

If only I were stronger, smarter, or cooler, then maybe I wouldn't even be in this mess. Maybe my life would've turned out better. Or maybe they just wanted me to be as perfect as my brother. But I guess none of that matters now. 

Luke stares up at the ceiling thinking about what could have happened if he was different when suddenly, a flash of light fills the room followed by another odd box. The box reads: "Greetings master. Thank you for syncing with my program. My name is Bubbles. I will be assisting you in your rehabilitation. Are you ready?"

Luke doesn't respond immediately. Instead, he continues to stare blankly at the ceiling. He was already stressed as it is, and now he had some mysterious entity claiming that he needed a rehab session.

Bubbles waits patiently until finally Luke speaks.

"Yes, I am ready..." Luke answers after a short pause, realizing that the box wasn't going anywhere until he responded.

After hearing Luke's response, Bubbles responds. "Excellent, I shall begin the first step of your treatment. Please remain calm and relax as we progress through the steps.

Luke begins to feel anxious, not knowing what to expect. But soon, the anxiety is suppressed as Luke lets out a blood curdling scream.

An electric shock courses through him as his body convulses uncontrollably and his mind races. "This isn't good. What is happening to me?! Is there anything I can do? Am I dying?"

Suddenly, the world around him seems to come crashing down. He can feel his bones creaking as if they're made of rubber. Every inch of skin feels tight and painful. His muscles tighten up yet he remains conscious throughout the process. Soon, the pain subsides and his senses return to normal.

Luke breathes heavily after recovering from the intense pain that he endured during the experience. He looks around the room and notices that his body feels much lighter than before.

"Congratulations on your recovery master. You are now ready to begin the second stage of your rehabilitation. I hope you find this part of the procedure less unpleasant. Good luck."

Along with this message from bubbles, a new box appears in front of Luke's eyes. It reads: New Mission- Return the gift that your aunt has given you.

Luke stands up from the bed and stretches his body. All of his injuries seemed to have been fixed along with any other problems that may have occurred due to his condition. He was even able to see clearly despite not having his glasses on.

Luke was amazed at the power of this Bubbles character. If he had something like this before, he would have never been made fun of.

Taking a break from praising his savior, Luke focuses on his new mission.

"Return aunties gift? She's never given me anything as long as I've lived, Plus she just tried to kill me. So what is there for me to return?" Luke wonders aloud.

He sits back down on the bed and ponders this question for a while before his gaze turns to the IV bag that she had tampered with previously.

"That must be it!" Luke exclaims excitedly.

Luke reaches over and picks up the bag, holding it in both hands. The contents were still a mystery to him but it was no doubt the "gift" that bubbles was referring to. Luke's face lights up with anticipation.

"It's time for that old hag to get a taste of her old medicine."