“Maybe there is something you can do,” Calvin said.Calvin watched as Roland, looking utterly defeated, halted in his tracks. The man who once exuded confidence now appeared fragile, his hollow eyes reflecting total surrender. Slowly, Roland turned to face Calvin, his expression weary, as if he had lost everything. "What do you want, Hudson?" he asked, his voice full of exhaustion and despair.Calvin stepped closer, his expression inscrutable. In a situation like this, there was no room for doubt or weakness. "There’s one more thing you can do for me," Calvin said, his voice calm yet firm.Roland frowned, suspicion creeping into his eyes. Even in a weakened position, his survival instincts were still intact. "What kind of help are you talking about? What do you really want?" he asked, his tone tinged with disbelief.Calvin paused for a moment, carefully choosing his words. This wasn’t about exploiting someone’s vulnerability—it was about survival amidst the threats that continued to l
Calvin was still processing his tense conversation with Roland when he noticed James approaching him. The air between them was thick with unresolved tension, but Calvin could sense that James wasn’t here to antagonize him—at least not overtly."Calvin," James began, his tone measured and controlled, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor. The usual edge in his voice was gone, replaced with something closer to acknowledgment, if not respect. "You’ve proven yourself. You cured me, something no one else could do. Because of that, I won’t interfere with your clinic. It’s safe from me... for now." He paused, his gaze hardening slightly. "But let’s be clear—if any other issues arise, I won’t be held responsible. This is purely business, nothing more."Calvin met James’s gaze with a knowing smirk. He wasn’t fooled by the veneer of civility. He knew James too well—this wasn’t an olive branch, just a reluctant concession. “Fair enough, James. I appreciate you not making things harder than they
Lizzie stood a short distance away from Calvin and Alana, feeling the weight of the day's events pressing down on her. The hospital’s cold, sterile atmosphere only added to her exhaustion, and every fiber of her being longed for the warmth and safety of home. The tension between Calvin and Alana, though lessened, still lingered in the air, a subtle reminder of unresolved issues. Lizzie could feel it, but she was too drained to care. All she wanted was to escape the harsh fluorescent lights and the constant hum of medical equipment.She shifted her weight, her body sagging with fatigue, and in a voice that was almost a whisper, she said, "Cal... I'm really tired... Can we go home now?"Her words hung in the air for a moment, as if time had slowed down. Alana, standing close to Calvin, turned sharply toward Lizzie. A thin, almost forced smile curved on her lips, but her eyes revealed her impatience. "Lizzie," she said, her voice edged with a hint of irritation, "if you want to go home,
Calvin and Lizzie finally arrived home, their bodies heavy with exhaustion. The journey back had been quiet, the weight of the day pressing down on them both. Even the usually lively hum of the city streets seemed distant, muffled by the fog of their fatigue. As they stepped into the familiar warmth of their home, the tension that had coiled tightly within them began to ease, replaced by a fragile sense of safety. For now, at least, they were home, away from the chaos that had consumed their day.Lizzie, though visibly drained, instinctively took charge. The house felt emptier than usual, but the presence of the bodyguards, assigned by Price, added a layer of security that she didn’t take for granted. She glanced at them, their faces blank and professional, betraying nothing of the long hours they had endured. Despite their stoic demeanor, she knew they needed rest just as much as she and Calvin did."You all can take some rooms upstairs," Lizzie said, her voice steady despite the fat
Calvin slept deeply, almost too deeply. His body, overwhelmed by exhaustion, sank into the bed like a stone dropped into deep water. The familiar world around him faded away, replaced by the thick, enveloping darkness of sleep. But as the hours passed, that comforting darkness began to shift, becoming something more unsettling.At first, the sleep was blissful—an escape from the day’s chaos. But slowly, a sense of unease crept into his dreams. It was subtle at first, like a faint whisper at the edge of his consciousness. But it grew louder, more insistent, like a drumbeat that refused to be ignored.Calvin's dreams, once peaceful, started to twist and turn, the images in his mind becoming distorted and strange. He found himself in a vast, empty landscape, the ground beneath his feet shifting and unstable. The sky above him was a swirling mass of dark clouds, and in the distance, a faint, rhythmic pulse echoed through the air. It was the same pulse he had felt earlier, the one that had
The darkness around Calvin thickened, swallowing him deeper into the void of sleep. But through the oppressive silence, a sound began to cut through—a voice, faint and distant, but unmistakable. It was Lizzie, calling his name, her voice filled with a frantic urgency that sent a jolt through his subconscious."Calvin! Calvin, wake up!"Her voice echoed through the void, distorted and faint as if coming from a great distance. Calvin’s heart pounded in his chest as he tried to respond, tried to move toward the sound. But his body felt impossibly heavy, like he was submerged in thick, suffocating tar. He struggled to open his eyes, to lift his limbs, but it was like trying to move mountains with his bare hands."Calvin! Please, wake up!" Lizzie’s voice grew more desperate, and Calvin could sense her panic, feel it like a knife twisting in his gut. He knew he had to wake up, had to get out of this dream. But the more he tried to pull himself to consciousness, the more the dream seemed to
Calvin floated aimlessly in the void, his screams echoing back at him in the silence. No matter how hard he tried to run, push, or pull himself forward, he only drifted through the oppressive nothingness. The shadows around him seemed to pulse and shift, mocking his futile attempts to break free. His heart pounded in his chest, fear gnawing at the edges of his mind as the realization of how trapped he was began to sink in.He tried everything—shouting until his throat felt raw, flailing his arms in an attempt to grasp something, anything, that might anchor him. But the space around him remained eerily empty, with no solid ground to stand on, no walls to push against. It was as if the world had become nothing more than a vast, endless sea of darkness, and he was a mere speck lost in its depths.His breath came in ragged gasps, each one echoing loudly in the silence. Panic started to take hold of him, tightening its grip on his chest. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed t
Calvin floated aimlessly in the void, the weight of his situation pressing down on him like an invisible force. The emptiness around him was suffocating, and the realization that his strength was ebbing away made every second feel like a countdown to his end. He couldn’t see his body, but the sensation of heaviness was undeniable. It was as though something was pulling him deeper into the abyss, draining his life force, and there was nothing he could do to stop it."System," Calvin called out, his voice quivering, though he forced himself to sound firm. "I need to get out. Now. I’m getting weaker."His words seemed to dissipate into the void, swallowed by the oppressive silence. A faint pulse of light flickered in the distance, but it was dim, erratic. The system was trying to respond, but something was wrong—he could sense it.There was a moment of eerie silence before the system’s distorted voice broke through, disjointed and fragmented.[Warning... given... Warning... given...]The