The Zenith System

Chapter 013

“Why are you so slow?!” Celeste scolds. She meets him by the door and snatches the bag of groceries that she asked him for. “It’s painful, ugh! I need my pain reliever since an hour ago.”

She takes what she needs and leaves him by the door. She moves to the living room, not even noticing the beating he has just endured just because she went away and been very happy while on her vacation!

She turns towards him and snaps, “Hurry up with the other groceries, Zack! What are you standing there for?”

“I-I’m sorry,” he stammers weakly, trying not to show his pain.

Celeste rolls her eyes and shakes her head before returning her attention to the bag.

“Do you need anything else?” he asks, trying to sound helpful.

“Just my pain reliever… Where is it…” Celeste grumbles as she rummages through the groceries. “And probably some snacks.”

“Here you go,” he says, handing her the pain reliever.

“Hmm, you’re not as useless as I think you are,” she says and snatches the medicine from him.

Zack flinches while she goes to the kitchen to drink water. He groans as he sits on the couch, his body still throbbing with pain from the earlier beating. He looks over all the groceries that Celeste had asked him to buy and wonders why he was in this state. Why does he put up with her? With everything else in his life?!

Celeste returns, holding her abdomen and asks, “Are you okay? Why are you crouching like that?”

“I’m fine,” he lies, forcing himself to sit up straight.

She raises an eyebrow with suspicion but chooses to shrug it off. “Okay, then. Whatever suits you,” she says. “Maybe I can finally sleep now.”

As she disappears into her room, Zack lets out a sigh of relief. He’s exhausted from today’s events and just wants to rest for a while.

But his peace is short-lived as Celeste calls out from her room, “Hey Zack, did you remember to pick up my dry cleaning?”

Zack groans internally, but forces a smile on his face as he replies, “Of course I did. I will bring it to your room tomorrow morning.”

“Good,” Celeste says before closing her door.

Zack sinks back into the couch, feeling completely drained and defeated. He wonders how much longer he can keep up with his life before it consumes him completely.

******************

Zack stands in the damp alley, his back pressed against the cold brick wall. The flickering streetlights cast eerie shadows on the four menacing figures that surround him. They are all snickering as they look at him.

“It’s been close to a week, loser boy,” Ben says, back to collecting what he owes the agency again.

“I know. I’m trying to find work but it’s just… the job market is pretty tight,” he answers, looking around and searching for an escape route.

“He bought some medicine, Adi. Surely, he has money to pay us but he just refuses to pay.”

“That’s not true!” Zack defends. “I was just asked to buy it!”

Adi raises his eyebrow at him. “Asked to buy, huh?”

He nods, looking into Adi’s eyes. “I’m not lying.”

“Then why don’t you steal from whoever this person is?”

He pales. He cannot steal from Celeste! His pride and shame won’t let him!

“Don’t look like this,” Adi says, hitting his head. “Life is tough. You should be tougher.”

He swallows hard. He knows life is hard, but stealing from Celeste? He cannot stomach it!

And then, Adi places his arms around his shoulders and says, “Then… why not ask this person for a loan to pay up for you instead? Hmmm?”

“I can’t… it’s—”

A punch hits his stomach, and he keels over. Adi pulls him upright.

“See here, Zack-boy. My patience is getting thinner. Do you know what happens to borrowers like you who can’t pay up? Do you know what we can do to breakeven because of what you owe us?”

Zack doesn’t even want to imagine, so he just clutches his stomach.

“Based on your expression, you have an idea, huh?”

He nods.

“Okay then, let this be your last warning.”

Then Adi nods to Ben and two other men named Chris and Dino — obviously another set of fake names — and then gestures for them to come closer.

“Please, no…” Zack pleads, as he watches the other three men come closer.

He knows that he will be beaten up again, just because Celeste ordered him to buy some ice cream and over-the-counter medications. She said that their stock is dwindling, so he needed to buy more. He doesn’t want to leave the house, but she fucking insisted! This is all her fault!

“Don’t worry, Zack. This is just another warning. You will still have your life,” Adi says before stepping away from him.

Ben raises his fist and as the punch descends on him, Zack shuts his eyes and braces for the pain. He feels the sharp impact on his jaw and hears the sickening crack of bones. He falls to the ground, gasping for air.

And then, they kick him in the ribs. He tries to defend himself. He even tries to escape, but each of his movements only makes them angrier. They kick and punch him relentlessly, their huffs and groans echoing in his ears.

“Please... Stop...” he begs, but they don’t listen. For each attempt to shield himself from a punch, two blows come in contact with his body.

Then a fist crashes into his temple, and stars explode behind his closed eyelids. Another blow to his midsection. He doubles over and gasps for air.

They continue to beat him until he can no longer move. His face is swollen and bruised. His body is broken and weak. He can barely open his eyes, but when he does, all he sees are their grinning faces.

“That’s enough,” Adi finally says, pulling them away from Zack’s limp body.

The four men loom over him like some kind of sentinels. Their smirks are twisted as they look down at him. He feels like a cornered animal, up for slaughter, and he can’t do anything else to save himself.

“You won’t be able to escape this, Zack,” Adi says before stepping away from him. “So, I suggest that you just… pay up and NOT escape us.”

“Next time, it won’t be this easy,” Chris sneers at him before following Adi out of the alleyway.

When Zack is left alone, he knows that he is lying in a pool of his own blood and tears. He tries to get up and crawl away, but every movement sends waves of pain through his body.

So, he stays lying on the ground, unable to move. His body is battered and bruised, his spirit shattered. He knows he needs help, but he also knows that going to a hospital would only bring more trouble.

“Get up, Zack,” he tells himself, but his limbs refuse to obey. “This isn’t how your story ends…”

But no matter how hard he tries, he can’t seem to find the strength to get up. The pain is overwhelming and as he lies there helpless and hopeless, memories of how this all began flood his mind at the same time that he is losing his hold of his consciousness.