The Flawed System - Chapter 2 Last Talk

(Note: For those confused fellas, this is happening in her mind)

*Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep*

{Mom just a few more minutes…}

[Perfect System activating…Host has unstable condition]

{Huh? Who are you? Where are you?}

[I am the Perfect System. Right now you are fatally injured and have chances of dying.]

{So…?}

[I’ll use my awe-inspiring power to heal you!]

[Using energy to heal Host]

[Requesting to use energy to heal Host]

[Begging to use energy to heal Host]<….Denied>

[ (()) ]

{What’s going on…?}

[Host has suffered internal as well as external injuries]

{So does that mean I’m going to die?}

[…Yes. Even if you are supposedly in that small room full of machines and equipment to cut people up, you’re still not going to survive.]

{But…I have so many things to do…I have a life ahead of me…I CAN’T JUST DIE LIKE THIS!}

[You will and just accept your fate]

Justine was unwilling to die just like this. She had a family that loved her. Although her elder sister, Rachel, may seem aloof and beyond reach, Justine knew she truly loves and care for her. Her dad, Alex, may seem like a strong and tough guy, he was still a tender and loving father. Her mother, Christina, may be one hell of a strict mother, nevertheless, she was the one who supported her every action in life. And…there was John. She still haven’t received his proposal and get married. She hasn’t gotten a wedding that she dreamed of and more importantly, a child that she can call her own.

{Is there anyway for me to meet them again?}

[…There is. As you can see, I am a System. I can help you achieve unbelievable things such as wealth, fame and power. However you’ll have to be determined to achieve all of this. After all, there is no free lunch in this world. The price you’ll have to pay is to willingly die and be reborn into a new world to achieve new heights. Or reject me and die a dog’s death.]

Justine thought in silence. She decided to weight the pros and cons. Firstly, this system is very mysterious and magical. Although she doesn’t have absolute trust in the system yet, it seems that the sole fact of it appearing in her consciousness is convincing enough. In addition, it seems that she will die sooner or later even if she reject the existence of the system. So in conclusion she made up her mind.

{I don’t need you in my life. I want to live with my family. I need to be with John and have a talk with him. Not a life in an unknown world filled with countless danger.}

[…I see. So this is the path you take. Interesting…very interesting.]

==========================

John soon arrived at the hospital and at the same time another car that was familiar to him also opened up. The people that came out of the car was Alex, Christina, and Rachel. They each gaze at each other before nodding and heading in towards the hospital.

Upon reaching the place that they need to be, they all sat down and waited for the results. The day that was supposedly to be joyous had turned out to be solemn and melancholic. Seconds of waiting turned to minutes and hours. No noise can be heard in the distant and only the sound of breathing could be heard.

*Doors open*

Everyone stared at the doctor and stands up.

Christina, worried sick, went to the Doctor and asked him,”How is she?”

The Doctor, used to such scenes, patiently replied to her in a calm tone,”She will not last for long. She can only live for another hour or so before she dies. Her health will start deteriorating after 30 minutes and becomes progressively worse. Use her time preciously.”Then the Doctor quickly walked away to another place that he was needed to be at.

However no one payed any further attention to him and they quickly went to the room that Justine was hospitalized at. When they opened the door, they saw a young girl staring at the wall, dazed. All of them had something to say to Justine so they each talked to each other and decided that each one of them would have 15 minutes to speak to her.

The first one to enter was Justine’s father, Alex. He smiled brightly like a radiant sun and hoped that it would alleviate some of her concerns. He spoke to her gently and told her stories that she did as a child. They conversed and Justine laughed loudly at certain times and at a certain point wished she could scold her past self. The 15 minutes past by quickly and Alex took one last look at Justine before he left.

The next one to enter was Justine’s mother, Christina. She looked different from usual. Her makeup was smeared from crying and looked quite funny. However Justine reminded herself that the main reason that Christina was quite funny looking was that she was going to die soon. Yet, despite her efforts to hold her laughter in, she couldn’t. She let loose an ear piercing laughter that even people quite far from them could hear. Her mother, reprimanded her and said that laughing that loud would affect her health, yet her mother couldn’t be strict with Justine and released a smile in her face, discarding the previous stone faced mother. Her mother then started talking how difficult it was to raise her and even let out facts that can ruin her reputation she built up.

Then her mother started tearing up, hugged Justine and said,”I’m sorry for being strict with you. I just wanted you to have a good temperament. Well maybe not like your sister but I just wanted you to wake up early by yourself and not be a sloth.”

“I know Mom. I know.”Justine calmly said.

“Well it looks like my time is up and I am sure your elder sister has a lot of things to say as well.”Her mother got up and walked out, signaling Rachel to go in.

Rachel, as always, was elegant. She came in the room and looked at Justine for a few seconds. Then completely unexpectedly, she slapped Justine in the face. Justine, unable to comprehend what was happening, was shocked senseless. Her elder sister, famed to never lose her temper, actually let out her emotions like a dam that was busted open.

“YOU IDIOT! DO YOU EVER THINK WHAT HAPPENS BECAUSE OF YOUR ACTIONS! DO YOU THINK YOU ARE A HERO THAT CAN SAVE THE WORLD?” Rachel yelled loudly and her face looked like she was about to cry.

“I’m…sorry”Justine weakly replied.

“A ‘I’m sorry’ does not solve everything. Otherwise every criminal wouldn’t need to go to jail and there would be world peace.”Rachel jokingly said.

“Seriously though, what is wrong in your head to act like a hero when you can’t even save yourself?”

“I…I couldn’t stand and watch that kid getting killed. The poor kid, he hadn’t even started his own life before he could even enjoy it.”

Once Rachel heard her logic, she understood.”I…I see…Yes. There is some reasoning in your words.”After Rachel said that, she hugged Justine and soon left the room.

It was at this time that 3 unknown individuals arrived. One was a thirty year old man, another was a woman in her late twenties and the last one was the kid that Justine saved.

“Who are you?”Alex suspiciously questioned.

“Uhmm you see, our kid was the reason for your daughter to be in this condition. He was hopping on the streets without paying attention. My wife was buying some boba tea when she realized that our child was missing. So she quickly went to search for him. From what I’ve heard, I heard that our child was about to get run over from some retard who was texting while driving. However your daughter’s actions saved him. But…now your daughter is going to die. I am here to express our family’s sincere apologies.”Soon the man bowed and so did the woman. The kid didn’t understand the situation but copied his parent’s action and occasionally looked up to his parents.

Alex and Christina looked at each other and sighed.

“We accept your apologies. No matter what, it already happened and there’s no point in venting out our anger on you. In addition…”Alex looked at the kid.”Your child still has a future ahead of him. He has so much to live for. He shouldn’t be dying so early on in life.”

The man quickly raised his head and thanked Alex profusely.

“Now…John it’s your turn. You only have less than 10 minutes so say it fast.” The atmosphere soon turned grim as they once realized that Justine only has so much time left to stay in this world.

“Okay.”John soon walked into the room and looked at Justine who was staring right back at him.

John walks up to Justine and analyze her face. It was still beautiful as the first time he met her on the first day of High school. Excluding the slap mark in her cheeks, she was still the beauty that he once saw her as.”You silly girl. Why would you do something so stupid?”John seriously said while squeezing her nose. In response, Justine pouted.”Hmph, you and my sister sound so similar. Both of you criticizing my actions first and then maybe bawling your eyes out soon.”Justine stated confidently.

“Well maybe…I will start to miss you.”John said as tears started to form and he hid his face by looking down.

“You…”Justine was shocked at seeing John crying but soon realized that mischievous smile he had on his face when he looked back up. Angry, she started pinching him but exhaustion soon overtook her. She sat there collapsed on the pillow and realized that John was panicking at her sudden action.”So I’m going to die soon huh?”Justine said deprecatingly. She closed her eyes and waited for death to come to her. While waiting, she soon felt something soft on her lips.

“You…little rascal…”Justine weakly said as she opened her eyes as she discovered a trail of tears on John’s face. This time, it couldn’t be any more real.

“I’ll be whatever you want me to be, as long as you don’t leave me,”John replied lovingly.

“I’m…sor-”

*beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep*

Outside, Alex, Christina, and Rachel were waiting patiently. However all of a sudden, they heard a ear piercing scream that could make even the heavens shake. Startled they all rushed in to find John sobbing profusely at Justine’s dead body and somehow magically they could see a condensation of lights forming together to show an image of Justine waving goodbye. Soon, mournful cries could be heard throughout the hospital.