Chapter 19: Something weird

"Alright guys, let’s get back on the road!" the female driver announces and the students all grumble as they drag their feet to the bus.

Parker, even though he’s a bit more confident now, still chooses to sit at the back. As he makes his way to the back, some of the guys call his name and nod at him in acknowledgement. He finds Ben’s dark eyes in the crowd and the guy is still seething from the public embarrassment. Parker ignores him and continues to walk with Tim.

"Why didn’t you sit upfront? Some of those guys were calling your name" Tim says as they settle into their seat and Parker shrugs.

"They’re calling my name right now, but a few minutes ago, it was someone else’s name" he says and leans back in the uncomfortable chair.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tim asks in confusion as he pushes his glasses up and Parker turns his head to his friend’s direction.

"It means, I’m one mistake away from falling to the ’unknown’ list" he says bluntly.

"Then enjoy the fame now that you got it, bro. What are you even talking about?" Tim laughs.

"There are people who get to be famous and there are people who get to be unforgettable...I don’t think anyone will ever forget Genghis Khan" Parker says and Tim shakes his head.

"Nah, never. The dude’s a legend" he says.

"See? That’s what I’m talking about. I want to become unforgettable. I want it to have an impact that even when I’m not performing to an audience, my name makes everyone nod in acknowledgement" Parker says and Tim looks at his friend like he has suddenly grown a second head.

"I’m going to pretend I understood every word you just said and go back to listening to my music" he says, pulls out a pair of wired earbuds, and plugs them into his ears.

’Yeah...Tim doesn’t get it. But you get me right, System?’ Parker asks the one entity he can talk to comfortably.

[System: stick with me and I’ll make your life unforgettable. We’ll take everything Ben has mocked you of and we’ll build it into something a hundred times bigger.]

The response feels chilling for some reason and Parker doesn’t mind. He folds his arms and takes a little nap. He doesn’t know how long the bus will be driven for, but he will spend the trip well.

Parker stumbles as an invisible hand pushes him to the edge of the cliff.

"Woah!" he yells, arms swinging as he tries to stop himself from falling. The same hand that pushed him is now holding him by the back of his clothes. It’s dark and bleak down there. The height is imposing and if he falls, it will definitely lead to an instant death.

"I don’t want to...I don’t want to die" Parker cries out and the hand holding him pushes him forward again, making him scream in fear. He doesn’t know where he is or why he’s here. One minute he was in the bus, and now he’s suddenly dangling on the edge of a dangerous cliff.

"To kill...or not to kill..." a female voice singsongs.

"Not to kill! Not to kill! Fuck!" Parker screams for himself. He doesn’t want to die yet. "Come on, how many times am I going to be near death, I mean...I already survived one situation and I haven’t failed a single mission" he yells desperately to whoever or whatever is fucking with him.

"You are running out of time" a male voice booms and Parker startles at the unexpectedly loud sound. What the fuck is happening to him? Is this some side effect of the second chance system?

"Wait! Wait!..." Parker yells, but no one was directly giving him an answer. It’s like he’s just a pawn in a game. He’s being played by things that are far bigger and stronger than his is, and all he can do is to let it happen.

"We are doing everything we can" another female voice responds. The voice is so sultry that Parker loses control of his body. His flaccid cock becomes erect and his blood grows hot. He’s not even seeing a face and the voice is turning him on.

"More. Do more. MORE" the male voice roars and Parker’s erection dies faster than a cartoon flower goes limp.

Shit.

"Be patient with Parker. You know he hasn’t failed any missions" the female voice says again and Parker grunts. What is this mess?

"System? System??" he calls out desperately. The hand is still holding him by the back of his shirt, he’s still trying to keep his body from falling down the cliff, and he’s dangerously close to bursting into tears.

"I believe in Parker" the female voice says and he feels relief rushing through his veins.

"Fine. Go on. You have another chance" the man says and Parker is suddenly back in the bus. He looks around and realize everyone around him has no clue of what just happened to him. He touches his neck and sure enough, the pain of his collar digging into his skin is there. That means what that thing was...it was real.

"What the fuck..." he whispers and slumps back in his seat.

That was weird.