Tommy steps out of the dimly lit apartment, his mind still reeling from everything he’s seen. The weight of it all feels suffocating, and he finds himself wandering aimlessly until he collapses onto a bench under the shadowy glow of a streetlamp. The night is quiet, almost eerily so, until he notices a figure approaching. A man, someone familiar.

  “Hey… you,” the man says, his voice gruff yet calm. “Kid, you were in that room, weren’t you?”

  Tommy, his face pale and vacant, nods silently.

  The man sits beside him, his presence strangely grounding. He doesn’t seem as shaken as Tommy, and after a moment, he speaks again. “I’m Arthur,” he says. “I was a special forces soldier. Died yesterday on the frontlines. It’s weird being alive again. What about you, kid? You died too, didn’t you?”

  Tommy nods once more, the trauma still etched across his face.

  “What’s your name? How old are you? And what are you doing mixed up with those killers?” Arthur asks, his tone softening.

  After a pause, Tommy finally speaks, his voice barely above a whisper. “My name’s Tommy… I’m 16. I was running from people—I stole something valuable. They shot me, tore me apart. And then… she brought me back.” His voice breaks as he continues. “I don’t understand why. Why me? Why can’t anything good happen in my life? All I want is a comfortable life for my mom, my sister, and me. That’s all.”

  Arthur’s expression shifts, touched by the boy’s raw honesty. “I’m sorry, kid. Sounds like you’ve been forced to grow up too fast. But listen,” he says, leaning closer. “I want to help you. Teach you how to be strong, so one day you can take what’s yours.”

  Tommy looks at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean we should ally ourselves,” Arthur says with a small grin. “You need a mentor—a big brother.”

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  Tommy hesitates. “But… they said only one of us can win the prize.”

  Arthur’s smile fades, replaced by a solemn expression. “Kid, I’m already dead. My family’s been told I’m gone. My wife’s been having an affair and was just waiting for my death. My parents? They hated me and wished I’d never been born. I’ve done terrible things, killed more people than I can count. I don’t want to live anymore, but if I can help someone like you—really help—I can find some meaning in all this.”

  Tommy, moved by Arthur’s honesty, nods. “Alright. Let’s ally.”

  For the first time that night, Tommy feels a faint glimmer of warmth. Arthur’s presence, despite his brutal past, brings a strange sense of comfort. As Tommy heads home, he feels a little lighter, though the storm inside him hasn’t yet passed.

  The next morning, in a cramped, dilapidated house, Tommy’s mother calls out to him weakly. “Tom, can you get me the medicine on the table, please?”

  Tommy rushes to her side, handing her the medicine, his heart aching as he looks into her tired eyes. Her coughing fits wrack her frail body, but she smiles faintly. “My son, don’t look at me like that,” she says gently. “When I get better, I’ll go back to work, and we’ll finally get to see the snow together—me, you, and your sister. Just hold on a little longer, okay? Could you and your sister go to the doctor and see if what we have is enough for the medicine?”

  Tommy nods, his voice strained. “You’ll see the snow, Mom. I promise.”

  He and his younger sister make their way to the doctor’s office, clutching a small bag of money they’ve scraped together. Standing before the doctor, his sister pleads, “Please, this is all we have. Can you treat her?”

  The doctor glances at the coins, then sighs dismissively. “I’m running a business, not a charity. This isn’t enough. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have paying customers to attend to.”

  Crushed, the siblings leave the office. Tommy’s fists clench, rage building inside him. For a moment, he considers destroying the entire clinic with the powers he now possesses. But as his mind races, the memory of the organization’s threats flashes in his head. If I act out, they’ll kill Mom and my sister too.

  Taking a deep breath, he swallows his anger and pushes the thought aside, though the resentment burns deep within him. For now, he’ll have to endure, but a fire has been lit in his heart—one that won’t be extinguished easily.