Chapter 4: Resurrection and Revenge

When I opened my eyes again, it wasn’t the underworld I’d expected.

The city noise crashed back, too loud, too bright. I was standing on Lincoln Avenue, right back in front of the billionaire.

The sounds of horns, people laughing, and a distant subway rattle filled my ears. Did I… come back to life?

I stared at my hands, wiggled my toes. Shaken, I patted myself down. The pain from the crash and fall faded away, the wounds gone, only fatigue and weakness left.

It was like waking up from a fever dream—sweaty, shaky, but alive. Stunned, I looked at the coin.

It was cool in my palm, the pattern sharp. If I remembered right, it had a strange idol carved on it, with seven open eyes.

Now, one eye was closed.

I squinted—yeah, one eye had definitely snapped shut. Had I just burned a life? How many did I have left?

My brain scrambled for logic—was I dreaming, or was this some kind of twisted magic? My confusion quickly turned to joy—did that mean I had six more lives?

I let out a shaky laugh. Remembering the despair of falling off the cliff, I immediately called Jason.

My hands trembled as I tapped his contact. "Hey, what’s up?"

From his voice, Jason was lounging on the couch, watching a TikTok live on his other phone.

I pictured him, feet up, hoodie half-zipped, a bag of chips balanced on his chest. The moment I heard him, a surge of hatred washed over me.

It filled my throat, hot and bitter. Last time, when I was running for my life, he was just at home, watching the livestream, right?

I could picture him, laughing at the comments, never even breaking a sweat. He just lay there, moved a finger, and cut off my escape completely.

It was so easy for him, so final for me. I nearly bit through my tongue, barely keeping my voice steady: "Jay, hurry, a big client wants to see magic act A13."

I kept my tone cool, even as my knuckles turned white. "A big client? How big could it be?"

Jason didn’t care, the TikTok live still blaring. He always punctuated his sentences with, "You feel me?"—it was his thing.

I could hear the faint thumping of bass and a woman’s voice yelling about crypto. I immediately Venmoed twenty thousand to his account: "That’s the client’s deposit. There’s thirty thousand more if you do it well, plus a bonus."

The chime of his phone cut the air. Hearing the payment notification, Jason’s eyes widened and he shot up straight.

He probably spilled chips everywhere. Hardly anyone likes magic these days—you barely make five or six grand a month. Even with family help, we were both broke.

He’d once tried to sell his old Pokémon cards to pay for rent. I pressed, "The client wants the show in ten minutes. If you can’t make it, I’ll find someone else."

I sounded impatient, but inside, I was pleading. "Coming, coming, of course I can come. Chris, you’re my real bro—always looking out for me. You feel me? I’ll be right there."

He fumbled with his shoes, dropping his keys twice in his hurry. Jason grinned, grabbed his keys, and rushed out.

I watched the dot on Find My Friends start to move, my heart finally settling. This time, he was working for me.