The ceiling fan whirred overhead, slicing through the stagnant air.
Just as I predicted, a sudden gust swept through the room, scattering the fine grey powder of Grandmother Henson's ashes. Ryan inhaled sharply. In an instant, his face went from pale to a suffocated purple. He dropped to a crouch, clawing at his throat, gasping for oxygen that wouldn't come.
Panic erupted in the living room.
Vivian shrieked, rushing over to pound on her son's back. "My baby! Ryan, say something!"
I stood outside a convenience store miles away, unwrapping a vanilla cone. The cold sweetness hit my tongue as I watched the chaos unfold on my phone screen. A farce, and I had a front-row seat.
My family swarmed around Ryan like headless chickens. My brother reached for his phone, hands shaking. "I'm calling an ambulance."
"No!" Vivian slapped his hand away. "We need to ask Grandmother first."
Mom chimed in, voice shrill. "Exactly. Hospitals just steal our money. I have a folk remedy. If the dice show a three, we treat him here."
Ryan had collapsed to the floor. His face darkened to a terrifying crimson, his chest heaving in silent spasms. While the boy fought for air, his family debated his fate with bone dice.
Absurd.
Vivian scrambled toward the dice, desperation etched into her features. "Please, Grandmother. Tell us what to do."
She cast the bones.
A three.
Relief washed over them. Following the oracle's command, my brother hoisted Ryan onto his back and carried him to the yard. But Ryan's struggle was visibly weakening.
Vivian forced a thick, dark herbal concoction down the boy's throat. Instead of helping, it triggered a violent convulsion. Ryan gagged, then retched, splattering bright red blood onto the dirt.
Color drained from Vivian's face. Terror finally pierced through her delusion. "Call Alice!" she screamed. "She's a college student. She'll know what to do!"
My phone buzzed seconds later.
I slid the answer button to my ear. "Forget the fireworks!" my brother roared, voice trembling. "Get your ass back here. Ryan's asthma is acting up!"
I feigned shock. "What? Is he okay? You didn't let him near Grandmother's ashes, did you? That dust is—"
"Shut up!" he cut me off. "Stop talking nonsense and fix this!"
I agreed and hung up.
I had zero intention of returning. They didn't want my expertise; they wanted a scapegoat. If I went back now, I'd be walking into a trap.
A smile tugged at my lips as I looked back at the screen. Ryan's movements were sluggish now. His chest barely rose.
Vivian was hysterical, shaking the dice again and again, begging the dead for an answer that wouldn't come. Finally, she broke. "Call 911!" she wailed. "Mom, call the ambulance!"
I watched their panic with a heart as cold as stone.
As a medical student, I knew the signs. Ryan was past the point of no return.
In my previous life, I had given everything to save him. Every connection, every dime—I secured him a future despite his vile attitude. His repayment? He beat me to death with a shovel.
My gaze hardened on the dying boy in the pixelated video.
You made your choice. Now rot in it.
I took a taxi straight to the hospital.
When I arrived at the emergency ward, my family's wails were already echoing down the corridor. James and my parents were crying hysterically. I forced two tears from my eyes, masking my indifference with a performance of panic as I ran toward them.
"How is Ryan? What happened? Why did he have an attack?"
James glared at me, his eyes red and wild. "Where the hell have you been?"
"I—"
His hand connected with my face before I could finish. Snap.
The force threw my head sideways. A metallic taste filled my mouth as blood trickled from my lip, but I bit down to stifle the urge to fight back.
James grabbed my shoulders, shaking me violently. "I called you ages ago! Why are you only showing up now? Did you do this on purpose, Alice?"
He shoved me back. "You know the only reason Mom and Dad paid for your college was because Ryan has asthma! We let you study medicine for him! And now, when he needs you, you're useless! All that money, wasted on a piece of trash like you!"
I swallowed the bile rising in my throat and kept my expression pitiful. "Brother, I didn't... You told me to take the bus to the county to buy fireworks. I was already on the bus when you called."
I sniffled loudly, wiping my eyes. "I got off halfway and ran back as fast as I could..."
Vivian cut me off, her voice shrill. "Shut up! Your crying is giving me a headache. Ryan is fighting for his life in there. If anything happens to him, I'll settle the score with you later!"
The light above the operating room doors flickered off.
The silence that followed was suffocating. The doctor emerged, pulling off his mask with a grim expression. He let out a long, heavy sigh.
"I'm sorry. We did everything we could."
