'Will I make it alive?' Neo sighed heavily.
Cough! Cough! Cough!
He let out a wet, rasping sound.
As he endured the pain, he looked down and saw strands of his black hair scattered across the tal floor.
What they did to him was taking a toll. He was balding now, and despite what so people believed about hair loss making you stronger, he still felt like shit.
'Maybe I should try doing 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10-kiloter-long run every day,' he chuckled, using humor to distract himself from the pain.
But deep down, he knew he was barely holding on.
How did it co to this?
He couldn't stop replaying it all in his mind—the choices, the monts that led him here.
More than a month ago, he was free—a university student with a future, dreams, and friends.
He was the kind of person who could walk down the street, head held high, proud of the life he was building.
His academics were on track, he was social, and he even played Running Back, with so offers from the NFL lining up.
As long as nothing went wrong this year, he could sign a $40 million, six-year contract and leave college early.
That all ended the night a group of syndicates ca for him.
They broke into his apartnt. At first, he thought it was a prank—until they dragged him out and shoved a bag over his head.
His uncle—the man who raised him after his parents died—was already waiting in the back of a black van, his face swollen with tears, sobbing quietly.
They barely exchanged a word before the doors slamd shut.
Inside the vehicle, his uncle began to cry, his voice trembling as he confessed what happened. It was about his debt—gambling, they said.
One hundred million dollars, gone—blown on casinos.
But they didn't care who owed the money—blood was blood.
Hours later, the van ca to a stop.
He barely got a mont to collect himself before they dragged him out again, yanking off the bag over his head to reveal their location.
They were at a dock, the faint sll of salt and oil in the air. He could see the massive bodies of shipping containers stacked high.
"Peredvinsya!" (Move) The guard shouted in Russian.
They shoved them forward, barking orders in a language he didn't understand. He tried to look around, to morize faces or details, anything that might help him later, but the butt of a rifle slamd into his back, sending him sprawling to his knees.
Still, he tried his best to take in his surroundings, noticing that the n were tall and well-built.
The way they spoke reminded him of the tough, intimidating voices often heard from villains in spy movies. He wasn't being judgntal; it was just his honest opinion.
"Peredvin' kusok der'ma" (Move you piece of shit).
He still couldn't make out a single word they were saying, but from the angry glares and the way their lips twisted, he was pretty sure they were cursing him out.
'Assholes,' he snarled with clenched fists. 'I'm the one who should be pissed off right now... You're just lucky you've got guns.'
One of them noticed his defiance and slamd the butt of an AK-47 into his chest, sending him crashing to the ground.
Finally, a soldier who looked like he could speak English stepped forward. He grabbed Neo by the arm, leaning in close to whisper, "Stop resisting, or we'll kill you right here and feed you to the fish."
He wanted to protest, but he knew there was no way out—at least not for now.
"Get in," the guard commanded, pointing at the open container.
Inside, there were others—n and won huddled together, their faces gaunt and bruised. So cried quietly. Others sat motionless, staring into the dark as if they'd already given up.
He was pushed in next, the door slamming shut behind him with a tallic clang that made his stomach drop.
The sudden darkness was suffocating, with the only light seeping through tiny gaps where the steel wasn't welded shut and the holes deliberately made for ventilation.
'Fuck!' he cursed inwardly. His uncle was placed in a different container, leaving him with no way to vent his anger.
He looked around, and one of the people inside turned on a lamp. It was weak, but enough for him to make out everyone.
There were four n and twelve won in the container. But they didn't look normal—most were thin, so scratched their hands obsessively, and he noticed injection marks on their forearms.
He wasn't blind to it; so of these people were criminals.
Clenching his fists, annoyance rose up inside him. He hated illegal substances more than anyone—his parents were murdered by a group of psychopathic junkies mugged them in a dark alley.
"Hey, do you have any?" a thin-looking woman in cut-off shorts reached for his arm.
He quickly pulled away in disgust.
"Don't talk to . I'm not like you people!" He turned around, looking for a spot to distance himself from them.
Before he could find any peace, though, he heard a tallic thud.
"Don't act all mighty, you brat!" Four n lunged at him.
He leapt over one of them, kicking another in the process to create so space.
Then, he turned, tackling the closest one and slamming him to the ground.
THUD!
Next, his fists flew, landing a punch on each of them, but it barely slowed them down.
Their eyes were wild, bloodshot, their movents erratic—substance withdrawal stripped them of any semblance of control.
It wasn't just a fight; it was an all-out brawl, a desperate scramble where nothing was held back.
"You think I'll let you all kill like you did to my parents?" Neo spat out, his voice full of rage.
His eyes locked onto a thin tal rod nearby. Grabbing it, he thrust it forward, driving it into one of the n's eyes.
Blood burst out from the wound, splattering across the floor.
The sight sent the other three into a frenzy. Fear flashed across their faces as they scrambled backward.
"Co on, fuckers!" he scread, slamming the tal rod against the walls, the sound echoing through the container like a bell of death.
"I'm not trapped here with you trash; you're trapped here with !" he growled.
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