Light pierced through Ryan's eyes as he opened them to look around. The sun was high in the sky meaning it was around noon and Ryan was surrounded by teenagers. This was not a fond memory of his, this was the day that he was hospitalised by some dickhead that had challenged him to a fight thinking he was easy pickings, which to be fair he was.
As Ryan was wondering what he was doing back here one of the kids behind him shouted.
"Knock his teeth out!" The kid was obviously speaking to the other person standing in front of Ryan. His opponent was shorter than him but wider and looked a lot stronger, he had also been on the rugby team for all of his life and knew how to apply his strength, though this wouldn't stop Ryan as he had spent the past 9-10 years living in a world where fighting to the death was an everyday occurrence and a part of life.
Ryan's opponent sprinted towards him ready to tackle him to the ground, but Ryan was ready. Unlike before, Ryan knew how to fight and he would utilise this knowledge to the best of his ability.
With a smile on his face, the boy in front of him ducked down to wrap his arms around Ryan's legs to tackle him, Ryan stood still until contact was made. Once the boy was touching him, Ryan wrapped his arm around the boy's neck and planted his feet, using his calves to push against the force of the boy while directing the head in his hand towards the ground. With this simple manoeuvre, Ryan was now
"Oh no yah don't, what are you gonna do now? I think just quit, you're weaker than a lump of wet rice left out on the floor after a baby has thrown it up" Ryan laughed out.
Furious that he was now in an unfavourable position, the boy started hammering his brick like fists against Ryan's legs and torso.
But Ryan couldn't allow him all the leverage, he quickly applied pressure with his forearm to the boys throat and punching his kidneys with all his body's might. For about 30 seconds, this carried on until the boy began to stop punching and slumped to the ground unconscious.
"Well that was fun, have a good day. We should do this again sometime." Ryan uttered to the boy on the ground while patting the unconscious kids head.
Without looking to see the other people's reactions, Ryan sprinted out through the crowd and out of the park that he was in. Ryan didn't really care what any one of them thought at that time because he would probably never see them again, but they were probably shocked. It was a quick fight that no one expected to end like that, every one of them were there to see Ryan get the shit beaten out of him and not one thought he could win.
If what he was thinking was correct, then Ryan had returned to 10 years in the past before Horizon was released and when his younger brother was still alive. This was an amazing opportunity to create a new life and never be under the control of others again, if Ryan succeeded then him and his brother would live like royalty in the world to come. This time he wouldn't let his brother die a meaningless death just because he wasn't strong enough to defend her. This time he would build his strength and rule over the world and make sure those that wish to bring harm to him were swiftly ended.
But before doing that, he would have to get home and purchase a VR set so he would actually be able to access Horizon when it dropped tomorrow.
After a while, Ryan arrived in front of his home. It was small and due to inflation worth little to nothing, unlike the majority of houses in the city Ryan's home was made of bricks instead of the modern metals and glass. The paint on the walls were peeling off and structurally it was not very sound, every inch of the house was either moulding or falling to the ground. Despite having such an old broken down house, he was content with it. The house had been in his family for a few generations and he had grown attached to it, plus he didn't have enough money to buy a new one or even rent one. Apparently banks only give mortgages to people who are able to get credit and actually pay their debts.
Ryan walked through the wooden door and into his home, the squeak of the hinges announcing his arrival.
"Where have you been?!" His brother, Jake, called accusingly from the living room.
"Out with my friends" Ryan called back.
"We both know you don't have any friends!"
"Piss off" Ryan muttered under his breath with a smile on his face. It was good to be back.
Many might have teared up upon meeting loved ones they hadn't seen in a long time, but Ryan didn't function like that, instead of saying meaningless words he preferred to show his love through actions. Despite thinking this a small water droplet fell from Ryan's right eye. He probably had some dust in it or something.
His brother was actually three years younger than Ryan but as he was the smarter one of the two, he took care of the little money they had and went to school to learn how to become a functioning member of society. Ryan went to school to get beaten.
"Oi I need a VR set by tomorrow and I'm ordering it, you have no say in the matter okay? Good" Ryan said to his brother.
"But Ryan it will cost almost all of our remaining mone-"
"Mate, I don't care. I can easily make the money back within a day so just don't worry about it. You just go to school and I will do what I gotta do. Capishe?"
Jake was wearing a pained expression on his face as he hated the idea, but he knew that Ryan thought he knew what he was doing so Jake decided to support him. Even if it meant both of them going hungry.
"Aight Im gonna cook dinner now, I am making carbonara." Ryan said as he exited the room.
"Great"
After dinner was served the two ate dinner in front of the television, they chatted and laughed late into the night and Ryan felt much better. His parents had died a few years ago when a drunk driver ran them over, he was able to get some settlement money and as it was during the 12 year war between New Central England and Australia so no one cared and somehow Ryan had gotten custody of his brother despite not being responsible enough at all.
When Jake died he felt as if his world had been torn apart and he became overcome with vengeance as he slaughtered his little brother's killers. But now that he was reunited with Jake he felt a strange sense of peace and his mind was a lot clearer.
Eventually they both fell asleep, Jake in his room and Ryan on the sofa (he blacked out due to exhaustion and comfort). It was the best sleep he had had in years.