Benjamin groaned as the sharp buzz of his alarm clock jolted him awake.
He swatted at the noisy device, missing it twice before finally silencing it.
He lay there for a moment, his head sinking into the pillow, half-tempted to ignore his schedule.
It was too early for lectures, too early for life, and definitely too early for the mountain of assignments piling up in his dorm, he could only hope the lecturers were a bit lenient today but then again, that barely happened in the daily life of a college student.
But responsibility — or guilt — nudged him to move.
He dragged himself out of bed, the cold floor biting at his bare feet. Benjamin's tiny college apartment was a chaotic mix of textbooks, laundry, and empty ramen cups.
A poster of his favorite RPG game, Eldoria Chronicles, was pinned on the wall above his desk, the characters frozen mid-battle in a pose that had inspired him countless times.
He yawned and scratched the back of his head, shuffling to his dresser. "Alright, Benny boy, you've got this," he muttered to himself.
He freshened up quickly but when it came to wearing his clothes...
Pulling on his jeans was easy, but the vest was a different story.
It clung awkwardly to his torso as he tried to wrestle it over his head. "Stupid... damn thing...!" he cursed, finally yanking it into place.
He checked his reflection in the mirror — a young man with messy brown hair, tired hazel eyes, and the faintest hint of stubble stared back at him.
'Not bad,' he thought. 'Not great either.'
Grabbing his backpack, Benjamin rushed out of the apartment and into the brisk morning air. The sky was overcast, the sun hidden behind thick clouds that promised rain.
He jogged toward the bus stop, the sound of his sneakers slapping against the pavement. A glance at his watch told him he was cutting it close.
"Come on, come on…" he muttered under his breath.
By the time he reached the stop, the bus was just pulling up. He let out a sigh of relief and climbed aboard, fumbling for his wallet to pay the fare.
The driver, a grumpy-looking man with a coffee-stained uniform, barely glanced at him as he took his seat near the middle of the bus.
The vehicle was crowded but quiet, filled with the usual assortment of students, office workers, and a couple of retirees.
Benjamin pulled out his phone and started scrolling aimlessly through social media, tuning out the hum of the engine and the murmured conversations around him.
But the peace didn't last long. It didn't last long at all.
The bus jerked to a sudden stop, and Benjamin looked up in confusion. At first, he thought it was just a traffic delay, but then he saw the man standing at the front of the bus.
He was tall, wearing a dark hoodie that obscured most of his face. In his hand was a gun… that was the alarming thing.
"All right, everyone! Phones, wallets, jewelry — whatever you've got! Put it in the bag, and nobody gets hurt!" the man barked. His voice was rough, and his hands trembled slightly as he waved the weapon around.
The bus fell silent. A woman near the front let out a gasp, clutching her purse tightly. The driver raised his hands in a gesture of compliance, his face pale.
Benjamin's heart raced as he clutched his phone, his mind a whirlwind of panic.
'This couldn't be happening. Stuff like this only happened in movies, right?' He glanced around, hoping someone else would step up, but the passengers were frozen in fear.
"Now!" the robber shouted, firing a warning shot into the ceiling.
The sound was deafening, and the bus erupted into chaos.
Benjamin gulped, his fingers trembling as he slowly placed his phone into his lap. His wallet followed, though his brain screamed at him to do something — anything… anything at all.
He wasn't a hero, but sitting there felt unbearable.
The robber moved down the aisle, his bag quickly filling with stolen goods. When he reached Benjamin, their eyes locked for a brief moment.
"Phone. Wallet. Now," the man growled.
Benjamin nodded, trying to keep his hands steady as he handed over his belongings. "Here, take it," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
It might have ended there if not for the old man sitting behind him.
"Leave us alone, you coward!" the man shouted, his voice quaking with righteous fury. He stood up, raising a cane as if to strike.
"Sir, no!" Benjamin tried to warn him, but it was too late.
The robber panicked, turning to face the old man. In the chaos, the gun went off again, the bullet ricocheting off the metal interior of the bus.
Benjamin didn't even feel it at first.
Then the pain hit him like a tidal wave.
He looked down and saw the crimson stain spreading across his shirt. Time seemed to slow as his vision blurred, the shouts and screams of the other passengers fading into the background.
"Help…" he tried to say, but his voice was barely a whisper.
He collapsed onto the seat, his body growing colder by the second.
Memories flashed before his eyes — his childhood, his friends, the nights spent playing Eldoria Chronicles.
He thought of the unfinished assignments waiting on his desk, of the life he had planned but would never live.
This wasn't how it was supposed to end.
As darkness closed in around him, a strange sense of calm washed over Benjamin. The pain faded, replaced by a peculiar warmth. It was almost like death had embraced him completely.
A flash of light erupted in his mind's eye, brighter than anything he'd ever seen. It consumed him, and for a moment, he felt weightless, as if he were floating in an endless void.
Then came the darkness. Deep, impenetrable, and absolute.
Benjamin tried to move, to speak, but his body felt like it no longer existed. Only his thoughts remained, echoing in the empty abyss.
'Am I… dead?'
The void offered no answers, only silence.
And so, Benjamin waited, suspended in nothingness, as the light of his old life faded away.