A Second Chance?

The biggest mistake in Jack's life was being labelled as "gifted." His ability to memorize a couple numbers in elementary school made people think that he had a bright future. He easily breezed through both elementary and middle school without needing to open a textbook once. But the second he reached high school he got slammed into a brick wall. It was the very first academic challenge he had ever faced. He knew he needed to study but his pride got the best of him. He continued to pretend that nothing was wrong, he put off studying for watching TV and playing games. He lied to his parents about his grades and how he was working on fixing them with extra credit.

By the time he finally got the last of his excess pride beaten out of him it was already too late. The colleges he wanted to go to turned him down. He was still able to get into a college, albeit a shitty 3rd rate one, but his future was set in stone.

He took up a job as a bottom tier engineer working at some medium sized company. It was enough to live reasonably comfortably, but only for himself. If he wanted to get a girlfriend or maybe even start a family he would have to ask for a raise from his boss which always ended up with his boss immediately turning him down.

He had already gone through so many cycles of self-loathing and depression that now, when he was 35, it didn't bother him anymore. He was on his way to the bank to withdraw some money just like he did once every month to buy used games from the second hand store that was across the street from his apartment.

This time, however, when he got to the teller there was a commotion near the front, when he turned around to look he saw a group of men in ski masks holding guns and yelling at people to get on the ground. Jack wasn't a hero, nor was he physically gifted in any way. He quickly dropped down onto the floor and laid there. As the group of men approached the teller one of them fired a few warning shots into the air to show that the guns were real.

The robbers didn't even need to say anything as the teller instantly said "The vault is in the back behind those doors" as they lifted their hands in the air. Two of the men went into the back with their weapons drawn while the others waited in the main room making sure nobody tried anything.

Unfortunately one man did just that. Off to the left of Jack was a man who looked to be around 20 with tanned skin and dark-brown hair. His blue eyes were sharp and glared at the man in front of him as he stood up to face one of the robbers. Through the eye holes in the mask Jack could see the robber's eyes harden as he yelled "GET DOWN YOU BRAT, DON'T TRY THIS HERO BULLSHIT."

The "hero" who just stood up ignored him and said "oh please, you're not even holding the gun correctly." The man confidently walked a bit closer.

The robber took a step back. "Just lie down kid, I only need the money. I don't want to hurt you, but if you take one more step forward I'll paint the floor with your grey matter." His words, while bold, were betrayed by his shaky voice and shaky hands.

The hero didn't even respond and just lunged forward and bashed the man's hand away from him. However when this happened the gun fired accidentally and hit Jack in the head.

The last thought that went through Jack's head before it splattered on the ground was "...I never did finish playing GTA 5, did I."

*BEEP* *BEEP*

"...huh"

"Am I... not dead?"

*BEEP* *BEEP*

"Did they manage to get me to the hospital in time?"

*BEEP* *BEEP*

"That's good... oh wait, those bills are going to be a nightmare to deal with."

*BEEP* *BEEP*

"Is that really what a heart monitor sounds like? This is so much more annoying then what they show on TV"

*BEEP* *BEEP*

"..."

*BEEP* *BEEP*

"...!"

*BEEP* *BEEP*

"WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TURN DOWN THAT DAMN MACHINE."

Unable to hold it in any longer Jack finally opened his eyes to look around and break the heart monitor, but he was left in shock. He wasn't in a hospital, he was in his room. The annoying beeping noise wasn't a heart rate monitor, it was his alarm clock. He looked around his room and his eyes wandered onto his calendar. September 5th, the day after he "died."

'Just what the hell is going on...' he mused to himself.

[You have been given a wonderful opportunity.]

Jack bolted upright and looked around. for the voice he just heard

'Am I going crazy'

[That is impossible Host, you would not be given this opportunity if it was deemed that you were, as you put, 'crazy.']

'What are you what the hell is going on?'

[Host you have been given the Theft System, please access the system in your mind to continue with the explanation.]

'...Well there is an extremely high probability that this is some pre-death hallucination or a dream-'

[Those statements are incorrect Host, the world you see is real]

'Shut up system, I'm trying to monologue here'

[Understood Host, ceasing all forms of communication for one minute.]

A one minute timer appeared in the top right corner of Jack's vision.

'Now then, where was I... oh right. There is a high probability that I'm going insane, but hey, when in Rome right?'

The timer had ticked down and finished after Jack was done putting his thoughts in some semblance of order.

'System open.'