The shrill sound of an alarm shattered the stillness of the hospital room where Anabelle Rider lay unmoving. Down the corridor, red lights flashed above the nurses' station as the monitors screamed for attention. Within seconds, footsteps pounded against the linoleum floor.

  Yassmin burst into the room first, eyes immediately locking onto the flatline on the screen. “Her heart’s stopped,” she said, breath catching in her throat as she moved toward the bed. “She’s crashing.”

  Mike followed close behind, his voice low but edged with unease. “She’s on her way out… Do we call the doctor, or just let it happen?”

  For a heartbeat, neither moved—just the sound of the alarm pulsing through the silence.

  Then Yassmin gave Mike a slow, almost imperceptible nod.

  Without a word, she reached up and silenced the alarm. The room fell into a heavy, unnatural quiet, broken only by the faint hum of the machines still running beside the bed.

  Anabelle Rider lay still, her chest no longer rising, the flicker of life gone from her face.

  Mike swallowed hard, eyes fixed on the woman who just moments ago had been holding on. “That’s it, then,” he murmured.

  Yassmin didn’t respond. Her hand lingered near the monitor, fingers trembling just slightly.

  “Mate, I’ve got no reception,” Tarni called out as he followed Zane up the stairs toward the front door of the house.

  Zane stopped halfway, patting down all his pockets with a frown.

  “Shit… I don’t even know where my mobile is,” he muttered.

  “When do you remember having it last?” Tarni asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “I had it yesterday in the Ute — had to use Google Maps to get out of bloody Sydney,” Zane replied, scratching his head.

  After a quick search, Zane found it wedged under the passenger seat of the Ute.

  “Found it,” he called. “Nearly out of power though… and no reception either, which is crazy. I normally get full bars here.”

  Tarni gave him a look. “Yeah… that’s not good.”

  Zane stopped dead in his tracks. Holding up his hand, he started counting off on his fingers.

  “No power… no radio stations… and no mobile reception.” He glanced over at Tarni with a thoughtful frown. “I wonder how much of the area is like this?”

  Tarni shrugged. “Well, mate — I had power at my place this morning, and the town still had lights when I rode through it. Can’t say about mobile or radio though — I was on my baby,” he added with a small grin, giving his motorbike an affectionate pat.

  “OK, new plan — let’s drive into town, fill up the Ute, grab some more petrol for the Jenny, and see if we can get some mobile reception,” Zane said, already moving towards the driver’s side.

  “Yeah, hopefully there’s power there. We can stock up on food... and beers.” Tarni smirked as he climbed back into the Ute. “And don’t forget to plug in your mobile — charge that thing while we drive.”

  Zane gave a tired chuckle as he climbed in after him. “Food, fuel, beer, and maybe even answers. Sounds like a plan.”

  After starting the Ute and pulling out from under the house, Zane began explaining his thoughts aloud.

  “I want to visit Bell at the hospital — give her that minor health potion we got off those goblins.”

  Tarni nodded. “Yeah, mate, that’s a great idea… but remember the conditions of use for that thing?”

  Zane shot Tarni a look — so long and hard he almost drove off the road, despite only doing 50km/h as he was still scanning everywhere for goblins.

  “Shit!” Zane groaned. “I forgot about the requirement — they’ve gotta be part of the system.”

  Tarni chuckled. “Yeah, bit of a catch, eh? Magic potions come with magic rules.”

  Tarni held onto the door handle as the ute swerved slightly, then levelled out again. “Mate, watch the bloody road, not my stunningly handsome face.”

  Zane let out a breath and focused forward again, knuckles white on the steering wheel. “It just… it felt like hope, you know? Like maybe I could do something instead of just sitting around watching her fade away.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “I get it,” Tarni said, softer this time. “I do. But unless she’s had her own run-in with a goblin and got herself system-tagged, that potion’s just… red cordial.”

  They drove in silence for a few seconds, the wind whipping softly past the ute’s slightly cracked windows.

  Zane’s brow furrowed as his brain ticked over. “Wait… what if there is a way to get someone into the system? What if it’s not just random?”

  “You thinking initiation ritual or something?” Tarni asked, raising a skeptical brow. “Like… goblin blood handshake and a rousing chorus of ‘Eye of the Tiger’?”

  Zane snorted. “I’m serious. I joined after I hit that first one with my car. You levelled up right after fighting with me. What if exposure to magic or combat—or hell, just proximity to someone already in the system—triggers it?”

  Tarni scratched his head. “So… you wanna drag your dying wife into the bush and poke at monsters until she gets a pop-up? That’s your plan?”

  Zane’s hands tightened on the wheel. “No. I want to understand the rules. If this system is real, it’s got structure. Logic. There has to be some way.”

  “Alright,” Tarni said, sitting up straighter. “We go see Bell. Talk to her. Maybe… I dunno, test something small? See if she can even see a system message.”

  “And if not?”

  Tarni shrugged. “Then we find another potion. Or ten. And then we figure out how to get her in the system, if it’s the last bloody thing we do.”

  Zane nodded, jaw set. “Yeah. That’s the plan then.”

  “Also,” Tarni added, “next time you decide to nearly drive us off the road mid-existential monologue, I’m driving.”

  As the town came into view, a series of loud beeps erupted from Zane’s mobile. It was sitting in the middle of the Ute’s console, plugged in and charging.

  Zane kept his eyes on the road, but Tarni leaned forward and grabbed the phone. “Looks like there’s reception in town,” he said.

  He tried to unlock it, but the screen stayed locked. With a smirk, Tarni raised an eyebrow at his best mate. Then, without a word, he typed in Bell’s birthday — and the phone unlocked instantly.

  “I know you too well,” he said, shaking his head with a grin.

  Zane chuckled. “Guilty.”

  “Mate,” Tarni said, scrolling through the screen, his expression shifting. “You’ve got a lot of missed calls on here. Three from the hospital… and one each from your kids.”

  Zane’s jaw clenched as he slowed the ute slightly, eyes scanning the road ahead. “Damn. I knew I should’ve called them earlier…”

  Tarni’s thumb scrolled quickly through the notifications. “The hospital tried you early this morning, then again an hour ago… and your kids started calling twenty minutes after that.”

  Zane glanced sideways, worry creeping back across his face like a shadow. “No messages?”

  Tarni shook his head. “Nope. Just missed calls.”

  “Shit.” Zane tapped the steering wheel, then sighed. “Call the hospital back first. Put it on speaker.”

  Tarni nodded, tapping the number and waiting as the phone rang. The line clicked.

  “Morning, St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, this is Laura.” The woman’s voice was calm, but tired.

  “Hi, this is Zane Rider. I missed a few calls—”

  “Mr. Rider? Hmm, please hold.”

  Click. On-hold music started blaring—too loud, too cheerful, and completely at odds with the weight settling in the cab.

  Tarni glanced at Zane and felt a jolt of alarm. His mate’s face had gone white, drained of all colour, and his grip on the steering wheel had turned so tight it looked like he might snap it clean in half. The Ute drifted slightly in the lane.

  “Zane…” Tarni said carefully, but Zane didn’t seem to hear him. His eyes were locked forward, unblinking, chest rising faster with each breath.

  “Zane! Oi, Zane! Pull over, mate—stop the bloody car!”

  The shout finally broke through. Zane blinked, like surfacing from underwater, and wrenched the wheel to the left. The Ute lurched into a petrol station lot, tyres skidding just a little as he slammed on the brakes. The vehicle jerked to a stop—hard—but it didn’t hit anything.

  Silence, except for the tinny music still playing through the phone speaker.

  As both men caught their breath and tried to calm down, the on-hold music suddenly stopped. The voice returned.

  “Mr. Rider? The doctor wanted to speak with you as soon as you made contact. I’ve got her on the other line and will transfer you now… Mr. Rider, are you still there?”

  “YES!” Zane snapped, almost too loud.

  “Okay, transferring you now.” Click.

  .

  .

  .

  “Dr. Breckon speaking.”

  “Hi, Dr. Breckon, it’s Mr. Rider. I was just—”

  He didn’t get any further.

  “Oh! Yes, Mr. Rider, I’m glad you called back. It’s about your wife, Isabelle. Her condition changed overnight. She’s stable, but… you’ll want to come in.”

  Zane felt like all the air had been sucked out of the cab of the ute. A low ringing filled his ears. He couldn’t speak.

  Tarni, glancing at him, leaned closer and raised his voice just enough.

  “Hi, Doc. You’re on speakerphone, and I’m Tarn—Zane’s best mate. Can you tell us what happened?”

  “Mr. Rider, is it okay if I speak in front of Tarn?”

  Zane didn’t answer until Tarni jabbed him hard in the shoulder.

  “Yeah. Yeah, sure, Doc,” Zane said, voice hoarse.

  “Alright. Mr. Rider, your wife’s heart stopped early this morning. Fortunately, we were able to resuscitate her and get her stable again.”

  “Thanks, Doc…” Zane whispered, and it felt like his heart had only just started beating again. Relief hit him like a wave—but before he could gather his thoughts, Dr. Breckon kept going.

  “I know your kids haven’t had a chance to say goodbye to their mother… so I did everything I could to bring her back for them. Since I couldn’t reach you this morning, I contacted them directly to let them know what had happened.”

  “Wait, what?” Zane burst out, eyes wide—but before he could spiral, Tarni smacked him again, this time with a warning look.

  Tarni took over smoothly. “Thanks, Doctor. The mobile network’s been down at Zane’s place—we had to drive into town just to get a signal. Do you know what the kids are doing now?”

  “Yes,” Dr. Breckon replied. “They both said they’d catch flights into Sydney later this evening. I’ve let them know they can come visit their mother anytime.”

  “Ok that’s great, Thank you so much for everything you have done. Zane and I are on our way to see Bell, but we are over 4 hours away,” replied Tarni

  “ok then, please drive safe, and we will see you later this afternoon”

  The line disconnected, and Tarni placed the phone back on the console. Silence filled the space between them for a few long seconds.

  Zane swallowed. “She’s still alive.”

  “Yeah,” Tarni said softly. “She is.”

  Zane nodded and whispered, “ We’re not too late.”