The Button of Fate

**TW: Death of a child. Mental torture.**

Silence. That’s all I could hear. The room was so dark I could barely see my hand in front of me. I tried to stand up, but I felt like a truck had just passed over me. All I could do was lay there on the cold floor.

“Please,” I cried, “someone, please help me!”

I didn't know where I was, and I couldn’t even remember how I got here, which made me so nervous I cried.

I heard some heavy footsteps approaching. Then I saw some light coming from the small window in the room’s door, allowing me to see better where I was. It was a tiny room with no windows except for the tiny one in the room’s door. 

The door opened, making the same sound school bus doors make when they open. A chill ran down my spine as I saw who opened the door. A tall, buffed man with a big scar across his face was standing there. He wore a light blue, short-sleeved shirt with a black bulletproof vest on top, kaki pants, black boots, and a belt that held what seemed to be a futuristic gun.

The man approached me and said in a deep, threatening voice, “Why are you crying? You're a prisoner!”

I didn’t stop crying when he told me to, so he reached down, grabbed me by my neck, and held me in the air.

“Shut up now, or I’ll give you a true reason to be crying!” he commanded as he raised his fist to hit me.

Just as he was about to punch me hard in the guts, someone called through the radio in one of the cameras of the room.

“Put the human prisoner down,” the voice ordered.

“But-!”

“Now! Dom wants to talk to him in private. He said not to hurt him!”

The big guy nodded and told me to stand up.

“I can’t. My body’s hurting badly.”

“Oh, really? Then I'm making that pain worse!” he said, putting his big foot on my back.

"Stop!" the voice yelled. "Just drag him there if necessary."

He took me by the arm and forced me to my feet. “Now walk, stupid!” he ordered as he pushed me.

“Where are we going?”

“Hush! Put both of your hands in front of you.”

He took some heavy handcuffs from his belt and handcuffed me. He then put a bag on my head and started guiding me somewhere.

After some time, we finally arrived at the place they wanted me to be. He removed the bag and handcuffs from me. It was a vast room in which a giant robot was seated on a throne. The giant robot told him to leave. He pushed me and made me fall, and then left and closed the door.

“Wait! Don’t leave me here!” I implored.

“So this is the renowned World Destroyer!” The robot got up from his throne and took a weird collar from a table,.“Do you know why you’re here?”

“I… I don’t know,” I replied with dread. “And… who are you?”

“I'm Dominus, Supreme Leader and Protector of the Universe, but you just call me Dom. You, my friend, have committed one of the greatest sins in the history of the Universe.” He took me by my neck, trying to choke me, and said, “Now you have to pay for the price of your acts!”

“What?! What did I do? I-!” His grip got tighter to shut me up.

He released me and took the collar with his two hands. Then he got closer to me and told me to be still while he put me on that collar. The collar then tightened and started changing colors. I started feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

“Instead of killing you, I condemn you to relive this memory again and again until you give your last breath. Maybe next time you will think before doing such foolish things.”

I fainted and started seeing many pictures with people in them. In one of those, I could see a black-haired young boy who had an almond skin tone and hazelnut eyes. He was playing and smiling. His smile looked familiar to me. Suddenly, a flash of memories came to my mind. Making me remember how I had gotten there:

It was a hot, cloudy summer day, and my younger brother, Juan, and I were playing soccer outside in the front yard.

Juan was always the best at school and sports. I was just the generic son who barely made any achievements, got Cs in school, and wasn't in any sport.

I liked playing soccer with him because it was the only thing in which I knew I was better at than him. This time, I had the ball and was about to score on him, again.

“Oh, you won’t beat me this time!” Juan exclaimed. He dashed for the ball, but I was way too fast for him. “¡Dame la pelota!”

He ran and tried to tackle me, but I ducked him and was face-to-face with the goal. I aimed and kicked the ball as hard as I could. I scored and won again.

“That ain’t fair!” Juan complained, almost crying. “You are four years older than me! Of course, you're better than me!”

“Well, you're the one who plays soccer. You know more.”

“¡Quiero la revancha!”

“¿Seguro? I don’t wanna see you crying if you lose.”

“I won’t!”

“Alright. But with one condition: the loser has to buy ice cream for the winner, and it must be of whatever flavor he wants. Are you in?” I extended my hand.

He shook my hand and said, “Totally! I’m getting that ice cream!”

I passed him the ball.

“Ok, you go first.”

He started dribbling the soccer ball and ran towards the soccer goal. He aimed to score and kicked it, but I deviated from the ball.

“Nice, but you gotta be faster.” I patted his back. “Do it again.”

He stomped his feet, took the muddy soccer ball, and tried again, and again I blocked his shot. That same thing kept happening for about an hour until our mom said lunch was ready.

“Hey, let’s just leave this for after lunch. I’m hungry.”

“Just one more, please!” he begged.

“Do it quick. Mom already called us for lunch.”

He got ready to try his shot once more. He moved with swiftness, then he got close to his normal shooting area, but just when he was about to kick, he tripped. His ankle made a cracking sound. He landed with his face on the muddy grass and then started crying and whining.

“Are you ok?” I asked as I helped him back to his feet. His knees were bleeding.

“My ankle! I don’t think I can keep playing.”

“How did you trip? There are no branches or tree roots nearby?"

“It was that thing,” he cried as he pointed to a curious red, shiny thing on the ground.

He was still crying loudly, so Mom came out to see what had happened.

“¿Ahora qué pasó?” she asked. She saw my brother and ran quickly towards him. “Oh, Juan! How did this happen?” She looked at me and ordered, “Bring me an ice pack for him!”

I did as I was told. Going back out, I wondered what that red object could possibly be. It may be a time capsule the old owners of the house left, I thought.

“Hurry up, Alejandro! Your brother needs that ice!”

I rushed out of the house and gave Mom the ice pack. It suddenly started thundering and raining, so Mom carried Juan inside and told me to pick up my brother’s shoes and the soccer ball, and come inside.

I obeyed, but before I came inside, curiosity too over. This time I couldn’t contain it, so I ran to where the box was and digged it out of the dirt. The box was lightweight, but I could hear that there was something inside. The bad thing was that it had a lock on it. The rain got worse, so I rushed inside.

Juan was lying on the sofa with the ice pack on his ankle and watching some TV. He saw me with the box in my hands and turned off the TV.

“What’s that?”

“It is the thing you tripped on.”

“What's inside?”

I shrugged. “It has a lock on it, so first I need to get rid of it.”

I went to the garage and took out a nail and hammer from the workshop’s toolbox and used them as dad had taught me to break the lock. I removed the lock and opened the box. Inside there was a glass box containing a button inside. There was a paper taped to it, reading, “THIS MAGIC BUTTON SHALL CONCIEVE YOU ONE WISH... AT A COST.”

“A wish...” I muttered to myself. “Well, I wish to be better than my brother in something other than soccer.” I smiled as I imagined myself outshining Juan. Mom would finally be proud of me!

I closed the box and went back to the living room where Juan was.

“So, what is it?”

“This,” I said, showing him the glass box with the button inside.

“‘...at a cost,’” he read as he extended his arms to grab it. I move it out of his reach. “Please, can I have it for a moment.”

I hesitated for a moment. "Sure, but don’t press the button. We don’t know what it might do.”

Juan started laughing, and I asked him what was the matter.

“Nothing, it’s just that you believe this button is magic?!”

“Um…”

He laughed harder and harder and made comments about me believing in magic. He took the button away from me and acted as if he were to press it.

“No!” I roared as I took the button away from him and slapped him on the face.

“Why are you so mean?” His eyes filled with tears as he looked at me with dread. He began crying.

Mom quickly came out of the kitchen and looked at me furiously. She yelled my full name out loud as she took her flip-flop off. I was done. I tried to run, but Mom was already there next to me.

She pulled me by my ear and said, “What's wrong with you?!” She dragged me into my room. “¡Castigado! You stay here thinking about what you just did!” She extended her hand as if she wanted me to give her something. “Your phone!”

I gave it to her. She closed the door and walked away. Far down the hallway, I heard her murmur, “When are you going to learn to be a good child... like your brother?”

I closed my eyes and started thinking again about Mom being proud of me and what I did. “After pressing the button, Mom.”

I had left the button in the living room, and I knew that I couldn’t come out; so I waited until it was late at night and went for it. I got to the living room and grabbed the button, but on my way, back I saw Juan. I hid the button behind me.

“Why are you up so late at night?” I asked.

“Why are you up this late at night? You’re grounded, remember?” He tried to look at my back. “You're up to something. I will tell Mom about this!”

Before he could go, I grabbed him by his arm and dragged him to the couch.

“Stop it!” I hissed. “I ain’t sneaking my phone to my room,” I showed him the button.

He was trying hard not to laugh. “Are you still convinced that button is magic? You know magic is for babies, right?”

He infuriated me until I couldn't bear it anymore. I grabbed him with both hands by the neck and tried to choke him. He tried to cry for help, but he couldn't breathe. His eyes were filled with dread and tears rolled down his cheeks. At that moment, I reacted and released him.

He coughed and wheezed, trying to breathe normally again. I tried to help him, but he quickly jerked away from me. I tried to apologize, but he covered his ears.

“That button's making you a psycopath. What's the matter with it?”

“I just want to wish for Mom to be proud of me!” I took some deep breaths. “Guess what? I am going to make that happen today!” I opened the glass box in which the button was and pressed the bright red button. Nothing happened. I waited for some seconds, but still nothing happened.

Juan cracked up. “Told ya! That button is not magic, it is just a regular butto-”

A robot materialized in front of us. He had a clipboard in hand. "Thank you for pressing the button. Please sign this waiver.”

“Why do I need to sign this?”

“Company policies,” he explained as I put the waiver back in the metal notepad. “Now, I will need for you to stay put while I scan you.” A green laser started going around my body.

“What's he doing?” Juan asked.

“All set. Are you ready for your wish to come true?”

I nodded, and he told me to pick up the button and press it twice this time. I did so, and then the whole room vanished. We were now in a completely different room. 

The robot dissappeared, and then some metal sound came from one side of the room. There was a shiny sword on the floor.

“Touch the sword, and your wish will come true,” the robot's voice said.

I touched it as fast as I could. Everything became intensely bright around me, so I closed my eyes. I reopened them seconds later. I was back in my room and the door was closed, just like Mom had left it when she grounded me. Had I dreamed everything that happened? I wondered. Then I looked around and saw various trophies and awards that had my name on them. I hadn’t dreamed about it! It was the best moment of my life!!

I came out of my room and saw Mom crying in the couch. She was holding a picture of my brother with her hands.

“What’s wrong, Mom?”

Her eyes were filled with dread and anger.

She looked at Juan’s picture again and got to her feet. She slapped me and yelled, “How could you?! You are a monster!!!” She pushed me and made me fall.

“What?! What did I do?”

She took the robot's sword and dropped it in front of me. Memories of what happened flooded my mind: After touching the sword, some type of force consumed me and made me feel a great enmity for Juan. I took the sword and sprinted to where he was. He greeted me and asked me how’d it go. I didn’t answer. He asked what was wrong, but still I didn’t answer. He got closer to me to see what was wrong, but I pushed him and made him fall to the ground. He tried to stand up, but just before he could, I buried the sword in his chest. The rage I had against him suddenly dissipated and all I could do was cry next to his dying body and beg him to stay with me. Mom came from behind me and started yelling and crying and asking me why I had done it. Before I could answer, the robot came from behind us and pressed the button. Then we all got transported to our house.

I started crying. “I’m sorry! I… I didn’t mean to kill him! All I wanted was to be better than him at everything to make you proud once in my life!”

She looked at me in wonder. “¿Orgullosa? I’ve always been proud of you! You’re my son and that’s enough for me!” She looked back at the picture. “Everyone has its own talents. You're unique. Destroying your competition just shows how afraid and insecure you are.”

I tried to hug her and say sorry, but she shoved me.

“I know you’re my son, but what you did has to be punished.”

Some police sirens sounded in the distance.

“Please, Mom. Don’t do this! You know I didn’t mean to!” I cried.

I tried to grab her, but police officers broke in the house and arrested me. I looked at Mom for help, but she just avoided me. The officers walked me outside to their car and put me inside.

“Thanks for reporting this to us, Ms. Mariana,” an officer told Mom. “We will take this before the judge.”

I was drove away from home to the jury. The days then passed in front of me like a flash. Then I saw myself in a prison cell. I was pondering about my actions and how I could have avoided such tragic ending. Suddenly, a protal opened in one of the walls. The skinny, yellow, human-like creature came out of it. He grabbed me by my neck and made me go through the portal. After that, everything went dark.

The simulation had stopped. I was covered in sweat, and Dom was waiting beside me.

“Is your mind fresh now.”

I nodded, still shocked for what I’d seen.

“Well, I hope you get used to it, because you are going to see the sae thing for the rest of your life.”

“Wait, please don’t! It’s too much.” I started crying. “Kill me if you want, but I don't wanna see my brother die!”

He pressed a button in a remote control he had in his hands and the collar lit up again. I could hear were Dom’s footsteps walking away.

"Lo siento mucho, Juan. Yo..." I tried to keep apologizing, but fear and guilt overtook me as the simulation began all over again.