A Last Chance

It was a cloudless Thursday night. A man was in a hurry to take his wife, who was about to give birth, to the hospital.

"Arghhhhh. It hurts so much"

"Hang on, we're almost there."

Hearing his wife's painful moans, the man stepped on the gas pedal harder. He wanted to get to the hospital as soon as possible. They were driving through wide streets between tall buildings. He made a right turn. After a short distance, they crossed a bridge and turned left at a junction. His wife's moans from the back seat were becoming more frequent.

'Come on, come on, we're almost there, hang in there, please.'

Lost in thought, his wife called out from behind him:

"Aren't we there yet, Richard?"

"Just a bit more, Grace," he replied. About ten seconds after this brief exchange, they arrived at the hospital. Stark Hospital. It was the largest and best-equipped hospital on the continent. It had been built by Logan Stark, Richard's closest friend. With 36 floors, every time Richard saw the building he thought "What a gigantic building" and marveled at his friend's wealth. But right now he didn't even have the luxury to do that.

He parked his car in the hospital parking lot, quickly opened the car door, and ran out of breath towards the main entrance of the hospital.

"Please help, my wife is about to give birth!"

As soon as the desperate man's cry for help was heard, four hospital staff arrived with a stretcher. They were all wearing hospital uniforms emblazoned with the large 'S' logo of the Stark family, masks covering their mouths and noses, and plastic caps on their heads.

"Where's the patient?" the senior staff asked in a firm voice.

"She's in the back seat, please hurry."

The staff opened the back door and gently and calmly placed the pregnant woman onto the stretcher lying on the ground. Then, lifting the stretcher, they quickly carried her inside. Once inside, they immediately got into the nearest lift. One of the staff pressed the button for the 28th floor. Throughout the process, the man held his wife's hand tightly.

"Your palms are sweaty. In fact, your face is drenched in sweat. Isn't it funny to see the strongest man I know this worried, darling?"

Lying on the stretcher, Grace glanced at Richard in a teasing tone. He understood that she was trying to lighten the mood, but it didn't really help. Instead of answering, he just kept looking at her. Her long blonde hair and blue eyes were almost a reflection of her playful and vivacious personality. Her skin was snow-white and she was about ten centimetres shorter than him. To Richard, Grace was the most beautiful woman that could ever exist. A perfect body, a perfect face, and a wonderful personality. It's like an angel incarnate.

Instead of responding, Richard just kept staring at her. Not one to let that go, She teased him again:

"I know I'm beautiful, but you don't have to stare at me like that. You're the most handsome man I've ever seen, but you don't see me staring at you like that".

All the staff around them shared the same thought, 'Look at that couple, while the four of us single folks are just wandering around.' They shifted uncomfortably and looked around, feeling a bit awkward. They were already on the 20th floor. Grace noticed their discomfort.

'Alright, alright, that's the last one.', turning back to Richard, only to be met with a look that practically screamed, 'Really, even now?'

That look brought a mischievous smile to her face and she gave Richard a once-over, just as he'd been doing to her. Richard stood 1.80 metres tall. Like any other day, his long, jet-black hair was tied back in a small ponytail. His light brown eyes were full of concern as he looked at his wife. He had a well-toned, athletic build. To Grace, Richard was perhaps the most charismatic and handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. He had a few quirks, but that didn't change the fact that he was the perfect mate for her.

Richard ignored her playful gaze and glanced at the lift's digital screen. It showed that they had reached the 28th floor, and with a soft 'ding' the doors slid open. The hospital staff quickly wheeled the stretcher down the corridor towards the operating room, Richard still holding Grace's hand and walking alongside them.

When they arrived in front of the delivery room, the staff stopped the stretcher and turned to Richard.

"We're going in to prepare the room. The specialists will be arriving shortly to take your wife in for the procedure. Once everything is ready, we'll come back and take her in."

This time it was a different voice, softer and more reassuring. Richard nodded.

"Alright, thank you for everything."

Without waiting for a reply, the staff hurried into the room. Richard realized that this might be his last chance to talk to Grace before the birth. Seizing the moment, he began to speak:

"Grace, I..."

Grace placed her finger gently on his lips, silencing him.

"Don't worry about me, sweetheart. You know how strong I am. We'll get through this and soon we'll be holding our son. Trust me, it's going to be just fine."

Her voice was soft and reassuring. Richard had so many things he wanted to say, but somehow he couldn't find the words. She looked at him with that gaze of hers, as if to say, 'Nothing is more important than this moment right now'.

Richard held her hand tightly in both of his and kissed it gently. Then, with a deep breath, he let go slowly.

"Alright, I trust you. Just come back safe, that's all I ask."

"Who do you think you're talking to? Of course, I'll come back safe! I'm Grace Reed after all."

Seeing the determination in her eyes and her confident smile, Richard felt a wave of calm wash over him. Instead of replying, he simply smiled back, matching her expression. Just then a doctor came out of the room.

"Sir, we're ready now."

The same four staff lifted Grace and began to wheel her into the operating room. As the doors closed behind them, all Richard could do was watch. He stood there, staring for a few moments, before finally finding a nearby hospital chair to sit in. And then he started to wait.

Hours passed. Richard could no longer contain his excitement. He got up and began to walk up and down the corridor. While he walking, he saw a nurse coming towards him. Excited, he appeared beside the nurse.

"Excuse me. My wife is in there and I was wondering how long this birth will take."

"Sir, the birth takes about ten hours."

Richard hastily checked his watch. It had been eight hours. You could see the disappointment on his face. The nurse continued in a polite tone:

"Sir, if you'll excuse me, I have another birth to assist with."

Richard looked at the nurse in confusion. "Another birth?"

"Yes sir, not only you but about 45000 other people are about to give birth. Things have never been busier in the hospital. Um... Sir, are you all right?"

Richard was sweating profusely. He was so flustered that he could barely hear the nurse's question.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

The nurse was confused, but she was in a hurry, so she didn't go over to him and left him immediately. Richard immediately sat back down where he'd stood, 'Huff, huff. Fuck, fuck, fuck, please not today, please not today,' he sighed, then took a deep breath and began to speak inwardly.

'System'

A translucent digital screen with a blue background appeared in front of Richard's eyes.

.....

Name: Richard Reed

Age: 26

Titles: Member of 5 Columns (Ranking: 2)

Skills: Future Foresight (Grade:S)

For a title or skill description, say what you would like to see described.

Market Inventory Gold: 18665

Search:

.....

Without missing a beat, Richard said ‘Future Foresight’, and another screen appeared in front of him.

.....

Future Foresight:

This skill uses your Mind Power and its cost increases with each consecutive use.

You can see all the possibilities 15 seconds into the future. In combat, the capacity of this skill is reduced to 5 seconds.

You can read people's future in a limited way and the amount you see depends on the power of the target.

[ 7-day cooldown -- Remaining time: 2 days ]

You can see what the next scenario is and the details.

Your intuition is unbelievably strengthened by this skill.

.....

"Damn it. The cooldown isn't over yet. I wish I hadn't been wondering how my wife's birth would go and hadn't been looking at her future."

He untied his hair, shook his head from side to side, and messed up his hair. He needed to calm down and think. He'd last checked the script a few months ago and hadn't thought to look at it again.

'Fuck my head. How could I have been so negligent? How, how...'

His voice trembled with pain. He put his hand to his forehead and sat helplessly, sighing deeply and pulling himself together.

'Show me the next scenario.'

.....

Scenario 17: Children of the Blood Moon

(The birth dates of 150.000 children have already been set and prepared for this Scenario. The Scenario will begin when all the children have been born.)

Congratulations. Your child has been chosen by the Blood Moon. But there are too many Chosen Ones. That's why the Blood Moon wants to measure the worth of its children. The Blood Moon's solution is to send a large number of Faceless to Earth.

Protect your child from the killers for one hour and prove your worth. Surviving children will be given a special title and skills that vary from person to person. Parents who keep their children alive will gain access to the Library. Good luck!

This Scenario lasts for one hour.

Note: Killers will only attack born children and their parents.

Note: Those not involved in this Scenario will be considered to have passed the Scenario and will not be able to help people in the Scenario.

.....

He began to read the screen in front of him with great attention, but his face fell further and further with each line.

'Goddamn system. What a ridiculous scenario this is.'

He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the news. What he saw was not encouraging.

The top story said that all the hospitals were full for the birth, not even enough. Richard clicked on the news with a shaking hand. The first sentence was about 150.000 women giving birth in hospitals and how unbelievable it was. He froze. This couldn't be real.

Then the door opened and a doctor came out.

"Sir, congratulations. You now have a son."