Echo Protocol: Rise of The Rejected

“Get the fuck out of my sight!” a customer yelled and poured the water on Jace's body. He shivered. The weather has been cold lately and with his thin uniform, he felt nothing but cold.

“I'm so sorry, I will have another person attend to you.” the owner of the restaurant, Mr. Vale said and grabbed Jace arm, pulling him into the kitchen.

The restaurant was a small building built in the slums of Velmora. Even though it was poorly built and looked quite dirty, the customers were never ending. Almost everyone came to the restaurant to eat since they could not afford enough money to cook for themselves.

“How dare you talk to a customer that way?” Mr. Vale shouted when they were inside the kitchen.

“I did not say a–”

“Keep your mouth shut!” The man yelled and landed a blow on Jace's cheek.

Jace stumbled backward, clutching his cheek.

“Everyone in this city regards you as a nobody, I only gave you a job out of pity, and now this is how you treat my customers?” the robust man fumed.

Jace kept quiet. Arguing would only make things worse.

“The moment you realise you are just a poor and lowly man who brings only bad luck, then you will know your place.” Mr. Vale spat out and exited the kitchen.

Jace bent to his knees, his hand above his head. Those words struck him as always, usually he would cry, but lately he had become used to it.

Suddenly, he felt something land on him, it trickled down his back and made him jolt gently.

“You are now in charge of washing the dishes.” Nova, the black-haired petite lady in charge of preparing the food, said and giggled as she watched the soup slip down his clothing.

Jace stood up without saying anything and turned towards the section for washing dishes. The water was freezing cold when he dipped his hands inside.

Where were the leather gloves that were usually used to wash them? he asked himself.

“Ah, I forgot, you would have to wash those with your bare hands.” Nova said when she caught him looking for the gloves.

He dipped his hand in again and quickly pulled it out.

“Loser.” Nova muttered and walked away.

Jace heard her and sighed. That was exactly who he was: a mere loser.

***

Velmora never slept. The city was bustling with people, lights shone brightly in every shop and corner, and neon signs glowed like halos.

Jace sighed again and removed his apron, revealing his orange uniform.

“Here!” Mr. Vale called out to him as he changed his clothes.

He slapped some cash in his open palm and turned to leave.

“But sir, it is not complete and you still owe me for last week.” Jace said.

Mr. Vale turned to look at him with a stern expression, “What were you expecting? A thousand?”

When Jace said nothing, he went on, “You should be grateful you have that in your hand. Nobody would be willing to give someone like you that much.”

When he left, Jace counted the money again. Only fifty Zyn cash, that was barely enough to cater for his needs. His rent was also coming up; what else could he do?

He folded the money and put it in his jeans pocket, then covered his head with his hoodie and flung his sling bag across his chest.

Jace stepped out of the restaurant and into the streets. Immediately he shook his head. It was starting to rain but he did not mind as he stood beneath the restaurant neon sign.

The raindrops landed hard on his clothes, drenching him, and his worn-out shoes began to squelch as he started walking.

He came to a halt in a park while walking and stood motionless, staring at the roadside bench where he and his ex-wife ,Vira used to sit. She would always ask him to get her a lemon pie, only to complain that he was too late when it arrived.

That was then, when she still loved him.

She has now become a well-known millionaire's wife, dressed in stunning fashions and traveling the world, with her name on the cover of every entertainment magazine.

But what about him?

He was alone, divorced and drenched in constant depression. He had once helped her, they had built the business together. Riven Enterprise. Now changed to Gordon's enterprise, her husband's name, after their divorce.

He sighed and brought out a lemon pie he had wrapped in his sling bag. He always kept one aside in case they met again. But who was he actually fooling?

He uncovered the yellowish cake and after staring at it for a while, he popped it into his mouth. It was sour, not what he liked but he gulped it, leaving the bitter taste to linger in his throat.

Then he began walking towards his apartment, inhaling the captivating smell of the nearby ocean. His phone rang and he checked it. It was his landlord.

He sighed again and ignored it as he walked into what he called his home. A desk. Stack of business plans he had written with Vira and some dirty clothes.

Jace tossed his bag into one corner of the cramped room and sat down, staring at nothing in particular.

Tears welled up in his eyes, but he could not bring himself to cry. He hadn't done that in years.

Nothing was working out for him. He was stranded with no hope, and his dream of becoming a billionaire had been dashed when his ex-wife and her family treated him like a nobody.

They had sent him packing, leaving him with nothing. Not even the will to live.

He was once at the top of his business class, a position that everyone admired, including Vira, his coursemate before their relationship, but where had that led him?

He had been blacklisted and even his ex-wife whom he thought loved him, left.

She was rising to a position she would not have been in without his assistance, and here he was, sitting in his house, wondering if the ocean truly tasted like salt.

That night, he stood near the pier. All he could see was the plunging darkness. The wind brushed past his clothing, as if to warn him.

He looked around, but there was no one there. No one was around, in fact they never came since it was nighttime.

Jace took one step forward. Then another. He stepped into the cold water, moving each leg as he submerged deeper. When the water reached his neck, he stopped before suddenly immersing himself.

Slowly he sank to the bottom, not wanting to gasp for breath. He slowly waited for death to engulf him. But it didn't. Instead, he noticed a light approaching him. The ocean opened up and the ray of light hit him.

Time stood still for a moment, and colors bloomed around him.

Suddenly, everything was back to normal except the fact that he was dying. He struggled to swim to the top but it was impossible as the darkness swallowed him.

He felt his eyes slowly closing until he couldn't feel a thing. Then his mind blacked out.