It was an evening of jubilation for Alden Thorne, who had just been informed of his promotion to the coveted position of CTO at Nexus Innovations. Raindrops drummed on the sleek, obsidian surface of the Lamborghini Aventador as it raced down the dark and winding country road. A swell of pride and exhilaration coursed through him prompting his foot to press a little harder on the accelerator than usual.
Though the rain was not torrential, it sufficed to make the dimly lit road more perilous. The high beams flickered and scattered across the slick surface casting an eerie glow that danced and swayed. The gnarled silhouettes of trees loomed on either side, their shadows stretching across the pavement. Beside Alden, Emily, his wife, sat with her eyes closed, humming softly to the cadence of the rain as her head rested against the window.
Alden glanced at Emily, his heart full. She had been there from the beginning, when he was just a programmer with big dreams, living in a cramped apartment and surviving on ramen and coffee. Born to a single mother who worked three jobs to make ends meet, Alden had promised himself he would build a different life. Emily had believed in that promise.
He remembered the night three years ago when he'd stayed at the office until 4 AM, frantically debugging the autonomous vehicle navigation system that was supposed to launch the next day. The entire team had given up, but Alden found the subtle memory allocation error that was causing the crashes. "You just saved us from losing our biggest client," his boss had said the next morning, dark circles under his eyes as he handed Alden a cup of coffee. That was the moment everything changed.
Six months later, they'd put him in charge of the autonomous systems division. His team of thirty engineers looked to him with a mixture of skepticism and hope. He'd led them to develop Nexus's most profitable product line, and now, finally, the executive board had recognized his value.
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The silence inside the car was unusual, a departure from the jazz or electronic music that typically accompanied Alden's drives. Tonight, there was only the muted patter of raindrops and Emily's gentle hum, as if the world outside had created a moment of perfect tranquility just for them.
"I can't believe it's finally happening," he said softly. "Remember when I told you I'd be CTO someday, back when we were eating frozen pizza on that futon?"
Emily opened her eyes and smiled, reaching over to squeeze his hand. "I never doubted—"
As they navigated a particularly sharp bend, Alden's heart vaulted into his throat when the dazzling blaze of oncoming headlights engulfed his vision. A vehicle hurtled down their lane, its imposing form materializing out of the gloom. Panic surged through him, and he wrenched the steering wheel, desperate to evade the impending collision.
The world around them spun as the Aventador's tires lost their grip on the rain-slicked asphalt. Alden's final memory was of Emily, her eyes full of fear and locked on his in the moment before the seatbelt failed. Her scream cut through the grinding of metal and shattering of glass as she was thrown from the car into the endless darkness.
Alden's eyes slowly opened. He found himself in a stark, well-lit room with featureless walls. The light seemed to come from no source at all. The plain gray surfaces, empty of any adornment and unsettlingly flawless, left him disoriented. He looked down at the smooth metal table in front of him, its surface as perfect as the walls that surrounded him.
Where was he? What had happened? He was driving… then…
Emily.
He felt the panic rise to his throat again, his heartbeat racing, the adrenaline clearing his mind. His eyes rose from the table.
Opposite him, a woman clad in a meticulously tailored suit sat watching him with careful eyes. Somehow, he hadn't noticed her before. Her warm, inviting smile served as a comforting contrast to the cold, unfamiliar surroundings.
"Welcome to Solace, your slice of the afterlife," she said, her voice gentle but matter-of-fact.
"I'm sure you have so many questions!"
