The discharge papers took forever.
Daniel sat in the wheelchair, ankle propped up, while his mom signed forms at the nurse's station. He didn't need the wheelchair. Hospital policy. Liability or whatever.
A different nurse wheeled him down to the entrance. His mom brought the car around. Getting from wheelchair to passenger seat with crutches and a boot was awkward. Everything was awkward now.
The drive home was quiet. His mom kept glancing at him like he might break.
"I'm fine," he said.
"I know."
"You don't have to watch me like that."
She turned back to the road. Her hands tightened on the wheel.
"Sorry," Daniel said.
"Don't be."
Their apartment was on the third floor. No elevator. Daniel stared up at the stairs.
"We can take it slow," his mom said.
Slow was the only option. One step at a time, balancing on crutches, keeping weight off his left leg. His mom stayed close, ready to catch him if he slipped. By the time they reached the third floor, Daniel's arms were burning and he was breathing hard.
"Couch or bed?" his mom asked, unlocking the door.
"Couch."
She helped him get settled. Pillows under his ankle, remote within reach, water on the side table. Treating him like he was fragile.
He kind of was.
"I have to sleep a few hours before my shift," she said. "Lucía will be home from school around four. You need anything, call me. Okay?"
"Okay."
She hesitated. Wanted to say something else. Didn't. Just squeezed his shoulder and went to her room.
Daniel sat there. Stared at the TV without turning it on.
The apartment felt smaller than he remembered. Or maybe he just felt bigger, more aware of space because moving through it was suddenly complicated.
His phone buzzed. Marcos again: you home?
Daniel typed back: yeah
can i come by tomorrow?
sure
He set the phone down. Closed his eyes.
That's when the screen appeared.
Blue glow in his peripheral vision. Daniel's heart kicked hard against his ribs.
He sat up straighter. Blinked twice. The screen stayed.
Not the hospital. Not morphine or pain meds making him see things. He was home, clear-headed, and it was still here.
So it was real. Actually real.
His breath caught. A tool that could help him recover was floating in his living room like it belonged there. Like glowing blue screens were normal.
They weren't normal. Nothing about this was normal.
But it was here.
[SYSTEM ACTIVATION COMPLETE]
[HOST STATUS: STABILIZED]
[BEGINNING RECOVERY PROTOCOL: PHASE 1]
[OBJECTIVE: RESTORE BASELINE MOBILITY AND REDUCE INFLAMMATION]
Daniel glanced at his mom's closed door. The apartment was quiet except for the hum of the refrigerator.
What now? he thought.
The screen responded. He didn't need to speak out loud.
[PHASE 1 PROTOCOL CONSISTS OF:]
[1. TARGETED MOVEMENT EXERCISES - NON-WEIGHT BEARING]
[2. NUTRITIONAL OPTIMIZATION]
[3. MENTAL CONDITIONING]
[4. SLEEP CYCLE REGULATION]
[ESTIMATED TIME TO COMPLETE PHASE 1: 21 DAYS]
Twenty-one days. Three weeks.
And then what?
[PHASE 2 WILL UNLOCK UPON COMPLETION]
[EACH PHASE BUILDS TOWARD FULL RECOVERY]
[TOTAL ESTIMATED TIMELINE: 164 DAYS]
There was that number again. 164 days. Five and a half months instead of nine.
How does this work?
[SYSTEM PROVIDES OPTIMIZED PROTOCOLS]
[HOST EXECUTES PROTOCOLS]
[SYSTEM MONITORS PROGRESS AND ADJUSTS PARAMETERS]
[THIS REQUIRES ACTIVE PARTICIPATION]
So it wouldn't magically heal him. Just tell him what to do and track whether he did it.
Better than nothing.
Show me the exercises.
The screen changed. A diagram of a human body appeared, rotating slowly. Daniel's body, specifically. He could tell by the proportions, the slight curve in his spine from years of football training.
The left ankle was highlighted in red. Angry red, pulsing.
[CURRENT INJURY STATUS:]
[INFLAMMATION: SEVERE]
[TISSUE DAMAGE: MODERATE TO SEVERE]
[BONE HEALING: 8%]
[LIGAMENT REPAIR: 5%]
Eight percent. Five percent. He'd had surgery three days ago. Made sense.
[EXERCISE 1: ANKLE PUMPS]
[DURATION: 3 SETS OF 15 REPETITIONS]
[FREQUENCY: EVERY 2 HOURS WHILE AWAKE]
A smaller diagram appeared. Showed an ankle flexing up and down. Simple movement. Point toes, flex them back. No weight bearing.
That's it?
[SUFFICIENT FOR DAY 1]
[EXCESSIVE ACTIVITY DURING EARLY RECOVERY CAUSES SETBACKS]
[PATIENCE REQUIRED]
Patience. Right.
Daniel tried the first rep. Pointed his toes down inside the boot as much as the padding allowed. Pain flared immediately. Sharp and hot.
He stopped.
[PAIN RESPONSE: EXPECTED]
[CURRENT PAIN LEVEL: ACCEPTABLE RANGE]
[DISTINGUISH BETWEEN PRODUCTIVE DISCOMFORT AND INJURY SIGNALS]
Easy for you to say.
Daniel tried again. Pointed his toes. Flexed them back. The pain was there but duller this time. Manageable.
He did fifteen. Rested. Did fifteen more.
By the third set, his ankle was throbbing and he was sweating. Three sets of fifteen tiny movements and he was exhausted.
[EXERCISE 1 COMPLETE]
[NEXT SESSION IN 2 HOURS]
[NUTRITIONAL PROTOCOL ACTIVE]
A new screen appeared. Listed foods with color coding. Green for optimal, yellow for acceptable, red for avoid.
Daniel scanned the list. Lots of fish, leafy vegetables, nuts, berries. Anti-inflammatory stuff. Made sense.
Red section included processed foods, excess sugar, alcohol.
I'm sixteen. Not drinking anyway.
[ACKNOWLEDGED]
[MONITORING NUTRITIONAL INTAKE]
The screen showed a meal plan. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. Specific portions. Calorie targets. Protein requirements.
Salmon. Avocados. Almonds. Blueberries. Organic spinach.
Daniel did quick math in his head. This plan cost maybe sixty euros a week. Just for him.
His mom's entire grocery budget was seventy for all three of them.
He took a screenshot. He'd figure it out. Canned fish instead of fresh. Frozen vegetables. Cheaper protein sources. Research substitutions online.
The System calculated optimal outcomes. Daniel would have to calculate affordable ones.
If he asked his mom for salmon three times a week, she'd lie awake worrying about money they didn't have. Better to handle it himself. Make it work quietly.
[NUTRITIONAL TRACKING ACTIVE]
[DEVIATIONS WILL EXTEND RECOVERY TIMELINE]
Yeah. He'd make it work.
The screen faded. Daniel sat there, ankle throbbing, thinking about ankle pumps and meal plans and 164 days.
This wasn't like games he'd played. No experience bars filling up instantly. No level-up sounds. Just incremental work and watching percentages tick upward slowly.
Fine. He could do slow.
His mom woke up around three. Made lunch. Sandwiches, nothing fancy. Daniel ate without mentioning the nutrition plan.
Lucía got home at four-fifteen. Dropped her backpack by the door and came straight to the couch.
"Let me see it."
"See what?"
"Your ankle, idiota."
"It's in a boot."
"So? Show me the boot."
Daniel lifted his leg slightly. The boot was black, bulky, went halfway up his shin. Velcro straps everywhere.
Lucía wrinkled her nose. "That's ugly."
"Thanks."
"Does it hurt?"
"Not right now."
Lie. It always hurt. Just degrees of how much.
She sat on the arm of the couch. Thirteen years old and too smart for her own good. Already reading university-level biology textbooks because her school didn't challenge her enough.
"Marcos texted me," she said. "Asked if you were okay."
"I'm fine."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
She gave him a look. The little sister look that meant I know you're lying but I'll let it slide.
"I made you something." She pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket. Handed it to him.
Daniel unfolded it. A drawing. Stick figures playing football. One stick figure wearing a boot, scoring a goal anyway. Caption at the bottom: unstoppable.
His throat went tight. He started at the drawing,not trusting himself to look at her.
"Thanks, Luc."he managed
"You're going to come back," she said. No question in her voice. Just certainty.
"Yeah."
"Good. Because if you don't, I'll have to become a professional footballer and I really don't want to."
That got a laugh out of him. Small one, but real.
She smiled. "There. You can still laugh. You're fine."
His mom made dinner. Rice with chicken and vegetables. Simple. Cheap. Not on the System's plan, but close enough.
Close enough would have to work.
Daniel ate without complaining. The System probably logged it, calculated deviations, adjusted his timeline accordingly.
He didn't check. Didn't want to see how much his family's financial situation was costing him.
After dinner, Lucía did homework at the kitchen table. His mom got ready for her shift. Daniel stayed on the couch, leg elevated, pretending to watch TV.
The System screen appeared again at eight PM.
[EXERCISE SESSION 4: BEGIN]
Daniel did his ankle pumps. Three sets of fifteen. Getting slightly easier. Or maybe he was just getting used to the pain.
[MENTAL CONDITIONING AVAILABLE]
[INITIATE SESSION: YES/NO]
What's mental conditioning?
[VISUALIZATION EXERCISES]
[TACTICAL ANALYSIS AND MOVEMENT PATTERN TRAINING]
[MAINTAINS COGNITIVE SHARPNESS DURING PHYSICAL RECOVERY]
Daniel glanced at the kitchen. Lucía was focused on math homework, headphones in. His mom had already left for work.
Yes.
The screen changed. Became a football pitch viewed from above. Tactical diagram. Positions marked with dots.
[SCENARIO 1: TEAM ATTACKS FROM LEFT FLANK]
[OPTIMAL STRIKER POSITIONING: INDICATE]
Daniel studied the diagram. Defenders positioned centrally. Midfielders pushing up the left. Space opening on the right side, far post area.
He moved his finger slightly, pointing to the space.
There. Far post. The defender's watching the ball, not tracking the back-side run.
[CORRECT]
[EXECUTION RATING: 8/10]
[OPTIMAL TIMING: DELAY RUN BY 0.7 SECONDS FOR MAXIMUM SPACE CREATION]
The diagram replayed. Showed Daniel's suggested run, then the optimal version. Barely different. But the timing created more separation from the defender.
Huh.
[SCENARIO 2: OPPOSITION BUILDS FROM BACK]
[PRESSING TRIGGER POINT: INDICATE]
They went through ten scenarios. Attacking patterns, defensive positioning, transition moments. Each time, Daniel indicated his choice silently. Each time, the System graded him and showed the optimal solution.
Scenario three: 9/10.
Scenario four: 7/10. He'd misread the midfielder's body shape, thought he'd pass inside when he went outside.
Scenario five: 8/10.
Scenario six: 10/10.
By scenario ten, he was scoring nines consistently. Understanding the patterns better.
[MENTAL CONDITIONING SESSION COMPLETE]
[TACTICAL INTELLIGENCE: 83/100]
[PATTERN RECOGNITION: +2]
Stats. Numbers going up. Daniel felt something shift in his chest. Not quite excitement. More like relief. Proof this was real.
Proof he was getting better at something, even if his body was still broken.
How often can I do this?
[ONCE PER DAY DURING PHASE 1]
[MENTAL FATIGUE REDUCES TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS]
[REST IS COMPONENT OF OPTIMIZATION]
The screen faded.
Daniel sat there. Lucía had moved to the couch, curled up with her biology book. She glanced at him.
"You okay? You look weird."
"I'm fine."
"You keep saying that."
"Because I keep being fine."
She rolled her eyes. Went back to reading.
Daniel pulled out his phone. Opened the team group chat. Rafael had posted a video of himself doing light jogging. Caption: day 3, feeling good.
Three days and he was already jogging.
Daniel looked at his boot. At his swollen ankle underneath all the padding.
164 days.
He could do this.
Marcos showed up the next afternoon. Daniel heard him before he saw him, loud footsteps on the stairs, knocking like he was trying to break the door down.
Lucía let him in.
"Tío!" Marcos crossed the living room in three steps, dropped onto the couch next to Daniel. "You look terrible."
"Thanks."
"I mean it. You look like death."
"Appreciate the support."
Marcos grinned. Same wild grin he always had. He pulled a plastic bag from his jacket. "Brought you something."
Chocolates. The expensive kind from that shop near Mercado Central.
"You didn't have to."
"I know. But my mom insisted. You know how she is."
Daniel did. Marcos's mom treated everyone like family. Probably sent enough food to feed five people.
They talked. Normal stuff. School, training, the team. Marcos was careful not to mention the injury directly. Talked around it.
Finally, Daniel asked. "How's the team?"
"Good. Coach has been running us hard. New formation, trying to cover for you and Rafael being out."
"Rafael's back in two weeks."
"Yeah." Marcos picked at the couch cushion. "Look, everyone knows you're going to come back."
"Do they?"
"Yeah. Well. Most people."
Most people. Not everyone.
Daniel's phone lit up on the side table. Text notification. He ignored it.
"You'll come to training once you're mobile, right?" Marcos asked. "Even if you can't play. Just to be around."
"Maybe."
"You should. Team's not the same without you."
They hung out for another hour. Marcos told stupid stories, made Daniel laugh despite everything. When he left, the apartment felt quieter.
Daniel did his evening exercises. Ankle pumps, then mental conditioning. Another tactical session.
Scenario two: 8/10.
Scenario five: 9/10.
Scenario seven: 6/10. Completely missed a defensive rotation.
Scenario nine: 10/10.
Better. Not perfect, but better.
[TACTICAL INTELLIGENCE: 84/100]
[+1]
Small progress. Incremental. Real.
That night, before sleep, the System showed him his overall stats.
[DANIEL ROMERO GARCÍA: DAY 4 POST-INJURY]
[ATTRIBUTES:]
[PHYSICAL: 42/100] - Severely compromised
[TECHNICAL: 68/100] - Maintaining through visualization
[MENTAL: 71/100] - Recovering
[TACTICAL: 84/100] - Improving
[RECOVERY STATUS:]
[BONE HEALING: 12%]
[LIGAMENT REPAIR: 8%]
[INFLAMMATION REDUCTION: 19%]
[OVERALL PROGRESS: 12%]
[ESTIMATED DAYS TO FULL RECOVERY: 160]
Four days down. Four days of work, and he'd cut four days off the timeline.
The math was simple. Keep working, keep following protocols, watch the number shrink.
Daniel closed his eyes.
For the first time since the injury, he fell asleep without replaying the tackle in his head.
Progress.