Date: September 11
Place: Nagoya, Japan
[Shin]
This time, I followed her instructions without thinking too deeply about them, leaping into fate once more.
The two were shivering nonetheless, their eyes tightly shut with their hands covering each ear. But I only watch them closely, all my senses open, and try to decipher what is going on by listening to the noises.
"It's gonna be okay," I repeat from time to time after I hear one of them whimper and cry too loudly. "It's fine," my voice cracking and hoarse as it began to dry.
At first, I could hear bodies falling on the floor one by one in a span of a minute. But as time passes by, one minute becomes three, then five, then more.
There were the same sounds as the explosion that I experienced earlier. And just a few more minutes in, the ground started rumbling. It was as if the floor was alive and producing a distinct pattern of quake.
"It'll be fine," my hands shaking as I hugged the two who were startled.
Only a few more moments later, my skin crawled because of the horrifying screams that came after a loud thud.
"That hurts!" Were her exact words as her cries started to echo. Even her throat sounded as if there were only a few more shouts to be said until it breaks.
We're hiding, clinging onto her rescue. Those agonizing sounds pierced my ears as the information that she was sacrificing herself for our safety finally hit.
My heart felt heavy as my breath followed. The sight of Akira and Mei started dancing, and only a cold touch on my thigh was enough to pull me back.
It was a sensation of metal on my skin. My fingers started to crawl outside the tarpaulin to get a hold of said metal.
My fingers fell perfectly on the trigger. "A gun?" It's her gun making its way onto me.
Too many thoughts occupied my mind, fingers quivering at the cold and heavy weapon.
Was this a calling for me?
Was this fate's way of indirectly telling me to repay Meon's sacrifice?
"It's going to be alright," I whispered one last time, patting their hand gently with my free hand as Rei started to shout curses along with the painful cries.
My body was moving on its own as I slowly went on all fours and realized that I was already witnessing the madness that was making Rei react that way.
I want to see the sunlight...
I still want to eat warm food...
I want to sleep in a cozy bed for once...
My hands started to point at the huge monster that was holding her up on the wall, fingers lingering on the trigger as I took my last gulp.
I want to do the usual day routine I had before all this...
But Akira and Mei's survival will be much higher with Rei around. And that's a fact that I have already accepted.
Her screams continued to worsen with every second I hesitate.
I took a deep breath and silenced my thoughts. Then my body stumbled a few steps back as my arm was lifted without my body's consent.
"Come and get me!" I exclaimed, tears rushing down my face, body trembling, and thoughts all over the place when I started noticing that the monsters were now fully sprinting to get me.
"No!" I see her eyes through the countless monsters that were surrounding her. "Get outta there!"
I was frozen in place, awaiting my actions consequences unfold.
[Rei]
My desperate calls got me thinking that the heavens pitied me once I noticed that nothing was in motion.
Even my tears and excruciating pain vanished like it was never there in the first place.
I found everything bizarre as I squinted my eyes, it was only then that I realized it wasn't an exact pause. But the movements were unfolding at an alarming slow pace.
"Heavens? Gods?" I hear a tone too familiar but yet, too nostalgic. "Puh—lease," they snorted. "They would never intervene in matters that are too insignificant"
It's as if the voice were reading my thoughts and was commenting on them.
But I had no time to think too much about it as I was trying to think of a way I could overcome this difficulty. This miraculous time was given to me for a purpose and it'd be a fool of me to waste it.
"I did not grant you time just for you to ignore me"
...?
The voice kept getting in the way of my thinking as I wiggle my hand out of the buffed unOrdinary's hold. Then the claws that were sunk in my other arm, I forced yanked out.
"I know you can hear me!"
The voice sounded aggravated.
"Stop ignoring me!"
The thin fog that I had disregarded since earlier began to thicken, blocking the view between Shin and me.
I started coughing at how dense it had gotten. The sensation on my arm started to slowly come back thus I winced in the staggering pain.
"I was here to propose a solution," the voice sounded disappointed. "But oh well—" the fog disspersed and the time flowed naturally.
Shin's gaze pierced mine as I saw him slowly backing away, quivering as his weakened hands fell to the side. "No!" I panicked, the pain of getting the claw off hit me in full force as the sensation of my warm blood drips down my skin.
"Alright!" I repeated nonstop and only got to breathe when everything was unmoving once more.
"Tell me what you want!" My sight spun as the fog around me thickened once more, taking the time and my pain along with the maniacal arrival of a voice's laugh. "Lend me your strength," I demanded the second I recognized who I was talking to.
"You are a piece of work aren't you?" his snickering sent chills down my spine as I fell on the ground butt first.
My surroundings changed.
The place was pitch dark, nothing in sight, and my body was in perfect condition. No scratches, wounds, or even any hint of blood anywhere on me.
"You should be thanking me for this opportunity," a nimble cloud of black fog that was radiating off of a red light source started to form a vague human body in front of me.
"Hi," it floated slowly to circle and stop behind me. "As I said, I'm here to offer you a deal"