"The heel of his foot started radically stomping on the ground, shattering any calm he had"
'Write! Write! Write! Write! Write! Write! Write! Write! Write! Write!'
"Those words were the only thing driving Cale forward, he pushed on the pen for more speed, his handwriting turned utterly disturbing to even try to make heads or tails of"
"But it didn't matter, as long as the words could be gargled out of him and just bring them to life into his notebook"
"...!?"
"At long last, his pen reached the end of the page"
Fwip!
"A page turned and flipped like a patty on a steaming grill"
"The movement rushed and completely unrefined, like an animal"
"Ha! Ha! Ha!"
"Cale sharply exhaled, the thudding against his heart raced to reach Nirvana. However, in the end"
Step
"The step that knocked on the doorstep of the class was far faster than his beating heart full of vitality"
"Leaning more, the figure entered through the door"
"..."
"That moment, sparked a defeated sensation to flare embers in him"
"The silence dragged away by the loud music moved back to where it had pressed so heavily before"
"Seeing the hunched figure, the sound of his heart that thumped out of sheer fear turned to complete silent"
"It felt as if his heart kept skipping its beats"
"His mind poured itself with sheer fear, the cup of sanity shaking and trembling"
"Yet despite this, peace and solace could faintly be heard, and curiosity satiated when looking at the figure firsthand"
"A hunched, lanky and tall ethereal figure loomed its gaping shadow on him"
"On its hollow nape rested a collar with a checkered pattern, a small gray gem shaped like a bunny shimmered in the fluttering lights, where its eyes were supposed to be stood carved red pupils, staring at Cale directly"
"The silence pressed itself tightly onto the room, choking and choking it till the air itself withered under the sheer pressure!"
Step...
The hunched figure took a silent step towards Cale, the rattling voice that he had heard in his noggin disappeared, clarity soon returned in Cale's frozen body.
His eyes snapped towards the paper, the only one algorithm that remained was the one he first finished on the computer.
With a pen in hand, his fingers gripped it firmly, so firmly that it had no choice but to write.
Skrrr—!
It screeched and punctured a crumpling cut onto the notebook.
"...!!!!"
The pen, though still having plenty of ink in its cartridge. Refused to shed more of its blood on the paper.
Tak!
Cale flung the pen away from him and hurriedly snatched a pen from his backpack. It took a full 4 seconds of scrambling to take another one out.
Step...
The step ate away at the clarity that worked hard to be regained back, its goal to settle pure unease into the victim.
BA-THUMP! BA-THUMP! BA-THUMP!
Cale's heart began pounding him from the inside, relentlessly striking him and hammering his chest without a shred of mercy in sight.
The hunched figure, raised its disfigured face whose pale face and sunken cheeks sprinkled disturbance. Solemnly staring at the young Cale with its hollow and dark sockets of space.
A lanky hand brought itself to his open mouth that opened more than it should.
Crack!
Like a ticket being purchased, his mouth snapped shut like when the ticket machine received the appropriate price.
Not a single bit of hesitation dimmed at its face.
Blood flowed from his ghostly hand.
Step!
It stepped, this time clutching its sides, eerily shivering as if a biting chill had enveloped it entirely.
Ha....Ha
A cold, sickly breath steamed out of the blood smeared mouth.
Step
It stepped again, a wobbling step this time. Its nails pressed on the temples of his face.
Skkrrrr—!
Like the pen Cale scribbled with, when plodding another shaky step, it tore off its own skin and scarred it.
"Ha!"
With a shaky vision and a shaky pen, Cale's heart felt strangely hollowed as of this moment. Yet it still roared erratically in his mind.
It felt as if it had stopped beating, dropping so low to the ground that it felt hard just to keep it afloat and not sink to the bottom.
Yes, at this moment, Cale's heart.
Felt heavy with blistering fear.
Each shaky, rushed breath hurt his chest, he felt the fear of looming death course a path through his body.
"Ha.."
Ha..
A hot, steamy breath sent shudders through his body, it synced with his own breathing.
GR—
—AB....
A chilling hand grazed his nape, caressing his chin before—!
"Ug!"
It tightened its grasp onto Cale's neck, choking his shaking breaths out.
Cale wanted to flail around and fight for his life but instead of doing that.
Skkrrr!
He kept screeching the pen on the paper, writing the algorithm, messily, shakily and with desperation.
Tok..
The pen, fell down. His arms limply fell with resistance leaving, legs dangled as the feeling of being choked to death vividly entered his mind.
For some unknown reason, the memory of being choked had felt familiar, as if something similar like this had happened in the past. In fact, he could remember it was on the first day of High-School.
'That...doesn't make sense though? Aren't I supposed to be in primary school?'
Despite thinking this, the memories that flashed as his brain paid its final respects to him by showing memories of the past seemed indistinguishable from reality. He really did experience all of this, or perhaps he didn't and was going crazy from dying.
Time slowed as consciousness guttered.
'Didn't I hear from somewhere that if you die, your brain replays your entire life before dying?'
It seemed to be the case right now, being faced with life and death once again, his memories jolted. And, even if these memories were not real, it would be a shame to throw them and discard them out.
During this time, at a distance
A book closed and a notebook rested at the teacher's hand.
A tight grin pulled at the teacher's lips when seeing Cale's notebook.
"Good work"
His mouth parted into words.
"I am sorry for my hasty and rash behavior earlier, my dear student"
The teacher looked at Cale, his gaze alone stopped the hunched figure dead in its tracks.
"But you must understand that in my situation, I can't be favoring you or anyone for that manner"
He sat up from his desk and the notebook rested at his desk.
"Most would panic and die off, scared out of their damned minds and coping that they would surely die"
The tight grip the figure had on Cale's neck loosened, Cale gasped and coughed for air as he fell down to the ground.
"Cale Dice, out of those who were sent here to be resurrected, none even passed through the first trial, with the sole exception of you and a couple of others, but there is a slight difference between them and you"
Cale laid on the floor, heaving for breaths constantly.
"Despite not being talented whatsoever, you passed through sheer hope, grit and desperation for survival. Could it have been luck? maybe, but who in their right mind would complain about surviving because of luck?"
The teacher brought a hand to his chest.
"My name is Olive, Olive Gardenia"
His other hand faced and extended toward the unconscious Cale.
"Cale Dice. Due to passing the first test with flying colors through only the passive use of your insight"
Olive tilted his head.
"You will be given all your memories of your past life along with a certain item"
Olive nudged at the figure, the lanky figure clicked their tongue but still complied and brought their hands to their neck.
Click!
With a sharp click of the collar, it released and fell onto the body of Cale.
The gem on the checkered collar, shaped like a bunny, glimmered silently in the cold room, as the figures once previously there. Disappeared into the air, never to be seen again.