At a school building, a thin young man with a bob cut and glasses—his clothes soaking wet and tattered—sprinted up the stairs toward the roof. His footsteps echoed through the deserted hallway. Tears streamed down his face; he was crying, but his expression wasn't one of sadness. It was pure despair. He kept pushing, desperate to reach the top. Finally, he hit the last flight of stairs leading to the fifth-floor exit. But the moment he reached the landing, he froze.
The reason? A muscular young man with a silver buzz cut was sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning casually against the door. He was looking down at a smartphone in his hands. He looked like a thug—his shirt hung halfway open, revealing a broad chest, and his forearms were covered in jagged scars that looked like old knife wounds. A heavy chain sat around his neck, but the most intimidating part was his face. He looked cold, like someone who lived a life of constant violence.
The scrawny kid just stood there, paralyzed. Clack... clack. Water dripped from his shirt and trousers, pooling on the floor. The intimidating guy seemed to realize someone was there. He stood up casually and shoved his phone into the pocket of his worn-out jeans.
His gaze locked onto the kid, making him flinch. Then, the scary stranger stepped forward, towering over the shorter boy. He looked down, staring straight into the eyes behind the glasses. The kid's face was pale with terror; memories of his entire life began to flash before him because he felt certain his end was near. Still, he found a shred of courage.
"I... I'm sorry. Can I... can I go out to the roof?" the kid asked, his voice trembling.
The scary guy placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hii!" The kid jumped and squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the worst.
"You're going out there to jump and die, right?" the guy asked. His voice was cold and steady.
The kid looked up at him, his mouth hanging open before he snapped it shut. The stranger had nailed it. Overwhelmed, the kid suddenly spilled everything to this total stranger. He really did intend to end it. He was tired of being bullied; just today, he'd been forced face-first into a toilet, and then had to watch his childhood female friend making out with his bully right in front of him. He broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
Unexpectedly, the thuggish-looking guy pulled him into a hug. The kid gasped in shock.
"You don't need to kill yourself. Your life is too valuable to end just because of a few people who aren't even worth remembering. If you want my advice, go home. Sleep. Come back tomorrow like usual. You deserve better, because tomorrow will definitely be better than today," the guy said, offering surprisingly wise words.
The kid was speechless. It wasn't out of fear anymore, but confusion. Why was this terrifying-looking person hugging his soaking-wet self and giving him advice? Especially since he knew exactly what the kid had planned to do.
"What's your name? What grade?" the guy asked.
"Um... my... my name is Ryan. I'm in 10th grade," Ryan answered, dazed.
"Okay. My name is Axel. 11th grade. Now go home. You hear me? Your family is waiting for you," Axel said.
"Yeah... thanks," Ryan replied, still confused.
Axel released him and turned him around, giving him a pat on the back to get him moving. Ryan took off, running down the stairs in a mix of confusion and lingering fear. Axel sat back down in front of the door and pulled a cigarette from his crumpled shirt pocket. Fuuuh. He lit it and blew a cloud of smoke toward the ceiling, looking up thoughtfully.
"Well... at least he didn't go through with it. If I hadn't stopped him, he'd be a corpse down there right now with a crushed skull, and school would be cancelled tomorrow," Axel said in his head while taking a drag.
Axel brushed his hair back and looked down at the floor. His face was expressionless, but his eyes betrayed a heavy burden.
***
And that's that. I can guarantee that tomorrow, the Ryan I just saved won't even want to acknowledge me. I'm certain of it, seeing how terrified he was. It's a recurring theme; I'm used to it because of how I look. My name is Axel Carter. I'm only in 11th grade, seventeen years old guy. How did I know to help Ryan just now? Because I saw him as a corpse on the pavement.
Yes, I can see the future. The vision repeats in my mind until the person fated to die is saved. A few days ago, an image of a body falling appeared in my head. Based on my investigation, the victim was a scrawny kid with a bob cut. My premonitions don't show the process, only the end result. In the vision, I saw a nerdy student lying dead below, clearly having fallen from the roof—whether he was pushed, fell by accident, or jumped, I didn't know.
To stop the vision from coming true, I had to figure out who it was. The face in the vision is always blurred, though the mangled head was vivid enough to make me want to vomit just thinking about it. So, I've been sitting here every day, skipping class, because I knew whoever it was would come to this roof. I waited for anyone who looked the part, and it turned out to be Ryan.
Even though he left, I'll stay here until everyone has gone home just to be sure he was the one from my vision and to make sure he doesn't come back. While I wait for the final bell, let me tell you why I have this "gift." I lost my parents when I was ten. We were on a road trip when a speeding truck slammed into our car. My mom and dad didn't make it.
I survived, but according to my uncle, I was in a coma for a month and was technically dead for a few minutes. I believe him, because I remember dreaming that I left my body. I watched myself lying in that hospital bed; I saw the doctors and nurses panicking, trying to save me. They succeeded, and I felt myself pulled back into my body. When I opened my eyes, my uncle—my dad's younger brother—was sitting next to me, still in his Army uniform.
When I heard my parents were gone, I was destroyed. I don't even remember how long I cried. My uncle adopted me; he even left the military to work as a mechanic because that was his trade. I grew up with him. He taught me martial arts, how to shoot, trained me physically, and taught me everything about cars.
Then, when I turned fourteen, I started having these strange visions in broad daylight. In the first one, I saw a couple in a horrific car accident. I saw exactly what happened to them when they were hit. When I came out of it, I was vomiting and covered in a cold sweat.
Strangely, the vision came back every day. I couldn't concentrate at school because I was constantly spacing out. The frequency increased to three times a day. Then, one day while I was home on break, the visions stopped. I felt relieved and tried to forget them because the memories made me nauseous.
But that evening, when I got back from the convenience store, two cops were standing in front of my house. I knew my uncle had gone to the airport to pick up his fiancée, who was flying in from another state. When I approached them, they asked for my ID. Then, the world collapsed.
They were there to tell me my uncle and his fiancée had died in a car accident. When they showed me a photo of the wreck on a smartphone, it felt like a bolt of lightning hit my brain. The car and the scene were identical to the couple I had seen in my repeating visions.
That's when I realized I was seeing the future. I was consumed by regret because I hadn't stopped him from going, even though I knew exactly what was going to happen. After the funeral and settling the insurance—which went into my account along with the money my parents left me—I started living alone in my uncle's house.
Every day was a cycle of guilt. I was depressed for over a month until the visions returned. This time, I paid attention. Even though it made me sick to look at, I studied them. Since the faces are blurred and I only see the end result, I have to guess. I failed once; someone died right in front of me when an iron fence fell from the fifth floor. The body looked exactly like what I'd seen.
Since then, I've kept a close eye on my visions and the people around me. When I was fifteen and started high school, I managed to save a girl who was about to be stabbed by a mugger. Naturally, I beat the guy to a pulp because, well... I'm a martial arts expert. After I saved her, the vision vanished because the future had changed.
Of course, the girl ran away and even called the cops because she thought I was just as dangerous as the guy I'd just thrashed. That's when I truly understood my power. Since then, I've been saving the people who pop up in my head, just like I saved Ryan today.
Usually, because I look like a delinquent and a thug, most people I help just run away—even the adults. I don't mind. Even if they're afraid of me, I'm just happy and relieved. I'd rather they hate me than have them end up as a corpse haunting my head and making me sick.
So, that's been my life up until today. Once everyone is gone and I'm sure Ryan was the victim, I'll head home and wait for a new story to begin when the next vision hits. But I'm wrong. After today, my life is going to change completely. I'm about to find out that there's another world behind the one we see—one that has always been hidden from human eyes.