Ch.3: Again
In the profound darkness of the night, rain pours heavily. At this very late hour, the streets are dead, empty. In that small graveyard, a figure stands before a grave. Beside it, shovels still stained with soil—someone buried just moments ago.
Lightning tears through the solemnity of the place... and by its light, it reveals what was hidden. The one standing before the grave is a girl... muttering inaudible words. All that can be heard is one sentence: "I will have my revenge!!"
---
At the university campus... amidst a terrifying silence, interspersed with cold winds, Kyouko collapses, exhausted. Her mind hasn't yet grasped all of this. How could Loken be fine? How did his sight return? How is today the same date as yesterday? How did people disappear? And where is Lynen??!
... A few minutes later ...
They walk alone in the square. The winds intensify and the fog thickens, obscuring visibility and making the weather even colder; Kyouko feels warmth beside him. She is happy just to be with him.
They head to the building to inspect the place further. They wander through it, check the offices, visit the cafeterias—they are completely empty!!
The rain begins to pour... Its beautiful sound kills that terrifying silence. The weather grows colder.
Loken notices something and says to Kyouko:
"Why are the lights dimming, and why has it gotten cold without the air conditioning? Let's go down to the basement; I have some spare clothes in my locker!"
Kyouko: "Okay, let's go... I remember I left some snacks in my locker."
They descend to the basement... It's completely quiet... no one. Intersecting corridors are filled with metal lockers. Each goes to their own locker with the iron lock. The echoing sound of the lock seems ominous. They are completely alone!
Kyouko observes Loken closely, saying to herself: "It's the first time I've seen him open his locker by himself; Lynen always prevented him from even trying."
That silence is broken by a resounding sound that pierces their ears. An explosion shakes the ground and rattles their beings with fear. The stairs they came from have collapsed. Rubble dust spreads everywhere and the smell of fire stings their nostrils.
Kyouko screams in terror: "What is this!! Loken, where are you!! I can't see you... Can you hear me?!!"
He rushes to her: "Are you okay!! Why are you on the ground?! Are you hurt?!"
She replies hesitantly: "I.. I'm fine.. my legs just gave out from fear."
Thick dust blinds their eyes and chokes their breath. They get up, moving away from the explosion site, running. Loken smells an oily scent and says:
"It seems to be the generator under the stairs. It exploded and will burn enough to choke the place!"
Kyouko: "Is that because of the lightning outside?"
Loken replies: "The reason doesn't matter. I'll check for other exits. Go deeper where the staff offices and restrooms are; there's good ventilation there!"
Kyouko: "Okay, good idea!"
---
A small sign read: < Emergency Exit >. Loken looked at it, then at the locked metal door. He tried to open it slightly, but to no avail. He returned to Kyouko.
Following her voice, she had entered a room at the end of the corridor.
Kyouko asked him: "What happened? Did you find an exit?"
Loken replied: "All exits, even the emergency exit, have their iron doors locked!"
Kyouko, surprised: "Iron gates! There was nothing like this before!!"
Loken, with indifferent, glazed eyes: "It's no use... We're trapped now!"
Kyouko became anxious, thinking to herself: What's wrong with him? What is he saying? It's impossible to be buried alive!
She said: "Let's just wait until the fire dies down."
---
In a dark room, a narrow office deep within the university, the two sole souls were confined in a prison connected to the outside world only by a small ventilation pipe providing air to breathe. Loken was tightly sealing the door with paper and wet cloth to prevent smoke from entering, while Kyouko rearranged the room to make space for them and searched for useful items in the corners of the place.
Before sunset... the light became very dim, the cold was intense. They lit the heater, which contained some fuel. They sat on the floor around it, and Kyouko placed her hands between her legs... she looked tired.
Loken took her bag and placed it beside her quietly.
Kyouko said: "Thank you. It's good that I held onto my bag... I have some food here."
She took out some sweets from her bag; they wouldn't satisfy hunger but would provide the necessary energy to survive.
Loken asked: "Are you okay? Does your chest hurt?"
Kyouko replied: "I'm fine, I don't feel suffocated or distressed; but I feel weak, my head is heavy, and my skin is dry. The strangest thing is a tingling sensation in my elbow."
< She pointed to the veins on her hand >
Kyouko continued: "What about you? Tell me, how did your sight return?"
He smiled and said calmly, his manner unsettling and unfamiliar:
"I don't know... I just woke up like this... A coincidence, maybe."
Kyouko found nothing to say; the situation didn't allow it. She bit her lips, there was something she wanted to say, then she calmed herself, held her phone, thinking: Not now.
---
The sun had set, moonlight dominated the dark sky. Rain was still falling, and from a small crack in the corner of the ceiling, light seeped into that narrow, warm room; they could barely see each other. The air grew colder as the heater's fire faded. Loken felt Kyouko's shiver as she sat in the corner, her body trembling. Amidst the complete silence, Loken stood up, removed his coat, and placed it over Kyouko's shoulders.
She raised her head, opened her eyes, and asked in a deep voice, as if her throat was dry: "Where are you going?"
Loken replied, surprised: "Sorry, I didn't notice you were asleep..."
She gestured with her hand and whispered hesitantly: "It's okay... Thank you for your coat, it's so big, it's like I'm drowning in warmth."
Loken smiled and headed towards the door. Kyouko called out to him: "Don't go out, the fire might still be out there."
As he tried to open the door: "I'll look for an exit, we won't spend the night here."
Kyouko smiled and looked at the ground, saying shyly:
"I wouldn't mind staying here longer!!"
He opened the door, and with his tender voice:
"I'll look for a better place, I'll be back soon."
---
Kyouko sat alone, gazing at the dying fire of the heater, her eyes gleaming in the darkness. She played with her hair, whispering to herself: Will he say it in front of me? Will he keep his promise himself this time? Does he have the courage to say it to my face?!
She held her phone: 4:59 AM.
... The fire died out ...
She closed her eyes, whispering: "He'll come any moment!!"
... She suddenly remembered her words... She had said: Don't walk alone... you might fall...
---
Moments later, light shone from under the door, a flicker for a fraction of a second, a light that pierced her eyes. In an instant, the wall she was leaning against shook, and the ground trembled with a tremor that shook her very being. And suddenly, the sound of an explosion pierced her ears, filling her with terror; a deafening explosion near the room.
She got up, startled, grabbed her phone, and wrapped her face in his coat. She opened the door to be met by a mass of dust mixed with black smoke. Visibility was almost zero. She walked by the light of her phone, her deep breaths piercing the thick fabric of the coat. She noticed a light at the end of the corridor, ran towards it, her tears mixing with the smoke, flowing down her cheek, leaving a black line like kohl, then falling and dissipating on the ground.
She stopped moving, unable to bear the glare of the fire and the rising smoke any longer. She removed the coat from her face, coughing violently. She screamed loudly: "Loken!!! ... Loken!!!"
She coughed, almost choking, crying out in a sorrowful voice: "Lu... Loken!"
Struggling for her voice, she looked around, entered the burning room, barely able to see anything but smoke and dust.
... As she entered... her phone fell... which indicated the time...
.... 5:04 AM ....
The smell of the place was like burning flesh. An electrical wire was sparking brightly, illuminating that face. Amidst those flames, his body lay peacefully.
... It was that profound stillness... the stillness of death...
Kyouko, with her numb body and frozen features, couldn't bear this sight. She reached out her hand, calling to him while coughing: "C... Come to me... You'll... you'll suffocate... you'll... you'll burn!! No... don't... don't die again!!!"
Her face turned blue, she fell to the ground, having lost consciousness.
The two sole souls lay beside each other underground in the deep darkness, their bodies scorched by the heat of the flames and buried under the rubble.
... But... where did the people go... how could this happen to them...
---
A phone rang... its annoying sound... it was that loud alarm. Kyouko opened her eyes in terror, got up startled, to find herself in her bed. She touched her pillow... it was damp with tears... again!
Kyouko felt strange, her heart pounding as she looked at the phone, hesitating to touch it as it rings loudly. Her breaths deepened, and sweat ran down her face. She picked it up, her eyes darting to the time.
She clenched her fist... gripped her phone tightly... then threw her phone across the wall!
She screamed: "I don't need it!!! I don't need this junk!"
It fell to the ground... displaying:
<
She immediately got ready, rushed out, heading straight to the university. She ran through the crowd to the center of the square, raised her head, opened her eyes, and in an instant, a tear rolled down her cheek!!
Even there... the clock showed: <<9/13 7:54 AM>>.
She heard it again, the sound of those familiar footsteps and breaths. She turned her face, drenched in tears, with a sorrowful expression!
He stands before her, saying:
..... "You are more beautiful than I imagined!!" .....
It's Loken!!!
She collapses to the ground, curls up, buries her head between her knees, closes her streaming eyes, and bites her lips until they bleed; she whispers in a trembling voice:
"M..mm....what's happening?! ... Someone.... please... h...h... help me!!"
To be continued...
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