บท 2: Isn’t That... Me?
Burning and crackling sounds, the huge flames engulfed the murderous man. His body quickly turned charred, from his arms to his legs, and finally reached his torso. He laughed in the same sinister voice. "You! You are one of us!" The man shouted with his bloodshot eyes still visible through the flames. His gaze landed on Eirin, and a smile formed on his face. He was muttering something that Eirin could not hear, but she felt shivers down her spine, and the man's expression soon changed.
Tears fell from his eyes, and a melancholic expression surfaced. "H-Help," he pleaded as he reached out his burning and already dissolving arm. "I don't want to die." His voice sounded pitiful, and Eirin's heart ached as she tried to stand up. As if something was trying to take control of her, she reached out her hand.
"Hey."
Eirin flinched, her gaze went back to the man that allegedly saved her. A shining red flame appeared out of his hand, covered with thick black gloves. "What are you doing?" The unknown man asked, with his back still facing Eirin, and she could not answer. She started wheezing until she could not breathe anymore as the surrounding flames grew.
"Please, don't kill me." She pleaded with her eyelids getting heavier. Eirin coughed and grabbed her throat. 'I can't breathe.'
"Must you do that?" A woman with an indifferent tone appeared and caught Eirin as she fell on her back while still forcing herself to stay awake. The woman's winter gray eyes stared at Eirin with a nonchalant expression. "How barbaric." Those were the last words Eirin heard before finally losing consciousness.
Darkness and nothing but darkness. That was the first thing that greeted Eirin as soon as she opened her eyes. "They're here to eradicate us!" She heard, and soon an enormous ball of light illuminated the empty, dark sky. Eirin saw people running away, crying for help that might never come. Destroyed houses and a gigantic crack formed on the shaky ground. It was as if a disaster that could destroy mankind wreaked havoc. Eirin's body felt the tremor through the ground, and her eyes found the swarm of corpses in front of her. Her body spun like a wheel and she soon realized that she was already lying on the ground. Screams filled Eirin's ears while she tried to get up, but it was as though something was pulling her back to the ground.
A smaller ball of light came crashing to her arm. Her right arm got caught on fire, which she immediately swung, trying to extinguish it before it could eat her alive. She struggled to stand as if gravity was against her. However, the moment she got up, her amber eyes glowed as she saw a sea of flames burying everything in sight. Houses, animals, and even those humans.
"Help us!"
The humans started to melt as they drowned in the sea of flames. It was horrendous. Eirin could not move an inch despite all the cries for help that she heard as she stood on the edge of a cliff. 'How can I help them?' Her breathing grew heavier as hesitation filled her heart until she got caught by the flames that climbed through the ground. It was like a monster searching for another victim and clinging to Eirin's life. 'I'm going to die.'
"Eirin!"
As though pulled out of the living hell, Eirin's senses woke up and she immediately screamed while shaking both of her arms. "Dear? What is going on?" She panted nonstop until her eyesight slowly witnessed her grandmother sitting in front of her. "Did you have a nightmare?" Eirin was sweating buckets, and her tearful eyes stared at her grandmother.
"Grandma." She rushed into her grandmother's arms, crying in terror at what she had just witnessed.
Her grandmother, Eleanor, asked. "Where have you been last night, dear? I fell asleep while waiting for you."
Eirin's body stiffened. "I…" Hazy memories of last night caused a pang in Eirin's head. She could only remember bits of her memories, and being chased till midnight was one of them. In a panic, Eirin rummaged through her body. Her arms were normal, with no signs of burns or bruises. It was odd. When she looked at her feet, there were no blisters and her knees were fine.
'I swear, I remember scraping my knee after falling.' Eirin thought as she questioned herself, what was the nightmare, and what wasn't?
Her grandmother caressed Eirin's cheek. "Eirin? Did something bad happen?" The teenage girl stared at her grandmother, remembering her words. 'She said that she fell asleep while waiting for me to come home, but I don't remember getting home at all.' She thought as she was also weirded out because she was wearing her pajamas. The only vivid memory was being chased and the huge flames.
"Dear?"
After all the confusion, Eirin smiled. "It's nothing, Grandma. Just feeling a little tired from practice yesterday." Even though it was weird, her grandmother stopped questioning her. 'I thought she wouldn't believe me.' The teenage girl thought as she got used to her grandmother being a worrywart.
"I made breakfast. You should eat now or you'll be late for your recital," her grandmother said before leaving the room.
Eirin stayed sitting on her bed while staring at her pajamas, questioning the details of what truly happened yesterday. "I remember seeing Bright… It's been a while so I called his name, but he didn't hear me, so I followed him." She muttered. "And then what?" Another sharp pang in her head made her groan and crouch.
"What happened after that?" No matter how much she tried, nothing came into her head after that.
"Eirin, dear."
"Coming!"
Eirin went out of the room. "I'm sorry, Grandma. I was supposed to cook breakfast today." Eleanor's sweet laughter filled the teenage girl's ears as she got patted on the arm while being comforted by not worrying about anything. After eating, Eirin took a quick bath and went out of the house with her mind still clouded by the incident she thought to be a nightmare. As she walked through the pavement, bits of memories slowly surfaced in her head.
'A man chased me the whole time… then he died because of flames. But why was he chasing me? And did he die? Was that fire real?'
"Ei!" Eirin flinched after feeling a hand on her shoulder, thus making her back away with both of her arms ready to defend herself. Her heart then calmed down upon seeing the familiar face of her best friend. "Are you okay? You look terrified."
"You surprised me, that's why." Eirin sighed.
Her best friend, Ava Winston, giggled. "Sorry, I got too excited seeing you after so long." She kept giggling and Eirin observed how her complexion seemed better than the last time she saw her.
"Are you sure you're all better now?"
Eirin held her best friend's hand, and they walked on the path toward the school's main gate. Students were passing them by. Some were in a rush, while the others were taking their sweet time. A few looked at them with scornful eyes, as if seeing high school students holding hands was something distasteful. Being childhood friends ever since they were seven, Ava is the first and only friend Eirin has had.
"You betcha! I'm strong now, see? All I needed was enough rest."
Ava flashed her thin biceps with a huge grin that revealed even her gums. However, her pinkish cheeks slowly turned pale as they continued walking side by side and she almost tripped if it wasn't for Eirin holding her hand.
"You should have ridden your dad's car," Eirin said as she wiped the sweat out of Ava's cheek. "You get tired more easily these days."
The sound of worry and care in Eirin's voice caused Ava to giggle even more. Despite all the ludicrous things that happened to her yesterday, Eirin could not help but worry about her best friend first. Being with her calms Eirin, but it also makes her anxious. 'She wasn't like this when we were younger.' She thought while remembering how healthy and energetic her best friend was. It was only when they became 13 years old the drastic change in Ava's constitution occurred. Even the best doctors could not figure out what was going on with Ava's body.
'She would weirdly go back to being healthy after taking a break from school, but will soon need another break.' Eirin sighed. "I'm the one getting tired of seeing you suffer like this," she said.
Ava squeezed Eirin's hand. "I can't help it. I want to watch your recital today." Her tone changed. It sounded melancholic. "It's been so long since I last saw my white swan dancing." She added.
Eirin knew it was not only that, but she didn't want to reopen wounds.
The weather seemed great. The wind caused a cool breeze that messed up Ava's dark brown short hair as they passed through the gate with the other students. Eirin, who witnessed what happened, could not stop her laughter. "Don't laugh! It took a while to fix my bed hair." Ava said with her cheeks turning red as a tomato. "Right, you'll be having the last rehearsal before the recital. You should go now." She said after they got inside the campus hallway.
"I can go to the classroom alone from here on."
Despite the worries, Eirin trusted her best friend, and they parted ways. When she arrived in the auditorium, her club members, who were happily chatting with each other, glanced at her, and the atmosphere got heavy.
"Here she comes."
Eirin heard her club members start talking about her the second she got on backstage. Their gaze was menacing, and Eirin felt like she was being stabbed everywhere. 'It's always like this.' She has been used to being the center of people's hatred, but she could not say that it does not bother her. Even though no one tried to talk to her like usual, Eirin placed her bag in the dressing room and wore her jogging pants to start stretching.
"She probably thinks she's so great because the miss favors her."
'I think nothing like that,' Eirin thought while stretching her arms.
"Don't mind them." Eirin once again flinched after feeling a hand on her back. She saw the third-year student who was supposed to get the lead role that Eirin took instead. "They're just jealous of you." The other girls stopped talking after the senior said that.
The rehearsals started, and despite the cold shoulder her members gave her, Eirin was still in her best condition and did what she always does. Even though her heart was anxious, dancing on the stage made her feel calm. However, as soon as the rehearsal was over, Eirin knew that she didn't have a place within her team, and decided to go to the restroom to freshen up.
Eirin stared at her reflection in the mirror after splashing her face with the cold tap water. 'It feels like my eyes are about to close.' She thought as she entered one cubicle.
"Get your act together!"
Eirin flinched after hearing a woman screaming. "We can't let the inops learn of our presence." The woman's voice sounded pissed off.
"Our mission is to take that Luxfield girl. We already had our chance, but you blew it off!"
Eirin covered her mouth as she froze. 'L-Luxfield girl? Isn't that… me?'
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