Chapter 5

On my way there, it started raining.

My tail got wet, but my ears were fine under my umbrella.

Unfortunately, I had a feeling I would get no answers, and I was right.

His house was there, but a completely different family lived there, and nobody knew him.

I stood there for a few seconds before aimlessly walking away.

Maybe it was time I finally started worrying about whatever the hell was going on around me.

Maybe it was all related.

…

No, it had to be.

Nobody else seemed to notice, so it must all be in my head, I thought.

Unfortunately this was out of my wheelhouse, but…

Wait a second.

I actually knew someone who might know more about this than I did, huh.

***

I hurried back to campus.

At this time, classes were over, but the afterschool clubs were still in session, so after navigating the unfamiliar yet familiar halls of the school building, I finally reached the Occult Club’s door.

I knocked but didn’t wait for a reply, opening the door.

Sam, with his cat ears folded back in fear, pulled his nose out of his book, startled.

His tail was equally brisked, but I marched forward and pressed my palms over the table right in front of him.

“R-Ray!? What are you doing here? You’re all wet…”

“Sam… I need your help.”

“!?”

He offered me tea and snacks that he quickly got from a vending machine nearby, clearly not used to having people over, as I soon discovered he was the only member left of his club.

“S-Sorry, this is all I have…”

“It’s fine.”

I sat on the chair in front of him, with the table full of snacks between us.

I knew he was waiting for me to say something, but I didn’t really know how to start, so all I could do was stare at my hands on my lap.

A full minute passed before he finally said in a very, very quiet tone:

“Um… Is everything okay…?”

I took a deep breath, finally raising my head to look at him.

“Sam. You believe in all this crap for real, right? The supernatural?”

“Eh? O-Oh, yes, of course. But don’t call it crap…….”

“Then you won’t laugh if I tell you something that’ll sound really weird and fucked up, will you? Even if it seems impossible and like something out of a movie?”

“Of course not, Ray! I’d never do something like that…”

He sounded so sincere.

Truthfully, it was a relief, because even I would never believe anyone that told me what I was about to tell him.

But his genuine curiosity and attention convinced me enough to open up, and so I decided to tell him everything.

About the school shifting.

About the animal ears.

About the kid and the woman.

About Nolan.

I told him everything I’ve experienced in the past few days, and how nobody seemed to notice, and worse, how nobody but me remembered Nolan.

I gotta say, it was hurtful to see it in his face — see how he also didn’t know who Nolan was at all.

But surprisingly, he believed me.

He nodded his head a few times, then looked away as if he were processing my words, sometimes fiddling with the pages of his book, sometimes biting his nails… but the entire time, his ears and tail were alert.

When I was done, I felt like a weight had been lifted off of me.

But I also felt more insane than ever.

“...Sorry. That was a lot, huh?”

I apologized to him, but no sooner I did this, he stood up, tapping his lip with his fingers, pacing about as he spoke.

“So let me get this straight: you’re saying our school, our uniforms and our bodies were different up until this Nolan disappeared, right? Then it all slowly started to change…”

“I guess so.”

“But the only one who has noticed something is you, right?”

“I mean, I don’t know if anyone else has, but so far I haven’t seen anyone else mention anything, or freak out about it. Do you think I’m stuck in some sort of time loop?”

“Has time really stopped, or is it repeating itself?"

“...No? I mean I don’t know, but I don’t think so? Maybe it’s more like a parallel universe…”

“Hmmm…”

Although he seemed to be genuinely thinking about it, it kind of made me self-conscious.

“I know the most logical explanation is that it’s all in my head,” I sighed with resignation.

But Sam shook his head.

“I can see your tail and your ears, Ray, and I see the school and the uniforms exactly the same way you do. Here, i-if you want to touch my ears to find out if they’re real, I’ll let you do it. B-But just a little bit, okay? B-Because I’m… very sensitive...”

“No thanks.”

“O-Okay.”

He brushed his own tail with his fingers after this, embarrassed.

“Then, if you’re the only one that notices,” he continued in his usual shy tone, “doesn’t it mean you’re the ‘target’ of this universe?”

“Huh?”

“Disregarding the theory that a space worm got into your brain and is altering your thoughts and even creating a fake friend of yours with fake memories of him—”

“What the—”

“Then the only other logical explanation is that whatever’s happening here is specifically targeting you.”

…Oh.

“Me? But why? This makes no sense…”

Sam shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know. But only you notice it, and the few people around that seem to know Nolan have either died or seemed to be in a trance, right?”

“Yeah…?”

“S-So that means, whatever is messing up the world, or your original version of it, is happening to get your attention somehow.”

I heard what he said, but I still didn’t quite get it.

How was Nolan’s death related to the school changing? Or my classmates? Was it truly all revolving around me?

No, it had to be revolving around Nolan.

He’s the common factor here.

Even if nobody remembers him, even if he only lives in my memories, I knew this had to be related to him.

I took out my phone to look at my pictures again, as I’ve done many times since this incident, but just like before, his photos were gone completely.

I had no proof of his existence, nothing to show that he was even real outside of my imagination…

Nothing, except my life itself.

I was alive because of him, I knew that much.

I locked my phone and looked at Sam again, determined.

“How do I do it, then?”

“...?”

“How do I stop the world from changing? How do I bring Nolan back?”

“How, you ask…”

“There has to be a way, right? This can’t be permanent. This is happening for a reason, and if I’m the target— if it truly wants my attention, well, it has it. What do I have to do to go back to normal?”

“I don’t know…”

“Tell me!”

“I-I don’t know! I don’t know, Ray!”

I startled him so much he covered his head with his book, as if waiting for me to hit him or something.

I growled, feeling my tail bristle and swish behind me.

“..........Sorry. I’ll leave now.”

“Ah, wait—”

I didn’t wait. I stomped right out.

Fine.

If this world wanted me to notice and acknowledge it, then I would.

Next time I saw a hint of Nolan on someone – on something, I would grab it and hold onto it and never let go.

I would do whatever it took to ground him.

I would nail him to the concrete if I had to.

I would carve him with a chisel.

I would sew myself to his memory with a burning hot needle and a thread made of metal.

I would find every piece of him I could find until I could see his face again.

And then I’ll tell him that I love him.

And I’ll never let him leave my side for as long as I live.

Nolan… was alive.

I knew this for a fact.

I could feel him in the air, in the changes around me, in the people that forgot him.

And now it was my turn to save him.