Chapter 4

John gasped. The once-empty city was now filled with figures. They look pitch-black, like black holes sucking light into them. But unlike the phenomenon of the cosmos, they had human shapes. On their waist were swords and spears; others had ranged weapons like bows and slingshots.

“This many?” Michelle scowled. “How irritating."

“We're going to have to fight our way through,” Merrilyn said.

“Fig- fight?” John’s mouth dropped in horror when he saw the girls preparing their weapons.

“Well, why did you think we brought guns?”

The figures’ medieval weapons might be no match for modern firearms, but there were tons of them. Way too many to count. There was no way they had enough ammunition. To make matters worse, Michelle brought a sniper rifle, entirely unsuitable for close-range combat.

“Get moving!” Michelle shouted, and the three began their descent.

Michelle aimed her sniper at the sky and pulled the trigger. This time, five circles appeared. A red trail soared high above, accompanied by a deafening roar. It exploded into a thousand trails like fireworks, zipping back down toward the earth, striking the figures and causing them to disappear.

“It hurts!”

“Mommy!”

“Help me!”

Screams echoed from all over the city as the figures disappeared. John covered his ears, letting the painting drop onto the ground.

“John!”

“Sorry!” He recovered the painting. Luckily, it hadn’t been damaged from the drop, although hitting the puddles left from the rain made it slightly wet.

“John, you alright? Just ignore them. They’re illusions.”

John knew that. How could they be real with such shapes? Still, their voices sounded way too real. Like fragments of the past coming back to haunt him.

“Just focus on carrying the painting. We have to get back to the entrance.”

During the trip here, he failed to realize just how much he walked. Looking to the other end of the city made him aware of just how far they needed to travel.

Michelle swapped positions with Merrilyn. Her magic might be able to destroy large numbers of enemies at once, but recharging it took time. For now, she used her sniper rifle like how anyone else would use it. Single shots, targeting the farthest enemies first.

Merrilyn took out her second submachine gun and blasted her way through the approaching enemies. The sound of their weapons filled the sky. John wanted to scream, but even if he did so, no one would hear him.

“My son! Where is my son!”

“The love of my life! She’s gone!”

Yet somehow, the loudness of their guns failed to erase the voices emanating from those figures. Why could he understand them? They supposedly speak in a language far different from his own. A language he never studied, never even heard before.

Hordes of pitch-black figures kept approaching. They tried using their weapons, but the girls destroyed them before they could get close. Their voices grated on John’s ears, while John struggled to ignore them.

The fear in their voice, the sorrow, all sounded too real. He wasn’t prepared for this.

“Merrilyn, on your left!”

“Yes!” Merrilyn took aim and fired the submachine gun on her left arm, while she dropped the empty magazine of her right to the ground. Between gaps of enemies, she reloaded. Her movement was fast, practiced to perfection. So was her sister’s.

Michelle continued firing from behind John. She never missed, destroying even the ones hiding behind buildings, sending her bullets flying through gaps as thin as paper. The group forced their way through like fish swimming through the current. The figures came closer and closer, a circle with the three in the center. Some tried flanking them, but Michelle spotted them and lobbed a hand grenade, causing explosions left and right. Somehow, the explosions did no damage to the surrounding scenery.

An arrow flew straight at him. John ducked, hearing the swoosh as it flew past. His heart beat quickened, his grip tightening on the painting. He wanted to reach for his handgun and help, but he couldn’t, not while holding the painting. Dropping it would anger Michelle, so he kept it close to his chest, trusting the two girls would somehow take them through.

“Watch out!” Michelle declared, aiming her sniper at the heavens. She fired, a rain of fire assaulting the figures around them. It opened up a path.

“Quick!”

The three ran straight at the exit. They managed to pass the gates. John looked around, breathing heavily. The figures stood inside the wall, staring at them, their sorrowful voices fading along with their pitch-black forms. Silence returned to the world, accompanied by the heavy rain.

“We can head back now.”

•••

John shot up, panting. His head swung left and right as he took in the surroundings. He was no longer in the city, having arrived back in the classroom at some point.

“Oh, are you awake? You worried us.”

Sitting behind the teacher’s desk was Michelle, typing something on a laptop. Her eyes remained on the screen even as she asked. Merrilyn stood next to her, operating the scanner. She opened the lid, removed the colorful poster, and put another one in, giving John a slight wave when she realized John was staring at her.

“Yeah. You just appeared in the classroom and collapsed all of a sudden. Did something happen?”

“Michelle… Merrilyn…”

The two girls paused. Michelle tore her face off the laptop’s screen, staring at John.

“How did you know?”

“You are… umm…” Merrilyn tapped her chin. “Sorry, I don’t think we ever met.”

“John! I’m John! The one that accompanied you to Lasyem!”

The two exchanged glances, looking even more confused than before.

“We never went to Lasyem.”

“Ah, but people did say it’s pretty. I would love to go there someday.”

“Yeah, and you already went there! The painting? The figures? The guns?”

His words only made them even more puzzled.

“We were here the entire time.”

“Umm… John, are you alright?” Merrilyn asked, eyes full of concern.

John stood up, pushing his chair down. He slammed the table.

“I am! Don’t you remember?”

“Lower your voice, John,” Michelle scolded. John dutifully picked up the chair and sat back down. “We were here the entire time. What could we possibly have forgotten?”

They’re not… lying. Or at least they don’t look like they are.

“John… Ah, wait. Are you the new transfer student?”

John sighed. “Yeah, I am.”

“You must be tired from your first day. You should head home.”

John cursed under his breath, but, figuring there was nothing he could do, he took his backpack.

“Wait… Wait, the gun-” John patted his pants, but the weapon was no longer there. Could it have fallen off? No, that shouldn’t be the case. It was heavy, he would have noticed.

That’s… there’s no way I was dreaming, right?

John slung his backpack onto his back, then trotted over to the door.

“By the way, John, what did you come here for?” Merrilyn asked before he left.

“I… I wanted to be a part of the club.”

“You should have said so.” Michelle stood up. She went to her bag on a desk near the windows, then pulled out a piece of paper. She handed over the registration form to John.

“Here, fill this up. Return it to me tomorrow. You can find me in class 3-B.”

John stored the form in his bag. “Thanks.”

“Make sure you get a bunch of rest when you get back, John.” Merrilyn waved from the scanner.

Yeah… It must be a dream. Just a terrible, ridiculous dream.

John sighed and waved back, leaving the classroom.