In this....

"We need to talk", A girl stands in front of me. She wears the same uniform that I wear. She seems to be in my year. "Talk about what? This?", I gesture my hands to the...void? "Where am I even?"

"Yes, this world isn't a world at all. It's fermented by your imagination", she uses complex words in a sentence, my understanding seems bleak. 

"What the hell does that mean?"

She takes a deep breath as if she is going to bear bad news. "Davis, in this wonderful world filled with so many amazing things, is fake. It runs solely on your imagination to be stable", she speaks professionally, as if her response was rehearsed so many times. "How can I take what you say at face value? this is messed up. WHERE THE HELL AM I?? AM I DEAD?? IS THIS WHERE I SPEND MY AFTERLIFE?? EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL, I WAS NORMAL. WHAT WENT SO WRONG?! WHY MUST I- ugh", my knees buckle and I drop to my knees. My left eye tears as the stress is getting into my brain. 

"Please tell me. What happened?"

She stands there for a minute, she then takes up her left hand and swings her arm towards her left. The scene changes from a melancholic blue to a sinister orange-red. She and I were standing in an open area where hundreds of dead bodies are littered all over the place. Some were in pieces, missing a limb, head or their faces were completely unrecognisable. They all appear to be burnt. The field that they were standing on, is on fire. Behind the girl, I could see a building, licked up in flames. I turned around to view this whole scene, and I spotted a sign. I walked up to it, and it read

"Huckleberry Highschool"

"Wh-where are we?", I turn back to her, hoping to get an answer which would make sense in all of this. "This is what happened", she stated. That's it, "WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED??", I don't know this person, "WHAT IS HAPPENING?!", she said something so bluntly that it makes me want to puke, "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!", I feel sick, "WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN?!"

I feel tired

"Davis, I know how much...all of this is horrifying for you to experience, but please just-"

"JUST WHAT? I had a completely normal life. I met so many people, I knew so many people. I have a family, a father and a mother. I HAD A FRIEND WHO I LOVED DEARLY! and now you're telling me that all of this, is fake?", I screamed my soul out, anyone would do the same thing if they were in my shoes.

"-Just listen to me...something bad...is going to happen"

"Then mind telling me?", I pleaded with her. 

"I can't tell you"

"WHY CAN'T YOU TELL ME?! AT LEAST I HAVE TO KNOW THAT, WHY CANT YOU-"

"BECAUSE YOU TOLD ME NOT TO!", the girl shouted back at me. I was confused by her words. "I told you? heck, I haven't even met you in the first place! I don't even know who you are, so how could I tell you?!"

"Davis, we have been through this so many times", she's spitballing vague sentences again. "A-again? how could it be again? This is the first time that we are interacting with each other", Confusion after confusion, will this get any worse?

A figure appears behind her. It walked mindlessly as if it was a zombie. It desperately was searching for something. Its face was in black ink, but the only thing distinct about it is that it wore a school uniform. It walked aimlessly through the fire which spread around the...school field and came to a stop in front of the burning building. It looked as if it was trying to process everything. Then another appear appears, it has the same black inked face and limbs and its school uniform was also clearly there, but it looks like a figure of a girl. The figure looked identical to the girl in front of me...and looked identical to Ava. Speaking of Ava...I wonder what she is doing right now at this exact moment. The girl in front of me stated that everything in the world that I once knew, was fake, including Ava, my close childhood friend, I stated in my thoughts. Then suddenly, the second figure appears to not have the second half of its...humanoid body. It crawled throughout the burning field, trying desperately to get the first figure's attention. The first figure noticed the second figure as it turned around to it, but it just stared at the second figure. As if it were either pitying it or trying to process what to do with it next. The second figure gave screams of inhumane agony. It was in pain. The first figure then decides to carry it in its arms as it bent down to hold the second figure and cradle it. It murmured something. 

Overpowered by curiosity, I walked slowly past the girl and approached the figure. It was speaking in some language. It said, "ĭ̷̘͈͝c̷͈̃h̸̲̹͒̽ ̷̙̉͗s̷̡͑̽c̶̥̃ḥ̸̯͑͋w̴̡͍̆̿ö̶̰̟̑̈́ȑ̵̪̪͌e̴̻̼̅ ̴̝̄̓i̵̦̗͗͒ć̸̠̕h̴̢͌̐ ̸̤̍s̴̟̭͝c̷͚̆h̴̢͇̉w̶͎̾̂ö̴̟́ȓ̷͍̤ḛ̵͐ ĭ̷̘͈͝c̷͈̃h̸̲̹͒̽ ̷̙̉͗s̷̡͑̽c̶̥̃ḥ̸̯͑͋w̴̡͍̆̿ö̶̰̟̑̈́ȑ̵̪̪͌e̴̻̼̅ ̴̝̄̓i̵̦̗͗͒ć̸̠̕h̴̢͌̐ ̸̤̍s̴̟̭͝c̷͚̆h̴̢͇̉w̶͎̾̂ö̴̟́ȓ̷͍̤ḛ̵͐ ĭ̷̘͈͝c̷͈̃h̸̲̹͒̽ ̷̙̉͗s̷̡͑̽c̶̥̃ḥ̸̯͑͋w̴̡͍̆̿ö̶̰̟̑̈́ȑ̵̪̪͌e̴̻̼̅ ̴̝̄̓i̵̦̗͗͒ć̸̠̕h̴̢͌̐ ̸̤̍s̴̟̭͝c̷͚̆h̴̢͇̉w̶͎̾̂ö̴̟́ȓ̷͍̤ḛ̵͐ ĭ̷̘͈͝c̷͈̃h̸̲̹͒̽ ̷̙̉͗s̷̡͑̽c̶̥̃ḥ̸̯͑͋w̴̡͍̆̿ö̶̰̟̑̈́ȑ̵̪̪͌e̴̻̼̅ ̴̝̄̓i̵̦̗͗͒ć̸̠̕h̴̢͌̐ ̸̤̍s̴̟̭͝c̷͚̆h̴̢͇̉w̶͎̾̂ö̴̟́ȓ̷͍̤ḛ̵͐ ĭ̷̘͈͝c̷͈̃h̸̲̹͒̽ ̷̙̉͗s̷̡͑̽c̶̥̃ḥ̸̯͑͋w̴̡͍̆̿ö̶̰̟̑̈́ȑ̵̪̪͌e̴̻̼̅ ̴̝̄̓i̵̦̗͗͒ć̸̠̕h̴̢͌̐ ̸̤̍s̴̟̭͝c̷͚̆h̴̢͇̉w̶͎̾̂ö̴̟́ȓ̷͍̤ḛ̵͐ ĭ̷̘͈͝c̷͈̃h̸̲̹͒̽ ̷̙̉͗s̷̡͑̽c̶̥̃ḥ̸̯͑͋w̴̡͍̆̿ö̶̰̟̑̈́ȑ̵̪̪͌e̴̻̼̅ ̴̝̄̓i̵̦̗͗͒ć̸̠̕h̴̢͌̐ ̸̤̍s̴̟̭͝c̷͚̆h̴̢͇̉w̶͎̾̂ö̴̟́ȓ̷͍̤ḛ̵͐ ĭ̷̘͈͝c̷͈̃h̸̲̹͒̽ ̷̙̉͗s̷̡͑̽c̶̥̃ḥ̸̯͑͋w̴̡͍̆̿ö̶̰̟̑̈́ȑ̵̪̪͌e̴̻̼̅ ̴̝̄̓i̵̦̗͗͒ć̸̠̕h̴̢͌̐ ̸̤̍s̴̟̭͝c̷͚̆h̴̢͇̉w̶͎̾̂ö̴̟́ȓ̷͍̤ḛ̵͐ ĭ̷̘͈͝c̷͈̃h̸̲̹͒̽ ̷̙̉͗s̷̡͑̽c̶̥̃ḥ̸̯͑͋w̴̡͍̆̿ö̶̰̟̑̈́ȑ̵̪̪͌e̴̻̼̅ ̴̝̄̓i̵̦̗͗͒ć̸̠̕h̴̢͌̐ ̸̤̍s̴̟̭͝c̷͚̆h̴̢͇̉w̶͎̾̂ö̴̟́ȓ̷͍̤ḛ̵͐ ĭ̷̘͈͝c̷͈̃h̸̲̹͒̽ ̷̙̉͗s̷̡͑̽c̶̥̃ḥ̸̯͑͋w̴̡͍̆̿ö̶̰̟̑̈́ȑ̵̪̪͌e̴̻̼̅ ̴̝̄̓i̵̦̗͗͒ć̸̠̕h̴̢͌̐ ̸̤̍s̴̟̭͝c̷͚̆h̴̢͇̉w̶͎̾̂ö̴̟́ȓ̷͍̤ḛ̵͐ ĭ̷̘͈͝c̷͈̃h̸̲̹͒̽ ̷̙̉͗s̷̡͑̽c̶̥̃ḥ̸̯͑͋w̴̡͍̆̿ö̶̰̟̑̈́ȑ̵̪̪͌e̴̻̼̅ ̴̝̄̓i̵̦̗͗͒ć̸̠̕h̴̢͌̐ ̸̤̍s̴̟̭͝c̷͚̆h̴̢͇̉w̶͎̾̂ö̴̟́ȓ̷͍̤ḛ̵͐", it sounded voided or scrambled. I got even more closer, then it spoke once more.

t̸͙̻̄͝ͅh̴̡̢̻̗͈͓̜̘͂̉̄̀̍̍̐̄̂́͋͌͂̍̃̉̚͝ǎ̴̃̀͑̆̆̈́̍̕, it takes a deep breath and then

S̴̢̡͎̪̖͎̻̞̞̰͙͗̈͋͒̀̇̈́̈̊̀̀̐̌̒̀̚͝͝͠E̶̡̧̛̛̛̞͚̣̭͖͔̲̔́̔͒͋͆̈́͂̅̓̓̑͘ ̵̘͍͖͕̠̪̠͉̥̬̯̝͔̤͍̘͔̱̅͑̐́̀̌̎͊̽͂̏̐̄́͐̀͋̂̇̀̕̚͘S̴̢̨̻̤̤̞͍̖̩̮̦̦͍̲̝̞̜̖̻͗̊̉̽͊͜Ơ̷̡̹̝͔̞̹̱̪̜̝̥̔͆̀̉́́̄̆̓̓̃̓͑͛͂͘Ẕ̴̨͔͎̯͎͓̼̼̜̥̹̻̽̓͌̒͂̌̊͂̕O̵̡̡̹͎̝͔̩̲̪͖͉̫͍͕̻̞̗̙̲̝̰͐̅͒̔̑̾̽̄͛͋̎͆͜, it shrieked, out-putting high frequencies, high enough to shatter one's hearing and makes your ears bleed. 

"AAAAAAAAH, MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP-", I screamed till my vocal cords start to bleed, but as the shrieking voice continued, I can't even hear my screams. The figure still held the second figure then it suddenly dropped to the floor, as if it passed out. As soon as it hits the ground, the scenery changes. I am standing over what it looks like...an ocean. I don't question this as I slowly and slowly...accepted this fate. I am not sure what is real anymore, I just blindly accepted it, but I have to know. "If this world is fake...is Ava fake?", I politely asked the girl this time, who is just standing across me on this whole ocean. "...should I give you the long answer...or the short answer?", the girl asked an ominous question. 

"Uh, come again?", I tilted my head as I stood there confused by her question

"I asked...do you want me to say the long answer or the short answer? both are completely different to one another. You choose one answer and you have to figure out the other one. Your understanding of this problem is very important, I need to train you on what's about to come"

That is very...interesting...I know what I want

"The short answer, If the answer is a no...I will probably sink into despair forever, although if it is a yes...I will listen to you and hopefully...overcome or defeat this awful thing you are talking about", I filled my heart with resolve, and anxiousness started to overcome me.

"She is not fake, but rather...an extension- oops...I almost said the long answer", the girl made a mistake and covered her mouth to stop her from making it even worse. 

An extension? I'm not going to ask...although I am curious...I will figure this mystery out. "So what now? Am I just going to stay stuck here forever? Is it in this world? And I'm here to take it out?", I guessed but my assumption was wrong. "No Davis, it is not this world, but rather in the world where you came from"

"The real world?"

"Correct...I will send you back to the real world, but here is the catch. You will not remember what happened here", will not remember?

"Wh-what do you mean?"

She explained, "Because your conscious here is different to the conscious in that world. If both merge...It will kill you...", she gravely explained.

"O-okay...", I accepted her answer. 

"Well then... I will transport you back"

She then takes a step back and does the same action as she did to change the scenery that one time. Then a purplish circle forms under my feet. It envelops my shoes and even covers the ocean making it look so opaque. A loud whirring sound encapsulates my ears.

"Please Davis, ᵈᵒⁿᵗ ᵇʳᵉᵃᵏ"

I couldn't hear the last words as a sound, not a high pitched one, but a loud one covers my ears.

"Still not gonna tell me what's about to happen?", I smiled for her this time, a very genuine smile. Has it been that long since I smiled? My cheek muscles are very loose. The girl takes a look at me and she smiled back. She shook her head slowly and I noticed she has tears in both of her eyes as if she is relieved...or is in pain. 

Suddenly I'm in an "I wonder what the class is going to do at this festival", I'm standing in the school storage room where they kept different materials for activities. It is October so the whole school is focused on the cultural festival in the coming days. "Well, apparently we are doing a maid cafe", Emilia stands beside me as she volunteered to help me get materials. 

I stand back, in shock of course. She bluntly stated something so absurd. I slowly looked at her "You're kidding"

"Of course not, the whole class voted for the maid cafe", she explained as she sorted out stuff in the cupboard. Meet Emilia, your eccentric high school teen and my childhood very good friend. She is pretty much as unpredictable as a wild tire gone loose from a car but always has a straight line. She is generally considered to be one of the smartest students in the school and the most beautiful among all girls. She ranked #1 in popularity among the boys and pretty much every girl is jealous of her...why does it feel like I'm repeating-

"They didn't consider doing a normal cafe? wait, no sorry that's a stupid question", I bet the guys vouched for the maid cafe they really wanna see all the girls in maid outfits, talk about being hor-

"Oh, Davis!", Emelia suddenly exclaimed.]

"What?! oh what?", her scream surprised me. "Yes did something happen?", I asked her. "I was just wondering if you could um...uh like walk with me throughout the school when this whole festival ends at the end of the day?"

I looked at her with a blank face for a minute while she appears composed. "Are you asking me out or something?", I bluntly stated. "wait nononoo I mean like idunnosinceweknowneachotherforalongtimeithoughitwouldbeniceif-"

"Sure, I don't mind"

"ifwelike...oh...okay then!", she gives a smile, little did she know that she a red-headed mess, she's red as a strawberry, "Mmm strawberries"

"What did you say?", she asked

"Oh, nothing. Strawberries."

"Huh, anyway, I'll put all of these back. We have a long day ahead of us"

"Yep, see you when this festival is finished"

"See you too, Davis", with that, she left the room. "I guess I can laze around, I'm not gonna be willing to work at the maid cafe now, I'll help later. Let's take a walk around the school", I left the room and carried the supplies to the class and started walking around through the grey hallways. It's filled with buzz and hustle as all the people in school are getting their stuff ready. Some classes made a haunted mansion, some made an art gallery and some made...more maid cafes

"This is a maid cafe haven alright", I sarcastically commented to myself. I walked throughout the hallway and open the main door and step outside. I walk throughout the school front open field. You can see different food stalls sprawled all over it. I walk towards the school sign to get a big look at what the school looks like now. I walk towards the sign which connects at the end of the road, almost leaving the school gate. "Wow, the school looks very busy from here huh, wish every day was like a school festival". I take a look at the sign next to me and read it out

"Huckleberry Highschool"

But as soon as I said that-

BOOM!

I take a second look at the school and...it's...it's...it's blown up. There are pieces of cement everywhere. Pieces of the building are sprawled all of the canteens. In each of them, I can see blood, nobody else other than me survived this horrific...awful thing. There are multitudes of pieces of body parts as I walk towards the school. I felt nauseated at the sight of them. I felt like I was being demoralized. My mind is broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken.  I walked around aimlessly like a zombie, what am I searching for? Ah yes, the reason why this happens and a way for me to...die. The school...is not the school anymore. 

It's a broken building, licked up by flames and fumed of a mixture of oil and blood...or rust. With everything that has happened in these few or so days- days? how long had I been going through this? It felt as if it was an eternity. I have a feeling I have seen this scene before but my memory fails me. I walked about, unfazed about the multiple bodies piled on each other, some of them had disfigured faces, lost limbs and some were still...alive. I paid no attention to the screams these alive bodies were emitting, I felt they were annoying, annoying, annoying, annoying, annoying, annoying, annoying, annoying, annoying, annoying, ANNOYING, ANNOYING, ANNOYING, ANNOYING, ANNOYING, ANNOYING, ANNOYING, ANNOYING, ANNOYING, ANNOYING, ANNOYING, AGGH WHY THE HELL WON'T THEY SHUT UP-

I paused, I saw someone familiar? yes, familiar. I knew this person, I knew Ĥ̴̡̢̙̫̘͎̝̤̭͈̙̫͙̿̽̾͆̄̕e̶̙͎̿̋̉̓̐̒͊̇͊̅̓̓̀̿̋ṟ̷̡̨̛̛̱͙͖̪̩͍̖̦̉̅́̂̍͑͊͘̕̚͜͠.  Emilia...the person I was supposed to be with after the festival...has lost half of her body and is screaming in agony. "AAH AAH SOMEONE HELP ME", she screamed for her life. It was obvious of course, she has lost half of her body, she is now a crawling humanoid. She crawls to me as she noticed how I was standing there. She clenches my leg, screaming and howling. But I just ignore her  I look at her and I simply bent down and cradled her body into my arms as her blood...and life gushes slowly into my hands and clothes. Then I made a sudden realization...the two figure's I'd seen when I was with that girl...was me and Emilia

"I swear, I swear, I swear, I swear, I swear, I swear, I swear, I swear, I swear, I swear...

I WILL SAVE YOU! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

I screamed out of my lungs until my breath leaves my body and I pass out. With Emilia in my arms...my beloved friend...I will save you, no matter how many times I repeat this over and over and over again...I will not give up. 

I promise on that...

To be continued...

...And a happy new year to 2022!