Chapter 4 - The vastness of the Void.

An empty expanse, a feeling of strangeness, an apathetic look was what hung over Chloe's expression. The girl remained motionless, dazzled by the environment in which she was inserted; something captivated her, a sense of peace and tranquility. She experienced neither reason nor emotion, only the purest serenity.

"And here you are again, filled with everything you want most." That feeling, that desire to want to be nothing, to do nothing, or even to feel nothing, that's what you really want, isn't it? You don't have to represent or be something to anyone, just you and complete emptiness. You just want to disappear, don't you?

The voice, somewhat seductive, familiar and numb, caught Chloe's attention. The girl slowly turned her eyes to the origin of the voice and came across a figure identical to herself, as if looking into a mirror. It was somewhat bizarre, especially when the strange figure began to move towards Chloe. With each step, the figure changed hue, covering itself with a dense range of black colors. Her appearance suddenly changed, revealing to Chloe a figure that looked more like a shadow, where only the top of her head was more prominent. His glowing eye combined with the body beneath him revealed to Chloe some kind of evil creature. However, Chloe felt no fear; She didn't even move as that figure slowly began to run her hand over her face.

"That's what you like best, isn't it?" The truth is, you don't even want to think, do you? Existing and interacting are not what you want, are they? What you really want is to surrender to the darkness and disappear, don't you?" the dense figure asked.

The hands of that figure would then grab Chloe's chain and pull her closer. His dense face, covered by a black mass, showed a nefarious smile accompanied by Bob's gaze. Even in this situation, Chloe didn't even move; His eyes looked dead, his spirit was broken.

"Surrender to me." I've said before, I know what's really good for you. Just leave it to me and you won't feel alone anymore." — said the dense figure, as he pulled Chloe's chain even more.

Something seemed to change in Chloe; it was as if she was melting. His mind was beginning to be clouded, the feeling of collapsing took over his perspective. She was beginning to feel good; Disappearing seemed to be a quick, easy, and very seductive path. She didn't think about anything, she didn't want anything and she didn't expect anything.

"You can't run away... you can't depend on others... he cannot expect everything from others.

Female voices entered Chloe's ears. It was a deafening sound, something that emerged an immense pain in the girl, an affliction and agony capable of tearing her apart at any moment. It was disturbing, horrible, and downright terrifying. Chloe's feelings were filled with pain.

"Wake up, Chloe... Wake up!" — the voices shouted.

Being pulled from the reality Chloe was in, she opened her eyes and found herself behind a crowd of strange figures laughing at something. He looked around looking for something, but he couldn't remember what he was looking for or what was happening. Chloe was confused. Then he noticed a piece of cake in his hand. A sense of insecurity hung over her. Chloe didn't quite understand that feeling, but she assumed it wouldn't be good to get involved in that event. He returned to the table where he had picked up the cake and left it on it, avoiding any subsequent event. He sat down at a vacant table and remained motionless, watching the intrigue between Cristian and Ruby. Something caught her attention in all of that, but she decided to leave that feeling aside.

Throughout the day, Chloe watched Alice drawing. This made her calm and a little calm, but as time went by she began to feel frustration and sadness. It was a bad feeling that Chloe struggled to avoid.

It was all very strange for Chloe. She didn't quite understand the whirlwind of emotions she felt, or maybe she didn't want to. However, he chose to move away from all that; Maybe being alone was the best option for her. With that thought, Chloe waited for the class to end and then headed for the exit door. It was then that he came across a corridor full of an icy and lonely hue. It was strange, but it didn't make her too worried.

Walking down the hallway, Chloe heard strange words coming from the walls, the closets, the floor, even the ceiling, but she couldn't see anyone. They were empty, random words, full of subjects that were not even relevant to her, but that made her apprehensive.

Little by little, the girl began to feel stressed. The cold weather took over her spine and she found herself more and more alone, which began to make her frightened.

"You're close. I feel like you're losing yourself. Don't you think it's strange how you get so confused? Don't you think it's strange how you never understand anything? Don't you think it's strange how you always have these negative feelings?" A voice echoed in Chloe's ear.

Chloe was beginning to feel a pressure in her chest, her breathing was heavy, and her wide eyes were beginning to be clouded by dense darkness. Her trembling hands scoured her body in search of her pocket, and she quickly grabbed a pack of bullets. At the height of his emotion, he would drop the package on the floor. His trembling body bent down to pick up bullet by bullet, scattered on the floor, as he breathed anxiously. Her vision now blurred even more, leaving everything blurry and almost indistinguishable to the girl.

"Hey, do you need help?" A male voice caught Chloe's attention.

Something in that voice was familiar to Chloe; however, she didn't know where she had ever heard it.

A sudden tap on her shoulder startled the girl. She turned her watery eyes upward and saw a cloudy face staring at her.

"Are you okay?" Calm down, I'll help you. - Said the male voice.

The boy then collected Chloe's bullets from the floor. As he took bullet by bullet, he noticed their package on the ground. At the same moment, he understood everything. Pulling a bottle of water from his backpack, he held out one of the bullets that hadn't fallen to the ground to Chloe, along with the water.

"Here... Try to drink slowly. - said the boy.

Chloe, still trembling, grabbed the water bottle as she quickly swallowed the bullet accompanied by the water. A sense of relief came over the girl; his muscles relaxed and his mind calmed down. The corridor that was once cold and lonely began to take on warmer and happier colors. Their solitude was replaced by humanoid figures with funny and cute animal heads; They stared at her with a somewhat confused look. Chloe suddenly felt a little happier.

[Chloe is Joyful.]

"Here's a moment." The boy said as he held Chloe's hand.

The boy pulled Chloe off the floor and led her into an empty room. After entering the room, Chloe sat down in a chair and used the sleeves of her jacket to dry her eyes. His vision was now clearer. Then she looked around looking for the boy and found him sitting next to her, staring at her.

"So... Do you want to talk about what happened back then? The boy asked.

The boy's question disturbed her for some reason, something that made her apprehensive. Chloe didn't want to think about it.

[Chloe is Tense.]

"Sorry... This is not something I like to do, meddling in other people's affairs sucks. I prefer to let things go their own way, to be neutral. Sorry if I seemed intrusive. The boy said, as he held out his hand to Chloe.

The gesture was clear; on the other hand, Chloe was afraid. Even so, she held out her hand and greeted him.

"My name is Andy.

A sense of strangeness washed over Chloe, but she revealed it by sketching a slight smile at Andy.

"Well, I have some things scheduled for later, so I'm leaving, we'll talk tomorrow." Andy said as he got up from his chair.

Watching Andy walk away, Chloe had a strange feeling that she already knew him, but it was something she didn't quite understand. Even so, the idea intrigued her.

Over time, Chloe has become somewhat reclusive. It was like a shadow in its class, and few people tried to interact with it. However, he still had someone to turn to when he needed something: Andy.

Chloe's days were peaceful, boring, and kind of discouraging. She often felt bored, and even in the most adverse situations, she chose to stay away from it all. This caused her to develop a strange kind of friendship with Andy, since they were both similar in that sense. They were not in the habit of talking much, but they were still somewhat communicative with each other.

As she enjoyed the tranquility of another day, Chloe wondered if life was a good thing. She didn't quite know what she wanted out of her life; It was a constant insecurity and anxiety for her. Then he noticed his cell phone vibrating, with messages from the sheep arriving one after the other, asking about his quiet school life.

Taking a deep breath, Chloe chewed on one more of her candies and chose not to respond to the sheep for now. It was then that a sudden confusion caught the girl's attention. Peeking through the corridors, he noticed four people in an intense argument. It wasn't something new, but this time it seemed to be something much worse. He noticed that Cristian was visibly more stressed than usual, while Andy also didn't seem to be calm as usual. Ruby tried to calm them both, while Alice just watched, apparently unable to do anything.

The fight intensified to the point where Cristian punched Andy, knocking him to the ground. Chloe didn't want to get involved in the matter, so she just stood away, watching it all happen.

"You asshole, if you weren't a sucker who never helps at all, things could be different, you know?!" Cristian asked.

"Have you gone crazy?" Why did you hit him?! Ruby asked as she helped Andy up.

"Why?" You know very well the reason behind it. Cristian countered.

"Do you swear?" And what is it? The fact that your father has disappeared and your mother takes out her frustration on you? The fact that you are a needy person who needs approval from others? Or is it because Alice refused her feelings? Andy said.

Andy's words left Cristian motionless, his face looked like a mixture of anger and frustration, he looked like he was about to explode.

"That's why we never spoke again, because you're nothing but an insensitive idiot, go back to your hole and see if you disappear, whether you're here or not your presence doesn't change anything." Cristian said.

This surprised Andy, he looked around to find the Ruby and Alice with somewhat similar looks, their faces represented that they agreed a little with Cristian's words.

"So that's it... I understood. Andy said as he turned his back and walked away.

As he walked away accompanied by looks full of disgust and disappointment, Andy noticed a curious look hovering over him, that's when he noticed Chloe watching him, he saw on the girl's face that she didn't feel pity or empathy for him, just curiosity, it somehow made him more at ease.

"Have you seen it all?" Andy asked.

[Chloe nodded.]

"Do you want to take a walk?" Andy said as he stared at her.

It was a very direct question, Chloe thought for a few seconds but decided to accept Andy's invitation, joining him, they both walked through the halls of the school, the silence between them was normal, however, Andy could notice that Chloe was somewhat restless.

"The terrace should be open by now, I think I'll stay there for a while, clear my mind." Andy said. "Do you want to come too?"

[Chloe nodded.]

After arriving on the terrace Andy stood with his back to a wall while enjoying the beautiful sky, Chloe watched him curiously, her somewhat vacant gaze wondering what Andy thought.

"You know, they've ever been told you're a complete weirdo?"

[Chloe felt a twinge.]

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. Andy said while laughing. "It's just a joke, there's no need to worry.

Chloe on the other hand had a sour smile plastered on her face, she was clearly offended.

"So, you want to know what happened, right?"

[Chloe nodded.]

After a faint sigh, Andy turned his eyes to Chloe, his gaze filled with tranquility.

"I had nothing to do with it, nor do I even know why all this is happening. Andy said in a funny tone.

[Chloe is confused.]

Andy's words were so confusing that Chloe couldn't understand what he was saying.

"Basically, I was put in the middle of a fight that I didn't want to be a part of, I'm a person who likes to be neutral in discussions, apparently that made them very offended, it's a very childish thing don't you think? Andy asked.

At this moment, Chloe got an even more sour look, she made it clear that she was not happy with what she was hearing.

"Your expression says it all, Chloe." Andy said with a slight laugh. "I don't like to get involved in fights or arguments, I'm usually a little insensitive at these times, so I prefer to stay away from these things, but that's what ended up hurting things between me and them, but it's all over now, there's nothing more to do to go back and I'm too proud to apologize or do anything.

Chloe turned her eyes to the sky thinking about everything she had heard from Andy, somehow she understood him, it made her a little nervous, doing nothing and just observing things, knowing that she can help but choosing to hide, that wasn't a good thing, that wasn't something Chloe really wanted, But perhaps it was the only way.

"Well, I hope you understand, just try not to get into this mess, people are complicated and trying to help is sometimes horrible." Andy said as he left the terrace.

Watching Andy walk away made Chloe think deeply about her situation, she hadn't done anything relevant, she was just an extra in this whole context, maybe she should just ignore all of this, it wasn't her problem after all.

"Can you understand Chloe?" Do you finally get it? Fighting fate is the most irrelevant thing you can do, just leave everything to me, you haven't had to worry about anything until now, you won't need to worry about anything else after you surrender to me. Said a dark voice inside the girl's mind.

A feeling of distress ran through Chloe's body, she felt bitterness and complete anxiety dominate her soul, her breathing was accelerated, her vision began to blur, she felt nausea run through her stomach, quickly she looked for her bullets, her trembling hands took her package of candies as she tried to remove one of her fangs, holding a bullet in her hand the girl took it to her mouth, However, before she could put the bullet in her mouth, a hand stopped her.

"You know... Consuming these things won't help at all if you don't fight what's really affecting you. A sweet female voice entered Chloe's ears.

The girl didn't recognize that voice, it was nothing like any she could have heard before, she tried to turn around to see who it was but the person stopped her face from turning around hugging her from behind, the girl was a little bigger than Chloe, her clothes showed that she was also a student.

"It only relieves your distress, it makes you docile and nothing else, fooling your head won't make you better, don't you think?"

Chloe was shaking, her watery eyes were totally desperate, however, she felt a certain comfort in the midst of those affectionate arms, this began to make Chloe calmer little by little.

"That's it... See? You don't have to worry about anything else, I can see that you are distressed, but fooling yourself and letting other people guide your way will only make you sink even deeper into this sea of agony, do you want that? - Asked the female voice.

[Chloe is distressed.]

The hand that hugged the girl caught the chain that bound Chloe and held her in front of her eyes, the girl then brought her lips closer towards Chloe's ear.

"These chains... hold them, you need to take the reins of your own destiny.

Watching that red chain that bound her fate, made Chloe wonder what her purpose was, she felt a pain run through her chest.

For the first time, Chloe felt like holding her own leash, she wanted for the first time, to be the one who would choose her own destiny.

Chloe wants to change.

A sensation ran through Chloe's body, her vision began to be taken by a black mass that covered her entire body, even before that dense mass could cover her vision, something caught the girl's attention, the hands that hugged her held the girl's hands in front of her face and a voice entered her ears.

"Don't get carried away by others, your choices are yours alone, it's time for you to wake Chloe, say what you really want, do what you really feel like, be your true you." - Said the sweet voice.

After hearing that, Chloe opened her eyes and saw herself again inside the classroom, her vision observed the laughing figures around her, in the center, a cake batter, a male voice caught her attention.

"You have a piece of cake too, throw it, it's fun!" - Cristian said.

[Chloe is intrigued.]

The girl turned her curious eyes to Cristian, their gazes connected, the boy for a moment felt something strange, Chloe on the other hand, felt a confused familiarity take over her body, a sudden fear ran through her, however, she felt courage rising deep into her soul, her trembling lips vaguely reverberated.

"Why?"