un:altered (WIP)
Chapter 1
[Ache]
“My head hurts.”It's that time of the day again. Or in this case, night.
I open my eyes to a view of darkness. Everything is almost pitch black. Light drops fall onto the surface above my head, creating a decent voice to listen to, if I don’t have this pain in my head. It makes my head hurt even more listening to it.I hold my head with both of my hands. This headache… It has been a couple of days since it started lingering in my head. No idea why——I stare at the others. They’re all laying cosily on their mattresses, having their own dreams. It must feel nice having a shelter you could protect yourself in after experiencing a catastrophe, in a literal sense.What do I mean by ‘it’s the time of the night’? After that horrific tragedy when I started living in the Sanctuary—that’s what we call our shelter—I started waking up at random intervals during night time. It’s bizarre, knowing that I usually had a normal sleeping schedule before the tragic event. I had gotten so used to it, I just call it that.What time is it? I feel curious about that. Usually I wake up during midnight between ten to twelve A.M—I really wonder why. I search through under my thin mattress. I occasionally keep my lovely pocket watch over there. Oh, there it is.…It’s broken.How useless. All a watch has to do is tell the time and it doesn’t. I throw it to the back of the mattress, thinking it doesn’t serve a purpose anymore. Now I don’t know what time I just woke up.But it just hit me, that watch was a gift my late best friend gave to me during middle school. They told me it has great value and decided that I need to have it. Shoot! Now I feel bad. How could I forget? That is the only keepsake I have remaining after the catastrophe. How dare of me to throw it away like it’s nothing. Everyone I knew got wiped away as if they were dead maggots by her. I take the pocket watch back and rub the dust off of it. Sorry, I didn’t mean to. Back to underneath my mattress you go.Speaking of throwing things away, earlier, I had a dream. I dreamt about her abandoning what seemed like a necklace to me. No, it’s more of a pendant. I don’t quite remember what it looked like, the dream was not that vivid. But I do remember that. I wonder, what does that have to do with her eradicating pretty much everyone from the face of this planet? Well, I’m not sure about everyone since we live in a remote village with no connection to the outside world. But everything got brutally destroyed, so I just assume that. And by everything, I mean it. Houses, roads, buildings, you name it. After it happened and we got united under the Sanctuary, we tried to explore the outside world to find help, but it was no use. There was no one alive. I’m glad Cas and Cornelia didn’t come together with us that time, since… let’s just say it was a terrible sight.I groan. All of this thinking about the catastrophe and her makes my head spin even more. This is terrible. It feels like my head is about to pop off my body. Oh, right, there should be pain killers in the aid room. I could just take those——I try to get up. Barely made it. I steady my body before attempting to move my legs in order to walk to the aid room. It’s by my mattress, so it should be close. But in this state, it feels like a million kilometers away. I immediately throw away that thought and just walk there. No time for stupid thoughts if I want to be better soon.My feet produce jagged steps that could be heard even from outside. Slowly but steadily, I move my left and right leg alternately.
And finally, I arrive at a sheet of tarpaulin hanging at the edge of this shelter. On it is a handwritten text saying “Medical Room — Only enter when needed". I unveil it……revealing a small, dark room—it usually is, the lantern in it is only turned on when there are emergencies—with a white mattress in the middle, a tank of water, a junk of huge medical needs and a little box with handwritten text that says “First Aid" on its top. We found all of these in a nearby hospital while exploring outside our village and thought we needed them, so we took them all and put them in here. This is the medical room. Although we rarely use it since we don’t get injured much, we kind of like it since it’s calming to be inside of it. Especially because Lars always take care of us very nicely, if we ever get hurt. He is the ‘medic’ of our group.I open the first aid kit. In it are small medical needs, such as band aids, bandages—— heck, we even have disposable oxygen inhalers, and pain killers. That last one is what I'm looking for, as you know.Ah. This is the last one we have. I guess that makes me lucky—for this night. Who knows if this pain will last even longer after I take the medicine. But for that, I need water. We actually have a decent amount of water supply since we could just take any amount from a river near the Sanctuary. It has crystal clear water, so we don’t need to worry about its hygiene.I take a glass cup and pour water from the tank with a scoop. I rip the medicine out of its wrapper. This is the last medicine… I hope I don’t need anymore after this one. Thinking so, I take the medicine with my right hand and drink with my left one.The feel of water flowing through my body is satisfying. Especially when I'm feeling this way, it’s refreshing. Maybe what I needed was just a glass of water after all.I guess I'll try going back to sleep now, remembering that I probably have to do a lot of things tomorrow. Like searching for survivors of the catastrophe, if there are any. Or help Luca cook. Or aid Lars gather wood for our campfire. Or assist Tess do the laundry. Or accompany Cas and Cornelia explore and find loot in the outside world. I'm not sure—I could be doing just some of them, if not, all of them. But how am I going to do them if I have this pain in my head?Calm down, Hemel. You already took a pain killer.Gah, I got to get back to sleep before my thoughts take over me. These thoughts very frequently envelop my mind. I don’t know if other people experience it too. The one I just had wasn’t bad, but I get terrible ones pretty often. Don’t know what you would call them.But before I took a step outside the room, I notice something that catches my attention. Something… shiny. And pretty. What is that? I take a closer look.I… have a bad feeling about this.Hmph, it probably is just another bad thought of mine. I get closer to it.Should I… do it?I shake my head. I get a better look at it. It’s shiny and beautiful. It’s a pendant.…pendant? Don’t I have something to do with a certain pendant?An image flashes to my mind.“This… is……the pendant she threw away in my—&%#%@”
This is bad. I can feel my mouth and nose forced shut by some cloth. Someone’s behind me.No time to think. I try to force remove the clothe from my face But it’s useless—they keep forcing it with the cloth even harder. I feel suffocated. Can’t… breathe.I need to defend myself, but I don’t know what else to do. I decide to try something. I attempt to kick their leg—but I missed. I don’t have my body balanced properly to do so. Is this… the end for me?I… can’t breathe much longer. It seems like they drugged the cloth. I can feel my head affected by it. My vision gets poorer and poorer. I struggle to let them go. But they seem determined. Why are they like this? What are they trying to achieve by doing this to me? But, most importantly——Who… are they?***“…m…”“…mel…”“Hemel…”“HEMEL!!!”Gah!!! Who is that?!I abruptly woke up to a very loud voice shouting my name. Man, that startled me. Couldn’t have they tried more calmly?Everyone is surrounding me in my mattress. The sun shines tenderly through the gaps of our tent. What… happened?“Hemel!!!” they shout at the same time.“You’re awake!! I thought you were a goner…”“Are you feeling okay?!”“Why were you there last night?”They all shower me with questions, except one. “Come on, everyone, she just woke up. She couldn’t possibly handle all of our questions.” A careful person eases them. They immediately shut their lips.“Hemel, thank God! You seem okay, other than the wounds on your arms.” A girl speaks to me. I frown. “Wounds…?” I spontaneously inspect my arms. Yes, they’re there. What? “I… don’t quite remember why or how they got there, Cornelia.” I speak in a miniscule voice. Cornelia gazes at my arms, and then sighs. “For the last time, Hemel, you can just call me Corn. No need to be so formal.” I grin. “Haha, sorry. It’s a habit.”A boy opens his mouth. “You weren’t in your bed earlier. We searched for you and found you sleeping in the medical room. What happened?”Ah… right. That happened.“Oh, and I woke up first this morning! Isn’t that cool?”“Cas…”I flash a faint smile at Cas. So bright in any situation. I really admire that about him. “Don’t worry too much about me, Cas. It’s nothing significant.”“I felt dizzy last midnight and went there to get some painkillers. And then…” I elaborate.“And then?”“And— Ugh!!”It's terrible. My head feels like it’s about to explode. I hold my head. I thought I took the medicine, why does my head still hurt? And to think that it was the last one we had in stock. What else can I take to ease this pain?“Does your head hurt?” a youthful person asks.“It’s all because of you, Luca. You shouted right by her ear. That’s gotta be the one that caused her headache.” Another girl interrupts his question.“Shut up, Tess. She wasn’t waking up at all, so I had no choice.” Luca makes a guilty face.“You’re at fault, so you should be the one that brings her medicine.” Tess grins.I chuckle. “Tess, stop being cocky to Luca. He clearly doesn’t like it.”Luca frowns. “Fine… I'll do it.” And to my surprise, he bit it. Huh, pretty rare of him. “Lars, where are the painkillers?”“They’re in the first aid kit. But we only have one left… I checked earlier.” Lars responds.“Huh—” I tighten my jaw. But… I took it last night.“Alright, I'll go get it. Hemel, stay there until I find it, okay?” Luca says as he runs off to the medical room.
“But—” I try to speak, but instead I grip my head tensely. I couldn’t tell him I took the last painkiller. Luca is pretty stubborn, he wouldn’t believe I did. He would probably say something like ‘You're just remembering things wrong, you have a headache'. Besides, he's already searching for it.Seeing me in pain, Lars gets concerned. “Lay down, don’t sit. That usually eases the pain of a headache.”Cas caresses my head softly after I lay my head onto my mattress. “Poor Hemel. I wonder what causes this.”
“That’s what I was wondering too,” Tess agrees, “Hemel wasn’t doing anything weighty. It’s weird seeing her suddenly experiencing this.”Lars nods. “But headaches can occur due to a lot of things other than just heavy activities.” He gazes at me. “Hemel, have you been eating properly?”I smile awkwardly. “Y-Yeah, about that…”Disappointment paints their faces. I try to recover myself. “To be fair, Tess was the one who helped Luca prepare meals for the past two days!”Tess glares at me with hostility. “What are you implying by that!?”We laugh spontaneously.Honestly, moments like this make us forget that we just suffered a major catastrophe—even though we have only been together for less than a month. I admire our rigidity on this aspect.“Luca sure is taking his time.” Cornelia groans.“But he hasn’t been looking for it that long.” Lars responds.“I know, but it’s a medicine in a tiny minimalistic room he's looking for. Shouldn’t take him that long. Seriously, he sucks at looking for things.”I grin. “It’s to balance his expertness at culinary.”Cas laughs. “What a weird pair to balance each other with.”“Here it is!!” A loud voice abruptly runs through the room. Luca stands with his hands sticking out, holding medicine and a cup of water.Huh––—?“What took you so long?” Cornelia sighs. “Good thing Hemel is already feeling a bit better. Otherwise she could've suffered even more by waiting for you.”“Well sorry, princess, I couldn’t find it anywhere including the first aid box. I don’t know why, but it was underneath a glass cup. Good thing I searched through there.” Luca mutters while turning his face away. “Besides, was that even that long? Whatever, that doesn’t matter! Here, take it.” He hands the medicine and water to me.But…“I took the last—”Ow! Why now, of all times!? Every chance I get to tell them that, something gets in the way! It’s annoying!“Is it getting worse? Then quick, take it!!” Luca enforces me.I try to open my mouth and tell him, but the pain just worsens.Sigh, I guess I have no choice.I get up and quickly gulp the pain killer with water.…It feels the same as usual.“Thank you, Luca. I think I should feel better soon after this.”That statement is hypocritical since I didn’t last night. I just… want them to not think about me too much.“True, but you should still rest. Otherwise it could get worse.” Lars speaks wisely.“But I want to help you guys,” I utter. “I can’t stand staying all day doing nothing.”By that I mean it—I don’t want to feel useless.Luca sighs and looks at me with care. “If you want to get better soon, you mustn’t overdo anything. Especially if the pain is utter.”I gaze at them in mild disappointment. “Alright then… I will.”That ends the conversation. I feel not worthy of their platonic affection towards me, thinking that we only met for a month. Especially since I can’t help them much in the first place. I'm not really good at all of this survival stuff—no one ever told me about it. So me not being able to do literally anything in this state of mind stresses me out!I mildly gaze at them going outside to do their tasks. It feels terrible from my perspective. I want to help them!
I lay down on my mattress once again. Guess I'll just do nothing and rest for today.“Hemel, what do you want for breakfast?”Luca asks me. I turn my head whilst still laying down to face him.I ponder a bit. “Hmm… mashed potatoes. That sounds good right now.”“Alright.”I can see the sunlight getting veiled by the closing cover of the tent.
Everyone’s doing their own thing now. I can only imagine what it’s like while in my bed. I love them all, truly. I admire how quickly we unite as a group after that catastrophe. True, we fight once or twice, but that’s what makes us a team.I lay back even more on my mattress, starting to wait for breakfast to be ready. My eyes are half open, seeking the view under the tarpaulin. I hear nothing but the sound of talking from outside, vaguely. Slowly, sleepiness fills in my body. It’s probably happening because I got up last night. I don’t want my eyes to close, but they do anyway. I can’t help it.………Everything is dark… again?I can’t see anything.Huh, but I thought—A silhouette from afar appears.…Who is that?They.They…They!It’s the guy from last night.Suddenly, the urge fills in my mind. Walk, walk, walk. Run, run, run.But they’re getting further away. Why are they running away? Odd. I get even closer to them.Hey.Why are you running away? I shout their name.“Lars!”………Lars?“LARS?!”I scream with all of my energy left in me. Wait, that all was just a…“Hemel?”***Cornelia—or Corn, for short—calls my name. She peeks through the tarpaulin opening. “Are you okay?”Standard question, but makes sense considering what I just did. “I, uh…”“I… just had a terrible dream, that’s all.”She frowns. “Involving Lars? What kind of dream did you have?”I involuntarily shut my mouth. To be fair, I shouted his name pretty loudly earlier. I try to cover it up. “That—”“Hemel, breakfast’s ready,” Luca calls me, which cuts off my sentence. He notices Corn is a couple inches by his side, looking at me. “Huh, were you two talking? My bad.”Corn seems troubled. She turns away her face from him.“Ah, thanks, Luca! I was starving like hell. I’ll go outside in a bit,” I respond happily.“Cool. Just hurry up, or it’ll get cold.”Luca walks away, leaving me and Corn alone again.“So, are you gonna eat too?” I ask her casually, trying to alter the topic from earlier.“Corn?”Uh…
She shut up ever since Luca interrupted her. Is she mad at him or something? Either way, it’s my win. Once Corn gets curious about something, she never keeps her mouth away from spouting questions here and there. But, she didn’t continue asking me.“Um…I’ll go eat—”“IT’S NOTHING, OKAY!!!”She immediately leaves the spot.…Huh? Is she—Whatever. I try not to overanalyse it.I get up, only for my head starting to get filled with pain again. Geez, when will this end… Slowly and steadily, I go outside.Before I unveil the opening, the delicate smell of beef reaches my nose. Beef?!I enthusiastically expose the tarpaulin opening.A view of abolished and dead trees from afar, as well as dry ground—in front of my eyes: a big plate full with bite-size shredded beef, with another big plate filled by smoothly mashed potatoes, alongside a stack of smaller plates and utensils.Everyone is gathered around all of those. They seem exhausted but cheerful. My face lightens up.Cas notices me. “Hemel, don’t force yourself too much! You could just ask me to bring it inside for you,” he mutters.“Nah, she’s fine,” Luca cuts in, “She already sounded more energetic. Besides, it’s also bad for you to lay down for too long.”Cas frowns. “But…”“Luca’s right. You need to move your body so that your blood circulates well.” Lars adds up.Lars.Hm… what was that about him that had something with me earlier? I already forgot.“I see…” Cas gives in. How sweet of him to worry about me. He’s pretty naïve considering he is—or was, in this case—only in tenth grade, but I admit his empathy is stronger than other kids his age. It’s impressive.“Well, what are we waiting for?! Let’s dive in!!” Tess gives the loud shout she always lets out.Time to eat!!!“Ah, Hemel, stay there and just sit! Let me take your portion for you.” Before I could even move, Cas already stuffed those words onto my face. “Thanks, Cas.”Corn passes all the smaller plates to everyone else. “Tess, could you hand out the spoons and forks to every—You’re already diving in?!” She glares at Tess. “Couldn’t you be a bit more patient?! I’m not even finished giving out the rest of the plates to everyone!”Tess gulps the food that was on the plate she took prior that she was chewing. “Eh~ I was already starving since I helped Luca prepare the food the most.”“The most, my ass! You only chopped parsley for the garnish!”“Teehee!”“I swear I will smack you down.”“Corn, calm down! It’s not that serious.” I let out a laugh.“True. It’s just her being her usual self again, I guess.” Corn sighs in disappointment.We all start eating. I take a bite of the shredded beef. “?!”“This is…!” I shout while still chewing. I turn to Luca. “What did you put in this?” I ask admiringly.“Huh? Just salt and pepper, and some other seasonings… What, does it not taste good?” Luca answers and gives a worried look.“The opposite!” I take another bite. “The tenderness, the amount of seasonings… They’re perfect!”Tess grins. “You’re still surprised? Ever since he started cooking for us, his dishes all taste amazing even though he only uses basic ingredients,” she talks while munching, “that’s the culinary student of our group for you!”“Huuuh? You guys are exaggerating. It tastes ordinary for me,” Luca is flabbergasted. “Just like any other dish.”“It does because you’ve been eating high quality food you yourself cook for a long time. Makes sense, right?”“Sigh, I guess so.” He admits defeat. “Even though I only use basic ingredients, huh… I have heard different hands make different tasting food.”“Are you praising yourself?”“No, dumbass!”Cornelia, who is right by my side, giggles silently.Suddenly, the realization hit me. “Did you all help Luca prepare the food?” I ask everyone.Cas gazes at me and laughs. “Yeah! This morning’s breakfast is special for you! Since you weren’t feeling well, Cornelia told us all to help him make a special breakfast. She said it would help you feel better.”I turn to Corn. “You planned that?”She couldn’t see my face. “I-It’s nothing! Not like I’m that concerned for you…”I stare, and laugh. “No need to play the hard to get girl.”“What?!”Everyone laughs. Corn’s face is glowing red.***“So then, I saw that purple creature from inside the floating thing!”
Tess elaborates about her experience while we all finish our food. She did start eating first after all, so she finished first before everyone else.“Granted, it was during dusk so I couldn’t see clearly, but I for sure witnessed it! It popped out of the thing’s, window? I guess you could call it that. But it didn’t face me, so I don’t exactly know what it looks like, and after that it went up to space, probably back to its planet. So, in conclusion, aliens are real!!”Cas is in amazement. “So they exist after all?” he shouts innocently.Luca laughs. “Cas, you’re doing it again. You really still believe her after all those fake stories she told?” he says in arrogance but softly, “hard to put faith in her words whenever she shares one.”Tess gets excited. “You know the crazy part? I’m not lying this time. I legit saw that! With my own two eyes!”
I’m surprised. She always ends her tells with “it was all a lie!”, so she could be telling the truth this time.“No way! Aliens aren’t real. You’re just making things up,” I try to bait her into saying it.“Hemeeel, you gotta give faith in your friends once in a while. This time I’m not lying, I promise.”“That implies I don’t trust you most of the time…”Tess clears her throat. “So in conclusion, I declare that we all should explore outside the Sanctuary more in order to discover the truth of the outer space! You never know if another one will visit the earth.”“What a selfish demand. If you want to look for extra-terrestrial beings, just look on your own.” Luca sighs.“But what if those creatures know how to save us? We can’t possibly survive forever on our own here. Heck, what if they bring us to their planet?!”Corn opens her mouth after taking her last morsel. “Aliens, huh…” she mutters. “My mom once told me aliens aren’t real. They’re all just imagination of one’s mind.”“Then what did I see? A ghost? Those aren’t real either, are they?”“I never implied that. It could just be something else, like an animal or something.”“What kind of animal rides a floating vehicle?“You sure you weren’t just imagining things?”“I’m telling you, it was in front of my eyes. It floated, and went up to the sky.”“What the heck could fly? Are you telling me it’s riding a tool with giant wings or something?”“No, I never said it flew. It floated. With no effort.”“That makes it even more inconceivable! Nothing could float by itself in the air! Unless you’re talking about something fictional.”“Are you implying I always tell lies?”“After you told all those fake stories? What do you think, huh?”“I always end them with telling they’re actually lies. Am I doing that right now?”“You expect someone to believe anything someone else says to them after lying one hundred percent of the time?”“Yeah, cus they’re telling them it’s a lie after! Of course they’re not lying if they’re not telling it’s a lie!”“Is that how simple your mind is? Your current story is the most unconvincing compared to your previous stories, like how you actually have a fake leg attached to your limb because of an accident.”“That’s just a silly story I made up for fun!”“So what? That makes your current one real?”“I SAW IT!!!”Tess gets up abruptly and runs away towards outside the Sanctuary.Everyone is staggered.Corn is stunned. “Ah…”I gaze at her. “Corn…”Sweat drops from her cheek. “Y-Yeah, I got off too far…”“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Luca shouts at the far away Tess. “It’s your turn to help Lars do the dishes!”She turns around and sticks her tongue out, then goes back to running away.“Seems like she’s real upset that none of us believed her.” Luca sighs. “I guess you couldn’t help it. Cas, go help Lars clean the dirty plates.”“No, let me do it.” Corn disallows before Cas could say anything. “I was the one who made her upset, so…”“But just yesterday was your turn.”“It doesn’t matter.” She answers as she starts collecting the dirty plates and utensils. “Cas can just do what he’s supposed to today.”“Ah… Thanks, Corn!” Cas says, stunned.As Corn goes to the washing area after finishing gathering, Lars faces to my direction. “You should take small walks around the Sanctuary, then go back and take a rest. Blood circulation is crucial to take care of if you have a headache.”“Gotcha.” I nod. “Oh, why don’t you accompany me to do so? Feel like going with a friend, hehe.”“Eh… Me?” he looks astounded. “I got something to do.”“Hm?”“It’s nothing to you, so don’t worry about it.”Huh, that’s pretty unusual for him to deny requests. Regularly, he never does.“Then, Luca!”“Eeeh?”“Come with me”“No way. Last time I escorted you to somewhere, that real bad thing happened.”“Shoot. Thought you forgot already.”
Lars and Cas look at us curiously. I grin. “It wasn’t that terrible of a thing. No need to think about it!”Luca sighs, and realises something. “Hey, why didn’t you ask Cas to come with you? He’s supposed to explore an area anyways.”“You’re right!” Cas brightens up. “Let’s go, Hemel!”“Sure!” I nod, but then stop. “What about Tess? Is she gonna be okay?”
“She’s already familiar with the area already, so it should be fine,” Luca responds. “She’ll return anyways, at least I hope.”I silently mutter. “Don’t worry about her too much. She never gets lost either way!” Cas cheers me up. I smile.“So, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!!” he enthusiastically shouts.“Take care.” Luca utters as he goes into the camp.“Mhm!” we both answer.***“You know, Tess is actually really smart for her age.”Cas walks in liveliness, while I stroll behind him. He’s pretty energetic since it’s still only a few hours after dawn.“She’s just so stubborn sometimes. Like Luca.”Pfft. “Would you think they’re secretly siblings?” I blurt out without thinking much. “They have the same hair color, after all.”“No way! Haha.”We walk past some semi-ruined buildings to find a small hidden area. “Hey, wanna check this place out?” Cas asks casually. “Sure,” I answer, not pondering much about it.Ah, this place is a kindergarten. Or, maybe ‘used to be’ would be a better term. All its roof is completely blown up, like someone planted a huge dynamite on top of it.“Hellooo?” Cas brings his face closer to a window of the ruined building. “Cas, no one’s gonna answer…” I look at him all confused.“Would be funny if someone did.”“That would be creepy!!”He laughs. Sigh, so careless. I guess that’s how most kids are.“I’ll go loot some items in this building. You can just look at this area a bit more,” he utters. I nod. “Be careful, okay? The debris are pretty sharp,” I warn him. “No worries!” he answers and immediately heads to a door leading inside.I get closer to the building’s rear side. I could wait for Cas, but I have no idea how long it will take him—so I’ll explore to kill time.Oh, a playground. Fitting since it’s a kindergarten we’re in right now.
I take a closer look. It’s complete: a slide, some swings, a sandbox and some other kids toys—with the only exception that they’re all destroyed like they’re nothing. The swing is obliterated on its side. The swings are all unchained and rusty. And the sandbox isn’t even a sandbox anymore—all the sand is scattered everywhere around the area, pretty hard to notice by the common eye.Takes me back to the past. As a child, I used to play at a playground every day with a friend of mine. We would mess around with other kids, sometimes it even ends up with a fight since we were so mean to them. I also have no idea how I was so mischievous to other kids back when I was one… Grew up from it after I enrolled to elementary. Makes me cringe whenever I get reminded of it.I frown.To think that just a month ago, kids were playing at this place… and now they’re no longer in this world anymore. How despairing———“Hemel?”“Gah!!!”Man, that scared me. It’s just Cas. He puts a worried face. “Ah, did I scare you? Sorry! I didn’t mean to…”I chuckle. “Don’t worry. Huh, that was fast. Did you already loot the building?” I glance at him who isn’t holding anything. Confusion fills his face. “No! There was nothing in there. No desks, no cabinets, no nothing!” he answers.…Hm?“It was completely empty?”“Yeah! Like someone took everything out of it.”My mouth is at a loss for words. “What…”I would understand if there were still school supplies, but nothing?“You’re confused too, aren’t you?”
“Hold on. Let me check inside.”“Ah, Hemel, don’t force yourself! You have a headache, remember?”“It’s okay. I’m already feeling better anyways. I’m curious!”I hurry to the door Cas headed to earlier and put my hand on the handle to open it.Ah…I have a bad feeling about this.……Whatever! It’s just a feeling.Finally, the door is opened—revealing what Cas described earlier. There is absolutely nothing except debris from the roof, just the floor and walls. Astonishment fills my face. Something about this is off. The only survivors of the tragedy in our area is just us—the Sanctuary inhabitants. None of us could’ve brought any of this huge amount of missing items anywhere, we have no power to do so. Besides, only Cas and I have explored this place today. So then…“…Aliens?”I turn around. He’s standing right there. “What if Tess was truthful all along? Are there actually aliens in this universe?”“Guh… Cas, you read my mind like a book.”“I mean, what if they took all of those things to, observe them? To know about humans…?”“It makes sense. Notice how the roof is the only demolished part of the building? They possibly destroyed it since it’s easier for them to take those missing things. And…”I inspect the floor. “There is a fine line between the dust from the debris and the part where the desks and cabinets were placed. A very contrast difference.”“Did they take it from up above?”“Possibly—that’s my theory.”But why specifically this area that they took things from earth from?Oh.They could’ve scoured the entire surface or earth at this state.I tighten my jaw. This is incomprehensible. So… Tess wasn’t lying all along?“Ack!”“Hemel?!”Crap, all this thinking just made my heart hurt. I crouch to the floor, holding my chest. Cas sounds worried. “Should I go get Lars from the camp to treat you?”I nod without looking at him. “Okay, hold on!” Without pause, Cas immediately dashes towards the Sanctuary, leaving me alone here.This feeling again. It usually comes whenever I ponder about something. The feeling as if my heart is gonna explode. Tears stream throughout my face. I can’t move. Anxiety fills in my mind———Breathe in, breathe out. Everything is gonna be okay. Don’t worry. Breathe in, breathe out.Even though my heart is still beating fast, I immediately feel a tiny bit better. Cas, I hope he’s okay… the Sanctuary is pretty far from this area. No, I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s pretty good at remembering directions, after all.Breathe in, breathe out. My mind eases even though my head still hurts.“Hemel!”“Ah…” Looks like my sense of time is lost. I thought it only has been a few minutes since Cas left to get Lars.Lars abruptly approaches to me who’s laying on the floor. He crouches to match our height. “Are you hurt? Is your head okay?”I shake my head. “No, I was just feeling anxious. It happened again…”“Again? Does your chest hurt?”I lightly nod.He opens a first aid kit he brought and brings out a portable inhaler. “It’s running out, but should be enough… Here.”I put the mask part of it on my face and gently press the button to inhale the oxygen.Cas who was behind Lars earlier gets closer to us. “Hemel was holding her chest very tightly. I’ve never seen her do that.”“Oh, you don’t know yet, huh?” Lars gaze at Cas.Ah…“Eh? Am I missing something?”“N-No! Everything’s completely fine! I just didn’t feel well, haha…” I grin.“…?” Cas is confused. “Uh, anyway, I’m done using this.” I return the inhaler to Lars, and he puts it back in the aid kit.
“You’re done exploring, right? It’s probably best if you go home and rest.Oh, and don’t join in explorations for now. I’m afraid you’ll get more of these ‘heart attacks’ if you do.”“Eeeeeeh?!”I immediately feel down. “But I got nothing to do!”“It’s better to fully heal before doing heavy activities. You want to get better, right?”But… Sigh, I respond with ‘okay’ in defeat. No matter what I think, Lars knows better than me.“By the way, did you find anything worthy?” he turns to Cas.“Um, no…” Cas puts a stressful face. “Just look around! There is absolutely nothing in this entire building.”“…” Lars observes his surroundings. “You’re right. That’s pretty odd.”“I know, right?!” Cas gets excited. “Hemel and I have a theory that aliens took them all!”“Hm?”“Look, the roof here is all ruined! They might’ve took all of the missing stuff from upwards by destroying the roof!”“That’s interesting. So aliens have a chance to exist, after all.”“Yeah!”I smile. It’s always a pleasure to see Cas get this happy. Most of the time, he is very calm.“But your head is okay now, right?” Lars turns his face back to me.
“Mhm! It already feels way better since I walked with Cas here. In fact, the ache is gone completely, I think.”
He releases a relieved sigh. “Good thing I told you to do so.”“All in all, you should go home now. I don’t want you to get any more heartaches by staying outside too long.”“Got it…!”Cas gazes at me with curiosity. Sorry, it’s not the time for you to acknowledge it yet. I don’t want you to be worried.…We all head back to the Sanctuary.***It’s almost noon when Cas, Lars and I got back home—around 11:15 P.M. For some reason, I don’t feel exhausted at all despite walking for so long.“Hemel!!!”When I appear in front of his sight, Luca abruptly stopped what he was doing and dash towards me. “Are you alright now?”“Yeah, I was treated very well. Thanks, Lars.”Lars makes an ‘okay’ gesture. Fitting for him—he seems cold and uncaring from the outside, but he’s truly attentive from the inner part.“Thank God.” Luca releases a relieved sigh. “I was worried when Cas came back here to get Lars. Thought something urgent was happening.”“It was urgent! She used an inhaler ‘cause her heart was hurting,” Cas snaps. “Right, Lars?”“Yeah. But she felt better immediately after using it, so it is not a problem.”“Your heart…?” Luca ponders. “That happened some time ago too, didn’t it?”I get closer to his right ear and whisper. He pauses, and nods.“Well, what’s over is over. Let’s just hope it never happens again!” he utters with a grin. “Moreover, it’s almost lunch time and I haven’t prepared anything. Can you help me gather some ingredients?”“Yup!” Cas responds. “Oh, where’s Corn?” he asks, looking for his partner for exploration.“…Corn?” Luca makes a troubled face.“If I’m being honest, I haven’t seen her since she took all those dirty dishes to the washing place.”Cas and I look at each other, and then at Luca.“Could she be looking for Tess?” I suggest. “She was the one that got into an argument with her earlier.”“She could be…” he responds. “Damn it! I was so inattentive, I didn’t even notice she was gone!” Luca is furious over himself—not a common sight.“Where could she be?” Cas wonders out loud. “It’s rare for her to be missing like this.”I tighten my jaw. What if she goes too far and gets lost? Not knowing how to get back home? Although she explores a lot with Cas, not many areas have been travelled to by her. Suddenly, the urge to look for Corn gets me. “I wanna find her.”“Hemel?” everyone looks at me.“I can’t help it. I just feel worried for her.”Lars exhales. “If you say so. I’m afraid you’ll get a heartache again if you get too anxious thinking about her. You already feel better anyways, correct?”I grin. Finally, he doesn’t forbid me to do something.“Oh, how about this? You and Lars look for Corn, while Cas help me find the ingredients.” Luca suggests. “Cas, you’re already familiar with the area, right? We don’t have to worry about you getting lost.”Cas nods in agreement. “Then it’s settled!”***It has been around 15 minutes since Cas, Lars and I left the camp to go on our own ways. Lars brought the first aid kit with him again, for the worst-case scenario. “We already searched this area for a good while now and still no signs of her,” utter Lars. “Don’t you think we should look for her in another one already?”“You’re right,” I answer. “Sorry. I suggested that we search this area multiple times just in case. Turns out she’s not even here…”“Don’t be worried about it. Corn always passes by this place, so it’s fair for you to think like that. Well, in this case, at least.”“What about that kindergarten Cas and I was at?”“Oh, I didn’t even think about that. Nice thought.”We immediately rush to that place without contemplation. “Lars, you’re running way too fast! Slow down a bit…”“Ah… sorry.”Pant, pant…“Didn’t know you were the athletic type.”“I used to play tag with my little sister all the time. She runs very quickly, so I had to catch up a lot. Guess that’s what makes me able to run fast.”“…You have a sister?!”“Yeah, I never really told you or anyone at the camp, did I?”“You were always quiet, so…”“Ahaha. My bad.”“…”This is the first time I saw Lars laugh on his own and not because others laugh too.“What’s wrong?"“Ah! Nothing. Let’s continue our search!”“Right. Oh, before that…”“Hm?”Lars observes something from afar. “I noticed something over there.”“Something?”“It’s a tree.”“…” I giggle. Darn, I thought it was something significant.“No, I mean that tree—— it’s still intact, and seems like it’s been well taken care off. Look, the leaves are all green and fresh. Every other tree around here are either dead by malnutrition or destroyed by the tragedy.”“What tree?” I ask. He points at what he has been looking at. “That one. It’s pretty far from where we’re standing.”I squint my eyes a bit. Oh, I see it! “You’re right…! It’s as if it was unfazed by all of those destructions from the tragedy. But how…?”“Hm… Let’s forget about it for now. We need to find Cornelia, remember?”“True! Let me lead the way now since you don’t know where that place is from here yet.”***“Coooo~rn!”My voice echoes through the completely hollow room. “Where are yoooo~u?!”Finally, we’re at the place I had a heartache earlier. We already looked around the playground, but she’s still nowhere to be found——Lars observes around. “She might be hidden somewhere. I’ll go try and lift that huge debris over there.” He approaches a debris from the roof on the corner of the room, leaving me alone at the door.With all his strength, he attempts to flip the ruined roof away—“Dang it. It’s too heavy.”—but it didn’t work. At all. The thing didn’t even move a centimetre.“Let me try help!” I get near to him.
I put all of my effort into lifting it, together with Lars.“Oh… it moved a little bit!”“Let’s try a bit harder.”One, two, three…!It moved! Just a bit more, and it will reveal the underneath.Ready, set, go!It flipped away!“Nice job.”“Thanks!”…And…what’s beneath…IsThey open their eyes. “Ah…”Everything is black.***I slowly but surely open my eyes. It’s almost 3 P.M already. I squint my eyes, adjusting to the light.“Are you two okay?!”“Uh…” I respond to the panicked, high pitched voice.“I… I’m sorry! It’s all my fault…!” she says stressfully. I look around. Corn, Cas and Luca are by my, and Lars’ side. Oh, seems like Lars and I passed out. We’re both on our mattresses at the camp. “Corn…! You’re back!” I shout while abruptly getting up. “Where have you been?! We searched everywhere for you! Well, by that I mean two areas before we got knocked out,” I hold her hands. Corn is shaking tremendously. “I-I was looking for Tess, since I’m very worried for her… but I ended up troubling you two… I’m sorry…” Tears start streaming through her cheeks. “I’m so sorry…!”“Shhh.” I put a finger on my lips. “Don’t worry. Look, we’re both fine! Sure, we just blacked out a bit, haha. But no big deal!”“…Okay…” She sniffs. “I promise I will never do it again.”I smile, but immediately stop. That person… who was that? They made me pass out right after I saw them—the same probably goes with Lars. And why did I wake up at the Sanctuary? Next time I need to be more cautious when going outside…I have to set my priorities straight. “Say, where were you this entire time?” I ask Corn. “Were you at a faraway area?”“Ah, I was near the hospital where I last looted before she went missing…”“I see. That’s a place Lars and I didn’t get to search through.”She makes a face full of guilt.“I told you, it’s not a problem!” I say as I try to ease her. “Ah.” I turn to Lars.“Lars…” Corn mutters.He’sstill not awake.“Just give him some time.” Luca’s voice eases us. “He’s anemic. Should take him a bit to regain consciousness.”“Oh… I see,” I respond.…Wait.“Lars has anemia?!” we all, except Luca, shout together.“Huh, you guys didn’t know?” Luca chuckles. “I guess he is pretty introverted.”“I didn’t know that.” Cas says. “Me too…” Corn utters. Geez, how many more secrets does he keep from us? First was the fact that he has a sibling, and now this?“All in all, let’s just continue the rest of our activities for today while waiting for him to get conscious. Oh, right. You haven’t had lunch today, right, Hemel? I left a portion of the food earlier for you.”“My eternal gratitude, your highness.”“Shut up and just eat it.”A grin paints my face. I get up from the mattress I was lying on and head to the dining area, leaving everyone in the tarpaulin camp.But, before I move away from the opening I just unveiled, I catch a glimpse of Corn’s voice. “What about Tess…? It’s getting late and she still hasn’t returned…”“Ng… you’re right. I’m also sort of worried about her.”“…” I listen slowly.“How about we look for her together? We could find her while the sun is still up!”“That’s true. I think that is our best option.”So that’s the plan for this afternoon.“Hemel, you can come with us after eating. Corn can look after Lars while he’s still unconscious.”“Hu—” I act funny. Luca noticed me eavesdropping them… “S-sorry,” I smile as I face them, making a slightly guilty face. “Is it okay to leave her alone?”Corn laughs. “I’m not alone, silly. I’m sure Lars will wake up soon.”“Okay, then.”***“Geez, where could that brat be?” Luca groans in agony. “She’s sulking for way too long. Is she not in that room either?”Around 5 P.M, at a ruined food stall.“She’s not here. How about the shed?” I respond. “No, not there too. I just checked,” Cas adds.“Then where could she be?” Luca mutters, “we already searched through the kindergarten, the barn, the lake, the public health center, the everywhere!”“Calm down. Maybe we weren’t looking properly.” Cas tries to ease us.“But we already made sure to search thoroughly in each place…” I grumble. “Just, how is she not anywhere…?”I’m scared. What if she’s lost? And starving from not eating all day since morning? What if she’s…I need to calm down. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.
“Hm?” Cas looks at me curiously. “I noticed you often take deep breaths ever since we met, although rarely.”“Ah—"“Is something bothering you?”“Um…” I ponder. “It’s… pretty hard to explain. To put it simple, I sometimes feel very uneasy. So I do it to calm myself down.”“Oh…”I laugh it off. “Um. Anyway, should we search from the beginning all over again?”“You still got the energy for that? Aren’t you tired?” Luca questions me.“I mean, I sort of am, but still…”“I’m beat~! Can we continue looking for her tomorrow?” Cas whines. “But, I can’t imagine us sleeping without knowing Tess is safe, either…”“That’s what I thought too!” I agree.“But, doing it from the start… hey, the time we took to search even once is not little.” Luca ponders.“Hm… we could ruminate the areas we looked through already.Maybe we missed a spot——or…”That tree.“Hey, we haven’t checked out the woods yet!” I scream.Luca’s flabbergasted. “You’re right…! How did we miss that?!” he shouts. “Let’s go! Before it gets too late!”We scram immediately and head to the forest.Pant, pant, pant…No talking.Pant, pant, pant…Endless running.Pant, pant, pant…Luckily, in a matter of minutes, we arrive. “Hah, ha… I’ll go search that way, you two do so there.” Luca commands us then and there.“Right…!” Cas and I agree.We both leave as soon as Luca did.
“But how do we know which track to follow…?” Cas asks innocently. “Hm…” I respond, observing my surroundings. Oh!A track seems to be have passed by—there are markings of footsteps on it. “This way…!” I command. Cas looks in confusion, but nods not long after.I walk along the marked track slowly just in case I overpass them. Sometimes the marks disappear, but later show up again. “TESS!” I shout her name. As soon as I did that, Cas does so too. We keep shouting Tess’ name over and over again as we walk. Shiver runs down my spine. What if we don’t find her? What if we were too late? … Is she even here?I shake my head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. I keep track of the markings along the way. Slowly, and, surely…But a little inconvenience occurred. I hold my heart tightly. “Hemel, are you okay?” Cas yells. “We can stop the search for a bit while you calm down.”I was gonna say ‘let’s just continue the search’, but knowing how Cas is, I nod. So, we stop walking.*****—LucaPant, pant, pant…It’s been twenty minutes since I parted with Hemel and Cas. “Geez, that fucking kid…! Does she know how much trouble she gave us over a goddamn argument?!” I scream in agony. “Tess!!!” For the millionth time, I shout her name. But as every single time, no answer! I stop running for a bit and take a breather.Pant, pant, pant…I rest underneath a tree. Seems like the sun has almost set, and we still haven’t found her. I groan. “Next time I pick up conflict between her and Corn, I’ll just break them up immediately.”Darn it. If I knew it would take this long to find her, I would’ve bought some preparation like water and food. I’m starving like hell right now.Sigh. If only there was a way to communicate from far away outside… That would’ve been convenient—I could contact Hemel and Cas to meet up at some spot or something.“Luca!”Suddenly, a voice echoes through the area. “Lucaaa?!” It’s Cas.“Cas! Where are you?!” I respond loudly. I get up and look around. “Cas?!”“Luca!!” At last, we finally see each other. “Cas! Where’s Hemel?” His shoulders are shaken by my hands. “We found Tess! Hemel is hiding behind them!”My face cheers up. “You did?!?!” I shout. “Wait, ‘them’?”“There’s no time to explain. Let’s just go!” Cas grabs my hand and starts running. “Agh, wait— Don’t suddenly drag me like that!”*****
Milan's Lore 2
I open my eyes to the sunshine seeping from the curtains of my room windows. Some blackbirds chirp from outside. The clock is ticking, showing the time 6:32 A.M.Another day of my usual life.My eyes stare at the flat and boring ceiling. Today, huh. I wonder what's gonna happen.What's gonna happen... Huh?"Miss Bree's appointment is in 30 minutes!!"Before I knew it, I scream. My mind completely erased the memory in which I need to meet one of my professors at 7 A.M at campus today. Damn it, why does the schedule has to be so tight!? I immediately run to the washroom.I turn on the steam-washer, which cleans my body without taking off any of my clothes. I can go on and on about how this gadget works, but I have no time. After that, I bolt to the pantry.When I arrived there, Norsa is sitting at the dining table, eating cereal. "Milan?" she calls me. "Pretty rare of you to wake up this late."I sigh. "I forgot to turn on a reminder. Say, do we not have any leftover food?" I answer whilst looking through the food storage. Here in Amacarro, we do not need to keep food cold in order to keep them for a long period of time since scientists have made food evolve in that manner."Oh, I actually made you something just in case! H-Here." Norsa clumsily hands me a plate of sandwich.My eyes brighten up. "Nors, thank you so much...! That really helps..."I munch on the sandwich while checking on the time every few seconds. Norsa glances at me while munching too. "You have an appointment, don't you?" Norsa tosses me a question."Huh? Yeah..." I answer. She giggles. "I've never seen you panic like this in a long time." She looks away. "Ever since we were kids. You always were strict about time."I gulp my food and only respond with a nervous smile. 'Yeah, because there's one thing that caused that to change' is what I would say if I had no shame.One thing...Some scenes flash through my mind. Ah, this is bad. My head starts to hurt a little.But I try to not let it bother me too much. Besides, it hasn't been happening too much lately, so I think I'll be okay.
Milan's Lore 1
Milan is an inhabitant of Amacarro, a man-made planet that was invented by an unknown group of scientists centuries ago. He is 19 years old and in college (Amacarro is basically Gaia/earth 2.0 so most of the life there is the same, except for the fact that it has technology that are leagues better than Gaia).These scientists have made a lot of life-changing inventions, including but not limited to the ability of controlling time itself. But there are consequences, as these inventions are dangerous and against the law of nature—one of them is an extremely rare but life-threatening disease called "Personality Bifurcation".Personality bifurcation is a result of one's entire personality getting bifurcated, or divided into branches—most of the time, two branches. There are two types of personality bifurcation, which are normal and extreme. Normal personality bifurcation is, to be frank, one's personality being divided into two or more branches equally. For example, if one is gentle and stubborn, their personalities will divide into those. Extreme on the other hand is more complicated—one can have only one extreme bifurcated personality, one can have all extreme, and one can have switching extremities (although this subtype is rare). Extreme in this case means that the personality is exaggerated to an extreme degree to the point that it doesn’t feel like the owner’s personality anymore. Milan unfortunately suffers from personality bifurcation type 1 extreme, which is the first one. His bifurcated personalities are caring and manic, with the latter being the extreme one. His day-to-day life has changed ever since he started contracting this illness.What happens to someone if they get personality bifurcation? Frankly, their body will be a vessel for their branched personalities, and they can only have one personality at a time. They will switch personalities at random intervals as long as they live (unless a cure is found). The process of switching them is painful, but endurable. Other side effects of personality bifurcation are nausea and chest pain at certain times. This illness has been long since it manifested in Amacarro, but is only recently getting attention from professionals in the medical field. No inhabitants of Gaia has ever been diagnosed with this illness.