The sun shines warmly, golden light spilling through the gaps between the thick forest trees. Leaves crunched under our feet as I and Natski ran, both of us giggling as we skirted the huge trunks. The cool air was filled with the scent of green grass and damp earth, making everything come alive.
"Woah, Suzaki, this is so fun!" Natski whooped, nimbly clearing a fallen trunk.
I grinned, picking up a thick branch and pointing it forward like a sword. "One day, I'm gonna be a hero! I'll protect people and save the world!"
Natski snorted, leaning against a tree with her arms crossed. "Pfft, keep dreaming, Suzaki. That stuff only happens in anime."
I pouted. "You'll see! When the time comes, I'll be the strongest there is!"
Then—everything glitched.
A strange, static-like noise filled the air. Natski's face warped, her expression twisting unnaturally. Her voice echoed in layers, as if multiple versions of her were speaking at once.
"You will eventually die by then," she whispered, her voice cold, emotionless.
The forest flickered like a broken screen. The sky turned dark, the trees melting away into static.
My chest tightened. "Natski…?"
I took a step back—
Darkness swallowed me whole.
I sat up in bed, my heart thudding against my ribcage.
My room. Sunlight filtered through the curtains, making long shadows stretch across the walls. A dream?
No. It had. seemed real.
"Suzaki! Don't forget your lunch!" Mom's voice snapped me back to reality.
I groaned, rubbing my face before jumping out of bed. "Coming!"
I completed my usual morning routine and managed to get downstairs. I grabbed my lunch from Mom's outstretched hand, uttering a quick, "Thanks, Mom," before sprinting out the door.
The fresh morning air cleared my head, but something was still amiss.
That dream…Why did it feel like more than just a dream?
The second I stepped into school, I heard someone yell my name from behind.
"SUZAKI!"
I groaned. I already knew who it was.
Carter.
I turned, barely able to react before he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, grinning ear to ear.
"Oh hey, Carter," I mumbled, already exhausted.
"I need your help," he said seriously.
I raised an eyebrow. "With what?"
He scratched the back of his head. "I need you to help me talk to Emily."
I groaned so loudly that people turned to look.
"Carter, for the last time, she's my mom's friend's daughter. I barely even know her!"
"Come on, bro! I'll do anything!" Carter says
I sighed. "You have problems."
Ignoring his whining, I walked into PE.
I shoved my school uniform into my locker, pulling out my gym clothes. Just as I was about to close the door—
BAM!
A force slammed into my back, sending me crashing to the floor.
I gritted my teeth, looking up to see a tall guy with a blonde buzz cut sneering down at me. Behind him, his group of goons snickered.
"What makes you think you can use MY locker, SUZAKI?" he spat, kicking my clothes onto the floor.
I clenched my fists.
Roy Dunn had been messing with me for weeks.
Enough.
I stood up and punched him right in the jaw.
For a split second, I smirked. That'll show him.
Then—his fist crashed into my face.
I flew backward, slamming against the lockers. Before I could react, his friends jumped in, fists and feet raining down on me.
By the time they were done, I was left bleeding on the floor.
Carter ran in, eyes wide in horror. "Holy shit, Suzaki! What happened?!"
I groaned, barely able to move. "P-please… j-just get me to the nurse."
I sat in the nurse's office, holding an ice pack to my bruised face.
I glanced at the clock on the wall—and froze.
The numbers were glitching, flickering between normal time and unreadable symbols.
I pulled out my phone.
It was the same thing.
A chill ran down my spine. What the hell?
Is this a malfunction? A coincidence?
I didn't know.
After leaving the nurse's office, I dragged myself into my last class of the day. My body still ached from earlier, but at least the pain had dulled a little.
As I took my seat, I noticed two students I hadn't seen before.
One was a tall guy with messy red hair and a sharp, calculating look in his eyes. He sat with perfect posture, writing something in a notebook while ignoring everyone around him.
The other was a girl with short silver hair and a piercing gaze. Unlike the guy, she looked completely relaxed, leaning back in her chair and tapping her pencil against the desk, clearly bored out of her mind.
Carter nudged me. "Who are they?"
"No clue," I whispered back. "New students?"
Before Carter could say anything else, the teacher walked in. "Alright, settle down. We have two transfer students today. Introduce yourselves."
The guy stood up first, his expression unreadable. "Kise Takahashi," he said in a calm voice. "That's all you need to know."
The teacher sighed but moved on. "And you?"
The girl stretched lazily before standing up. "I'm Aika Renji. Let's just say… I don't plan on getting too involved." She smirked slightly before sitting back down.
I frowned. What's with these two?
"I don't know but that silver haired girl is pretty cute don't you think?"
I ignored Carter
Something about them felt… different. But I shook it off. I had enough to deal with today.
For now, I just wanted to get through class without any more problems.
School ended. Carter and I walked home together (he lives pretty close to my house), the afternoon sky painted with orange hues.
Then—BOOM.
The ground shook violently.
Buildings collapsed. Cars crashed. People screamed.
Flames burst into the sky as smoke choked the streets.
Carter grabbed my arm. "Suzaki! What the hell is happening?!"
"I—I don't know! We need to run!"
We turned to escape—
Then everything went black.
I woke up in the middle of an empty road.
No fires. No people. Just silence.
My heart pounded. "CARTER!" I yelled, spinning around.
No answer.
My bag was gone. My phone was gone. Everything was gone.
Then, footsteps.
I turned—
An old woman wandered down the street, looking confused.
I ran to her. "Ma'am! Do you know what's going on?"
She blinked. "Oh, dear… I was watching TV, then suddenly, I was here. Then… a system appeared and gave me directions."
I froze. "System?"
She pointed at the ground.
I followed her gaze—and my blood ran cold.
A holographic screen floated before me, flickering.
It displayed directions—5 miles away.
And in the corner, a glitching purple symbol.
Just like the clock at school.
This isn't normal.
As me and the old grandma walked, we made small talk to pass the time. The empty streets stretched endlessly ahead of us, the eerie silence pressing against my ears.
"So, did you have kids?" I asked, trying to distract myself from the unsettling situation.
Beth chuckled softly. "Yes, dear. They were wonderful… always taking care of me when I needed them. Especially when I had a brain tumor."
I glanced at her. "A brain tumor?"
She nodded, a distant look in her eyes. "Oh yes. It made me forget things sometimes. I'd be in the middle of a sentence and—poof! Gone from my head," she laughed. "But my children, bless them, they were patient with me."
"That must've been tough," I murmured, feeling a strange sense of sympathy. Despite the weirdness of everything, Beth seemed… kind.
"Well," she sighed, "life gives and takes. You just have to keep walking forward, no matter what."
We kept walking in silence for a while. The system's directions said we were close to our destination. That was when I noticed something.
Beth had stopped walking.
She stood there, her body completely still. Then, slowly, her lips curled into a twisted, unnatural smile. Blood dripped from her mouth.
My stomach dropped. "Uh… Beth? Something the matter?"
She didn't answer.
Is this part of the brain tumor symptoms?
I swallowed hard and looked down at the system interface floating in front of me.
GAME 1: Run, Run Sheep.
Timer: 2 minutes.
What the hell?!
Beth let out a guttural snarl and suddenly dropped to all fours. Her limbs bent unnaturally, fingers clawing the ground like an animal.
I froze. "B-Beth?"
Her head snapped toward me. Then—she lunged.
I barely had time to scream before my legs moved on their own. I ran.
"HELP! HELP! THERE'S SOME OLD HAG CHASING ME!" I yelled, my voice cracking as I darted between the empty houses.
I skidded behind a tree, gasping for breath. My heart hammered in my chest. Maybe… maybe I lost her?
Slowly, I peeked out.
Beth was right there.
Drooling blood. Grinning wide.
I panicked, grabbing the nearest stick I could find and swinging it at her face.
THWACK!
The stick snapped in half.
Beth didn't even flinch.
I turned to run again, but when I glanced back, she was standing still, a dark purple aura glowing around her hands.
Nope. Nope. Not good.
I forced my legs to move, sprinting for my life—but it was too late. Something wrapped around my arms and legs.
I tried to move. I couldn't.
Beth walked toward me, her movements slow, controlled. Her bloody grin never wavered.
She raised a hand and gently patted my head.
"Oh, dear… you are such a child."
Then, she raised her clawed fingers, aiming straight for my chest—
BAM!
A kick sent Beth flying across the pavement.
I gasped, my body finally free. I turned—
Carter!
"Suzaki! Come on, we need to get the hell out of here!" he yelled.
I didn't argue. We ran.
Behind us, Beth let out a shriek of rage.
"NO! THIS CAN'T HAPPEN!" she screamed, charging up a massive purple beam in her hands.
My breath hitched. "Shit—Carter, MOVE!"
Before she could fire—
BOOM!
The timer hit zero.
Beth's head exploded.
I collapsed onto my knees, gasping for air, my chest rising and falling rapidly.
Carter bent over, hands on his knees. "What… on earth just happened?"
I swallowed, my throat dry. "Where… where were you?"
Carter exhaled sharply. "I was on some random trail with four other people. Then, suddenly, a system popped up and told me to go two miles from here but then i heard your screams and saw a random grandma about to kill you"
I clenched my fists, still shaking. What the hell was this place?
"What happened to you?" Carter asked, his breath still heavy from running.
I hesitated. My body was still shaking from what I had just experienced. The look in Beth's eyes, the way she moved, the way she wasn't human anymore.
"…Nothing," I muttered, pushing myself up. "Let's just keep moving."
Carter frowned but didn't push further. He just nodded, and we continued following the glowing system directions ahead of us.
As we walked, my mind kept replaying the last few seconds of that fight. That purple energy. The way Beth had charged up something unnatural. It wasn't normal—it wasn't human.
I turned to Carter. "Did you see that? That purple beam she was about to fire at us?"
Carter's eyes widened. "Yes! I was just thinking the same thing!" He paused, his face lighting up with realization. "…Wait." He turned to me, excitement growing in his voice. "What if—what if this world has powers? Like—like an actual superpower system?"
I stared at him. "Carter, we almost died."
He wasn't even listening anymore. His whole face lit up like a little kid. "DUDE. WE COULD BE SUPERHEROES! We could save people!"
Before I could even process his ridiculous excitement, the system interface beeped in front of us.
"You have arrived to your destination"