Chapter 0035

Tempest lost her sanity. It can be argued that she never had her sanity to begin with. Whatever hold she had on reality, she let go, journeying into a time in her memories where chaos reigned.

It started so innocently, or so the firefighters wrote in their analysis on the cause of the fire. A kitchen worker forgot to turn off the oven when he left home for the night, allowing the methane gas to fill the room. A sudden spark lit the room on fire, creating an inferno that spread to the rest of the hospital, killing 24 patients, wounding 63 more.

Lies.

All lies the administrators bribed the fire department to write.

How can the report forget to account for the girl they found in said oven, burned to death? Or the girl locked in a freezer, dead an hour before the fire even started? Or about the girl tied up and locked in the janitor closet unable to escape the inferno? Or the girl tied to her bed bleeding to death. Or about the girl that died from tripping on her shoes laces, hit the door, got knocked unconscious and trampled to death.

Kaia…

Stupid Kaia, the weirdest among the group. Also the unluckiest. The most loyal friend.

An idiot who only wanted to belong.

A fool who risks everything for Athena to live.

“You guys. I’ve tried. I’ve tried to live life to the fullest. I’ve tried to live your dreams. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lived. I should have gone with you guys.” Tempest muttered like a wailing ghost trying to undo her past sins.

There is a saying, “Dying is easy, living is hard.” Tempest truly believe that. She doesn’t want to experience death, however she never wanted to live while she knew her best friends died. Suicide wasn’t an option then. They sacrifice their lives for her.

Revenge must be dealt.

After the mental asylum incident, Tempest tried her best to live her life to the fullest. She’d wake up to greet the new day with hope and enthusiasm only to be slowly worn down as the day progresses. Each night, she falls into the oblivion of sleep, comforted in the presence of her friends as they tried their best to soothe her. Until she couldn’t take it anymore.

She walked into a raging storm.