"....."

No sound... Only silence.

"....."

I can't hear anything even if I try to listen...

"....."

I can't speak. I can't move my mouth. I can't move my tongue. I can't swallow my own saliva.

"....."

I can't move at all.

What's going on?

Where am I?

Why is it so dark?

"....."

Someone? Anyone? Please, if you're out there then say something!

"......................"

Only silence...

Silence...

Silence..

Silence.

..........

......

....

...

.

Oh, that's right. I remember now.

That time...

<><><><><><><><>

May, 7, 2032. Friday.

My consciousness slipped a bit back there, but I'm okay now.

Hauughh... My chest hurts like hell... Wait. Are these tears in my eyes?

"Move away, John."

"No. One death today is too much already."

I could hear the voice of two guys arguing.

What are they talking about? Not that I care anyways.

I tried to stand up... I did but with difficulties.

My legs are wobbling.

Must... get... away.

No, wait. I'll leave a little goodbye present for them.

Let's see... That boy looks easy. He can't see me since his back is facing me. His back also covered me, so the other guy he's arguing with probably can't see me.

Are they still arguing?

In any case, I try to move towards the boy.

...Why is my hair black? Isn't it supposed to be red by now? Oh, never mind. It's slowly turning red now.

The four other huge figures inside the room finally noticed me, but it's too late!

Now I'll just raise my hand and... pow!

"--Ughk!"

The boy collapsed after making that disgusting sound. Strange. His neck should be cut off by now. I wonder why I'm holding my strength back against this boy lately? Well, whatever.

Heh. This is really easy. With this I can get ou--

"Urghhhh!!! Huff... huff... Hngggg!!!"

I fell on the floor as my knees give in.

Dammit! Why is my chest hurting right now!?

Oh no, no, no! My consciousness is fading....

........

......

....

...Huh? Why did I just attack this boy again? No, wait. So it happened again.

Ah... Ouch, my chest hurts too, just like earlier.

Wait a minute. Now that I look around, there are other people here besides this boy.

Five men are pointing their guns at me. One is a fat man cowering in the corner trying to hide himself from my view. Another is-- no, it's just a corpse. And the last one laid on the floor is...

"C-Chloe!?" I shout towards my best friend.

In order to get closer to her, I try to move my legs, but I can't control them. I'm stuck kneeling on the floor.

Why is me best friend lying on the floor in such a horrible state?

"Redgie... Is that really you?" replied my friend in a weak voice.

So it really did happen. I did some things unconsciously again.

Recently, I've started feeling like everything around me is just a dream. But right now, I'm pretty sure that I'm completely awake. There's even this almost unbearable pain in my chest to further prove it.

"You! What happened? Are you aware of what you've done!?" shouted a male voice.

When I turned to look, I saw a muscular man pointing a gun at me from a meter away. He glances at the collapsed boy from time to time. From what I can remember based on my muddy consciousness earlier, he's probably the one arguing with the boy called... John, was it?

"...What I've done?" I asked in a confused tone, still kneeling on the floor. I really mean it. I don't know what I've done.

But I think I already have an idea about what he means. After seeing the corpse laid on the floor and the devastation of this entire place, I'm pretty sure this is related to what my body does when I enter that dream-like state.

"This is an interesting situation... It's black now... So her hair color is just a sign of the change, huh?" murmured the man to himself, although I could still hear it fine from here.

I'm really confused right now.

I looked towards my poor limbless friend on the floor, since I noticed that she wanted to say something.

"Redgie... I'll never forgive you..." she weakly said to me before resting head and finally closed her eyes.

...What a cruel thing to say, isn't it? Not that I can't understand where she's coming from.

Oh, but the pain in my chest is slowly going away...

Wait, I just noticed, but why are my cheeks wet? Am I crying all this time without knowing it?

The sound of gunshots entered my ears and holes were drilled into my body. 6 gunshots in total, all from a single gun.

Both of my knees were shot, my elbows and shoulders too. He hit all the joints on my limbs. I could feel my body being shot as the bullets pierced my bone and flesh, but I can't feel the pain. Still, I could feel blood pouring out of my body. All of it feels weird.

Ah... Earlier, only my legs were unable to move. Now, I can't even move my arms anymore. But it's okay, the only pain, the one in my chest, is starting to go away.

"I apologize, but I have to do this. Be grateful because we were originally gonna have to kill you," said the man who shot me while reloading his gun. The four other men behind him began approaching me too, all while pointing their guns at me.

Oh well, I'm starting to get sleepy too.

"Oh my... Ivan, her hair is turning back into red. What do we do?"

"Let's just hope she doesn't regenerate like a cheating bastard. If all else fails, let's try throwing the boy at her."

Those were the last words I heard before I closed my eyes and blacked out.

<><><><><><><><>

....Yes, that's right. That's what happened.

I never entered the dream-like state after that.

And now my consciousness is back again.

But why am I in such a dark place?

"....."

"....."

"....."

"....."

"....."

"....."

"....."

"....."

This silence is scary.

Is this the afterlife? Is this hell?

Did I finally go crazy and went to kill off myself?

Maybe I deserved it after all... But where's my Mom and Dad? They should be in here too since this is the afterlife.

All of a sudden, I felt a touch on my right hand even though I don't see anything.

Why did I just feel something in this-- Auuugghhh!!! Uggghhhh!

Dammit! My chest hurts again! Why! Why why why why!

Isn't this supposed to be the afterlife? Why is there still pain!?

I can't even move my body to press on my chest.

Aaaghhh!!

Someone...! Anyone...!

Help....

"....."

"....."

"....."

"....."

"....."

"....."

"....."

Despite the pain and my cries for help inside my mind, I only received one thing as a response.

Silence.

......

....

..

.

I don't like this.

My chest still hurts.