Ah… my head… it feels like it's splitting apart. A sharp pulse of pain shoots through my skull, my vision swimming in and out of focus. Cold metal presses against my skin, the air thick with the sterile scent of machinery and something acrid like burnt wires.
Blinding white lights flicker overhead, illuminating sleek metallic walls and glowing panels lining the corridor. The hum of unseen machines vibrates through my bones. This place… it's advanced, too clean, too controlled. Where am I?
My body is heavy, unresponsive, my legs dragging uselessly against the smooth floor. I'm being carried no, dragged. Strong arms hold me firm, yet there's a tremor in their grip.
I force my hazy vision to focus on the one carrying me. Even from behind, I know that figure. The way he moves, the slight hesitation in each step it's someone I know.
But something is wrong.
The dim glow of holographic screens reflects off his face as he glances back, and my breath catches.
Tears.
They streak silently down his face, falling without a sound.
Why?
My heart pounds against my ribs, fear crawling up my spine. Where is he taking me?
And why does it feel like I won't be coming back?
A sharp gasp tore from my lips as I jolted awake, my chest rising and falling in uneven breaths. My vision swam, the world tilting as if I were still trapped in that place. My fingers dug into the sheets beneath me—soft fabric, not cold metal. The rhythmic hum of machines was gone, replaced by the faint rustling of the wind outside.
A dream.
No… that wasn't right. It felt too real. The ache in my head, the weight in my chest, the distant echo of footsteps fading into nothing.
But no matter how hard I tried, the details slipped through my grasp like grains of sand.
"Agh…" I pressed a hand to my forehead, willing the throbbing pain away.
It was just a dream.
Nothing more.
I exhaled sharply, pushing the lingering unease aside.
Whatever it was, it didn't matter.
I just had to forget it.
I glance at the clock.it was already Eight o'clock.
Damn it. If I don't hurry, the professor's going to be impossible to deal with.
I move quickly, grabbing my phone as I get dressed. A notification lingers on the screen, an unread message. It was dad.
For a second, my breath catches.
But as I looked through it, the feeling fades.
A single text.
"I won't be home tonight."
As if he ever comes home.
Shoving the phone into my pocket, I ignored the message and rushed out the door.
I sprinted across campus, dodging past students, my heart pounding from the effort. Somehow, against all odds, I made it to class just before the lecture began. Slipping into my seat, I tried to catch my breath, my chest rising and falling rapidly.
As the professor started speaking, time blurred. Words drifted past me, distant and ungraspable. One moment, the lecture had just begun then, before I knew it, it was over.
It was as if I had skipped time itself, the present vanishing before I could hold onto it.
Before I realized it, the lunch break had arrived.
I sighed, debating my next move. Should I go eat? The thought alone was exhausting pushing through the crowd, waiting in an endless line at the cafeteria. Yeah… no thanks. I wasn't going to die from skipping one meal.
Letting the laziness settle in, I slumped forward, resting my head on my folded arms. Slowly, my body relaxed, melting into the atmosphere, drifting between wakefulness and sleep.
But it didn't last long.
A persistent shaking jolted me back.
Someone was grabbing my arm, shaking it repeatedly. When that didn't work, a voice whispered near my ear.
"Are you dead… or just deaf?"
My temper snapped.
Son of a—!
Nope. Don't say it. Breathe. Hold it in.
With a slow inhale, I forced my eyes open, dragging myself back to reality.
To my surprise, it was just a little girl yeah, a little girl!!! How the hell did a kid get in here? This took me by surprise, and as I scratched my head, I asked if she was lost or something.
But instead of gratitude, I got a fist to the gut.
She looked seriously pissed, grabbed my collar, and shouted, "I am NOT a kid! I'm a young lady!"
Amidst all this commotion, another uninvited guest appeared, trying to calm her down. And thanks to him, her tantrum finally settled.
Now, maybe, we could actually have a normal conversation and figure out what kind of hellish situation we were in.
As silence settled, my gears finally started turning. Something about that girl felt familiar. And then it hit me she was the same girl from that chemical accident. No wonder I had that weird sense of déjà vu.
Finally piecing it together, I straightened up and asked, "Why are you two here?"
The girl started talking, but I tuned her out and turned to the guy instead. "You explain."
And just like that, she exploded.
"What the hell is your problem?!" she barked, cursing me out like I had personally ruined her entire life.
I sighed. Yep, she definitely had a problem with me. But, funnily enough, her own companion ignored her just like I did. Instead, he got straight to the point.
"Hi, Adam. I'm Kai, and this," he nodded toward the raging girl "is Sophie." Even now, she was glaring at me like she wanted me dead.
Kai continued, unfazed. "So, you're the new member in the club, right?"
Before answering, I needed to figure something out first. "How did you even find me? It's not like every new member is tracked from day one, right?"
A small chuckle escaped him before he broke into laughter. "You're famous, Adam. Did you already forget the chaos you caused the first time you stepped foot in the clubroom?"
Hearing it said out loud made me cringe a little. Yeah… now that he mentioned it, I might've left an impression. Unfazed, Kai continued.
"Besides, we haven't had any new members except you and her, so it wasn't exactly hard to figure out. Anyway, we're here to invite you to the welcome party for the new recruits. Everyone's gonna be there, so you're coming too. The location will be in the group chat just show up."
And just like that, he left, leaving me standing there, still trying to process everything.
A party, huh?
I muttered the word under my breath. He said everyone would be there, right? I guess I'd have to suit up and—
Wait.
He said everyone.
The realization hit me like a punch to the face. If everyone was going… that also meant Alice.
Yeah. I was fucked.