Chapter Text
“You can tell it’s dark at night,” Hero comments, noting the scattered clouds clearing the full moon. “Should give me time to get home.”
The young man strolls down the country road, making his way home from the university. After the events at the hospital, he and Kel found themselves apart for a few days during the summer. He was determined to concentrate on his studies, aiming to complete his course to enjoy the vacation with his family and friends. “I know this course. That’s where that house should be.”
Under the shimmering moonlight, Hero turns his gaze to the right, where he notices a building that seems to have been left behind, overtaken by the encroaching tall grasses.
He stops to look at the building as old memories emerge from years ago. Mari and Hero often spent time here in solitude, just as their childhood friends did when they gathered for playdates. He found it hard to believe that it had been years, and he was no longer a child. Hero lets out a deep sigh, lost in memories of his friend who has passed away. The gloomy days engulfed him in sorrow, leaving a heavy burden in his stomach as he struggled to move forward, convinced that he was to blame.
He could still recall his friend’s admission, where he took the blame for causing pain to him and the rest. He felt a mix of relief that Mari had chosen life over death, yet he couldn’t shake the guilt of not recognizing the burden his friend was carrying. How could he possibly assess the situation when he feared losing a friend? To him, everything was utterly insignificant. The burden of guilt still lingers within him. It’s still there, debilitating.
Only recently has he seen his friend more cheerful and recovered. As a parting gift was a flower. A blue rose. Everything pointed to the fact that there was no longer anything to be afraid of. No bitterness or guilt.
“No. That’s enough. Thinking about such things serves no purpose. I can’t go home looking like this.”
With that said, Hero walks away from the house. He has to hurry before it gets completely dark and he can’t find the neighborhood lights, especially when his stomach is growling.
Hero thinks about what he will have at home to eat. Ever since he arrived at the university, an abysmal hunger ruled in him mercilessly. No matter how much he ate, the hunger didn’t seem to go away.
With a heavy sigh, the boy struggles to hold back the gnawing hunger. He must be close by now, but his vision is getting blurry. Aware of the hunger pangs, he retrieves a beef jerky bar to satisfy his cravings, yet his eyes remain blurred on the scene before him. This must have been a serious issue, as he collapsed in the hallway and needed to spend some time recuperating in bed.
Nevertheless, the determined boy continues his journey home, keeping the heat of his famine bottled up inside. Right now, he has to finish all the food he can get his hands on.
He shouldn’t faint and worry his family. Don’t make the same mistake of doing damage.
With each piece of dried meat he devoured, his vision seemed to deteriorate further. His legs quiver, leading to a rather awkward and ungraceful gait. Hero expresses his frustration. He pauses to regain his calm and notices that the lights are nearby. He is just about to reach his house.
“Just a little more...” Hero senses he will soon reach his destination. He walks with the hope his hunger will leave his body.
He gets to step on the asphalt he had so longed for. His face is drenched, a testament to the intensity of his suppressed hunger, as he gazes at the spot where he once stood. He was familiar with the site and the machine beside him. “A generator... Then to the right... and up... I reach home...”
Hero stumbles forward, his heartbeat pounding in his ears, drowning out everything around him. Beneath the glow of the streetlights, Hero collapses to his knees, breathless and gasping for air. It hasn’t even taken him ten steps to get away from that machine.
As always, he resists the urge to be dominated by his hunger, using his apprehension as fuel to propel himself onward. Hero collapses to the ground, engulfed in deepness, consumed by a desperate will to survive. As he struggles, he’s leaving his family behind, anxiously waiting for him on the street, their hearts heavy and cold as the lifeless body lies there.
“C’mon… Please…” He begs, launching his last will to move, and he passes out.
Kel…
Hero wakes up in the dark and feels chilly dampness on his back. He soon realizes that he is lying on the ground. He tries to get up but moves slowly because his body is exhausted.
His back creaks as if he had slept in an uncomfortable position. He mumbles what has happened and remembers the streetlight. With a sharp intake of breath, he glances around, only to discover that the location where he had collapsed had vanished entirely. In fact, he has no idea where it is.
“Oh no, no, no... Where am I!?” Hero hisses in pain on his left side. He has no recollection of anything since he lost consciousness, much less any time he was hit on his side. None of this makes any sense.
He looks around but sees only trees. The lights he stumbled upon are no longer there.
Hero buries his face in his hands, overwhelmed by the realization that he has failed to find his way home and is now wandering aimlessly in the forest. But why is he there and not in the street? What happened?
He’s experiencing a sharp pain on his left side, and his appetite isn’t leading him into trouble. Sometimes, Hero succumbs to hunger and passes out, waking up to find that he feels less inclined to eat. That was consistent except for being away from the town.
Who brought him there? Dwelling on it won’t help him, especially since his family is likely anxious about him being late. Hero doesn’t want to scare his brother after he says he is coming home.
Unsure of his direction, he trusts his instincts to lead him toward a sign that will guide him back home.
Hero strides toward the trees, acutely aware of the pain coursing through every part of his body. He dismisses it and walks right on in. Nothing seemed to hint at the right way for him to proceed.
He gazes at the trees, noticing that they all appear identical. His eyes are fixed on the ground, where he sees neither a familiar stone nor any buildings in the distance. Before fully accepting that he’s lost, a glimmer of light appears unexpectedly among the trees in the distance.
Hope boosts his morale. Hero walks towards the light that shines brightly every time he approaches. Is it a flashlight or a vehicle?
“Please, someone...” The boy stammers, shuffling his feet a few inches, feeling the soreness spread further. “Help me.”
As Hero approaches the light, a heat wave passes over him, stopping his feet. That sudden temperature change made him assume he was wrong. Not only that, but he smells smoke. Something’s burning. Is someone building a fire in the forest? He doesn’t care. He must get help.
“Hey! I’m lost!” He shouts for the person to hear him but receives only silence. The heat is more scorching than it turns out; it’s not a bonfire but something worse. The light shines too intensely, and a fear that once haunted him has finally been put to rest.
It’s the building that happened before, and it’s burning. Who did it? That doesn’t matter now. If it continues like this, the fire will reach the forest and the village. If that happens, his friends will lose their home, and his family too. He can’t turn this night into a nightmare.
He’s finally aware of his location and needs to head down to the village to contact the fire department. Just as he was ready to take action, the sound of sirens echoed from afar. Hero gasps in relief that help is on the way.
“Good… Help is coming… I should be—” Coughing interrupts his voice.
Hero looks at the window above, suggesting that the coughing is coming from there. There is no one living in that house. In his childhood, it was consistently locked away. Who’s in there?
He hears another cough until it stops. He gazes quietly out the window, feeling a deep intuition that someone is trapped and has lost consciousness. That person is suffering, and Hero is watching helplessly. Someone is dying, and he does nothing. He is letting the mistake repeat. Inside that building, Mari’s voice pierces the air, her body caught in the blaze.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Hero rushes to the door, only to find it securely locked. He knocks until getting the choice of ramming the door down. Inside the house, it is extremely hot. The heat is so intense that it makes his eyes water, and Hero finds himself coughing from the thick smoke surrounding him. With narrowed eyes, he looks around in search of the stairs that would take him to the upper floor.
Hero goes up the stairs. At the bottom of the burning room, he finds a person lying on a couch. He approaches carefully, not touching the flames.
The ground shakes with a deafening rumble, sending Hero crashing toward the person sprawled out, and he hears her let out a soft groan. He rises to steady himself and inspects the individual. It’s a girl with flowing black hair. His heart races wildly at the sight before him.
“Mari?” says Hero, though he could barely hear himself over the sirens and flames crackling in the place. In an instant, the tremor intensifies with overwhelming power, and he bellows as fiercely as the flames that caused him to falter against the fainting girl, yet he resolutely stands his ground, refusing to harm her. Hero holds off on the questions; they need to get moving right away.
The girl is coughing, and Hero takes her into his arms.
He strides toward the staircase, braving the smoke that fills his lungs. The exit is near, and he only needs a few steps to escape. Out of nowhere, the ceiling begins to cave in, showering the room with blazing debris pouring onto the floor. The path to the door becomes increasingly treacherous, and Hero senses himself slipping into darkness.
The young man steps ahead, observing shadowy figures resonating with raspy voices as Hero departs from the scene. “Made it...” he whispers, falling to the ground, still holding the girl.
After that, Hero listens to the hushed voices and looks at the girl, hoping she is okay. He closes his eyes and falls asleep.
Despite feeling exhausted, the brightness still irritates him. He hears adult voices and unbearable beeps; he is thankful that he didn’t have the strength to hit the stupid machine. Between closed eyes, Hero notices the ceiling is familiar to him. Including the smell. He was here. He just feels like he’s alone.
“Where am I? I was here...” asks Hero, rolling his exhausted eyes. He can barely move as exhaustion reigns in him. He wonders how he got here and remembers the firefighters' sirens arriving at the burning house.
Other than that, Hero remembered that girl. She was no longer in his arms... Maybe she should be in a separate room. She would have severe burns and poisoning from the smoke. Hero whispers a prayer, hoping for her survival, and perhaps he can see her again.
A doubt runs through his mind. What is she doing locked up in that house? Did someone enter that place and abandon it to burn her?
He can’t think of such things when his body isn’t functioning properly. Better leave such things to the fire department and the police. He needs to consider how to explain to his family why he didn’t make it home and ended up waking up in the hospital instead. Hero wants to say sorry for scaring them. Most notably, his little brother. He shouldn’t scare him after that.
In his thoughts, Hero hears coughing to his left. He moves his head to the source of the sound but sees only a curtain. He can’t see who it is, but knows it’s from that girl. She is admitted next to him. In a weak attempt, Hero manages to utter a few words.
“Are… okay?”
Silence replies to him.
Hero sighs. She doesn’t seem to respond, and it shouldn’t bother her. It’s best if he goes back to rest and waits for the doctor or nurse.
“Hey! Where’s Hero!?”
Or saying hello to his family. Hero can’t be more than happy to meet his little brother.