With a groggy mind and unfocused gaze, I found myself struggling to focus — turning inward just like any other day, I started to dwell more into my imagination.
Even the murmuring of my peers seemed muffled at this point. Resisting the urge to doze off and slip into my own daydreams, my spine stiffened as I looked outside the window.
Grey clouds hanging low in the sky, swallowing the afternoon. Veins of purple lightning pulsing through them. Mist smothering the entirety of the mountains at the horizon.
From a bird's-eye view I saw many students walking by and chattering in their own circles.
"Done enjoying the scenery?"
Feeling a light grip on my shoulder, my heart skipped a beat.
—Gulp
"..Do you want a pillow?" With a kind smile, a woman with a calm expression and a petite frame — my professor — scrutinized me.
A moment later the ones at the front benches erupted in laughter. Blinking twice, I felt an urge to disappear.
"Dev!? What did you understand by my explanation of the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs?"
My eyes widened as I looked away, feeling many gazes lingering on me. I wanted to die.
..Why me, out of all people?
Jolting up, a shadow fell over the professor — but her smile never wavered.
"M-Maslow Hierarchy of N-Needs, hehe…" my voice cracked as she opened her eyes coldly, looking at me.
"..Hehe?.. Did I tell you a joke?"
The room around me went silent, all murmuring shutting down. It would be comical to see a lady who barely reached my collarbone in height being so intimidating.
—Gulp.
But she was.
—RUMBLE
A deafening roar resounded from the sky as I felt a sudden ache in my heart, the ground beneath us starting to tremble.
"Ahhh, an earthquake!!"
Some students rushed toward the door, falling over each other, as I collapsed back onto the bench behind me.
"S-SH*T!!!"
Cries of students echoed through the entire room. Checking my phone as I hid under a bench with a girl who usually sat behind me, I found out there was no longer any signal.
The tremors didn't stop, and I knew if they became even a bit more intense, all of us would die.
The university campus consisted of three large buildings, and the terrain wouldn't let anyone survive the rubble even if we made it out of this block.
At this moment I really wanted to trust the government's sincerity which took twenty years to make this building. [A/N it's a joke for the context — a building like that might take five years at most, perhaps even two, idk I'm not an architect, but due to corruption and all it usually stretches to a decade, sometimes even more.]
Looking at the girl with specs who was shivering, eyes tightly shut, hands covering her ears, a thought crossed my mind.
If I'm about to die, why should I die with a regret, hey!?
Shaking my head, I rejected the thought.
The tremors continued for another five minutes at a constant magnitude before stopping.
Taking a sigh of relief, I stood up — only to stumble over the girl who still held herself as if the building was about to fall.
"A-Are you okay?"
I distanced myself, hesitating to offer her a hand. Dusting off her clothes, she looked at me — disgust flashing in her eyes.
My mouth opened to retort, but looking around the classroom, everyone was in a similar kind of mess — some students fallen over each other near the door, others scattered in random spots around the room.
As I looked across the classroom, now in complete disarray, my eyes widened at a figure collapsed onto the floor barely five steps away.
"Professor Tsering!?" I rushed over and helped her to her feet.
She held her forehead as blood dripped from between her fingers.
"S-Shit!" I cursed.
Looking outside, my face turned pale — the world was engulfed in darkness. But ignoring that, I helped Professor Tsering sit on a desk.
She didn't speak, just held her forehead. Looking closer, I realised she was having trouble breathing.
"..A concussion!?" I mumbled.
My mind went blank as I took a few steps back in horror. The sight of blood dripping down her forehead made it hard to form any clear thought.
But before I knew it, other students started to gather around her.
I felt it.
My lips parted, my chest rose and fell. At that moment I realised just how weak my guts actually are.
Covering my arms and lowering my head onto the table, I sat in the back corner completely alone. Most of the students were gathered around Professor Tsering, helping her get to medical care.
I thought for a moment that I too would help her — but seeing so many students already there just made me back off.
"..It's going to be fine," I whispered as I closed my eyes.
"Owww!!???.. WHAT IS T-THIS!?"
My pupils shrank. I jolted upright at the cries coming from students near the window — then almost half the class rushed toward it, excluding the ones helping Professor Tsering get to the hospital.
Still sitting in my seat, I didn't have to walk toward the window — but what I saw made a shiver run down my spine.
"..W-What!?"
Looking at the clock, it showed 2:00 PM — but looking outside, it was absurd. It was as if night had descended.
My brows twitched as I walked toward another window where only a few girls stood looking outside.
It was like a moonless night — nothing in sight but complete darkness. Soon the lights started to flicker, and suddenly the room fell into complete darkness.
My heart sank as cold sweat covered my back.
The entire room fell into a chilly silence with the power out. I reached for something to steady myself — but fell onto someone instead.
—Agh.
—SLAP.
The sound echoed through the entire classroom, a stinging sensation burning on my cheek with each passing moment.
..It burns.
A flashlight came on and I finally saw a face inches apart from my own — a girl with short brown hair and hazel eyes, fair skin and delicate features. With a flustered expression she looked at me with utter disgust.
".. It! Was —"
—SLAP.
The power came back on and I felt all the gazes of the students land only on me.
"DAMNED PIG!!" someone shouted from the back.
"Did he grab her!?"
"Tch, pervert!"
Many students cursed me as I tried to stand up. I saw someone walking toward me.
—SLAM.
Before I could stand, a kick landed in my gut. Taking support from a nearby desk I stood up, holding back the nausea churning in my stomach — but before I could speak, a fist came crashing directly into my face.
Never in my life.
A silence fell as the girl with short hair and hazel eyes held herself, covering her chest, tears filling her eyes.
Never in my life had I felt so humiliated.
Shouts erupted as more people came. I was pinned down but shielded myself — what followed was a barrage of punches and kicks. I didn't know why, but I felt my mind going numb.
Yes! Kill me.
For some reason the sensation was painful, yet I wanted it to be more intense. This humiliation was something I had never felt in my life. I wanted to die.
* * *
"Still no signal!" A shout came, and now the entire class consisted of only five or six individuals.
Looking at the ceiling, I wished for all of them to disappear. Soon another five left, leaving only a girl who was reading a book while trying to maintain a strong front — but she couldn't hide her shaking hands.
I somehow felt my mind becoming extremely clear, and for some unknown reason I found it much easier to stare directly at people dead in the eyes.
Looking at the one male student who gave me a glance — our eye contact lasted five seconds before he sneered and left.
Nothing happened for a few moments, and I found it hard to ignore the thoughts of self-harm.
"..Hey, you okay?"
Looking at the girl with specs, I looked at her blankly. She was nothing striking — dark waist-length hair, brunette skin, features slightly above average.
Looking down, I nodded and said, "What makes you think I'm not a perv? I fell over you too," with a faint smile.
A silence hung in the air. She didn't speak. Finally, breaking the silence, she spoke.
"B-Because you read… Kafka."
The repulsion I had felt a moment ago seemed to calm a bit. I didn't want to answer — but I also found it hard to ignore her presence.
"So what?" I said.
Blinking twice, she looked at me with pity. For a moment she didn't say anything, then shaking her head she sat a few rows in front of me.
It had been thirty minutes and the same darkness remained outside. My phone still showed no signal and the clock showed 3:00 PM.
Opening my camera, I saw my own condition.
My face wasn't very messed up — there were some bruises but no visible swelling. But as for my body… it fucking hurt.
Looking again, it actually kind of made sense. My face was bloated and I had a patchy beard and uneven skin. I quickly laughed.
"Figures."
—ROAR.
A deafening roar resounded as the world around me shook — as if another wave of the earthquake had come. But this time it stopped after five seconds.
A bright light came like a flash of lightning. Dazed by it, I stood up. It took two minutes or so for my eyes to adjust.
Dragging myself toward the window, what I saw made me feel as if I was standing inside a dream.
Grey clouds parted — all of it covered in a golden divine radiance — and what followed were many figures falling from within it. From afar they all seemed like black dots, but as time passed.
It started to rain. But not from the clouds. The rain fell from the golden crack between the skies.
Next to me stood the same girl with specs, shaking, to my left.
"Is it a dream?" she mumbled.
Looking at her and then at the sky, I shook my head. None of it seemed real. A thought crossed my mind.
"Is it the end of the world?" I didn't realise when my lips moved.
She looked at me. I saw her face losing all color, tears gathering in her eyes.
"..I don't want to die," she said softly, her voice trembling.