[Sera]

Opening my eyes, I see nothing. Pitch black, not even a slight bits of light.

Did they turn off the light?

Propping myself up, the smoothness and softness of a bed(?) touched my palms. My legs swung over the edge of the bed and I stood up. Cold, hard floor greeted my feet, which I realized were bare. No lights, no shoes. Is this some kind of prank? With my arms outstretched, I tried to feel for light switches that would be on the walls.

Strange. Where are the walls?

Wandering around blindly, I continued to feel for something. Anything.

Half-expecting my knees or shins to slam into furniture, I traipsed in the darkness slowly.

No sound echoed in the pitch-black, not even the sounds of my footsteps. It was only me and the darkness.

"H-Hello?" I timidly called out. "J-Jieun?"

It's funny how I called her name. Guess I do treat her as a friend.

I continued to shuffle my feet, taking small and timid steps in the inky darkness. All of a sudden, I felt liquid at my feet.

Water?

Stopping in my tracks, the liquid rose up to my ankles.

The smell of raw iron and earth, the smell of copper, the smell of wet metal.

This definitely isn't water. It smells lik–

I yelped when I felt coldness at my knees. , it's already at my knees!? Where is this liquid coming from?!

I panicked. I slushed around, feeling the liquid gathering height on my legs as I tried to make my way back to the bed I was lying on. Where is it?!

Unknowingly, the liquid had arrived at my chest. Keeping my arms above it, I continued to search for the bed. Where is that ing bed!?

My throat felt the liquid and it was crushing. My hands immediately came down and I regretted the decision. It only heightened my suspicion of the mysterious liquid.

I tilted my head up, unwilling to let it enter my mouth as I gasped desperately for air.

It made it to my chin.

I tried to lift my legs up in an attempt to swim upwards but the liquid weighed them down. In fact, it kept the whole of me down.

"H-Help!" Just before it reached my opened mouth and slowly trickled in, I made a last desperate attempt to swim upwards.

I failed.

By then I was a hopeless wreck. Tears kept flowing from my eyes while I kept shouting and screaming, thrashing wildly in slow movements.

I refused to let my tongue in the liquid even as it filled my mouth. I spat it out continuously but as it reached up to my nostrils, I knew I was a goner.

I could only see the colour of black.

My feet no longer felt the cold hard floor. Instead, it felt like I was suspended in mid-air, by the liquid which I've confirmed the moment it touched my tongue as it forcefully filled my mouth.

Holding my breath with whatever oxygen I've breathed in before it reached my nostrils, I kept my eyes open but it was hard. The liquid was heavy, and sticky to the touch. It weighed me down but kept me afloat slightly; it rendered my movements slow so I decided not to move any longer.

I didn't shout, nor did I thrash. No more strangled cries escaped my lips but tears continued to stream down my cheeks.

No wait, scratch that.

Surrounded by the liquid, I can no longer feel anything. I didn't know if it was the liquid or my own tears that stained my cheeks. Either way, I'm doomed.

As the oxygen in my lungs gradually ran out, I could feel my consciousness slipping away. Taking one last look at the inky-blackness that I've been looking at for who-knows-how-long, I closed my eyes and let my thoughts run free.

Only death awaits me.

Death by blood.

[Jieun]

I sat next to her as she laid still on the bed.

The nurse had diagnosed her situation as a mild concussion, and she most probably fell asleep after getting herself hit in the face by the ball.

Ugh. That ball by that .

A scowl formed on my face, but a triumphant smirk slowly replaced it as I recalled our win over her class.

A loud strangled cry scared the bej