14 Chapter 14

Tom was walking towards the streets of Hometown, wearing his usual black hoodie with his bag hanging on his shoulder. His hands are all inside his pockets while he was looking downward.

The dusk finally approaches Hometown without him noticed. Even until now, he didn't know if he was really himself.

Was it all a dream? A floating question resides on his mind. If it was, it was all strange and creepy. Nothing could be more terrifying than to live by killing or being killed by everyone around. He never got the second thoughts when he opened his eyes this morning, got up on bed and pictured everything to be seemed normal for him. He was on his room and his mom was waking him for almost five minutes as his clock still ticks loudly.

As he blinked, he thought nothing different. He ate breakfast and saw his little sister who got her usual teasing for him. Despite that, Tom never knew how flustered his family was at the entire breakfast, looking at his face that is so blank. He was so pale and neither his eyes blinks, as if he was a living dead. His mom asked him questions, but he just nods.

He left the house and found his usual way towards his university. That way is exactly opposite towards Crowfire High School. He felt as if that time being at his high school happened just so recently, so recently he almost took the way back.

But he was already in his last year in college. His mind reminded him once again.

He wondered about Lava. He remembered the last time he saw her, right that day they went to the sun shrine and made their wishes. It was just the day before, right before something happened he can't remember.

That deal with Psyche. Was it all a dream? Right after he saw her in Mount Olympus, he felt he was almost leaped from time and was lost in the sense of it. When he woke up this morning, everything seemed to be normal, and what he experienced is just a long terrifying dream.

He remembered the stress of fighting Lion King High once again, not in the volleyball court but in that death game, of course. If Crowfire didn't die, then it resembles their practice match back then. Immediately, Crowfire High will battle for the district tournament in Acespire City, fighting Green Lizard High, Tuberculosis High, Herring Gull and Falco Peregrinus High specifically in that order of events before they go to the national competition held in the Capitol. There, they defeated Lion King High and Blue Owl High, making Tom the Little Giant, and Crowfire High, a lengend.

Tom was almost heading to the university gate when his cellphone rang. It was just then he realized it was vibrating. It was vibrating the entire time of his walk.

He stopped and read the message. He got almost 20 miscalls from Hammer. He gripped his phone as it lights on his hand. He trembled and his own hand vibrated with it.

His teeth gnashed when his eyes read the message, "Good morning Tom. Where are you? You are late for our morning practice for the Inter-High."

"Airhead! The coach is very mad right now. Where are you?" It was the next message from Toby.

He rose up his head and gazed upon the university grounds. His very eyes saw the grand carpet hanging on the building, "Only Acerspire University: 2118 National Champions"

"2119?" he suddenly uttered without him noticing while his eyes stuck on that carpet.

"Hey kid, are you alright? Are you lost?" Tom just heard and he turned back. Behind him was a tall man, wearing the same as him. He gripped his phone while his mouth trembled. The man patted his head and said, "At your age, you can't go to college yet. Would you like me to find your big brother? A volleyball fan, perhaps."

He felt scared. He pushed the man's torso and sped up running away.

"What's happening? What's happening? What's happening?" he murmured repeatedly while running on full speed. He ran without knowing where to go.

"2118!" he shouted while on his way. Then, the thoughts came back to him. It was exactly eight years ago when he first entered Crowfire. He asked himself once more, "What is happening?"

All he thought of tracing things back were all blank and fading. He can't remember anything about it. He just remembered he was supposed to be in college, and that life back in Crowfire was all in that past—eight years ago, this year.

His cellphone rang again. He stopped at the magazine bookstore and answered the call.

"Hello?" He called out. His eyes darted on the bookstore. He felt something strange when he saw an old man on the counter. It was someone he knew. He was someone he thought he knew. From what he could recall, it was his coach Emberbright's grandfather, Grandpop Emberbright.

The man smiled at him as he met his gaze out there.

"Tom, where are you? Why aren't you answering my calls? Are you sick?" It was a voice of a familiar man, his coach Grandson Emberbright.

"What? No, I am on my way there." he said so casual that the words made their own ways for being uttered.

He ran, letting his feet to take its way all by themselves until the moment the horizon of Crowfire High School was in front of his very eyes.

Tom's chest heaves in and out while catching his breath. He clasped his hands as he stood in the very gate. Without hesitation, he ran through the alleys towards the volleyball gym. He grabbed the handle of the gym door and pulled it on their opposite sides.

"Good morning!" he shouted while gripping the handle tightly.

All of his team mates turned their heads on the door when they heard his voice.

Hammer immediately ran through him and grabbed his shoulder. He said, "Come on and get changed. We have a lot to do."

"Sorry for being late." Tom muttered. He tended to remember why he was late but his excitement lured his attention away.

He soon forgot about his worries.

Tom after he changed clothes, stood at the volleyball gym. From his point of view, on the other side of the net were his teammates, back then. They were here with him again, playing another match for practice. There was Thunder, Thor, Hammer and the other second years. He turned his head behind him as he saw Toby, Brimstone, Coal, and the others. He never knew he grinned and his muscles started to warm up while trembling. He seemed to feel it was another day for him to play volleyball, like yesterday, the day before and the day before that, down to his first day being here at Crowfire.

Tom almost bowed his head down when a sudden impulse of excitement electrocuted him. He blinked his eyes, until he saw a tall shadow covering above him.

He quickly rose up his head, then saw a very tall boy in very front of him, on the other side of the net. He has yellow hair and sport glasses on his eyes. The boy looked at him very sharp and seriousness painted his face.

He didn't know who that boy was. It is the first time meeting him. He can't remember the day he had a team mate like him so tall. It seems that boy is the tallest among them. And according to his position, he was also a middle blocker, like Tom himself.

Tom's jaw dropped. Daunt drives through his nerves, freezing his muscles, making his a statue in front of the boy.

"Tom! Smoke! Enough with that. Game start!" a sharp call bugged his ears. At the end of the net was their coach Grandson Emberbright, standing on a scaffold, holding the ball.

"Roger!" both of them responded.

"What's your problem?" the boy whispered as he turns his back on Tom.

Tom just gulped. He thought something was strange. That boy, he thought, can't be Smoke. It was another person. He knew Smoke in another person, with brown hair and not that tall. It was like yesterday he saw him, but now, he was entirely different.

As the game play started, Tom moved, running, spiking, flashing over against the blockers and the net. But behind his play, he can't get rid of his raging thoughts, making him splatter different emotions running on his head.

"Bring it to me!" he shouted, bending his knees for a spring jump. There are three blockers in front of him.

He felt Toby's toss coming from the right. The air flashed and ran and as the ball takes it trajectory. He saw, the blockers bending their knees while their hands are rising above their heads with their palms fully opened. The ball comes. He saw it. Then hit it with his palm. The blockers jumped, walling his spike, but his eyes darted, directing the ball on Thunder's highest fingertip.

Tom felt he was floating in the air that he lands on the floor so slow until he felt his feet touched the ground. The ball whizzed above the heads of the blockers few more feet. The others alerted, running towards the direction of the ball. All of them dove, spreading their arms on the floor.

The ball hit the line of the court. No one caught it.

Tom had a sharp smile lining on his face. His team mates on the other side of the court, stood slowly, Thunder grabbed the ball. Then, all of them looked at Tom straight to his eyes.

Tom gasped when he noticed them looking and pausing before him. He turned his back. Toby trembled while nailing his dilated pupils on Tom. Even his coach held his jaw dropped while bulging his eyes before him.

Toby uttered, on trembling voice, "What was that, air head?"

Tom saw that tall boy, Smoke approaching him behind the net. Tom looked at him as he reached his very front.

"Just like the little giant. My big brother tended to be his team mate back then when he was here at Crowfire. And now, it seems it was our turn, Tom." the boy said so soft, almost like a whisper. The boy never smiled ever since he first met him this day.

"What?" Tom uttered. But I am the Little Giant. Can it be this was Smoke's younger brother Ash?

The boy just turn away but Tom never left his eyes on him. It so strange.

"Alright, we are dismissed for now. Gather this afternoon for practice after classes." Grandson Emberbright announced.

While they are leaving the gym, Toby pulled Tom's shoulder right before he passed the door. Toby gripped it very tight, it almost ached.

"Awww. Let go. What's your problem?" Tom whined. He threw Toby's hand out of his shoulder.

"What was that? Are you trying to impress everyone? When did you learn that technique?" Toby burst out yelling.

"What? What do you mean? We tend to practice that back then!" Tom answered straight. But when the thought struck his mind, he grabbed his mouth. He almost vomits to what he said.

"Are you half-awake taking your dreams into reality? You are supposed to spike the ball with your eyes closed, like the usual. I don't give you the right to grab the praises for an attack." Toby still his voice never slowed down. And all of their team mates looked at them even they are far enough from the gym door.

"Such an egocentric King of the court." Coal immediately butted in when he heard them.

"Yeah, don't hinder him to hone his unraveled skills, Toby. You two are our major weapons in the tournament. It was the team who plays, not only you." Hammer then spoke out. They didn't saw him running back for them.

"Well, maybe the Tom you are with now came form the future and gave you hints for your development, isn't it?" Coal joked then laughed while his hands are on his waist. He continued, "Let's ask Tom if we are going to win the first match this coming Inter-High."

No one actually laughed that made him look like an idiot.

"Whatever." Toby looked far behind as he answered.

Tom gripped his hands tightly as the trembling grew through his entire body. Every word he heard hit his nerves. He doesn't even know why and how.

"What are you saying?" he asked inside his mind. He tried to think of it for those few seconds. He tried to remember but nothing flashed on his mind.

He felt those things actually make sense but there's nothing in his mind to help him to prove it. What was it? What was it? Why am I so bothered? The questions immediately sprung up on him and eventually hungered for answers. It was just yesterday he had been with these guys, but there's a feeling streaming on him that he had been with them quite that far long before he met them again. What was happening? Neither himself doesn't know how to get into the sense of it.

"Hey! Green Lizard High was our first opponent. Are we going to win against them on Inter-High Tom?" Coal's voice again spoke out.

Then a familiar voice uttered in his mind. It was a girl's voice, "Oh... You will get the hang of it. I am looking forward for your first kill...Kill Green Lizard and you'll see."

Then he remembered the nightmare he was in.