Bite

Navigating my way through the crowd, I finally found Mr Zheng, who was talking to Shirazaki. I can't really hear what they're saying because of the noisy crowd. I don't think I care anyway, so I decided to just approach them.

"-don't worry, they'll be handed in to the school. Ah, Mr Corbyn, I was going to look for you." Mr Zheng gave Shirazaki a thumbs up before turning to me. Shirazaki nodded to him and went off.

"I know, it's the plates. Let's hurry up and finish it." I went straight to the point, decided that I had enough talking for the day.

Mr Zheng didn't say anything, probably realized that I'm not up for talking, and motioned for me to follow while he carried a huge tray of plates.

I silently slipped my empty plate on to the pile while we walked. Despite I didn't like the aberrant meat, I still decided to finish it anyway. Wasting food is not my thing. I mean, I already look thin enough, so I should definitely eat more. Not to mention that if I were to waste food, I feel bad in me for not respecting the lives sacrificed for my meal to be produced.

Speaking of wasting food, I'm pretty sure I saw a pile of leftovers by the grill, what a waste. The others were able to enjoy the taste of mana, yet they never cherished their chance. Not gonna lie, I feel as if I'm being humiliated.

I continued to think as I followed Mr Zheng through the dark forest. The mana light hanging on Mr Zheng's waist illuminated the area as we silently progressed.

Finally, Mr Zheng broke the silence. "We're here."

I looked over him and saw a river not too far in front of us.

Huh, thought we're going to walk a lot more further, guess this river is closer than I thought.

I then took the dirty dishes and began rinsing them through the clear water, scratching away at the stubborn grease with the sponge Mr Zheng provided to me every so and often.

To my surprise, Mr Zheng washed the dishes with me. I was expecting him to return to camp since he's the only teacher around after all.

Maybe he put Shirazaki in charge? It's the only possibility I can think of, considering he was talking with her when I approached him.

"Rgh, so boring." Mr Zheng mumbled to himself halfway through the dishes. "Why must the authorities do this to us?"

The grumbling perked my interest, so I asked. "Do what?"

"The plates. They refused to let us bring the disposable ones, in case the students decided to litter it all over the place and polluting the environment, yada yada. Basically, environment preservation stuff."

"Oh... so that's why."

"Exactly, although I was thinking that even if we brought disposable ones we could just pack it up and throw it away when we're back in civilization. But they won't allow it because of the stupid protocol, and now we're stuck here washing the plates because of the lazy students I-"

That was when Mr Zheng realizing what was he saying and stopped halfway. "Sorry, I was rambling again. I shouldn't be telling you this. You already had your shares of troubles."

He laughed jokingly at himself.

"At least you can ramble." I said. "Even if I complain, nobody will be able to understand."

"..." Mr Zheng went silent, and we continued to wash the plates.

Man, we suck at conversations don't we?

Actually, it was me who suck at conversations. He always lighten up the mood by telling jokes, even though some of them are pretty stupid, but at least they do lift the mood, except when Ishraq is around, he's basically a Mr Zheng counter, always refusing to read the room.

I understand that Mr Zheng had been communicating with the people around me and tries to show me kindness. I know what he did, and I'm glad for that. But sometimes, I also blame myself for putting him through the trouble.

Sometimes I wish I can just disappear just so everyone else around me can have one less thing to worry about.

It's a stupid wish, I know. But it is the only thing I think I am capable of repaying their kindness, I'm too weak and helpless to really do anything to repay their kindness, so might as well stop accepting their kindness in the first place.

"Actually-" Mr Zheng broke the silence again, but was immediately interrupted.

"Mr Zheng!!"

We turned our heads and saw it was Shirazaki springing over to us. "It's Ishraq and Emily, they're fighting!"

Emily? Why? Did she got into a quarrel with Ishraq? Come to think of it, I haven't seen her around at dinner time as well.

"Coming!" Mr Zheng put down the dishes and stood up, but he didn't leave immediately, instead he was shooting glances at me.

"Go, don't worry, they cleared the forest of creatures, right? Then I should be fine cleaning the dishes here."

"Fine, just... wait for me, OK?" He seemed like he was about to say something else, but decided not to and left for the camp, kicking up dusts as he dashed off.

Seeing him gone, I went back to silently washing the plates.

...

...

.

How long has it been?

I can't be exactly sure, but I think it's at least been quite a while. It could also be only a couple minutes, time seems to slow down when we're alone all the time anyway, so it might be like so too.

I continued to wash the dishes in silence. I've already made it through the plates with Mr Zheng, so now all that's left are the forks and knives.

It isn't that hard to wash them, just run my fingers through the entire thing and make sure no grease are left on it before flinging it away or washing it down the stream.

Now that I think of it, the forest in the night is quite scary. I couldn't help but felt like I was being watched from beyond the foliage, yet at the same time I know it can't be true. The others chased off all the living beings around the area in the day after all, so there is probably-

"Ouch!" A sudden pain was felt on my finger, quickly focusing again, I realized that I've accidentally sliced my finger with the knife. Damn, I should really be cautious when washing these knives without any gloves, they're quite sharp despite the looks...

...Sharp?

Then that means...

I hold the knife with my hand and ignored the blood dripping from my finger, and held it against my wrist.

There's nobody around.

There's not a single soul around.

It's dark.

Doesn't that make this a perfect place to die?

My strength holding the knife against my wrist became greater, and I can almost feel the tip of the knife about to cut open my skin if I applied any more force.

If I apply any more pressure, there's no turning back.

Yeah, I've always wanted this.

Yeah, if I die now, then it will all finally be over.

Yeah, if I do this, then I won't have to cause trouble for those around me any more.

Yeah, there's no reason for me to note

Cause trouble?

...

Now that I think of it.

No, if I die here, then Mr Zheng would be in trouble.

He would be responsible for my death and might even be fired from his position.

I can't cause trouble for him.

At least, I want to die somewhere people won't have to go through trouble because of me.

I pulled the knife away from my wrist, decided that now is not my time to die. At least not yet-

The sudden rustling of the bushes across the river startled me, and I quickly hid the knife behind me as I stood up straight from my squatting position, afraid that Mr Zheng caught me on spot.

It wasn't a couple of seconds later that I realized how stupid I am, because the camp site is in the direct opposite direction of those bushes, so it is practically impossible for anyone to emerge out of those bushes.

I put down the knife and sighed. Only to laugh at myself, I got startled by a gust of wind, how stupid. Well, at least nobody is here to witness it.

I was about to squat down when the bushes began rustling again. Then again, and again.

...That's definitely not a wind.

Was it some wild animals that the others left behind in the day? Or was it a an aberrant? It could even be a plant-based aberrant that the others didn't notice! I remember they existed but I'm not sure about how they look. God damn it, I should have paid more attention in science classes instead of sleeping away thinking that those knowledge won't help me!

That was when a loud thump was heard from within the bushes, and something white fell out of the bushes.

I began pondering whether to report this to Mr Zheng or investigate it by myself, only to realize that Mr Zheng is probably busy dealing with the others right now. Which leaves me with only one option left.

I swallowed nervously, hoping it would chase away the fear in me, and walked across the stream. The stream is only foot-deep even for my 142cm of height, and the current is slow anyway, so it should be fine. Also yeah I know I'm short, I'm actually the shortest and lightest in class, maybe even in my entire grade. No idea why I'm so short, but who cares I guess.

As I approached the opposite side of the river, I was able to see the "white thing" protruding out of the bush clearly.

What is that...? Is that...? I looked a little more closer.

OH MY GOD, THAT'S AN ARM! Somebody is in the bushes!

I immediately rushed over to the bushes and parted where the arm is, and as expected, there is a person lying there, face down against the floor, unconscious.

It was a muscular man, not to mention his figure was huge, if I were to guess he might be at least 200 centimeters in height. Short, blonde hair like a soldier, and most important of all, completely naked.

"Sir! Are you OK?" I yelled at him and held him up. Unsure of what else to do, I decided that it's best to pull him out of the bushes. But just when I was about to start pulling, the man jolted awake and grabbed my hand.

He held me so tightly that I can't move my arm a single bit despite I tried to struggle. How could he have so much strength despite being unconscious just moments ago?!

"Corbyn! You're, a Corbyn! Right!?"

I stopped struggling at the mention of my family name, and turned to look at him in the face.

How did he knew my family name? I couldn't help but wonder. Sure, my family does earn quite the penny but definitely not as rich as the richest people around.

Then, what if he's here to assassinate me? But for what? I've already lost my mana and is already a walking joke, no point in killing me at all. It won't even affect my family as well, considering my parents already lost interest in me anyway.

Perhaps it took too long for me to reply, because the man let out an impatient groan and pulled me against him and sniffed around my neck, which I was creeped out by it.

"Yes, you're definitely a Corbyn, although the blood is diluted, it's still there... How long has it been?"

"...what?"

"Ah, whatever, I don't have much time!" He mumbled, seeming frustrated, before looking at me again with his opal-green eyes.

"...sorry." He apologized before biting into my shoulder, drawing blood. And I swear I saw his eyes turned from green to yellow as I screamed in pain.

I've never been this hurt before, and the pain was agonizing. Every moment felt like a year passed. But thankfully, the man didn't bite any further and let me go, I fell and laid on my back. Despite the teeth already gone from within my flesh, the pain is still unbearable.

"...why..." I moaned in pain, not even having the strength to lift my hand to hold the wounded area.

"I did it... Damien..." But the man seemed to ignore my words and also fell as he seemingly mumbled to himself. "I fulfilled... our... promise..."

Ah, I can't stay awake anymore, my visions are getting blurry.

Yeah, maybe I should just fall asleep here and continue to sleep forever. Maybe the water will keep washing away my blood until there's none left...

With that, my mind sank into the murky swamp of darkness and I fell unconscious.