Our past where it happened (2)

Date: August 20

Place: Sendai, Japan

[Misaki]

"Rise and shine Rei. We're here," I say trying to wake her up.

"I didn't notice that I slept. Sorry," she says rubbing her eyes and ready to get out of the car.

"Can you help the others unpack and go to our reserved cottage?" she rubs her eyes as she slowly got out of the van, glancing to where everyone was marching with heavy luggages they carry.

"We rented those places so we can stay here until the morning, you'll be pretty exhausted if you have to go home later, right?" I grabbed a few things at the back of the van and made her carry some too.

"I guess so," she replied.

I like her aura, it makes her look so cool even if she is a cute girl.

She puts her bag on and carried some of the boxes that have our food as we both marched to the cottage.

Soon after, we finished unpacking.

"Alright!" I clapped my hands and shouted. "It's almost afternoon, and I'm sure all of you are hungry, what do you say about eating first before we hit the pool?" I suggested.

[Haru]

We finished unpacking and I saw everyone just sitting anywhere: the sofa, the bed, the floor, and others are just standing.

Misaki suggested an idea with an energetic voice.

I'm really hungry and so are the others but time is of the essence.

"How about Ced, Kazuma, and I prepare lunch and you girls can hit the pool first? How does that sound?" I proposed.

"Come on, just take your girl time somewhere and we will take ours too," Kazuma got my idea and rolled with it when we saw disapproval on their faces.

"I'm fine with that"

"Me too!"

"Sounds cool"

The boys and I see them out with their bags with them.

"What now?" I whispered while waving to the three girls who were disappearing from our sight.

"Let's just grill some barbeque, I'll go get the grill and start the fire. You two, get the meat and veggies ready," ordered Ced.

We did what he told us. Kazuma and I are at the kitchen, cutting meat and poking it to the sticks with the veggies. When we were done, we changed our clothes to got ready to swim any time now.

Walking outside with Kazuma by my side, we carried the meats that we are about to grill.

"Do you think they'll hit it off?" I asked curiously.

"Did you see how he blushed earlier?" he started giggling at the thought, I was trying to recall when that happened but failed. "Don't worry too much, let's just enjoy ourselves," he added and ran to where Ced was.

"Sorry to keep you waiting" he shouted while we both see him fanning the flame on the grill.

"Great! Let's hurry up, I'm hungry," Ced smiled, sweat dripping from his forehead.

"You reek of smoke," Kazuma sniffed Ced and started teasing him while I just watch and laughed with them.

We finished grilling the barbeques and setting up the table. We were about to get the drinks on the fridge when suddenly we saw Rei walking in our direction with just her t-shirt earlier, tied up in the ends in a ribbon where you can see her well fit body and just really short black shorts, soaking wet.

"What happened? Why are you soaking wet?" I asked.

"Long story short, they finished changing faster than me and when I went outside the changing rooms I couldn't find them. I guess they went in first. Then when I decided to look around, some kids playing accidentally pushed me and I fell to the pool with my bag," she showed us her dripping bag.

"Luckily I forgot my phone and wallet in my apartment," she said in a monotonous tone while twisting her t-shirt on each side with a very gloomy expression.

Ced runs inside and got a towel for her. Undoing the ribbon of her t-shirt, I noticed it was torn apart to be designed as a ribbon.

"What happened to your t-shirt?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Those two broke my t-shirt in half so that I can tie it in a ribbon. You see, I wasn't supposed to swim so I didn't bring any swimwear," she replied while a worried Ced handed the towel to her.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. So you don't have dry clothes or anything dry to wear?" Asked Kazuma while Rei wrapped herself with the towel.

"Unfortunately, yes," she sighed.

"You can borrow some of my t-shirts if your fine with it," Ced suggested fidgeting his fingers behind him where Kazuma and I had a full view of.

Both of us exchanged a look for a second before returning our look to those two who seems so to be doing well with each other than we thought.

"Sure, I appreciate it," she says with a big smile while her eyes weren't smiling with it.

I was taken aback and can't help but agree with what Kazuma said in the car, she does look cute when she smiles.

[Cedrick]

"You can sit on the bench Rei, and you two finish preparing," I said and went inside to get her some t-shirt for her to wear.

Looking through my stuff, I picked a black oversized t-shirt with a skull printed on it. I guess this will suit her just fine. I ran outside and gave it to her.

"Wear this and give me your wet clothes. I'll hang them to dry," I said with a big smile on my face to appear friendly. I hope I didn't overdo it with my smile.

"Thanks," she started to lift her wet clothes as I felt my face hot. I started to wave my shirt around in a motion that tells her 'no' as my voice failed me. "What?" she said calmly.

"Inside!" I grabbed her shoulder, her eyes widen as I dragged her just right in front of the door of our rented room. "Here," I shoved my shirt at her hand, opened the door and pushed her in.

Both the boys started laughing their asses off at the commotion while I dropped on the ground, sitting as I hid my face on my palm.

"Well that was unexpected" says Kazuma smirking, still isn't finished laughing.

I felt my face started to calm down as we all went back to finishing setting the table.

"Just hurry up so we can eat," I said as I marched back to the room to get some utensils that they forgot to bring out. "Holy!" I jumped in surprise when Rei just stood there, wearing my oversized t-shirt.

My eyes scanned her from head to toe, it's long and big enough to fit like a dress in her tiny physique.

Rei's coming up to me and gave me her soaked ripped t-shirt and shorts.

"Here, even though this t-shirt is ripped up, I still want it so please take good care of this," she says handing them to me and went outside.

After I hanged it, I took my leave and went outside too, completely forgetting what I came in there for.

[Yui]

I'm with Misaki right now. We helped a child who got lost and couldn't find her mother. And as soon as we dropped him off the staffs, we hurriedly ran to the changing room.

"Do you think she's still there?" I asked Misaki.

"Probably?" Misaki also questioned.

We saw no one when we got there and decided to go back to the cottage. Who knows, maybe she's there.

After a few minutes of walking, we arrived and saw the others already sitting on the benches that surrounds the table.

"Did you saw Rei?" Misaki asked, putting some barbecue on her plate that her boyfriend, Haru handed.

"She came back not too long ago," Kazuma replied offering me to sit beside him.

"She's also getting the drinks out of the fridge with Ced right now," Haru answered after a few giggles.

"Thank goodness," somehow I feel relieved.

"You guys don't look like you got to hit the pool yet, what's wrong?" asked Kazuma.

"We helped a lost kid after we finished changing, and she was gone when we got back," explained Misaki, who also got offered a sit by her boyfriend.

"Since everyone is here, dig in," Kazuma gave me a few meat just how I like it.

Not long after, Rei and Cedrick walked in our direction holding some soda, ice buckets, and paper cups.

We ate and drank, played some games, small talks, and even confessing some embarrassing stories. After that, we hit the pool all together.

We went and tried slides, wave pools, swim races, and a lot of things. Misaki and Haru are always together so are Kazuma and I and I'm certainly glad that Cedrick is there to entertain Rei.

"That was a scary slide," Cedrick shivers, hugging himself and pictures it again in his head.

"Wanna go again?" she comforts him by soothing his back with her expressionless face of hers.

"What?! No!" He strongly refuses as I see her smile a little and continued patting his back.

I'm kind of happy for her.

This day turns out greater than I anticipated.

But before I noticed it, things got weirder and weirder at every second that passes. I see people running, crying, and screaming.

Misaki and I are on the wave pool again while the rest of them are at the swimming tracks.

Rei helped the boys with the timer and see who the fastest swimmer of the three, as she wasn't a fan of big waves.

"What do you think is going on over there?" I asked Misaki who was screaming and laughing at the waves.

But she didn't hear me. I didn't mention it again and swam with her as if there's no tomorrow.

[Rei]

I'm getting worried.

Maybe because I see people running, screaming, and some are even crying. They are all headed in the direction where the exit was at.

"Guys, aren't you feeling something?" I said.

"Ready setー" Cedrick stopped and looked in my direction. "Feel what?" he asked.

I pointed in the direction of a crowd who were running to the exit.

"Right there" I added and they came beside me in a hurry and took a look.

"Your right, I wonder if there's a show over there," Kazuma said.

"Like what? BTS?" Haru joked.

"Guys really?" added Ced.

"I mean it's the most famous group right now and what makes girls cry and run in their direction," said Kazuma laughing and shrugging.

They said more jokes and laughed. But I couldn't feel the urge to have fun at this moment.

I feel rather nervous. Like there is something big about going to happen.

Soon after, I felt raindrops pouring down.

"It's raining. But the forecast clearly said it's a nice weather," said Kazuma in disbelief and annoyance.

"Nature is an unpredictable thing," shrugs Cedrick.

"Something's odd" Haru was the first to notice. "Does this look like rain at all?" Haru showed us his arms that are full of green liquid.

They look gooey, disgusting and they smell bad. I took Haru's arms and tried to touch the green liquid.

It's just like what it looks like, so gooey and disgusting.

But after I touched it, I started to feel like throwing up.

"Ahー!Ahhー! Urghー!" my head starts spinning and I started shouting.

I dropped on the ground and crouched, brushing my head with my hands back and forth. I closed my eyes and kept shouting.

It hurts.

It burns.

I heard the boys saying something but I couldn't care less as I can barely hear them.

Then all of a sudden, my surrounding got all white, and my headache is magically gone now.

I slowly looked at my surrounding to see no one.

I stood up carefully and started walking, looking at everything but I couldn't see someone or something.

My heart started to palpitate, my hands became sweaty, as I had a hard time catching my breath.

Just whiteness and emptiness.

"Is someone there? Can someone hear me?" I yelled, hoping someone would hear me.

I panicked and run. But failed to see any sight of life surrounding me.

I stopped and took the time to catch my breath, desperate to get out of this vast and empty space.

I kept running and shouting until I saw someone ahead of me. Someone who looks like he's in his 40's.

Someone tall, wearing what looks like a lab coat, hair is blacker than darkness. Then when he turned around and walked in my direction. As he gets closer I can see he's wearing broken glasses and he precisely looks familiar.

We have the same shape and color of eyes, the same shape of the nose, the hair, and the vibe.

When he came closer, he knelt and looked at the ground near where I'm standing.

"Things are about to get dangerous my dear," he says raising his head slowly, smiling.

Coming back to my senses, I went on my knees and found myself looking at him.

"What do you mean sir? And who are you?" I touched both of his shoulders with his eyes staring directly into mine.

He held my cheeks and touched his forehead into mine and closed his eyes.

"I need you to remember. Remember everything from the very beginning," he mumbled.

Somehow this feeling feels nostalgic. Like I've felt this warmth and heard this voice somewhere, before. I locked my eyes widely, not missing a single glance at someone who is in front of me.

Tears.

"Huh? Why am I crying?"

I tried to wipe the tears off of my eyes. But more tears kept flowing, rolling down my cheeks as they dropped to the ground.

I saw the person in front of me smiling. Then soon followed by blood coming out of his mouth with his life draining in front of my very eyes.

"No..."

My voice is shaking uncontrollably.

"What's happening? Are you okay sir?" I asked trying to keep my composure as I try to help him.

But it's no use.

"Remember," he said weakly and patted my head with his unstable hands.

Then he dropped to the ground.

Dead.

Not breathing.

My tears kept rolling down my face. But this time it's color red, blood.

It keeps flowing. A pool of blood pours out of my eyes.

The man's body started to become ash, taken away by the cool breeze of wind that has just appeared out of nowhere. The whiteness that I witness earlier changed to a horrifying bloody redness. Flashing like a light as it emits some kind of sound, an alarming one.

"Wake up! Wake up, Rei!" I hear a voice, calling for me.

A familiar tone screaming to warn me. A voice that I have been hearing every single second of my existence.

I picked myself up and brushed the idea of the dead man, the ashes, and the bloody tears as started to run towards the voice that's been calling out to me.

I woke up and aggressively gasp for air. I looked around me to find myself sitting on a bed with someone by my side.

"Ouch," I say feeling my cheeks.

"Sorry, you won't wake up so I had to slap you several times," Yui said grinning like she wanted to slap me for a while now.

"Another nightmare?" Yui asked.

"Yeah, our time at the pool" I replied.