Blackout

Bump, bump, bump.

His heart beat faster, the roaring crowd worsening his already anxious state.

Bump, bump, bump.

In an attempt to soothe his anxiety, he breathed in deeply, his chest expanding slightly to take in even more air. Sweat gathered in his fingers, his hold threatening to snap the robust pole he refused to let go.

One step forward.

The crowd's roar was deafening. His breath came out shaky.

Another step forward.

The massive iron gate loomed over him. The sunlight passing through the gaps blinded him.

He gulped.

The crowd went still, his shaking body stopping for a brief moment. The massive gate slowly rose, the sound of the mechanical contraption entering his ears. At its peak, the way ahead lied open, but silence was all that greeted him…

… And the crowd once again roared.

Channeling his inner bravery, he rushed outside, his nerves already fried from the anxiety that crept all over his mind.

His bare feet felt every grain of sand beneath him, his skin slightly stinging from the harsh rays of the sun.

And in front of him was another one like him, wearing naught but rags. A shoddy, wooden shield strapped on his off hand, with a rusty blade on the other.

'Survive.' His mind raced, his thoughts of morality all but gone. The harshness of the world coming onto his head.

'Live.' The encouraging yet dying words of his relative, who had all but faded from memory, echoed in his mind.

He clenched his teeth and dashed forward, with only the sun and the booming crowd as his audience.

[][][]

'I hate Mondays.'

The treacherous mind of one college student all but raged against the current circumstances his daily life brought.

'I hate stairs.'

He eyed his mortal enemy since elementary. Due to a certain mishap in the past, a grudge formed within the bottom of his heart against the harmless, inanimate object.

Letting out a frustrated groan, the college student brought his feet atop the offending object.

"Yo, Lynch. Having trouble again?"

"Shut up, Joshua." The college teen, now named Lynch, scowled at the sight of his friend, who was all but grinning at his misfortune.

He swears it was all the stairs' fault.

"Come on, bro." Joshua, Lynch's friend, who was also his classmate, shook his head and bumped his knuckle against Lynch's shoulder. "That was years ago. Ain't nobody gonna remember you and the… 'Incident.'"

Joshua made a gesture, quoting the word with a slight grin, which brought out the irritation Lynch was well known for.

"It will at this rate, 'cause of your damn mouth." Throwing Joshua a glare, Lynch focused back on climbing the stairs with haste and caution. He didn't want history to repeat itself after all.

"Fine, fine." Joshua shrugged, and the two continued in silence. It wasn't until the third floor that he once again struck up a conversation. "By the way, you finished our midterm project yet?"

"The one you and our team dumped on me because, and I quote, 'You're better at us in this regard' before running off to hell knows where?" Lynch raised an eyebrow at his friend, who rubbed the back of his elbow sheepishly. "Fuck you for that, by the way. Best quality friend in the world."

"I aim to please." Giving off another sheepish smile, the two of them then stopped once they noticed they were already at their destination. "Anyway, hope you got your report ready."

"Already did it a few weeks back." Lynch deadpanned at his friend as Joshua once again gave a cheery grin.

"And you question why our team dumped our project on you." Joshua clasped Lynch's shoulder as the irritated young man once again scowled.

"Fuck you." With that as his rebuttal, Lynch slid the door open, revealing the rest of their classmates already waiting for classes to start.

[][][]

Ding. Dong. Ding. Dong.

The clanging of bells caught everyone's attention in the classroom. Nobody was immune to the melodious tune the bells imposed on the school every day, from those awake to those asleep.

"All right, I guess that's all the time we have for today. I want each of you to study all the topics discussed today and prepare for a test next meeting." The teacher told the class while packing his things together. "Good day, everyone."

"Bye, sir!" The class all at once tuned together to bid their respectable professor farewell and trickled out of the classroom.

Among the river of students were both Lynch and Joshua, both of them once again at their antics that the whole class was well acquainted with.

"I'm just saying, you could've elaborated more on your topic." Joshua frowned while looking at his smartphone, the powerpoint presentation presented in full view. "You took straight to the point a little too much."

"Your fault for being too smol brain." Lynch smirked, his irritated frown from earlier a distant memory. "You don't see anybody else complaining."

"You know I have trouble with understanding without proper explanation."

"Sounds to me like a skill issue." Fully grinning now, Lynch gave the annoyed Joshua a smug look.

"Man, fuck you, asshole." Joshua grumbled while Lynch took pride and joy in his misery. "Anyway, what you up to later?"

"Eh, mostly reading. I'm currently in loser's queue, so no way in hell I'm playing later." Joshua winced at Lynch's reveal.

"Yikes. Sucks to be you then." Suddenly, that wince was replaced by a smug and teasing grin. "I'll see you around in diamond then. Have fun in silver elo."

"Dick." Lynch rolled his eyes as the two parted ways, their footsteps drowned out by the rest of the crowd.

As Lynch made his way back home, his legs on autopilot for the nth time he had gone down this route all around the year, he suddenly had a shiver go down his neck.

Lynch sighed, his head quivering slightly, a habit he had developed whenever the recurring chill found its way to his neck.

He squinted, eyes going blurry and breath raggedy. His hand grasped his chest tight, his nails piercing through the soft fabric of his uniform.

His ears twitched as he became aware of the cacophony that was suddenly reverberating around him.

'What's going on...?' In his bewildered state, he felt the world move more slowly. Various hues of dark lined his field of sight, each becoming larger by the second.

His knees met the ground, the noise around him suddenly picking up in intensity.

Full on hyperventilating, Lynch tried to make sense of his current situation. But as dazed as he is confused, all his struggles resulted in even more confusion.

'What… is this…!?' Lynch felt his breath hitch. Vivid visions of fantastical beings assaulting his mind at every moment of opportunity. Vague descriptions of horrifying entities etching itself into his brain without mercy.

Another scream…

The dark shades now fully encompassed Lynch's eyes…

And then, he knew no more.