[V1:Side Story] Ethan's POV I

"Ethan? Ethan, wake up! Hoy!"

I opened my eyes while catching my breath. My chest was booming.

"That dream again, huh." said the person who was towering over me while I lay on the bed. Whenever I look at him, I can't help but feel like I'm just looking at myself. He's Nathan. My identical twin. "You almost fell, you know?"

"What? You're just gonna stare at me?"

"Nathan," I called out to him.

"Hmm?"

"Be honest, Nathan. You're not sick, are you?"

"Ha? Do I look sick to you?"

"No."

"If you're fine now then I'll go. I'll be home before sunset," he said before he left.

Truth is, I'm starting to doubt my twin. He's always gone every morning and only arrives before six. I wonder where he goes every day. I asked him a lot of times but he'd always say he was working. But I know he's lying. I know when he's telling the truth or not. I'm his twin after all. Clearly, he was up to something. Should I follow him?

You see, I've been having this dream — the same dream since the day he started going out. We would be running into this tunnel. A very long tunnel. But whenever we reach the end, a creature that looked like a massive blob of purple slime with a single eye by the center blocks the exit. I will look back and will always find that Nathan was gone. Leaving me alone with whatever that creature was. And then I would wake up.

Ha! Am I just overthinking stuff?

I pushed those thoughts to the back of my head and kept myself busy pretty much the whole day. And a week had passed. I woke up before him that time. He was thrashing in his sleep — mumbling something. I was about to wake him up when he muttered some words. No. It sounded like he was calling out to someone.

When he arrived that afternoon, I decided to confront him about it.

"Nathan, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Who's Kai?"

It was as though time had stopped for him as soon as those words left my mouth.

"Kai? I don't know. Why?"

"I heard you talking in your sleep."

"Oh! Haha. Prolly just a dream. Don't remember it though. Don't know who that is."

Liar!

The next day, I decided to follow him. I saw him enter an inn. I hesitated at first but curiosity got the better of me.

A young man with tawny hair was at the front desk. He wore a very welcoming smile.

"Excuse me."

"Yes, sir?"

But before I could say anything, a hand landed on my shoulder making me jump. And yes, I've been caught.

"N—Nathan. It's not what you think."

"Oh, really? You know what I'm thinking then?"

"No. But—"

"I know, Ethan. You're doubting me right?"

"Ha? I mean… I'm sorry."

He didn't get angry at me despite being caught that day. Which was very unlike him. My doubt started to grow.

We never talked about that again. And one morning, a news shook the whole city. Massive words were written in red paint along with a tattered doll that say, "We may forgive, but we cannot forget" were found on every road of Sratol.

Every day, people are dying of mysterious death. No one got to the bottom of that. To be honest, I wasn't so concerned about that. I thought it was only some sort of prank and was not related to the death of those people. Who knows? It could be just some sort of disease. But then my twin, Nathan suddenly fell to the ground. Coughing out blood.

"Nathan! What's wrong?"

He was coughing non-stop. And I didn't know what to do.

"Nathan, please."

The amount of blood he coughed out was worrying. I decided to rush him to the hospital. But then a man was waiting at our front door. He was abnormally pale. Two small fangs protruded at both corners of his lips.

"He'll die if you bring him to the hospital," he said.

"Wha — What do you mean?"

"Follow me. I know how to treat him. Make it quick. He won't last long."