WELCOME, “EXECUTIONER” (2)

Inside the confinement of the principal's office, only the sound of time ticking by fills the silence. It doesn't help to ease my worries either.

Some students see me getting sent away, rumors will soon spread and I'll be in the spotlight once I leave.

My eyes move around nervously, the walls are painted navy blue while its floors are made out of dark wood. The certificates that the school had earned are spread across the walls while in the middle is a lone wooden desk with a computer on top.

There's a golden nameplate, printed out in bold letters.

Headmistress

Lê Nguyệt Ánh

She assesses my appearance with a knowing gaze, her long nails tapping against the desk. Then, she tucks a strand of her chestnut brown hair behind her ear and clears her voice.

"Quoc Trung, was it?"

"Yes ma'am."

I quickly answer her, not wanting to get on her bad side as my situation can be resolved with me being a bystander. Only students who are guilty of disturbing the seniors get sent to this office.

"Then can you tell me what happened to your friend, Minh Khang?" She adjusts her glasses as she speaks, her sharp eyes piercing into my soul yet her words are sickly sweet. Almost like how my mother would talk to me when I was little.

"I don't know anything, ma'am. It was a conflict between him and my classmate Tu Diep."

"Tu Diep? Ho Ngoc Tu Diep?" Her eyebrows raised, and she looked surprised at the name before frowning in distaste.

"You may dismiss yourself now." The headmistress says. Immediately panic arose in my chest, I quickly stood up while stumbling over my words.

"I don't know anything, I swear! Tu Diep talked to me first and then came Minh Khang!-"

"It's alright, I know you're not involved in their fight." She looks at me with pity before quickly typing on her computer.

"You'll be sent home early, get some rest. It must've been a shock to you to witness your classmate's death." I blink at her, thrice before feeling cold water being poured over me.

She's… dead?

"Don't worry, Quoc Trung… Or is it Kai? I'm sure your classmate would be thrilled to help you out with what you'll miss… And you and the junior won't be held accountable for the death of an already decaying body."

"Wh-What do you mean?-"

"You should go home and rest." She gives me a stern look and that is enough for me to leave.

I stand in place after the door closes, at that moment I can distantly hear the sound of the headmistress on the phone.

"Yes, is this Aurelia? It's Ann. We have to start making preparations for the program… You know which one. There's a blight spotted on the campus…"

Even if I want to stay back to hear more, the janitors nearby are giving me a suspicious look.

So I forced myself to walk out, passing by the assembly hall which also serves as a gymnasium. All the students are called to attend while the vice principal gives his speech regarding today's events.

Each step feels heavier the closer I get to the gate. What would Ma say? She'd be stressed no doubt for her son to be sent home on the first day… Will the death of Tu Diep be announced? That will greatly affect the school's reputation…

To my surprise, on the steps of the front of the campus, one of my classmates was on his phone. It was the same guy I had stood next to in line. He was skipping the assembly in favor of scrolling through… Facebook.

"It's rude to stare, y'know?" He suddenly speaks up, gray-colored eyes staring at me. Immediately I flush in shame and proceed to exit the campus with my fingers gripping the straps of my bag tightly.

I spare one last glance at the guy and feel my blood pressure drop.

Alongside him, there are many other guests, all sharing similarities to the creatures that had been present during Minh Khang's fight with Tu Diep. Ghostly limbs with deformed human anatomy in different sizes.

There are five of them, all evenly spread out among the steps. One, in particular, was looming over the guy, its bulging eyes reading through the feeds on the social media network. While its bony fingers mimic scrolling through the phone.

When it turns up to look at me, with the front of its face sliced clean off showing the rotten flesh, I snap my head back forward and sprint to get my bike.

It seems to get worse in the parking lot. The security guard doesn't pay attention to my presence, most likely already informed of my departure, but the giant slug with the head of a beautiful lady in its shell does.

I can distinctly make out the words it's saying, eyes shifting along the smokey trail it leaves behind to pretend that I haven't seen it.

yOu ar E SO hAn DsoMe, deAr.

y oU dEs Er Ve mOr e tHan hE r.

Y oU R thE mA N o f tHe fAm iLy , yO u ' rE aL LoWed to hAve sOm E fUn tOo !

I cover my ears and head past the giant snail. There are also small blobs of eyes flocked together on the railings and motorcycles but thankfully mine was safe from any of them.

It takes me a great amount of concentration to not stare into any of the eyes following my movements. My priority is to get my bike and return home, get my bike and return home.

When I acquired my possessions, I instantly hopped on to cycle my way home. Even if I wish to lie in the comfort of my bed all day to somehow forget about the events from earlier, the thoughts of my parents being disappointed in me for messing up still scare me after all these years.

The fifteen minutes of cycling seem to last longer, and my vision of the familiar road becomes a blur with only one objective in mind.

Go to sleep and forget all of this ever happening.

——

My mother didn't say anything when I returned home, nothing that wasn't out of the ordinary.

She merely greeted me like usual, saying that she had received a message from the office and that I deserved some rest.

I head straight to my room, closing the door before flopping down onto the mattress. I didn't bother changing into a more comfortable attire and merely swept the books on the bed onto the floor.

I close my eyes, forcing myself to enter the world of dreams to distract my ongoing thoughts.

The images of Tu Diep lying in the pool of her blood, with her face long forgotten but the wicked smile remains. Her never-ending laughter echoes in the chambers of my memories.

Behind her, a familiar creature has her head around its long skeletal fingers. Seemingly tearing each chunk of her flesh apart like it's peeling the skin of a fruit open.

The same 'plant' that had rooted itself inside of Minh Khang. It's three heads murmuring cryptic words that hold the intention of wishing harm upon her. Almost like a curse.

Then suddenly, its eyes snap in my direction. It gives me no time to turn away or run before it pounces forward, sharp teeth opening up to take a bite out of my face and——

We will meet again, Executioner…

My heart rate spikes dangerously high, I feel myself greedily consuming the air.

Instinctively, my hands move up to feel the skin attached to my face, my eyes are still intact, and there are no scars or injuries.

It was just in my imagination.

It was just a dream.

If so then, why aren't I waking up?…

I take in the changes in my surroundings. I'm not within the comfort of my room anymore. Rather, I'm currently outside a forest where stars are visible in the endless sky.

My eyes move around to look at the flower bed I'm in. Its shape isn't familiar to me, with glowing white petals embracing the golden bud that had yet to bloom inside. The flowers act as a light source as everything beyond is pitch black, hidden by the tall trees looming over me.

Confusion and then fear consume my thoughts, sending me into a panic attack. My pulse begins to pick up again but halts when I make eye contact not with any creature or a human being…

My eyes stare back at the "Moon".

Where a lone eyeball with red veins and brown iris stares back at me.

A floating eyeball that replaces the rightful place of the Moon.

"I-I'm still dreaming, aren't I?—"

My voice comes out as shaky, trembling with the anxiety of coming face to face with a horrible creature that rules over the endless night.

"I have to wake up—"

I started to get up, fingers twitching while my breathing was uneven.

"I cannot stay here—"

The feeling of the blades of grass underneath my feet seems too real.

"I need to wake up!"

My feet crush some of the unfortunate flowers while sprinting into the forest.

There should be someone or something that will act as an exit to this horrible dream. There must be!

The seas of trees move by me like a blur, I pay no mind to the wandering eyes observing me through the bushes and in the distance. They wouldn't matter anymore when I left this place.

The sound of my heart drumming inside my chest as if it demands to be let out deafens all the animalistic growls and humane screams from behind.

My eyes stay rooted ahead, ignoring the abnormally long limbs that drag across the ground or hang above the branches like vines. Or even the deformed head bearing its fangs while aiming for my head but fortunately missed me by an inch.

My legs start to become sore from dashing across the forest, even if my muscles scream for me to stop, I can't hear them at all with the only objective in mind being to escape.

I only stopped when the layers of trees seemed to cease at a certain point. A smile instantly breaks out in relief but dies out as soon as the eye in the sky stares at me again. As if it never left its sight on me.

The painful lack of oxygen kicks in, forcing my body to a stop before I collapse onto the ground. Either it's a trick to my eyes or the grass of this dream world is blue, with the soil being a deep crimson color, almost like blood. Either way, I was too tired to even rationalize my dream anymore.

My head is only able to look forward, to see that in front of me is a cliffside. A sea of fog stretches below me, consuming everything going through it. In front are mountains of forests, breaking through the layer of white while the "Moon" and a colorful wave of blue glow brightly while it flows through the void that is the sky.

The scene itself is breathtaking without the monsters in the picture.

However, the sound of feet stepping onto the blades of grass drags me back into a panicked state.

While my legs are still unmoving, the audible sound of a sword being unsheathed slices through the dreadful silence. I try to get myself to sit up or crawl away with my arms but suddenly a hand comes down and snatches my body away from the dirt by the back of my collar.

All the blood drains from my face at the feeling of cold metal against my pulse.

Shit shit shit shit— I have to wake up now!

"What are you doing here?" The person demands, giving me a furious scowl while his eyes reflect a blue hue from the moonlight.

Wait—

"Y-You are…!" I let the words spill mindlessly while my eyes widened in recognition. The feeling must've been mutual as he raised his sword with a startled expression.

Before the blade could hit its target, I felt a force pulling me back, knocking all the air out of my lungs before I blacked out.

The moment I was able to come back to my senses, I was met with the familiar ceiling of my room. With the addition of my sister looked down at me worryingly.

"Anh hai! Mom called you down for dinner!"

The overwhelming feeling of relief and joy slowly fills my body. My sister looked at my jovial expression and left while feeling extremely confused.

The soreness across my body disappeared as if nothing ever happened. It was in fact a dream!

The happiness was short-lived as I stared down at the bruises on my knees when I had fallen down back at that place.

Shit.

Other than that, I still have some difficulties breathing, most likely from when my sister punched me awake… But she had saved me from that monstrous place so I won't scold her…

"It's fine. I won't go there again- Never." I sigh heavily while running my hand through my hair. My hand stops midway when it bumps into something which I quickly grab and remove from my hair.

It was one of the small creatures back in the parking lot, squirming its small tentacles around in frantic motions. The lone eye that stares back into mine begs to be let go of.

Had this thing been on my face the whole time?

We both stare at each other while I process everything that had happened in my dream as a result of this guy's interference.

My grip on the creature became painful to the unfortunate soul while it thrashed wildly in my hold.