They kept walking down the hallway and stood right outside their classroom door. Monica turned to face Clyde, looking him over,
"Why are you acting so weird today? That’s why I told you, if you can’t handle horror movies, don’t watch them," Monica said.
"I’m fine... sorry about that," Clyde replied.
"Whatever, I’m heading into my class. Tyler was looking for you all the way in my room earlier, so I’m going in now," Monica said.
"Yeah," Clyde replied, keeping it very short.
Monica walked toward her classroom right next to Clyde’s, waving to him before going inside, and naturally Clyde waved back before they both went into their respective classrooms at the same time. Once inside, Clyde saw that his classroom was already crowded with almost everyone in their seats, so he walked over to his desk. An athletic guy with a buzz cut sitting in front of him turned around to look at him,
"Yo, Clyde... rare for you to be late, I was looking for you earlier to borrow your homework," the student greeted, raising his hand.
"Yo, Tyler, I overslept. Was watching a movie last night, haha," Clyde replied as he sat down in his chair.
"Woah, what movie? Horror? With Monica?" Tyler asked, overflowing with curiosity.
"Um... yeah, horror... about a zombie apocalypse, haha... Monica only watched half of it before going home," Clyde answered.
"Uh... must be nice having a childhood friend... always together," Tyler replied.
"Ah, it’s nothing special... sometimes it actually gets annoying... she clings to me non-stop," Clyde replied.
"Where’s the homework? I still have a few questions left to answer, hurry up and let me borrow it," Tyler replied.
"Hold on, let me grab it," Clyde reached into his bag and pulled out a notebook, handing it to Tyler, who immediately grabbed it and flipped it open.
Before long, the bell rang,
Tyler, who had finished copying, returned the notebook, and moments later the teacher walked into the class, taking attendance student by student before starting the lesson. Clyde looked out the window since he happened to sit right next to it, spotting Monica out on the field dressed in gym clothes for her physical education class. Monica caught Clyde looking at her, cheerily waving her hand, and Clyde waved back, before her two female friends called her over and she walked to the center of the field.
Drowsy and fighting off sleep, Clyde tried his best to follow along with the teacher’s lecture. Noticing Clyde nodding off, the teacher glared sharply at him, narrowing his eyes,
"Clyde... read page 36," the teacher yelled from the front of the room.
"Huh... yes, sir," replied Clyde, snapping wide awake instantly.
Clyde flipped his book open to page 36 and stood up, beginning to read aloud with a slight stutter because he was still groggy. The teacher smiled and shook his head, appreciating Clyde’s effort to stay awake.
"That’s enough... next time don’t sleep in class, alright? If you want to sleep, tomorrow you’d better bring a mattress and sleep in class," the teacher said.
"Uh... sorry, sir," Clyde replied, looking down in embarrassment at being teased by the teacher.
The whole class burst into laughter at Clyde, who immediately sat back down in silence, while Tyler turned around from his desk in front of him, laughing as he patted his shoulder.
Come lunchtime, as soon as the teacher left, Tyler turned around and looked at Clyde, who was still writing,
"Clyde, let’s go to the cafeteria, let’s just eat there," Tyler invited.
Clyde raised his head, looking at Tyler standing before him, smiling as he turned around to face him.
"But Monica’s coming here in a bit, isn’t she?" Clyde replied.
"Aaargh, so annoying! Always acting so affectionate! Have some consideration for a single guy like me who struggles to get a girlfriend!" Tyler replied in exasperation.
"Hah... that’s your own fault for being single... right, Clyde?" said a girl standing next to Tyler.
Tyler and Clyde looked over; the girl standing beside them had a very attractive, athletic figure with tan skin, wavy hair dyed blonde, and a pretty face.
"Gah... Kate... get away from me," Tyler said, waving his hand dismissively.
"Hah... you just told Clyde you were jealous because you wanted a childhood friend... so what am I standing right next to you?" Kate asked, resting her elbow on Tyler’s broad shoulder.
"You’re different... sure, you’re a childhood friend, but you’re completely different from them," Tyler replied, pointing at Clyde with his thumb.
"Hah... what’s the difference? I’m the exact same as Monica, your childhood friend," Kate replied crossly, pinching Tyler’s cheek.
"This is the difference... with you, I’m traumatized, not happy!" Tyler yelled, his voice sounding bizarre as his cheek was pulled, bringing a laugh and a smile to Clyde’s face.
Before long, Monica arrived, and the four of them headed to the cafeteria to eat, with Clyde noticing her carrying a fairly large lunch box inside her tote bag.
"You brought a lunch?" Clyde asked.
"Yeah... and my lunch was almost ruined because of you this morning... though I’m grateful you were there," Monica answered, nudging Clyde’s shoulder.
Clyde then felt around his front and back pants pockets, realizing that his smartphone and wallet were left behind in class, turning to look at Monica,
"Uh... you go on ahead, I’ll head back to class first, left my smartphone and wallet behind," Clyde said.
"Sigh... honestly, fine, go get them quick, your careless habits never go away," Monica replied.
"Sorry... give me a second," Clyde replied.
Clyde turned around and jogged down the hallway toward his classroom, stepping inside and rushing over to his desk, where he saw his smartphone sitting on the table. He picked it up and reached into his bag to grab his wallet, then looked at his smartphone screen, seeing the message containing the audio file still open. His curiosity peaked, and before standing up, he pressed the play button,
"Na... na... na,"
A melody hummed by a girl in a beautiful yet mysterious and eerie tone echoed through the classroom, "thud," Clyde dropped his smartphone onto the desk, his face stunned, his jaw dropping as his entire body froze completely. He recognized that melody so deeply, feeling an overwhelming surge of nostalgia, as if he had heard that exact hum over and over again somewhere before.
"W... what is this? What is this feeling?" he asked in his head.
But before he could process any of it, a excruciating, overwhelming headache suddenly struck his mind, his head feeling crushingly heavy as if pressed under hundreds of tons of weight, both hands rising to clutch his head, his face contorted in agony,
"W... what’s happening... it... it hurts... help," he said in his head, as his mouth couldn’t form words.
"Thud,"
Clyde’s head slumped flat onto the desk, grimacing continuously from the agonizing headache as if something were tearing him away from reality, "aaaaaaah," he screamed inside his mind, as his consciousness faded until everything ultimately turned pitch black.
***
"Bzzzzzzzzz,"
"Kresssssssk,"
"Teng... ting... tang,"
"Na... na... na,"
The sound of a woman chanting a sweet, comforting song echoed through the air, accompanied by a piano melody she played inside a garden sheltered by a glass dome. Clyde opened his eyes, looking around to check his surroundings, finding himself sitting before a piano alongside a woman who was playing a beautiful tune while humming along.
To his left and right, he saw four children his own age, all listening intently to the chanting tune with serene, mesmerized expressions, their heads swaying from side to side without expression as they hummed along too, including himself. Clyde looked once more at the garden around him, a stunning sanctuary filled with flowers under a protective glass dome like a greenhouse, glowing brightly from the streaming sunlight.
"I... I know this place... but where is it?" he asked himself in his heart.
"Tap... tap," suddenly a tiny finger tapped his arm, and Clyde turned to see a pretty girl his age with short silver hair and cute, round eyes looking at him with a smile.
"Clyde, if we ever get out of here, no matter what happens, promise you’ll never forget me," the young girl said.
"Yeah, I promise, I’ll never forget you... Celes," Clyde replied.
"Promise?" Celes asked, holding out her pinky finger.
"I promise," Clyde answered, hooking his pinky around Celes’s.
"Bzzzzzzzzz,"
"Kresssssssk," Clyde’s vision suddenly blurred as if hit by heavy static distortion, looking like an off-air television broadcast, making Celes’s face in front of him indistinct. Then, "prak," the world suddenly cracked, and "praaang," reality shattered into pieces, sending Clyde falling into endless darkness.
[Simulation Dead Confirmed.]
[Protocol C-17 activated.]
[Subject serial number : C – 1703 – Mothman activated.]
[Restart subject... completed.]
["Wake up... Clyde."]
***
"Blup... blup... blup,"
"Ugh,"
Clyde opened his eyes, which instantly widened in sheer panic upon realizing he was submerged inside a tube filled with yellow liquid, raising his arms to find countless cables attached to his skin,
"Ogh,"
He felt a thick tube inserted down his throat into his mouth, then looked around to see countless hose-like cables tethered to his legs, waist, chest, stomach, and nearly his entire body,
"W... what is this... what’s going on?" he asked in sheer panic inside his mind.