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TW: Mentions of near death experiences
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Ryoko had been awake since four in the morning, being the product of a messed up sleep schedule. The tall office building near his apartment was often used for his morning workouts. He would often times climb all the way to the top to just stargaze and relax. That's where he was at the moment. His bag of clothes and essentials propped on his back. He was ready to move.
The quietness of dawn left him to dream.
Or to a nightmare.
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He was awake but it felt like a nightmare. Like the nightmare that would take hold of your body, in a state of paralysis.
His mind telling him to get up but he felt as though he physically couldn't.
Ryoko felt hot. Like his body was overheating from being buried in a thick blanket on the hottest summer night.
It wasn't until his eyes darted to the masculine figure behind the flames, that his body jerked-free from the pressure that weighed him down.
Nine-year-old Ryoko was quick to identify the strong stench as gasoline. His room was being set on fire purposely. The heat itself wouldn't let him see past the foot of the bed.
Luckily for him, his bed was positioned next to the only window. Unfortunately, the raging flames were spreading fast and had already caught the edges of the dinosaur sheets. While Ryoko tried his best to pry the window open but it barely budged.
It was getting hotter and harder to breathe. His head and chest were starting to feel heavy. His movements became slower, the longer he struggled. The flames licked unforgivingly at the boy's feet. Ryoko's eyes glazed over ever so slightly in tears at the thought of this being his death.
He the tears away when his eyes caught on to something outside. A basket of baseballs by the pool. Baseballs.
Bat.
His baseball bat. It sat at the head of his bed like always. Ryoko leaped for the damn thing and refused the let go when the hot metal came in contact with the skin of his palms.
He got in the best position he could the make the swing at the window.
"Please," he muttered to himself, "please work."
With all the strength the nine-year-old could muster, he swung at the glass.
The glass shattered on contact.
Out flew glass shards. In came the oxygen that the blazing fire so desperately needed. Ryoko's back was met with the scorching inferno with so much force that it launched him through the window.
The fire that was attached to his back quickly eating away at his skin had been quickly extinguished by chlorine.. He had landed in the pool, on the deep end to be specific.
A barely conscious Ryoko tried his best to swim to the shallow end but his body had been at its limit. The pain had completely taken control over his body. His body stiff and numb began to sink.
The burning in his chest felt so overwhelming that he let the water fill his lungs.
He wasn't ready to go, but the large black dots in his vision told him to get ready.
His dark eyes closed one last time.
It felt pleasant. He was at peace with his ending.
The ripples underneath the water went unnoticed by the boy. His body was being pulled up, out of the water. The summer air did nothing to warm the boy's freezing cold skin.
Something was pushing on his chest. His peace had been interrupted by the returning burn in his chest.
Ryoko's body jerked forward. His lungs letting out spills of water with every cough.
His body was being hugged. But as soon as his savior's hand touched his back, a painful scream ripped through the small child.
His back had been burned so badly the tender white muscle could been seen clear as day.
His head was being cradled to the stranger's chest as the house burned on behind them.
He was alive but scarred; emotionally and physically.
Ryoko had cheated Death.
The first time of many.
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Ryoko was so deep in his subconscious that he hadn't noticed the glaring light in the distance.
One strip of land had light in the mass abyss of darkness.
One place had power. Electricity.
The Beach.
He also hadn't noticed the group that stood behind him. Not until a blow to his head sent him back into the darkness.
"You are one hard man to find."
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YOU ARE READING
♠️♡Checkmate ♣♢Alice In Borderland
Hayran Kurgu"I'll survive. Somehow I always do." Araki Ryoko didn't mind Borderland much. He liked to be alone. He always has been. He was used to it. He went through games and visa days without making friends. One time. It was only one time he chose to help so...
