𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐌, alice in borderland

001

"There is a thin line that separates life from death, but once it's crossed, it becomes as large as an ocean, and so treacherous that it's impossible to cross back."
— Federico Chini,
The Sea Of Forgotten Memories

Who knew there was a grey zone?

Apparently, when a person isn't aware of and can't respond to their surroundings, they are in a vegetative state. The vegetative state is another aspect of what is considered the grey zone between life and death. Others may call it Purgatory: the state of waiting where a person can make up for their sins (though this can happen only after death). All this medical research and stuff explaining the line between life and death have been conducted all around the world, people gathering information to satisfy their lust for knowledge.

After the meteorite crash in Tokyo, your heart was barely beating, and the rescue team had to rush you and other survivors to the closest hospital. Within your mind, you were stunned in your spot when you opened your eyes and saw the empty streets of Tokyo, while beyond the border of your consciousness, doctors moved swiftly in treating you, some frantic while they reported any changes in your body, praying and hoping for you to wake.

But you didn't know that.

Right now, you were standing inside a wrecked restaurant, staring at a building bearing the big, bold 'NEXT STAGE START' letters. Your heart pounds beneath your rib cage.

Papers flutter like butterflies as the wind gusts loudly by your ears, the sky a bright blue. It would have been the perfect day to get out and enjoy Tokyo if only you weren't stuck in the Borderlands, fighting for your life.

A fist is clenched by your side, your nerves starting to get the best of you.

Then you heard the rumbling.

It was low, but it was enough for you to spring back into your fight or flight mode, head whipping around to try and find its source.

In the distance, you see four figures standing together, looking off in the same direction.

You weren't sure if you were going to regret your decision, but you went up to them anyway.

Taking light steps, their appearances finally become clear to you: one is a young woman, quite tall, her hair in dreadlocks. Her chiselled arms were admirable.

Another is a young man, with dark, shaggy hair, adorning a white button-up shirt. He had a face that reminded you of a lost puppy.

Another is a shorter woman, though her physique showed she was used to physical activities, with short hair, a yellow shirt and sweatpants.

And the last was a man with dyed blonde hair, wearing a white-fading-to-grey cardigan over a grey shirt. His arms resting in the pockets of his sweatpants indicate that he had a personality that was calm and unbothered.

You took another step, but then their heads whipped around to face you. Sheepishly, you held up both your hands to show you weren't looking for any trouble.

"Hello," you introduced yourself swiftly, "I'm not here to start a fight, I was just about to ask if you heard the rumbling," you said, making sure your tone was light and friendly.

It took them a few seconds to respond, the four sharing looks before the tall, dreadlocked woman was the one to reply. "Yeah, it came from over there."

Raising a slender figure, the woman pointed towards the building by your right. Following the direction, your heart picked up its pace once the low rumbling became deeper and louder.