Unstoppable: Revitalized

-19-

"Adam!"

Something smacked into whatever I was laying on, causing me to jolt up, the situation I'd just been in keeping me on edge. It took me a second to blink and concentrate, my head straight and my body rigid, the fuzzy dots of this new world taking an agonising amount of time to connect.

How am I here? And not dead? Again? Wait... Where is here?

"Are you alright?" The same voice, gentle and quiet, quizzed me. Looking at them, I was met with what looked like a middle aged woman, wearing little makeup and rocking loose jeans and a tight shirt, her gaze showing both care and confusion. She clearly saw how I felt: Half-asleep, and completely out of it. 

"Y-yeah, sorry Miss." I mumbled, looking back down at my empty notebook, picking up my pen and pretending to look busy. She seemed to sneer before heading back to her table, reciting her words to a class that was half-bored, half-unbothered. Glancing where I could, I noticed a lot of eyes were still on me, yet no one laughed. Every time I caught someone staring, they snapped their head back forward, wide-eyed and straight faced. Barely paying attention to the teacher, I noted we were in a maths classroom: Grids, multiplication tables, and various shapes stuck to the wall told me so. The equations on the wall looked beyond solvable, and looking at the clock, I had only a few minutes left until class ended.

Thank god.

I took another look around, unable to shake the feeling I was being watched. No one would meet my eyes at all, except one person. One person who had their eyes locked onto my skull, with a lot of questions I was afraid to answer, and a face showing true, honest fear:

Charlotte.

Class began to wind down a couple of minutes later. I'd already thrown everything in my bag, going to throw it on my back and sprint for the door, but before the bell even rang, Charlotte had strolled up to me, with not a care in the world, standing just to the side of me. I went to say something, but I felt her chest on mine, something sharp suddenly finding it's way into the middle of my stomach, threatening to puncture me. Charlotte leaned into my ear, clearly not wanting to draw attention.

"You try and run, I will stab you. And I fucking mean it this time. Sit."

I collapsed into the chair, her hand already back in her pocket. I watched the teacher leave, silently begging she'd ask a question, but to no avail. The bell rang seconds after, every student clearing out in a matter of seconds. Charlotte went to the door, rolling the blind down and sliding a chair in front of it, before doing the same with the windows. She flicked the lights on, leaving us in a room alone. I stood back up, slightly defensive, ready for anything.

"How?! How are you alive?! I saw it, I SAW YOU! I SAW YOU, BURNT ALL OVER!" She began to scream, and I realised a scene is the last thing I needed. I took a step toward her, trying to close the gap and relax the situation.

"Look, Charlotte, it's hard for me to explain-" I began, but she clearly wasn't having it.

"HARD TO EXPLAIN? YOU DIED ADAM! BOTH YOU AND POPPY FUCKING DIED! HOW IS IT HARD TO EXPLAIN!?"

"I barely know myself! Stop screaming, please. I'll tell you what I know, but you have to stop yelling. The last thing I need is someone coming in while I do, or, even worse, Callum catching wind. Just... Please..." I lowered myself back to the chair, showing I wasn't going to harm her. I saw her eyes dart over me, and it took her a little while before she cautiously approached me, taking a seat opposite. She put her knife on the table, causing me to fidget slightly, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of my face as her eyes rolled over me, trying to find something to pick at.

"There's- you were charred all over. And- and now- oh god, is Poppy- is she alive?" Her voice began to crack as she leaned back, her head now in her hands.

"I- I don't know, I'm really sorry, I have no clue." I tried to show sympathy, but for some strange reason, I struggled to shake the monotone out of my voice, my face just as unbothered as normal. 

"Adam, you didn't see how you both looked. God, when the ambulance came, and all the paramedics... Even they were shocked."

More of The Boss' lackeys, there's no other way.

"How isn't this school shut down?" Charlotte interjected, shutting my thoughts down. I shrugged my shoulders, standing up and heading towards the door.

"Wait! You didn't explain anything!" She ran after me, kicking her chair over and pulling the knife out, ready to clash. Knowing she was in the wrong state of mind to think clearly, I threw the chair in front of the door to the side, flinging the door open. I was still looking at the wild animal, ready to claw me apart, so when a heel cracked into the front of my stomach and sent me spiralling back in, it caught me entirely by surprise. I felt my ribs slam against a table, rolling over it and landing in a heap the other side, a slow, weak moan dribbling through my lips. Standing back up, I heard another 'whack' and something fall to the floor, almost similar to me. There were stars in my eyes once again, and it took me a while to blink them out, both hands on the table to help me stay steady until my vision returned. Finally getting a chance to look up, I caught my second, and much worse, surprise of the day. A person who I truly thought was gone, dead beyond belief, rotting in a room somewhere. Instead, stood in front of me, arms crossed, a smirk on their face, was none other than Poppy herself, Charlotte's frame unconscious next to her.

"Well, isn't this convenient?"