『 Dying of Asphyxiation was seriously not my goal in life. 』
Neither was meeting a Governor of the Afterlife and getting sent to another world for a second chance at life.
Drew was assaulted by a group of men for reasons she didn't understand. Drown...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
98. Strangle
"Rei," a voice I hadn't heard in ages resounded in my head, "You're alright like this."
It was ironic that the one to say those words were not someone real, outside, but her who was inside. Perhaps it was a sense of conscience, an obligation she felt was to be done-- regardless, it didn't serve to dull the ache in my chest.
"If you're hurting, smile." Eve had said at some point, "No sense in letting the crowd in on your sorrows, Drew. We're performers, we cheer others up. We're not here to be consoled and pitied, so smile and make them happy!"
I can't cry, I can't cry.
I can't cry, alright?
"Drew, listen--" Zen loved to put his forehead on mine, an act of affection perhaps much deeper and much intricately built than a kiss on the forehead. His face remained stoic and without a smile-- instead it was perhaps a little stern. Lovingly stern-- "If you're going to scream, if you're going to cry-- put a smile on your face and close your eyes. Don't ever let anyone read through you."
Thinking back to it, clowns were often an epitome of hidden sorrow.
Seems that depiction wasn't much far from the truth, after all.
"It's alright, Drew," I spoke to myself, my own voice trying to comfort the burn in my heart, "I'm not going to cry. Not anymore, I can't."
This time, I hope I can live up to my fake promises.
-
It had been around three hours since I was locked in. Aoba Koyo had my phone broken; and Katou Julie confined Chrome and I in a small room until further notice. The room was small and resembled a bedroom of sorts-- naturally, Chrome, unconscious, was on the bed.
Sprawled across the floor a bit away from her, I wondered if she was physically alright.
Despite being held a captive, none of my limbs were bound. However, I hadn't any belongings aside from the clothes on my back. The room was shut firm, windows were bolted-- even if I had slipped out of the room somehow, we were on a remote island with no clear route of travel out. Escape was virtually meaningless.
I had only the choice of waiting my time out alone.
-
It was only another hour after that when I heard another creak from the door. The doorknob twisted with a quick and sharp click; then the door pulled outward, opening with an irritatingly sharp whine.
Katou Julie was an older man. His hair was longer than the average casual. He wore a hat adorning his style and a rectangular pair of glasses-- if anything, he seemed as strange a man as Shamal would've been if someone didn't know him personally.
