Danganronpa: Another Hope

Chapter 4: Engulfing Despair

4.1: Sick

I awoke lying down and looking at the ceiling. I looked around and saw that I was inside a room. I rose up and looked around, my head started to hurt a bit. "Stay down, you'll only hurt yourself" said a voice. I looked at my left and saw someone sitting down. He held a console in his hand, I immediately identified him. "Heh, where am I, JC?" I asked. "In the hospital" he replied calmly. I remembered that I felt so cold I fainted. I also remembered Monomi talking about a hospital before I became unconscious. My head still hurt so I laid back on the bed. Then I heard the door open up. I felt weak so I didn't rise up. I heard a familiar voice talking to JC.

"So what happened so far?" asked the voice. "Nothing much, she did just rose up just now" said JC. "Keep on monitoring her. She's too weak at the moment so try not to strain her too much" said the voice. "I'll do my best" said JC. Then I heard footsteps going towards me. A figure looked onto me, it was Adine. "Hi Carol, I hope you'll get well soon" said Adine. "Exactly what happened to me?" I asked. Adine let out a sigh and then talked. "You became unconscious from hypothermia but you're fine now" she said. "I see, what happened to Amy and Juli?" I asked. "Juli is fine now... she kinda acts like a cat. So she's curled herself in a ball with the blankets" said Adine. "The last time I checked she had a fever" she said worryingly. "Amy's condition is worse" she added. "What do you mean worse?" I asked in a worried tone. Adine also looked worried and looked hesitant to talk. Then I heard the door swung open. It bashed against the wall making a crashing sound. "Adine! We need you quick!" shouted a voice. Adine went away from my bed and ran away to the door. I heard the click and I instantly knew that they were gone. "Hey, its fine... as long as Adine is there, she'll be fine" comforted JC. I still felt scared on what could happen. I wondered if Amy will truly be okay. I rose up again and mustered my strength. "Stay down... you'll only hurt yourself" said JC. I felt hopeless, stuck in bed and too weak to help anyone. I felt like I couldn't protect those who I love the most. I laid down back on the bed and looked at the ceiling. I went back to sleep, hoping by the time I wake up, I'll feel better.

While I had fallen asleep, I had a strange dream. I dreamt of me underwater, I looked around me and just saw endless blue stretching as far as the eye could see. Nothing could be seen, nothing could be heard, and nothing could felt. Then I felt like I was suffocating, I felt my lungs practically gasping for air. I opened my mouth and all the water came rushing in, I tried to breath for air but the water kept on drowning me. I felt weak and my eyes closed, I fell unconscious. I had awoken from my dream, basically gasping for air. I looked around me and saw that I was still in my hospital room. There was nobody in the room and the sun had already set. The room was dark and the only light was from my desk lamp. I rose up and tried to stand up. I had trouble getting on the ground. Barefoot, I walked towards the door. I opened it and the light came rushing in. I was blinded for a second and then my eyes had gotten used to it. I looked around and saw that I was in a corridor. The corridor was long and had other rooms. I didn't feel like it was a good idea to walk around while I still felt rather weak. I went back into my room and sat on my bed. I looked around and saw that my room had a window. I opened my curtains and looked outside. It was already night and had a starry sky. I looked closer and saw that we were close to the sea. Then I heard my door opened up, I looked to it and saw that Zane was there holding a tray.

"Hey Carol, are you feeling fine now?" asked Zane. "Yeah, I feel a bit better now" I replied. Zane placed his tray on my table. He sat down on a chair and talked to me. "So hey, um... I know you're worried about Amy" he said. "Hehe, I'm worried about everyone who got hurt" I said sadly. Zane took a plate from his tray and gave it to me. "Eh, what's this for?" I asked. "Eat up, you'll grow thin. It'll get your mind off your worries" he said. Zane gave me a spoon and fork and smiled at me. I took the spoon and fork and I started to eat the meal that Zane prepared for me. The food tasted rather delicious, it had a sort of lime taste and was also sweet. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal and gave the plate back to Zane. "Hehe, looked like you enjoyed my cooking" he said. I swallowed what I ate and then talked to Zane, "That was one of the best steaks I've ever eaten before!" I said enthusiastically. Zane gave looked rather happy and he smiled at me with delight. "Um, yeah... Thanks! I appreciate your comment!" he said. "Yeah, you're not called the Ultimate Chef for nothing!" I exclaimed. "Heh, truth is... I am called the Ultimate Chef for nothing" he said slowly. "What? Your cooking is amazing, don't lie!" I said. "Here let me tell you something... My title, The Ultimate Chef, was given to a friend which I once knew" he said. A friend which he once knew, I wonder who was that... I thought to myself. "I was basically a random run of the mill high school student before this" he said. No that can't be, you've got so much talent! I thought to myself. "The only reason why I became the Ultimate chef was because of him, though all I could remember was he taught me all I knew... I don't even remember his name" said Zane. "Still though, that doesn't mean you don't deserve the title of Ultimate Chef!" I said. "Heh, I really don't, I basically stole his identity" he said slowly. Stole his identity? So what does that mean? I asked myself. "Okay I'll tell you the entire story... I was just an ordinary high school student with no talents whatsoever. I then met a friend, all I could remember was his ultimate talent, The Ultimate Chef. I did grow close to him and then he started to teach me all about cooking. I'll be honest, I was rather crap at cooking before. It did all change when he taught me, I learned so much just from him. Now here's the dark part... One day I was walking to the Kitchen Lab to meet up with him. He told me that he was going to join a cooking competition so he wanted me to help him before he departed. I did go there and met up with him, he looked focused and pumped up for the competition. I helped him calm down, we both packed his cooking supplies. But as we both headed out of the school, he slipped and hit his head on the stairs. He became unconscious, I heard his driver calling and looking for him. I didn't want him to feel sad about not joining so I decided to disguise as him. I wore his extra clothes and carried his supplies to the van. We did a trip to the airport going to the capital city. I was in the competition with other cooking pros, I felt extremely nervous, I started to regret going here. Then I remembered my fiend, it gave me courage and I decided to cook with all my heart. I did win the competition and was proud of it. After so I returned back to my hometown and heard that my friend was hospitalized. I went to the hospital where he was admitted bringing with me the trophy from the competition. I was horrified by what I saw when I entered his room, his body was hanging from the ceiling. I was scared and I ran to the nurse's office to tell them about it. After a police investigation, I was given his diary. In there I had read these words "My most precious bestest friend betrayed me". I felt devastated to think that I was the cause of his death. I kept on blaming myself for the days to come. Until Hopes Peak Academy called me to join the main course... So that's my story" he said. I felt a strange feeling of sadness and consideration towards Zane. I felt that he was being torn apart by the devil's of his past. "Hey don't blame yourself. I mean you yourself was the one who got yourself this far!" I tried to cheer him up. "Thanks Carol but I must live with this burden for the entirety of my life as long as I am called The Ultimate Chef, I can't stop thinking of those events" said Zane. It should really feel I like a burden to have such a terrible past. To live with the thought that you caused someone else's death. This is something I never think I could do. Zane took my plate and placed it on the tray. He placed the utensils on the tray as well. "Hey don't feel sad for me, I don't want the guilt of making someone sad" he said. I nodded my head and then smiled at Zane. "Thanks, I'll be heading out now. Good night, Carol" he said. He took the tray and then walked out of the room. I watched him as he closed the door. I looked around and couldn't really see anything that could be fun. The door opened up again and then Micheal came in. "Hey, here I thought you'd get bored doing nothing here" he said as he handed me a book. I took the book from his hand and thanked him. "Thanks, I was just thinking that I wanted to read a book" I said. He sat down on a nearby chair and looked at me. "So rough day right..." I said. "Heh, I'm just tired... I've been helping everybody out this entire day. I had to go back and forth between these two islands. Two islands? Isn't there just one here? I asked myself. "So wait were on a different island?" I asked. "Monomi brought us to this island" he replied. Then I had a glimmer of hope, so there's a boat on this island, I thought to myself. "Then where's the boat you used to get here!" I asked. "Umm, there's no boat" he said reluctantly. My hope was just crushed by those words I descended back to my bummed state. "So how did you get here then?" I asked. "Remember the Monokuma Coaster, just ahead of it and behind this mountain was the Monokuma Monorail" he said. "Monokuma Monorail? What's that?" I asked. "It's how we got on this island in the first place. It's a monorail that travels between these two islands" he explained. Another train.... I was hoping it were a boat so we could all escape this island, I thought to myself. "Hey another thing, what did you mean by helping?" I asked. "I had to get supplies from the main island since this island is rather small" he said. "Rather small? So wait what's on this island?" I asked. "I really can't answer, all I know there ain't a supermarket here. I wasn't able to explore this area too well since I got too busy" he said. "You know what, Carol. Get some rest, I hope you'll get well soon" he added. He went out of the room and closed my door. I was very curious to what this island possessed, I wanted to explore. Though I am still rather weak to be exploring so I should rest up! I thought to myself. So I turned off my desk lamp and went to sleep. I closed my eyes and laid on my pillow.