At World's End

Entry 8

Blood… gore… despair… pure, unrestrained horror. 

they were displayed before my eyes. 

People got hacked to pieces, their guts spilling out as their blood dyed the floor red. 

People were in the air with a spike through their stomachs. 

A pregnant woman getting stoned to death. 

A baby's head was crushed with a hammer. 

At some point, I collapsed to my knees and threw up. 

It was too much to bear. 

Were they real?... Had such things happened out there in the real world? 

Just what sort of barbarism was this? 

Once again, I threw up. 

I wasn't the only one reacting adversely to the images as I heard a few thuds, most likely because some had fainted. 

I tried to turn away but where could I turn to? 

I looked up but a screen was there as well. 

Below… same. 

What the hell was this? 

What sort of madman would do such a thing to us? 

I could have sworn I heard someone crying. Was it from the video or amongst the aspirants? 

Shit… I felt nauseated again. 

I gripped my stomach as I closed my eyes in an attempt to remove the horrifying images from my mind when all of a sudden… the terrible sounds from earlier returned without warning. 

It was like a cacophony as several sounds were mashed together. 

At that moment, I thought I would run mad as I placed my hands on my head to block the sounds. 

I shook my head sideways while trying to hum a tune Leila taught me. 

Please… let this end… I want this to end. 

Fuck, why won't it end! 

Ah!!! 

I was at my wit's end when everything ceased like a lie. 

My body trembled greatly as I noticed that my surroundings had gone silent. 

Was it because I was trying to tune out everything?... Or had the presentation come to an end? 

A part of me was curious to find out but then again… what if the presentation was still ongoing? 

Hah, what to do? 

Okay… count to five and then open my eyes. 

5… 4… 3… 2… 

A soft hand tapped my shoulder as a sweet velvety voice floated into my ear. "It's over. You can open your eyes now." 

I felt warmth and a sense of assurance from those words. 

Thus, steeling my mind, I moved my hand from my ear and grabbed hold of the hand on my shoulder. 

Ensuring the hand was real, I took a deep breath and opened my eyes before turning over to see the one that had spoken. 

Pale skin with red eyes… she was the girl from earlier with the Blake family guards! 

I blinked a few times to ensure I wasn't dreaming but she responded to my gesture with a smile that took all my worries away.

But wait a minute… how can I see her?

Weren't we in a dark room? 

I whipped my neck to the other side to find that we were still in the Registration room but right now, the lights were turned on allowing us to see one another. 

The moving images were gone, the same with the sounds. 

Just then, several pungent smells hit my nose simultaneously causing me to jerk back. 

What the hell was that?... I looked around to discover more than half of the candidates unconscious while others were on their knees. 

Vomit splashed about with some unlucky fellows drenched in it. 

That's disgusting…. Wait, didn't I… 

I whipped my neck back to the pale girl, making eye contact with her. 

She still had her eyes on me and her palm was still on my shoulder. 

Why was she helping me?... Except… No, it couldn't be… I puked in front… right? 

I looked ahead but only the unconscious body of a fellow cadet reflected in my eyes. 

Poor soul… wait, that meant… no, please… let it not be that. 

I slowly turned to face the pale girl, her shoes to be exact. 

The moment I saw the mess, I quickly turned my neck away. 

Shit… it's the rice I ate. 

Why did this have to happen?... Couldn't she have stood a bit further away? 

Fuck, now I understand why she placed her attention on me. 

"Are you okay?" her sweet voice hit me again. 

No matter how much I wanted to feel warm… Nah fam, I understand why you are doing this. 

Hopefully, those shoes aren't expensive. 

I took a deep breath and turned to meet her gaze. 

An attempt to smile would be nice but… who am I kidding? 

This is so awkward! 

"I… apologize for the mess." 

I couldn't meet her gaze so I turned to look to the side even though the sight of vomit wasn't exactly appealing. 

It's better this way. 

She chuckled. "It's fine. I didn't like the shoes anyway." 

Wait, for real? 

Nice! 

Does this mean I don't have to pay for them? 

A buzzing sound suddenly echoed in the room. 

A door adjacent to the door we used to enter the Registration room opened, revealing the other side. 

A man dressed in military attire with a mechanic prosthetic in place of his right arm and another in place of his left eye. 

He had a rugged appearance and even without speaking, it was clear to tell how strict such a man would be. 

I gulped, hopeful that he wasn't an instructor of the Academy. 

The man stood at the entrance, surveying the room while taking note of those that were still conscious. 

Counting me and the pale girl, eight others were still awake with only two still standing. 

One was the pale girl… and the other was a redhead guy wearing a torn jacket. 

He looked pretty jacked for a teenager… of course, it's not like only teenagers were allowed into the Academy. 

But each age group had a different time for registration so it was obvious he was in my age group.