The Infinite Torrent

Chapter 3: The PE Teacher's Suspicion

The morning sun felt like a spotlight Bayu wanted to crawl away from. He sat at his desk, his uniform shirt sticking to his back despite the thin, chilly layer of condensation that seemed to emanate from his skin. Every time he moved, he felt a strange, internal hum, a vibrational frequency that reminded him of the cave’s pulse.

"Earth to Bayu. You’ve been staring at that blank page for ten minutes, man," his seatmate, Rama, whispered, nudging him with an elbow.

Bayu blinked, shaking his head. "Sorry. Just a rough night. Didn't get much sleep."

"Looks like it," Rama chuckled, leaning back. "You look like you went five rounds with a heavyweight and lost. You okay? You’re vibrating."

"I'm fine, really," Bayu said, keeping his voice low. "Just dehydrated. I’ll be back to normal by the afternoon."

As the bell rang for the final period, the dread settled in his stomach. PE class. The one place where he couldn’t hide his physical state.

The heat on the school field was punishing. The air was thick, shimmering above the asphalt of the running track. Bayu stood in line, his skin feeling taut, his muscles coiled like springs that were wound far too tight.

"Alright, listen up!" Coach Darma barked, his whistle dangling from his neck. "Today is the mid-term physical assessment. We’re doing the 400-meter dash. I want to see speed, and I want to see effort. No slacking off."

"Coach, can we maybe start a bit later? It’s brutal out here," a student near the front complained.

"The heat is part of the training! Get to the line!"

Bayu took his position, his heart drumming a rapid, unnatural rhythm against his ribs. He felt the moisture in the air, the way the tiny droplets of sweat on the skin of the other students seemed to call to him. It was a maddening thirst, a craving for something more potent than a water fountain.

"On your marks," Coach Darma signaled.

Bayu crouched. He didn't mean to go fast. He just wanted to finish and get to the shade.

"Go!"

The sound of the whistle was the only permission he needed. His body reacted before his brain could even compute the instruction. He didn't push off the ground; he exploded away from it. The world blurred into a smear of green grass and grey concrete.

"Whoa!" someone shouted from the sidelines.

Bayu felt the wind roar past his ears. He was flying, his strides covering double the distance of his classmates in half the time. He saw the finish line approaching, but his momentum was so great that he felt like he’d shatter if he tried to brake normally. He skidded, his sneakers leaving deep, cauterized-looking marks on the track, and he tumbled into the grass to avoid crashing into the gym wall.

He lay there, gasping, not for air, but for moisture. His chest felt like it was expanding, the system flickering into his vision.

[ ALERT: Kinetic expenditure exceeding baseline human tolerance. ]

[ Efficiency: 24%. ]

"Bayu! What the hell was that?"

Coach Darma was standing over him, his face a mask of confusion and concern. He reached down, grabbing Bayu’s shoulder to pull him up, but he recoiled immediately. "Good grief, boy! You’re burning up, but your skin... you’re ice cold. Are you having a seizure?"

Bayu scrambled to his feet, trying to keep his head down. "I’m fine, Coach. Just tripped. The ground was slippery."

"Slippery? It’s bone dry!" The coach’s eyes narrowed, searching Bayu’s face. "You look like you’re suffering from heat stroke, or something worse. Your pulse is erratic, and you’re pale as a ghost. Go to the nurse’s office. Now."

"I don't need a nurse," Bayu insisted, his voice sounding thinner than he liked. "I just need to sit down for a minute. I’ll be fine for the next class."

"You aren't going to class, Bayu," the coach stated, his tone firm. "I’ve seen dehydration, and I’ve seen exhaustion. You look like you’re failing from the inside out. If you don't go get checked, I’m calling your parents. You could have a kidney issue or a heart murmur, and I’m not having you collapse on my watch."

Bayu felt the panic rising. If he went to the nurse, they would run tests. They would see things that weren't supposed to be there.

"Coach, please," Bayu stepped forward, his eyes pleading. "It’s just... a bad reaction to the heat. I already talked to my sister about it. I just need a reprieve, maybe skip the rest of the physical work today? I’ll be back to 100% by tomorrow. I promise."

Coach Darma sighed, crossing his arms. He looked at Bayu, really looked at him, and saw the desperation. "You look like you’re about to pass out, kid. I’m letting you go to the locker room to cool off, but if you aren't sitting in the nurse’s office in twenty minutes, I’m coming to get you myself. Understood?"

"Understood," Bayu breathed, turning quickly to avoid further scrutiny.

As he walked toward the locker room, he felt the heavy, lingering stares of his classmates. He had been too fast. He had moved like a blur, and now, he was a spectacle. He gripped the door handle of the locker room, the metal turning icy under his palm.

Twenty minutes, he thought. I have twenty minutes to find a way to stabilize this.*

He slumped against the locker bank, the silence of the room providing little comfort. His eyes burned, the faint, internal azure light casting dancing shadows on his own skin. He felt the water in the pipes behind the wall, a deep, resonant hum that made his mouth water.

"You're not human anymore, are you?"

Bayu spun around, his heart leaping into his throat. Standing by the entrance was Aisyah, one of the top students in his year. She wasn't looking at him with the suspicion of the coach; she was looking at him with something far more terrifying: recognition.

"What are you talking about?" Bayu asked, his voice low.

Aisyah walked closer, stopping just a few feet away. She didn't look at his uniform or his pale face. She looked directly into his eyes.

"I saw you on the track," she whispered. "People are talking about how fast you were, but I wasn't looking at your feet. I was looking at your eyes."

Bayu stiffened. "My eyes were normal, Aisyah. You’re seeing things."

"They were glowing, Bayu," she replied, her voice steady and eerily calm. "That same soft, azure blue. Like the water in the old legends, or that light that flickers in the deepest part of the forest."

Bayu felt his blood run cold—colder than the system already made it. "You’re mistaken."

Aisyah shook her head, a strange, knowing smile playing on her lips. "I’m not mistaken. I’ve been waiting to see if anyone else would find it. You didn't just have a 'bad day' out in the jungle, did you? You found the source."

She stepped closer, the air between them seeming to vibrate.

"Tell me, Bayu," she leaned in, her gaze piercing. "Does the thirst ever go away?"

Bayu stared at her, the reality of his situation crashing down. He wasn't the only one. And if she knew, then he was more exposed than he ever imagined.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Aisyah didn't answer. She just glanced at the door, then back at him.

"The Coach is coming," she said quietly. "If you want to survive the next hour, you need to stop acting like a normal student. You need to start acting like what you’ve become."

Before he could respond, she turned and slipped out the door, leaving him alone in the locker room with the humming of the pipes and the weight of a secret he no longer held alone.