The Confession    

[Jin]

As Jin walked through the half-empty halls of his new school, he noticed that the college students gave him a wide berth. He could hear whispers and murmurs as he passed by, and he sensed the fear and apprehension in their eyes.

One group of college students huddled together in a corner, their voices low and urgent.

"Did you hear about that new kid with the white hair and silver eyes?" one of them whispered.

"Yeah, I heard he got into a fight with some guys from another school," another chimed in, fanning himself with his hands. "Apparently, he's really skilled in martial arts."

"He looks pretty intimidating," a third student added, drinking a jug of cold water while wiping his sweat with his shirt. "I don't want to mess with him."

Jin could hear their conversation, but he tried to ignore it and kept walking towards the rooftop. The only place where he could block out the noise.

He knew that his reputation preceded him and that people were afraid of him because of his occasional association with fights. He felt a little frustrated and annoyed that he couldn't seem to shake off this negative perception, even though he was trying to be low-key.

Was his face that scary? He admitted that he could be intimidating and lack the necessary social skills to survive, but still . . . Jin sighed a long blast of air and skipped multiple steps to reach the rooftop faster and escape the murmurs.

As Jin walked past another group of students, he overheard their conversation even if he didn't want to. They were the few students who went out to the halls to escape the heat or probably skipped class entirely.

"I heard that new kid is trouble," one of them said.

"Yeah, he's got a bad reputation," another agreed, catching her breath. "I heard he's been in fights at every school he's been to."

Jin wanted to correct them but decided against it, and he retreated back into silence and passivity. He didn't trust himself to speak, especially not in this heat.

Jin climbed up the stairs to the rooftop, feeling the hot wind blowing through his hair and the sun shining down on his face. This was his sanctuary, his escape from the pressures and stresses of everyday life. The heat and burn were uncomfortable, though.

But he had his perfect spot. One where he could gaze at the sky without the sun and glares reaching him. He could take on the heat and humidity, not just the noise of the people around him.

He climbed over the top of the canopy's entrance and made himself comfortable behind the shadow of a huge building.

But just as he was about to lie down and relax, a rabbit imprinted on pink underwear suddenly blocked his view.

However, passed that unappealing undergarment was a strange woman of great beauty with a very cold set of silver eyes. And instead of a romantic confession, he received a piece of crazy information.

"The sun will soon be swallowed up by the darkness, and the world as we know it will be plunged into an eternal night. More than half of the world will be wiped out by the undead, and harsher and crueler rule will rise from their ashes.

"The Gods are dead. The lands are shattered, and the world will begin to forget what it once was. Time and distance will lose their meaning, and the knowledge of how things were will crumble into ashes.

"Those who struggle to survive in a shattered world must overcome decay and rot that eats at memories and thrusts people into nightmarish abominations and will bring each other face to face with cosmic horrors and – worst of all – their own personal demons.

"Jin, will you face this apocalypse together with me and live . . . or choose otherwise and die."

". . ."

"Your choice?"

Jin was taken aback by her sudden appearance, even more so with what she had said that it took a minute for him to find his voice again.

"Are you crazy?" He found himself saying. He didn't know who she was, but he got to say that he was intrigued by the blankness of her stares and that feeling of death around her.

As she stared over at him in silence, Jin studied her. He had never seen anyone else with white hair and silver eyes before. It was almost like looking in a mirror. Only she was a girl and wearing a skirt.

"Am I Crazy?" the girl said, noticing his gaze. "Maybe . . ."

Jin felt self-conscious all of a sudden, but he didn't pull his gaze away. "Is this a prank?" he shifted his head left and right to see if she had other people with her.

She only looked at him in silence for a few moments, the only sound being the wind blowing through their hair. Jin felt a strange connection with this girl, like they had some kind of shared history.

"So I will take it that you won't come with me?" she asked suddenly.

Jin looked at her in incredulity and growled, "Of course not! I don't even know you."

The girl pulled her gaze and nodded to herself, muttering, "I see . . . It only make sense . . . you're . . . I'am . . ."

Jin was so sure that the woman was crazy, and he was about to jump down and get away when out of nowhere, she pulled a gun.

"Fuck!" Jin scuffled to get away, his heart racing in his throat.

But instead of pointing the weapon at him, she placed the gun on the floor along with a knife and four grenades.

"Do you know how to use this?" she peered into him under her lashes, but Jin remained tight lip, cold dread biting his nerves even though it was so hot his skin was turning red.

She showed him how to use the gun. "This is a Semi-automatic pistol, a type of pistol that automatically reloads the next round after each shot. It's fairly easy to use and is lightweight that even girls could fire it. It has twenty rounds so don't waste it."

She put a box on the slab and continued, "This contained 100 bullets, but in the hands of an inexperienced shooter, it wouldn't last for an hour. So if you're unsure you won't hit your target, don't shoot."

As she spoke, she grasped the slide of the pistol, pulled it back towards her, inserted a fresh magazine, and then released the slide to load a round into the chamber.

Jin was mesmerized at how a woman his age, short and petite, could be so adept at holding a gun and saying such scary words with a blank face.

When she grabbed for the grenade next, Jin was ready to jump over the fence. He would chance his life over the four-story building than with the crazy woman with grenades in her hands.

"Just pull the safety pin of these things and throw it as far away from you as much as possible. Like in those movies," she said without batting an eyelid, voice strangely flat. "And I don't have to tell you how to use a knife, right?"

"No," Jin said, finally finding his voice. "What I want you to tell me is . . . what the HELL is wrong with you?!" he was shouting now.

Even for him, bringing these kinds of weapons was too much, especially at school and in broad daylight no less. But this woman just casually walked onto school grounds with grenades around her. How did she even get passed security?

Instead of answering, she only uttered, "Bring them with you. You'll find them useful . . . soon enough."

And with that, she disappeared back down the stairwell, leaving Jin alone on the rooftop, wondering who she was and what the hell just happened.

Minutes passed before Jin recovered his wits. He found his stay on the rooftop not as relaxing anymore and decided to go back to his classroom. But before that, he took another glance at the weapons on the stone slab.

He found that besides the gun, knife, and four grenades, there was a water-filtering jug filled to the brim and a note beside it.

Curiosity was greater than danger at this point, and Jin picked the note. There was a map on the front page and a message on the back.

[If you change your mind, you know where to find me]