Time To Sleep

The room was filled with the sounds of conversations, arguments, and the occasional laugh.

Every team had now settled in, picking their spots.

Haku and his team chose beds that were lined up in a row, each separated by about half a meter.

Haku and Mey lay back on their beds, staring up at the ceiling. Around them, people continued to talk, debating strategies, whispering about their fears. Dennis, on the other hand, had already passed out, snoring lightly.

As the hours passed, the room slowly quieted. Conversations died down. The overhead lights dimmed, bit by bit, until the entire space was swallowed by shadow.

06:04:22 Left

It's gotten really dark... Haku thought.

He let his eyelids close, trying to drift off—but then, like a sudden lightning strike, a surge of emotions crashed into him.

Fuck…

Visions of the scorpions. The screams. The blood. The way people had been torn apart while he stood there, calculating his survival. Their faces—people who had names, thoughts, and lives—disappearing in an instant, reduced to corpses in the dirt.

I just… let it happen.

His heart suddenly pounded.

For the first time, he felt it in full force.

Regret.

He had been cold. Calculated.

I had put his survival above everything else. And it worked.

I had made the right choice. The logical choice...

Then why does it feel so fucking wrong?

He could still hear the screams, echoing in his skull like ghosts clawing at his mind. He could still see the moment when their eyes lost their light. People had died while he stood there, making the best decision for himself.

Was this really the only way?

Lying in the silence, surrounded by the weak and the helpless—his own team—he felt something shift inside him. It was different this time. Before, he had accepted it as reality. As necessary. But now…

If I keep going like this, how many more will I have to watch die?

His fingers curled into the fabric of the blanket beneath him.

Is this what it means to survive? To outlive people just to carry their ghosts?

And then—

A memory slammed into him.

He was a kid again. Standing in the dim glow of the streetlights, his body stiff, frozen.

A boy from his class was getting shoved against a fence, his face twisted in fear, while two older kids laughed. It wasn't the first time. Haku had seen it before. He had known it would happen again. And yet, he had done nothing.

Just stood there.

Like a fucking coward.

He could still remember the way his heart pounded, the way his hands clenched into useless fists at his sides. He could have stepped in. He could have said something. But he hadn't. Because it wasn't his problem.

But his older brother had found out.

And Haku had never seen him so angry.

"You just fucking stood there?" His brother's voice had been pure fury, his hands gripping Haku's shoulders so hard it hurt.

"You watched it happen and did NOTHING?"

"I—"

"No excuses. No bullshit." His brother's eyes had been sharp, burning with disappointment.

"You don't just look away when someone needs help. You don't ignore the weak. You fucking protect them."

Haku swallowed hard.

"Do you get it?" His brother had leaned in, voice low and firm.

"If you ever stand by and do nothing again—"

His grip had tightened.

"—then you're just as bad as the ones who did it."

The memory faded, but the weight of those words crushed down on him like a thousand bricks.

He had done it again.

He had stood by. He had watched people die. And he had told himself it wasn't his problem.

No more.

Haku clenched his fists.

I can't just be someone who only looks out for himself. This team—no matter how weak they are—needs me. And I won't let them die just because I was too focused on surviving alone. From now on, I give everything. Not just for me, but for everyone...

He thought the others who had no chance without someone strong by their side.

They're counting on me.

A single tear rolled down his cheek. He barely noticed it, only feeling the faint wetness as it disappeared into the fabric of his pillow.

This time, he didn't wipe it away.

That's it.

That's fucking it.

No more.

No fucking more.

Never again.

Never again. Never again. Never again.

His breath came in sharp, uneven gasps. His chest felt tight, like something inside him was breaking apart, shattering into something new. His fingers clenched the fabric beneath him, knuckles white, nails digging in.

Fuck… fuck…

His heartbeat pounded in his ears, a deafening rhythm that drowned out everything else.

I won't let this happen again.

I won't just stand by.

Then—his brother's voice, echoing in his mind.

"You don't just look away when someone needs help."

"You don't ignore the weak."

"You fucking protect them."

His brother had always said it like it was the simplest thing in the world. Like it wasn't even a question. Like doing anything else was unthinkable.

His body trembled—not with fear, but with something deeper, something raw and unbreakable.

I will protect them.

I will protect everyone.

Even if its impossible.

Even if it means breaking myself apart and rebuilding from the ground up.

His jaw tightened. His eyes burned.

I will never be that person again.

A single tear rolled down his cheek. He barely noticed it, only feeling the faint wetness as it disappeared into the fabric of his pillow.

This time, he didn't wipe it away.

This was the moment.

The moment he changed.

The room had gone completely silent now. Only the soft sound of breathing and the distant hum of the system's machinery remained.

And then—

A whisper.

"Hey... are you still awake?"

Haku blinked, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" he mumbled.

Mey's voice was quiet, barely audible.

"Why are you still up?"

Haku exhaled, the weight of his thoughts still heavy in his chest. Then, without missing a beat—

"Yeah... I got my period cramps."

For a second, silence.

A muffled laugh.

Mey buried her face in her pillow, her shoulders trembling as muffled giggles escaped from beneath the fabric.

"You idiot," she muttered, still half-laughing into the fabric.

Haku turned his head slightly, staring at her before shifting his gaze back to the ceiling.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

Mey sighed. "Yeah… but my thoughts are too loud."

Haku let out a slow breath. "Same."

Silence.

Both of them just lying there, staring at the ceiling, lost in their own thoughts.

The room around them felt distant. The world outside—unreal.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

And that was okay.

Mey shifted, turning her head toward him.

"You think we'll make it back?"

Haku didn't answer right away. His eyes traced the darkness above them.

Then, with quiet certainty—

"Yeah. We will."

Mey let out a breath, almost like a laugh.

"Confident, huh?"

Haku smirked. "No point in thinking otherwise."

Silence settled again.

Everyone was slowly drifting off, the room sinking deeper into silence.

"Hehe… period cramps…"

Mey suddenly giggled, her hand covering her mouth as if trying to stifle it.

"You're never letting that go, huh?"

Mey grinned into her pillow. "Not a chance."