"It's like I already felt that feeling to be with an important person in my life"
LOCATION: nth Planet TIME: Morning
I can hear a swift whoosh on my ears. I can feel the strand of my hair caress my cheeks. A tingling sensation from my arms to feet. It is so cold. It seems like I'm floating.
"Hwa!" I woke up because of the cold I was feeling. I took a deep breath. I also noticed that I was floating in. This got me nervous because I thought the river was deep and I could not even swim.
Where am I?
My chest throbbed harder for an unknown reason. Maybe it's because the atmosphere in this place is kind of different but welcoming. What a serene place—cold breeze, the river is calm and shallow. There are tall trees, green plants, and shrubs. Chirping birds and insects flew above my head and the sound of insects is audible as the sun rises.
"Whaaa!" What I saw next made me shriek because I saw that there are floating bodies of people in the river.
A-Are they okay? Are they… dead?
There are many of them and they wear school uniforms like me. After a few seconds, I realized that they were the 23 students like me floating in space a while ago. I snapped and pinched myself. This is not a dream. This is a reality. We are the 24 students in an unknown place. Everything is true. I went back to the events, and I did not fail to remember. If my mind recalls it right, I guess we are here on the so-called nth planet. The hologram says, the nth planet looks like the earth and as I scan the surroundings, there is no doubt that there are no visible differences. The wind, sun, water, trees, plants, and animals—they are all real! This does not seem to be an illusion either.
I poked one girl beside me that floats. I put my left ear near her nose, she's breathing. I checked others, they're alive as well. Thank goodness and I'm not the only one here and I'm not surrounded with floating corpses. Not long after, others are also rising from unconsciousness while floating on the river. Others seem tired that you can't paint their faces. They immediately shook themselves and got extremely confused.
"Where are we?" I heard a girl ask.
"Maybe we're already here," replied the boy who's wearing eyeglasses.
"Is this the nth planet?!" a boy with long hair asked to the boy he's standing next to.
"Gosh, is this it? How can I live with this?" said a girl with curly hair artfully.
"Hey, guys! Check it out, our clothes aren't even wet!" What that boy said caught my attention.
"Y-Yes? How did that happen?"
"Magic?"
"Maybe the clothes that we have there in the galaxy have a certain substance so the water and fabric will not go together."
"My hair is dry too!"
"Dang! How bizarre this world can be?"
I checked and touched my clothes and hair. They're right, we are completely dry. I did not get wet in the river even though I was afloat. Also, we all floated even if it was just a shallow river with probably just the height of our knees. I don't know how that happened, but this place must be strange.
"Shut your mouth, guys. There is nothing you can do if you are too amazed by what you are witnessing. You will also not be rewarded if you find out how the impossible happened." replied the boy with eyeglasses. "Don't you remember? The hologram says everything is possible on the nth planet," He's giving me an intimidating vibe that I should not get involved with him. From then on, I noticed in space that he is straightforward and everything he says makes sense even if he speaks harshly.
"But what are we going to do now?"
"Oh no! What if there are no gadgets here?"
"What the? I also don't have a cellphone with me."
"How can we live like this?!"
"What the heck is an nth planet, by the way? How did we end up here?!"
Some-no, most of them panicked. I was surprised by the sudden appearance of a rather chubby boy who spoke while everyone is complaining and raising their concerns. "Stop worrying about the things that would not suffice our means to live! We should come up with ways on how to survive here." Everyone became silent because of that. I can't blame him because what he said was right. We should rather focus on how to live here by meeting our basic needs.
"I think we need a leader to guide us on what to do," suggested a girl with braided pigtails who looked modest because of her soft girly voice.
Her companion also spoke. "That's right, the situation will not be organized without a leader," he said. They have a good point.
I noticed that they looked very much alike with the modest girl. Maybe they're siblings? Or even twins?
I just looked at the two boys, one with eyeglasses and the chubby one. Everyone was silent for a moment and thought of something. I approached the two of them and spoke. "Why don't you two become the leaders?"
Often in class, I just keep quiet and do not socialize much. But now, I must speak up and help for the good of all. A lot of questions formed in my mind being here but first, we need to help each other.
A pretty girl with long light brown hair scoffed. "Suit yourselves. As if I can trust someone I don't even know."
She has a point. At this moment maybe we only know one person each among us—the one who's wearing the same uniform as ourselves.
A tall, tanned boy with long black hair dreadlocks stepped in. "Try your luck, lady. You seem to have trust issues."
"Come again?!" the pretty girl is agitated by what the boy said.
"Enough," The chubby boy stopped the two from an incoming argument. "I know that I do not deserve your trust, but I am willing to be in charge of this. I hope to gain your trust as soon as I prove myself worthy of it."
"Likewise. It's not that I'm plotting something against all of you besides I'm not familiar with everyone except my classmate. But my service could be of help on how we're going to survive this place." The boy with eyeglasses added.
We all talked and agreed that they would be both our leaders. Having them as our leaders will make our tasks manageable and productive. The pretty girl was left in silence leaving her with no choice because of the majority vote. I noticed that my classmate was not there, then I saw him stunned watching the calm river. What is he thinking? He is probably as confused as I am. I just let him meditate with his thoughts while listening to the others. The two leaders talked to each other for a few minutes then he announced something to us.
"Okay, so it's like that. It's a good thing we didn't get wet from floating on the river, so we don't have to change our clothes other than carrying anything with us. Let's not separate our ways. We will look for a place where we can stay, and we will build huts. There are a lot of trees and vines, so we won't have much trouble." briefing the chubby boy.
The boy with eyeglasses continued what the chubby boy was about to say. "As for the food, the girls will gather some fruits and vegetables. Look for wood that can be turned into huts. Boys will build huts and hunt edible animals. Others who have nothing to do afterward, get ready to work with bonfire before night." His authoritative request from us. "We, as your leaders will look for a place where there is clean water and a safe place to stay. And always remember, do not go alone. You should always have someone with you because you may get lost. I will also mark our meeting place. We will gather there with what you all got. In case anything happens to you, just shout for help." he finished. They both have a good and fast decision upon arriving here.
Everyone agreed and so we went for a walk to find a place for us to sleep. I couldn't help but look for and look at my classmate. The others in the same pair of uniforms are talking because they are in the same school and maybe the same class. I guess we are the only pair who have not talked and interacted yet. I would have asked him a lot in case he remembered something about us. But he still looked confused to the point that you cannot approach him. After that, we girls looked for food. This place is so secluded that we avoided getting away with each other.
"Yo!" I got startled by the sudden slap on my shoulder.
"H-Huh?" I asked.
"Your face is so funny, hahaha!" a shoulder-length with black hair, tan-skinned girl startled me. Her uniform is a white blouse, red necktie, red skirt, and black shoes. I just scratched my head from what she did.
"Chill! I may not look like it but I'm a trustworthy person. You know, we're the only ones who will help one another, so yeah!"
I just nodded then smiled at her. Looks like she approaches everyone to get to know and I'm the last one she talked to. We started chatting and she's a talkative and bubbly type of person. We got some vegetables and fruits for our food later. We also gathered mushrooms but I'm not sure if all of these are safe to eat. None of us are experts when it comes to survival and hunting.
"Ah! It's wearing me out!" she complained while reaching more for fruits. It was indeed tiring for I am not accustomed to this work. "Think about it, one day I remembered I was at school but when I woke up, I was already in outer space and when I woke up again, I'm in this place!" she said jokingly.
What she said made me ponder. "At school?"
She turned her back on me. "Yes, we had a moving up ceremony then. The weird thing is, I don't know some people, but others know me."
My eyes widened. The same thing happened to me. I was about to ask another question when a modest-looking girl with braided pigtails approached us.
"Um, let's go back to gather the food," she said.
We can't wander around the forest and take much time because we are not familiar with this place. We only managed to get what we saw and deem useful. We immediately went back to our meeting place and saw some boy sorting trees to make huts. Maybe I'll talk to the bubbly girl later and ask if we are going through the same thing before we entered here. The other girls took a break, and the boys are preparing a bonfire. With the limited resources we have, we are also limited to focusing on our needs first. We had a hard time because we were not used to this kind of settings compared to cities. I recognized that it was still morning because the sun shone when we came here. Approximately four to five hours later—after we gathered stuff for food and shelter, it is already getting dark. Everyone is working together when a boy approached us and gasped.
"G-Guys ..." a boy with brown undone hair stammered, holding onto his knee due to fatigue.
"Oh, what happened to you?" a girl with a messy hair bun asked.
His heavy breathing continues. "There's a monster over there!"
Everyone stopped at what they were doing. I even wondered what he means.
"What are you talking about?" lofty question of a good-looking boy with a curly swirl at the end of his silver hair, almost covering his right eye.
The boy who's panting approached our two leaders. "What I saw is true! About twice of human's height and about thrice human-sized wide!" With that size he mentioned, it's no longer a human being.
"What the heck? Does that kind of thing really exist?" doubtful comment of the bubbly girl who talked to me earlier.
The leader with eyeglasses approached the panicking boy. "Where did you see it?"
"Just got very close to it. As I was picking up wood, I saw large and strange footprints, so I followed it and I saw the… a-a monster sleeping."
"Maybe it's just a big rock?" someone replied.
"No, it's too good to be true, but it was. It scared the sh*t out of me!" he insisted.
"We're on the nth planet so that is possible." The leader with eyeglasses mumbled.
The chubby leader went near us. "Come on, let's go!"
"Wait," the eyeglasses leader interrupted. "We must not rush. We should create some weapon for protection, just in case."
The chubby leader frowned. "Weapon? How?"
"Boys!" he called them. All the remaining boys still working on the huts came to us. "We will go to that monster's den and study its behavior if it is dangerous or what. If not and it leaves near where we are, then we can conclude it is safe. But if its location is close to us, it's now the time to evacuate ourselves."
I got worried about what I heard.
"How's the hut doing?" a girl with short hair and bangs asked.
"Leave the hut and food for later. We have an emergency that needs to be heeded." The eyeglasses leader looked at us one by one as if he was telling us to be careful. "It's now or never," was his short warning to us. He approached the boys and ordered. "Gather the wood sticks with sharp ends. Prepare those as a weapon."
The boys arranged the wood that we have gathered a while ago. This is the only weapon they have in order to keep an eye on the monster. The girls also helped them.
"Girls," the chubby leader called to us. "When someone comes here and tells you to run, leave because it will be dangerous," he said authoritatively.
I do not know if I will believe it or not. But with so many impossible things happening, the boy who saw the monster is probably telling the truth. After a few minutes, they are ready as well. I think it was about five o'clock in the afternoon because the sky is getting dark.
"Take care," the modest woman said goodbye to a boy.
"Bro and the gang will kick out that monster." He smiled at the girl and hugged her. He left running towards the group of boys to discuss the further operation.
I was right. The modest-looking girl with braided pigtails and the boy she was always with are twins. They look alike from the shade of their dark brown hair, the shape of eyes, and nose with the major differences of gender, skin color, and height. I smiled as I watch them both. It must be good to have a sibling in the middle of this confusion. Someone to talk to, someone to hold onto, and someone to be with amidst this strange situation. A sister or even a brother will do. I wonder what that feels like. Suddenly I felt terrible. It's like... it's like I already felt that feeling to be with an important person in my life.
"Are you listening?" I regained my senses when someone waved my face. "Hello? Is your spirit still there?"
I looked around and all the boys left already. I am talking to the bubbly girl who hit me earlier. All girls are still here in the gathering area waiting for the boys to return while investigating the alleged monster. I hope everything went well for them.
"W-What was that again?"
"What?" she sighed. She gathered her hands to her nape. We leaned against a large tree. "Weren't you about to say something to me a while ago?" By the way, I have a lot of things to ask her. "Hmp," she scoffed. "You must've been weirded out by yourself." I nodded at what she said. "I also asked the others here and our situation is almost the same. They also came from a ceremony then ended up here and that is all they have remembered in their whole lives."
"I just noticed, why are the students here are in 10th grade?" I asked.
"Hmm... I don't know either. That shitty hologram said because we are the ones who have the bitterest thing in our lives. I questioned myself, 'Why do those who are older than us, have more and bigger problems than we do who were just students, so why aren't they here instead?"
"Eh, why is that?" I asked because she has a point.
"Huh? Don't you know yet? The reason for that is what the hologram said, ah."
"Is that so?" I can't recall further details of that scene because my mind is too tired to absorb all of it.
"Because they say, the youth is the hope of the nation. Some also claim that the youth will brighten the future. We are still young, so we have the chance to change what we have, even the world."
I remained silent for a moment before speaking. "So, you don't even know your own name?"
"It's funny, right? I don't know my own name. I don't even know if I have a name. But the funnier thing is, I know the name of my silly classmate, yet he doesn't know his freaking name. Hahaha!"
Huh? She knows her classmate's name, but I don't know his.