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Chapter 32 - Sworn Duty

"You're awake, you seemed to have a nightmare." A soft, yet gentle voice called out to him like waves gently hitting the shore. Somehow, her voice reminded Hajime of the beach where they were supposed to go— the trip that never happened.

'Why, what happened? It was more realistic than I thought? It's as if I was right there, with all of them, witnessing it until the last moments. Why did I have to see it again?' Hajime told himself, staring at the ceiling and trying to focus on the fact that he was already awake.

Clench!

Someone clenched his hand, and he slowly turned his face towards the figure that sat beside him. The voice and the figure alike seemed to get nearer and nearer, and farther and farther at the same time, as if something unreal was happening. Hajime decided to ignore these signs, as his eyes focused on the figure.

However, no one was there, he was holding onto something else, something that he couldn't see since his vision was blurry. "What on— " He tried to speak up, but his voice just won't come out.

Now that he noticed the slight unrealistic apprehension he felt, he tried moving his entire body, but it just won't budge, as if a huge boulder was placed on top of him. The only thing he could move was his neck, and even then, he could only tilt his head ever so slightly, as if directing him to the door to his room.

The door slowly opened, a nice rhythmic creak filling the void filled with silence. Anxiety and terror filled Hajime as he tried to escape, but he couldn't. Invisible forces chained him down on his bed.

A shaky hand could be seen holding the doorknob on the other side of the door. When the door was finally well ajar, three figures came in. Drops of water constantly dripped on their drenched clothes. The first thing that he noticed was that they were all barefoot, and their feet were covered with mud and black stains. They shuffled forward as Hajime's gaze slowly shifted up.

The moment he did so, he noticed the 'thing' that clenched his hand, as if to assure him that everything will be all right. This assurance was quickly turned into sudden uncontrollable fear as Hajime finally recognized what it was.

It was a decapitated hand, still clenching his hand, as blood dripped from its stump. From afar, he also noticed the three figures. How could he not recognize them? They were his own blood. His family.

His gaze finally got a full picture of the three figures as well. They were easily identifiable, but what bothered Hajime the most was their appearance. All over their body, they were soaked in mud, dirt, water...

... and blood?!

The hand that gripped his hand, he also recognized whom it belonged to. It belonged to the lady of the group since she was the only one missing a limb.

'No, get away!' Hajime tried to scream, but only empty air came out of his mouth. With bated breaths he struggled, but to no avail.

An unseen force suddenly controlled his head, turning his gaze to the faces of the people he once knew. Hajime trembled in horror as he somewhat distinguished who was who.

The first one was his mom. Although half of her head was fleshed out and she was continuously bleeding, Hajime still recognized her. Blood spurted from the part where the other half of her face was supposed to be, and he could see the brain, the skull, and all the other muscles, or rather, the insides of her head as if he was looking at a cross-section of the human anatomy back in elementary school. The second figure, his dad, on the other hand, was walking awkwardly, and his face was turned a hundred and eighty degrees. He turned around just to face Hajime but all he could see was a bloody lump of meat attached to the neck and it was bleeding all over. His arms and legs were all dangling and awkward as well, not to mention that he was ridiculously drenched in blood and guts.

And the third one was...

"HAJIME! HAJIME! WAKE UP!" A voice that seemed to come from the depths of the ground screamed at Hajime. It was a very familiar voice that Hajime didn't miss. But what could he do in his immobile and stunned state?

"H-help me." The third one said as the three of them continuously approached him.

It was his sister.

Hajime felt every cell in his body clench up in crippling fear as they stood by the edge of the bed. His sister continued uttering words of helplessness as she held their parents' arms. Even when Hajime found the strength to shut his eyes, he could still see the clear outline of what their parents looked like in this current nightmare. He bit his lips, hoping that he would wake up soon and be free from this torment.

"Please help me." Once again, Hajime heard his sister's voice which prompted him to open his eyes for the last time. He saw his sister's face, a few inches from his face, her eyes hollowed out, and only black could be seen within.

Mud, water, and blood continuously dripped down Hajime's face, but he didn't notice them at all. Right now, all he could see was the face of his younger sister, calling out to him, urging him to help her. He clenched his teeth, so much so it chattered.

'Move! Why won't you move!' He inwardly cried out.

Somehow, Hajime didn't notice all those scary features of her sister. And finally, as if by some sort of miracle, he found that he had gained control over his body once again. Without hesitation, he hugged his lamented sister as tight as he could, this time, he joined her in her wailings.

"Don't worry, I'll help you even if it kills me. I promise," Hajime swore under his breath as his throat constricted, choking him on his tears.

"Hajime!"

"Hajime!"

"HAJIME! WAKE UP!"