Chapter 10: Divergent

Chapter 10: Divergent

[7:31 AM; Sunday, 30th of April, 2023]

"Maybe I should explain things, even though I doubt it will make a difference," Lisa's distant tone weighed on my heart, causing an unbearable ache.

My throat burned like I consumed acid , and my head throbbed. Merely looking at her face made me feel like I was losing my mind.

"I... lied to you, Mikey." She said blankly.

'Yeah, no kidding.' I thought, given the situation I found myself in. But I still didn't understand why.

'Why, Lisa? Why are you doing this?'

"I told you earlier that I can't contact my family, didn't I? I also mentioned how my reach is limited to this place. By 'this place', I mean this hotel. I have friends who are stranded in various areas here..."

Lisa's words sounded genuinely worried, but her distant eyes told me she was concerned for her friends, not for me.

"They need food and shelter, and this suite would be perfect for them. I... I didn't discuss it with you because I knew how you'd react."

What did she expect would happen? Why was she assuming things without talking to me first? I saved her, didn't I? Didn't she say I was a kind person? That I didn't seem like the kind of person who would abandon a friend?

"I have four friends here. You can probably guess what that means."

'Ah, I see...' This was about my supplies.

"At most, it can only feed about five. And even at that, the food would have to be rationed. I can't abandon any of them... which means..." A hard glint appeared in her eyes as she stared at me.

It was clear that she had chosen her actual friends over a guy she'd met not too long ago.

But, Lisa...

'What the fuck do you think you're doing?! I paid for this suite myself! I bought those supplies myself! This is my place! How can you do this to someone who brought you into their place? This isn't fair! Even after I saved you! How... why...? What did I do to deserve this?!'

My thoughts swirled with anger and disappointment, and tears threatened to spill from my eyes. How could someone be so thoughtless, especially when they should be grateful?

"I know what you're probably thinking. You must despise me for my choice. While I don't blame you for feeling animosity towards me, don't you think it's a bit hypocritical to feel angry at me for what I did?"

Hypocritical? What was this bitch talking about? I watched as she looked at me with cold eyes, and I felt like my heart would explode with rage.

How could she? How could—?!

"You did the same thing, didn't you? To save yourself, you left everyone else to die. But, you see, I'm not just thinking about myself. I'm worried about others, my friends. You probably wouldn't understand... you don't have any friends, after all."

'Keuk!' My heart felt like it was stabbed as I heard her words.

H-how...? How could she say those words to me? I... I'd had no other choice but to take the steps I did. So what if I didn't have any friends? So what if I had no family? I had those I cared about too! They all became monsters, so what was I supposed to do?

'Do you think I wanted this to happen? How dare you try to pin this on me? In the first place, who would have believed me if I told them that the world was going to end and monsters would spring out of nowhere?'

"I know you must be making excuses in your head. You must be thinking that no one would have believed you if you told them the truth. Well... how can you be so sure?"

Was she crazy? Who in the world would possibly—

"Me." Lisa suddenly pointed at herself. "I would have believed you."

'How the heck did she expect me to know?' Anger surged through me as I stared at her cold gaze.

"I understand your thought process, though," she continued, her voice calm. "I faced a similar dilemma when deciding what to do. I knew there would be a conflict of interest because the rations wouldn't be enough for all of us. I tried to think of ways to save both you and my friends."

'W-what are you saying? Why are you...?'

"I could have told you of our plight and then killed you. Then, you would return to the past and tell us on time, so we could all prepare for the whole thing. But, wouldn't that mean you died intentionally? In that case, you'd have just died for nothing."

'Why did I tell her my abilities? Why did I reveal my limitations?' Like a fool, I had divulged everything to Lisa.

"I also considered telling you, then eliminating you without your knowledge. I thought you might understand why I did it. But that, as well, carried too many risks. You might not see the reason behind it, or you could avoid me entirely when you returned to the past. There was also the possibility that your return to the past would create an alternate reality, leaving me stuck here. Do you grasp the complexity of it now? I actually put a lot of thought into this."

'H-how long?' How long had she been plotting her betrayal?

Was it when we had been talking to each other?

When we had been laughing together?

When we were crying beside each other?

How long?

'ANSWER ME, YOU MONSTER!' n).o//V/-e.-l(/b./I/-n

"Even now, I'm uncertain about the consequences of my actions," she admitted, her voice chilling. "But I believe this is the best course of action."

'The best for who? You, right? You... you..'

"I know I'm being selfish by choosing my friends over you and taking your supplies." Lisa acknowledged. "However, you're selfish too. In the end, we are both selfish."

'I... I... but I... I saved you, didn't I?' Tears fell from my eyes as I watched her rise to her feet. At this point, my body was already acclimating to the crushing pain that nearly drove me insane.

"Don't worry, you won't be restrained forever," she said. "I had to do it this way so you'd understand why. Eventually, you'll be able to free yourself from the restraints. A day or two without food should weaken your muscles enough for that..."

'W-what? No... you can't be serious."

"At this point, you have two choices. Either wait till you die of hunger, which would probably be in about a week or..." Lisa's voice trailed off as her image blurred in my vision. I couldn't make out her expression. I was consumed by so much rage.

"I'll drop a knife in here. Once you get out of your restraints, you can choose whether to kill yourself and end things permanently, or die by natural causes and regress."

How could she be so heartless? Was there even a choice to be made here?

Both options were equally horrifying.

If I killed myself, I wouldn't be able to activate <Dream>, and certain death awaited me. However, if I did die by starvation, which was the worst way to go, I would only return to the past day—which would cause me to suffer even more before repeating the same day and dying again.

In the end, I would caught in a loop of suffering!

'S-so cruel...'

"You know, I was quite reluctant to do this," she admitted, "because what if your death triggers a time loop for everyone else? But I have a strong theory that your regression creates a different reality instead."

Lisa... she really thought things through, didn't she?

"I might be wrong, but I think you'd kill yourself before it gets to that point, though. As for why I think that... you seem like that kind of guy, I guess."

'Ahhh... Haaa...'

My thoughts were a mess. The bleakness of my situation weighed on me like a crushing weight, and I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever find a way out of this nightmarish ordeal.

The more I adapted, the more the new sensations caused me misery.

I found myself slowly sinking into despondency.

"Once again, I'm sorry, Mikey. I really am. It might not mean much, but... I had fun. You are a pretty nice guy."

And then, just like that, Lisa left the room with the door tightly shut behind her.

She left me in this dark, completely isolated space. I was completely broken by the time all she'd said finally sunk in. The weight of her words hit me like a pile of rocks.

Once I realized that everything that had happened was really true, my thoughts finally sank into despair.

'Tell me... someone please tell me... that this is a dream.'

I never thought that I would become so desperate to wake up from reality itself.

To wish that everything was simply a bad dream.

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[A/N]

How will Mikey get out of this situation? What choice will he make?

And what about Lisa? What will become of her and her friends?