Free Web NovelChapter 101: Mizunari Keiichi
Unrecognizable faces, indistinct voices, misinterpreted sounds.
The smell of iron wafting in the air.
The whirring of automobiles, an uneven tire slowly rolling around as if to hypnotize.
The distant lights. Police cars. The sticky reddish liquid flows on the asphalt. NO!!! WATCH OUT!!!
"So? How was school?" A soothing cold voice asked. A face from the front seat turned and smiled.
The unrecognizable face of the man. His lips curved upwards as if to say everything was going to be okay. That smile. It had never faded.
A sudden flash of light, a deafening noise, and a crashing sound all drowned the response that the voice was about to receive. It was all in a matter of a split second and everything became a fleeting moment, just like snow as spring began to approach. All of their eyes met, it was just a split second but they could feel the connection between them. Everything is going to be all right, that’s the expression written on their faces filled with longing and despair.
It all happened so fast that no one was able to react. The passengers by the front seat. The girl. Their eyes fixated
on him and him alone. ’What... what can I do?’
Gone.
All Gone.
Only the sound of the ambulance could be heard in the background.
Everything’s all gone.
The sight of the overturned truck with its driver slumped on the driver’s seat, blood seemed to trickle down his head.
The sight of a masked man... going down the truck and disappearing into the distance while Hajime’s family helplessly dangled on their upside-down car.
The truck’s detached tire, rolling slowly to the opposite side of the road as the cloud darkened— an indication of the coming of the rain.
A burst of laughter from the distance could be heard as the masked man fled the scene. Despite the black mask covering the entirety of his face except for his eyes, his smile could be seen, and the laughter that proceeded out of his mouth was nothing short of eerie.
Then thunder came, and the rain came to the land, mixing with the blood, sweat, and tears that flowed from the passengers of the car. The heavy rain pattered on the car’s belly which produced a drowning sound that almost removed the eerie laughter in the background.
Water started filling up the car. Despite the broken windows and the number of holes that littered the overturned car, water still filled it up, robbing the trapped people inside. They started drowning, their lungs screaming for air.
But no air came, and their consciousness dwindled while death drew near.
.....
"HAAH!" Hajime shot up, getting out of the blanket that enwrapped his body. He felt like he had been choking, but it was just his mind playing tricks on him while it underwent another nightmare. The feeling of heaviness was evident on his abdomen, and after his vision cleared up did he realize that a leg was on top of his stomach.
The leg belonged to Kichiro, and he was sleeping way more soundly than usual— literally soundly since he was snoring louder than a bear’s growl.
A bead of sweat slowly convexed from Hajime’s brows, slowly separating until it dropped. He breathed in and out slowly, calming his nerves and trying to suppress the urge to throw hands due to the adrenaline that coursed through his system. Compared to his previous nightmares, this was the worst one yet. Despite being unreal, the overwhelming feeling of drowning was there... and Hajime still felt his lungs bursting, gasping for air back then.
The faint sounds of chirping invaded his ears as he finally regained his calmness. The gentle touch of the sun poured forth from the windows that faced the east, bathing the room with warmth and lightly waking everyone up from their slumber. Kichiro was the first one to stir, followed by Shinji, then by Shoichi.
Lastly, Keiichi woke up, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he stood up and started doing some stretches. "Good morning you guys, that was a pretty good sleep. I’ve never had such a good sleep in so long." He commented, his voice still hoarse since it was still slightly early in the morning.
"Good morning, you guys, we have to prepare soon. We’ll be meeting by the front in twenty minutes." Kichiro sleepily announced, opening the window so he could let more sunlight in. After doing that, he gave Shoichi a kick to the shin before he ran out of the room, heading to the shower. ƒrēewebnovel.com
Shoichi gritted his teeth in pain before he gave chase. He was still half asleep so the kick really got him by surprise. The pain that shot to his head was no joke either. "K-Kichiro!" Shoichi screamed, running out to the hallways as he too headed to the bath.
"Did you have a nightmare? You were profusely sweating and grunting before you woke up." Apparently, Shinji had been the first one to wake up so he was aware of what Hajime had been through. "I was about to wake you up but you already woke up before I could. In any case, what was your nightmare about? It’s fine if you don’t tell me anything."
"Eh? A nightmare? So that’s why you were squirming around like that." Keiichi commented, joining in on the conversation. "Had I known I’d have— "
The sound of men laughing raucously suddenly filled the background just as Keiichi automatically reached into his pockets. As it turned out, the sound was actually his ringtone. "Hello, this is Mizunari Keiichi of Mizunari Company speaking. How may I help you?" He greeted in a vibrant tone as if he had been used to such a formal way of greeting for quite a long time now.
"I see... so regarding our new product, right? Yes, please direct the request to Yamada Yasuhiro. I’m quite preoccupied at the moment thanks." He hung up before the person on the other end of the line could even reply.
"Hey, Hajime... did he just say that he’s... Mizunari Keiichi?" Shinji asked Hajime in a low tone. "He did, right?"
