Apocalypse: The echoes of Madness

"The food is really good," Rose said, her voice strained as she chewed, trying not to grimace.

"They're raw meat," Lily said flatly, eyeing the plate with distaste.

"What?" Rose sputtered, nearly choking as the food slipped from her mouth. "That's not... raw meat. I—"

"How could you say that, Lily? Those aren't just raw meat. They're raw meat smeared with blood. Big difference," Arthur interrupted, a smirk creeping onto his face.

"Seriously? I almost puked just looking at it," Lily said, her expression turning green.

"It's a joke," Yuri laughed, though the sound was more unsettling than comforting.

"That's true. We're not human. We can't eat human food," Lily added matter-of-factly.

"Lily, will you stop?!" James snapped, rubbing his temples. "I think my stomach just gave up hearing that."

"I think I should leave," Rose muttered, pushing herself away from the table as if the food was some kind of trap.

"I'll go on the mission," Lily said, immediately standing, as if escaping the awkwardness.

"I'm thinking about it too," Emily added, looking up from her plate with an air of mystery.

"Me and Yuri will go as well," Arthur said with a shrug, as if he was already preparing for the inevitable.

"Yeah, because nothing says 'good idea' like a suicide mission," Yuri said sarcastically.

"What about you, Rose?" James asked, his voice full of quiet curiosity.

Rose blinked at him, clearly distracted. "I'm not sure. Nor do I care. Why would you all want to go?"

James let out a deep sigh. "How long do you think we'll survive just sitting here and staring at each other? I mean, we'll die anyway. Might as well do it while trying to survive."

"Yeah, great pep talk, James," Rose muttered. "Go ahead and eat. I'll go be miserable somewhere else."

As the others continued discussing their mission, Rose's gaze drifted out of the room, her mind far away. She walked slowly toward her room, her footsteps heavy, as though each step was dragging her through a fog of thoughts she couldn't quite shake.What is life? she wondered. Is it just about surviving? Is it always supposed to feel this heavy?

She didn't remember much of her past—nothing before this strange, painful existence. But somehow, it felt like she had been lost for as long as she could remember. She was here, trapped in a world that seemed to demand more from her than she had to give.

If I'm not human, then what am I? She couldn't answer. It was as if she was living someone else's life, someone who never had the chance to feel truly alive.

Sitting in her room, the silence pressed in on her, and she closed her eyes. I don't want to keep surviving like this. But... what else is there?

The question hung in the air, unanswered, just like everything else in her life.

As Rose sat down in her room, her eyes fell on the book left on her desk: The Morality of Sacrifice for the Greater Good. The title alone made her stomach tighten, as though it spoke to something deep inside her that she couldn't understand.

She opened it slowly, the words on the first page blurring for a moment before she began to read. The story was about a man who, in the future, lost everything to a virus. His family, his friends, his lover—everything was taken from him. But instead of giving up, he sacrificed himself again and again, traveling back in time, hoping each time that his actions would change the future, that he could save people he didn't even know.

With each page, the sadness in Rose's chest grew heavier. She couldn't explain why, but the story felt so painfully familiar. She hadn't lived through such losses herself—at least, she didn't remember them—but something about the man's struggle to change an unchangeable future resonated with her. It felt as though he was fighting against the very nature of time itself, trying to fix something that could never be fixed.

She closed the book, the words still echoing in her mind. Sacrifice for the greater good—it was supposed to be noble, wasn't it? But it felt like a lie. A never-ending loop of pain and failure but who left it here anyway?.

"I hate books like this," Rose whispered, though the words felt hollow. As she sat in the silence, she couldn't shake the thought: What if that was her future too? A life spent trying to change something that was beyond her control?

She didn't know what was worse—the uncertainty of her own future, or the thought that maybe it had already been decided, and she was just another sacrifice in a world that didn't care.

As Rose wandered deeper into her thoughts, she heard it—the faint sound of a child's laughter, light and carefree. It echoed through the hallway, like a memory tugging at her, something just beyond her grasp.

She turned quickly, heart pounding, and at the end of the hall, she saw a small figure. A little girl, with long, blonde hair and blue eyes, running ahead, her laughter ringing through the empty space. Rose's breath caught. Who is that? The child's image felt strangely familiar, as if she were a part of something Rose should know, but couldn't remember.

"Wait!" Rose called, stepping toward the girl, but the child didn't stop. She just kept running, her laughter growing more distant, more urgent. The sound of it unsettled Rose, as though it was beckoning her.

She's like the one I saw in my dream... The thought flashed through her mind, sharp and unrelenting. Rose's heart raced as she began to follow, instinct driving her forward.

With every step, the child seemed to pull further away. Why am I chasing her? Rose wondered, but the need to reach her felt impossible to ignore. The child glanced over her shoulder, her blue eyes locking with Rose's, and in that fleeting moment, everything seemed to freeze. The child's innocent face shifted, becoming something... familiar.

Before Rose could take another step, the girl stopped and turned to face her, a soft smile curling on her lips, as though she had been waiting all along. The air grew heavy around Rose as she came closer, her pulse quickening. This isn't real, she thought, the sense of dread growing. It can't be.

The little girl reached out, her hand cold but gentle as she touched Rose's wrist, pulling her closer. "Rose..." she whispered, her voice carrying an eerie calm.

"Who are you?" Rose asked, her voice barely a whisper, though the words felt familiar, like something she should know.

The child smiled, but there was a sadness in her eyes, a knowing that Rose couldn't understand. "You already know me," she said softly, as if it were the simplest truth in the world.

But before Rose could respond, the world around her began to fade. The hallway, the child, everything melted away into nothingness. And then, as everything turned to darkness, a familiar voice cut through the void.

"Rose…" It was Zane, his voice distant but full of emotion, like he had been calling to her for a long time. "I promised I'd never let go."

The words echoed in her mind as the dream began to shatter, fading into the dark void. The child, the hallway, Zane's words—they all dissolved like mist.

Suddenly, Rose gasped, her eyes flying open. She was back in her room, breathing heavily, drenched in sweat. It had been a dream. The child, the hallway, Zane's words—all of it, gone.

She sat up in bed, her heart still racing. What was that? she thought, the dream lingering in her mind like a haunting. The little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, her whispered name, Zane's voice calling her... It all felt too real.

But as Rose stared into the dark, silent room, she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe—just maybe—this wasn't the last time she would face that dream.

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(To be continued)

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