1 Awakening

Iron. Mold. And a bit of salt were the first things Jae tasted before hurling.

Or at least he tried, but his stomach was empty.

Cold.

Hot.

Pain.

After a series of dry coughs, Jae slowly calmed himself down. His stomach churned as the stench of rotting flesh and fishy smells assaulted his senses. Feeling injuries prickling all over his body, Jae struggled to push away the several carcasses that surrounded him.

"Where am I?" Jae questioned. The last thing he remembered was going to an amusement park with his friends. His head throbbed as if a hammer struck his brain. Memories of burning flesh and despair overwhelmed his mind. Shivering, he placed his hand on his mouth, panting slowly. Then, he noticed.

"These aren't my hands."

His hands were far smaller than what an eighteen year old's should be.

Long hair slid past his shoulders as he looked down and found himself dressed in dirty rags. Observing his twig-like body and short limbs, he concluded that his body was around five or six.

Swiping his bangs aside, he discovered that he was behind bars in a dark room. Only a small, dim lamp illuminated the room. Taking a better look, he noticed those "carcasses" that surrounded him were actually children around the same age as him.

A wave of dizziness passed through as his head spun. Numerous ideas regarding his situation sprung forth from being in a dream of being kidnapped by some secret organization. However, no matter how many questions he had, none were answered as he blacked out.

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Not knowing how much time passed, Jae woke up to discover a pair of glistening eyes staring into his own.

"....!"

In a panic, he shoved the opposing figure. But, the figure hurriedly grabbed his arms and said, "Calm down! I won't hurt you!"

With his muddled head slightly clearing up, he noticed that it was one of the children locked together with him.

"...Who are you?"

"I'm Iris. I woke up a while ago, but I don't remember how I got here. Do remember anything?"

"Iris?" Jae's eyes widened as he noticed her platinum hair and amber eyes. The child before him was similar to his good friend that he went to the amusement park with. "Aren't you Iris Meyers?".

"Jae? Jae Farley?"

"Yes."

Iris grasped the sides of Jae's head and pulled his face closer to hers, "You are indeed Jae! I couldn't tell with your long hair and child appearance. But, your facial features are certainly similar to the Jae I know."

"Yup. So you can let go of my face now."

"Oh yeah. Sorry."

After being freed from her clutches, Jae sat facing Iris and asked, "Where are we? What happened?"

Iris shook her head, "I don't know. I wanted to ask you that. I remember getting into the on a ride with you, Scarlett, and I think I saw several other of my classmates. Then, something flashed into my eyes and before I knew it, I was here."

Jae pondered for a moment before his expression drastically paled.

"I think I remember now."

"What?"

"We all died, Iris."