9 Days Before

The next morning, Lin awakens to the sound of his alarm, his head feeling cumbersome, his thoughts muddled.

Reluctantly, he gets out of bed, yesterday's events were indistinctive, yet he vaguely remembers getting struck by lightning.

he looks down, examining himself to see any peculiarities from the strike.

However he's fine with no distinction, he's perplexed giving the hazy memory unhinged.

"Shouldn't I be at a hospital...?" he murmurs, questioning the peculiarities, still captivated by the vague recollection.

He slumps down, his upright half thumping onto the bed - staring off in space towards the ceiling.

Lin wants to stay home, but despite his reservations, he decides to brave another day of school, hoping that it was just his imagination, and that it was a dream.

Arriving at school, Lin is met with curious glances from both students and teachers.

Sensing the weight of everyone's attention on him. Opel and Kel approach him, their faces etched with concern - Kel's face shadowing ambivalence.

"Hey, dude are you okay?" Opel inquires, his eyes filled with genuine worry.

Lin musters a weak smile, attempting to downplay the situation. "I'm not entirely sure. It was like... I had this weird episode."

"Episode? Like what kind of episode?" Kel interjects, his gaze still wide from the shock of the previous day.

Anxiety breaches the initial ambivalence towards the exchange, recalling his own experience from yesterday.

"It's hard to explain. I had these strange visions or memories, and everything felt distorted. I even heard things that weren't real," Lin struggles to find the right words. "It's like my perception was all messed up."

Kel's thoughts still linger about Lin being struck by lightning, remembering what he saw within that sudden flash, and here he is at school, seemingly just fine.

Accompanying the recollection of the unknown language tugging at him from what Lin had mentioned, he pans his vision in the distance trying to will away the thought. Forcing a nod in response.

Opel furrows his brows, pondering the situation. "Maybe you should consider talking to a counselor or someone. That doesn't sound normal." Doing his best not to bring up anything about the lightning strike, mirroring Kel's thoughts of the anomalistic health state.

"You might be onto something," Lin replies with a finger gun point, his uncertainty still lingering. The trio continues walking to class, a palpable unease hanging in the air.

Throughout the day, Lin attempts to focus on his studies, but the feeling that something isn't quite right persists.

Snippets of conversations reach his ears as he passes groups of students, his name whispered in hushed tones, with callous laughter following "what a freak" from the silent tones of his classmates.

Opel and Kel, though by his side, can't entirely shield him from the isolating stares and the underlying tension.

During lunch break, Lin sits alone in a corner of the cafeteria, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of the previous day's events. Opel and Kel approach him, concern evident in their eyes.

"We were thinking maybe you should take a day off tomorrow," Opel suggests gently, trying to make Lin to stay home, sensing the tension of the atmosphere being directed towards him.

"Just to give yourself a chance to sort things out," Kel adds, his eyes meeting with his, then flinching his sight away, attempting to push down yesterday's thoughts.

With a sigh, Lin contemplates their suggestion. "Maybe you guys are right. I need to figure out what's going on."

Opel places a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "We're here for you, no matter what. Just remember that."

The bell rings, signaling the end of lunch. Lin offers his friends a small, appreciative smile and nods. "Thanks, guys. I'll see you tomorrow."

As the day comes to a close, Lin heads home, his thoughts heavy with unresolved questions. He spends the evening researching dissociation and related psychological phenomena, hoping to gain some clarity about his experiences.

As the sun began its descent, casting a warm, golden hue across the landscape, a sense of anticipation hung in the air.

In the heart of the enigmatic Towers, Clysita of Crew 8 found herself embarking on a mission that held the promise of uncovering long-hidden truths.

The Towers were known for their secrets, and Clysita was determined to navigate their labyrinthine corridors to reveal what lay beneath the surface.

With each step, Clysita's heart pounded the echo of her footsteps reverberating through the empty halls.

The Towers were vast, their towering walls seemingly infinite, and their shadows concealed mysteries that begged to be unraveled.

The air was charged with palpable energy, a sense that the very walls held secrets waiting to be disclosed.

Clysita had always been a curious soul, drawn to the unknown and unafraid to challenge the status quo.

She was a member of Crew 8, a group of individuals united by their thirst for knowledge and their commitment to unveiling the truths hidden within the Towers.

They operated in the shadows, silently piecing together the puzzle of their existence.

Her first destination was the Tower's Central Archives, a repository of information guarded fiercely by those who controlled the Towers.

Clysita knew that within its walls lay records, documents, and artifacts that could shatter the illusions that had been carefully crafted.

With unwavering determination, she bypassed the security measures, her nimble fingers dancing across the interface.

The room was bathed in an ethereal light as Clysita accessed the archives' database. The holographic screens flickered to life, displaying fragments of forgotten history, along with records of individuals she sought were strange.

Her eyes widened with shock as she delved deeper into the files, pieces started to align, forming a narrative that contradicted the version of reality that had been fed to the masses.

In a quiet corner of the Towers, Rin, Lin's sister, sought solace amidst the verdant gardens that bloomed within the walls.

Rin had always been attuned to nature's rhythms after she got dismissed from school, it was her hidden pleasure, and on the upscale it was something for the public to have a sense of connection to the Towers.

When she tended to the flowers, she felt a connection to the land that seemed to whisper its secrets, making the call of the garden more impactful.

In the stillness of the garden, she contemplated the events that were unfurling, sensing that destiny was intertwined somehow, giving her belief in the chaotic times.