Part 7: Seal, Part 7

Video: Fate
This video covers the entire update.



*pant* *pant* *pant* *pant*

When I came back to my senses, I found myself standing in the hallway on the third floor of the school building.



It was that viscous fluid that had been spilling out from inside me. A palpable manifestation of dread, spreading out across the floor...but this was no time to sulk. I had to think about Seiko! I'd left her all by herself...again.



Sound Effect: Thunk



It was coming from inside the bathroom. There was a violent banging coming from one of the stalls. With a lump in my throat and a shiver down my spine, I slowly crept in to take a look.



There was an eerie stillness in the air within the girls' lavatory. It didn't feel like there was anyone else in there with me, but I sensed a slight movement on the third stall door from the back.

Open it
Think about it

This was the source of all the bad feelings and uncomfortable premonitions I'd been having. I knew what I was going to find. I remembered this future.







Music: Unavoidable Tragedy

Seiko...!
Glgh...hngh... Na...o...i...
Seiko! You're still alive?! I'll save you!



There it was again. A flash of the sad future that awaited us if I made even one wrong move here. But there was still time. I could still save her!

Hold on! I'll get you down!

But how?! Her noose was pretty high off the ground. I needed some way to get up to neck height in order to pull her down to safety. Something...to stand on?



Music: Struggling Against Fate (A)

No... I remember now. The bottom of that bucket is rusted through. I fall...and I wind up breaking Seiko's neck!

There must be some other way. Some way to loosen the rope so she can breathe...
*gurgle*
...!

Though only half-conscious, Seiko was thrashing about wildly, frantically squirming for air. It seemed automatic, like a reflex -- the body's struggle for life when life was being denied it. All I could see, as I watched her body writhing on that rope, was proof positive she wanted to live.

I'm going to save you! I swear!

It was going to be all right. I could see the future. Fate was on my side for a change!



No, wait! I remember this, too. If I try to lift her, I'm just going to end up pulling down on her harder and breaking her neck.
Algh!
Seiko! What do I do?! There has to be something else...
Nlgh...ggh...hh...
...!



That was it! I needed to lift her higher up. I quickly ducked under Seiko's body and forced myself between her wildly flailing legs until she was sitting on my shoulders.



This created enough slack in the rope that the upper half of Seiko's body, weakened as it was, naturally collapsed against the back wall. Thinking fast, I took a step forward and actively pushed her into it, holding her in place so her head wouldn't drop back down again.


Music: None



*sputter* *gurgle* *cough* *cough*
Seiko! Stay with me! Breathe!
*wheeze* *splutter*
Breathe! Breathe!!
*wheeze* *wheeze* *pant*
I'm going to get you out of this rope now, okay? Just hold still.



I actually did it. I averted fate. I prevented Seiko's death! I could feel it all throughout my being. I had just stepped into a new world. A new destiny. It was an odd sensation. My deja vu...my memories of that horrible future had ground to a halt. I had no idea what would happen from now on. It seems the only memories I retained from that other timeline were the ones relating to my dearest friend's demise.

Seiko had stopped squirming and simply slumped over, exhausted from the whole ordeal. I reached my hand up to her neck, gently and carefully. And after a lot of fumbling, I successfully untied the knot on the rope.

*wheeze* *wheeze* *wheeze* *pant*



It was painful just thinking about it. Up through this morning, she was all smiles and laughter. She was always thinking about me, and always so kind and outgoing. Why did something so horrible have to happen to her?



As long as the two of us were together, we'd make it through this. I looked down at Seiko, still breathing, and sobbed. I led Seiko out of the stall and gently laid her down on the bathroom floor. She was too weak to go any farther just yet.

Music: Relief (A)



*pant* *pant* *wheeze* *pant*
I was so, so, SO worried about you!
*pant* *gasp* *pant*
You have no idea!

I laid my head on her body. She was so warm... I wasn't going to let her go again. I wasn't going to let anyone take her away from me.

It's okay. It's okay now. I'm sorry, Seiko. I won't ever leave you alone again.
*wheeze* *pant*
Do you understand? Can you see me? It's me, Naomi.



Music: None

What...is it?
NnggnnnnoaaaaaAAAAAAAAGGGH!!
Wha...? Seiko?!
Eee...eeeee...
What's wrong? It's me, it's me!
*hic* *hic* Eeeygh...gygh...

Seiko wasn't acting like herself. She was regarding me as if she'd just seen a ghost. Her face was plainly painted with abject fear, from the very depths of her soul. She stumbled to her feet clumsily, then hastily darted out of the room.



Seiko?!

What? Why?! I didn't understand. Was she confused? Either way, I had to catch her!




I kept pace with Seiko's frantic, unsteady sprinting as she turned the corner and headed down the stair-case. And then...

Sei--...!

Sound Effect: Fall

No...

Naomi descends the stairs.



Aaaahhhhh!




Sound Effect: Demise



AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHH!! NOOOOOOOOO!!

Music: The Onset of Demise

Why? Why?! Seiko... I saved you! I just saved you!





*gulp* *hack* Ugh, it smells rotten! *giggle*
AAAAAAAaaaaaaah...!



Once someone's fate passes through these halls, it locks in place forever. Don't you see? If your destiny is to die here, then that's what's going to happen, no matter what. And the way you die will just keep getting worse...and worse...every time... Hee hee hee!



Don't worry. I'll gladly extract all your painful memories for now.



We have all the time in the world to savor all the new, unspeakable ways your friend can die...



Hee hee hee... hahahahahahahaha!
NOOOOOOO!!



Such unbelievable cruelty... This was an inhuman malevolence the likes of which I'd never even imagined could exist.



Because of my own overzealous actions, Seiko wound up meeting a fate worse than death by hanging. It's my fault... My fault!

My tears began raining down on Seiko's cheek. And on her forehead, into her nose, into her mouth, into her eyes... But Seiko's eyes wouldn't close. Despite lacking the ability to focus anymore, she just kept staring right at me.



Why did you run from me earlier? Why were you so afraid?

But no matter how many times I asked her these questions, Seiko just wouldn't answer. I told her we'd always be friends, no matter what...that we'd always be together...

Answer me! Please, say something! Don't leave me all alone!

I could still feel the warmth from Seiko's head in my arms. But she was gone now. I was powerless. All I could do was scream. There was nothing else to do. Nothing would change. Not that the screaming helped. All that did was echo back at me, as if mocking my pain. I felt like I was trapped in a cold, damp cell. I had no doubt in my mind that this was Hell.



God, I can't take it anymore... Get me out of here! Someone, please, save me!