Death Cast

02.2 | He Who Sleeps, Dreams

Janus was flipping one of his travel magazines in his usual spot when he heard footsteps coming in his direction. The hand holding on a page halted as he raised his head to see who was coming. A familiar white-haired man first came into his sight accompanied by a young man whose future he cannot see. He lowered his head once again, continuing on reading the magazine featuring the places he wanted to visit someday. Janus had been on duty since day one and wondered when the management would give him some rest day to play. 

While he was counting the unused leaves and absences he didn’t use for about a million years, the pair had reached his position. It was the grim reaper who called his attention from his reverie, asking him to open the portal. Janus lazily adjusted the destination of the door without moving from his seat. As the god who manages the door entrances and safe travels, he’s quite the one who had never traveled that much. 

Barron noticed the expression of the god and chuckled. He brushed the loose strands of his hair to the back of his head, showcasing a beauty highly sought by the mortal eyes. Jaerim interestingly peered over at the lackadaisical god whom he had met twice but only took a good look this time. He didn’t know about the person’s real identity but he remembered Barron calling him ‘Janus’ and that Janus reprimanded Barron for treating a ‘god’ rudely. 

“It’s done,” Janus announced after a few seconds. 

He flipped the page of the magazine which showed a wide expanse of blue ocean, an island with colorful wooden houses, and beautiful models posing happy smiles in front of the camera. Jaerim seems to have seen the god whine a little after seeing an island that looks like a paradise - pretty much sounded like an overworked salaryman who wished to run off on a vacation.

“Still good as usual,” Barron approved. “Works well in the most impressive ways.”

The god nonchalantly responded, “Should I be happy for getting complimented?”

“Good work will always be given praise.”

The other responded with a snort and decided to just fully ignore the grim reaper. Barron did not mind. He beckoned Jaerim to stand before the door. He didn’t have much time left so they should hurry. It would be sad if Jaerim would die for missing the appointment for his contract. 

Jaerim gave Janus one more glance before tilting his head to look at the grim reaper. It would be the genuine first world that he will be going alone. There will be no grim reapers to watch his back. 

As if hearing his thoughts, Barron reassured, “Don’t worry. It wasn’t that bad. You should learn to be independent.”

“I know,” Jaerim replied understandably. 

He has to be independent since he would be going in these simulations alone without any help. And if he wasn’t able to return safely, that is also a possibility, then he should be really that bad at surviving. It had been a gamble from the start and taking risks is part of it.

Jaerim did not say goodbye. He didn’t doubt that if ever he did die, the first one he will see is the grim reaper, so saying goodbyes is useless. The door has been pushed by his pale-looking hands that opened to a hazy cloud of whiteness. Carrying nothing but his resolve to live, Jaerim made his move and walked through it.

Like what happened to his first time using it, he had succumbed to the unknown. The white comfortable mist had engulfed his form until there was nothing that could be seen. Only the moment he reached the destination of his travels did the door slowly close with a loud thud, leaving the god and the grim reaper behind.

There was a bout of unconsciousness before Jaerim recovered his senses. The first thing he noticed is the uneven movement of his surroundings, the stiff pain in his neck and back, and the uncomfortable, growing feeling of wanting to throw up. A pair of eyes dazedly opened under the guise of the warm, humid air, showcasing an emotion of inexplicable distress. 

The beads on the side of his forehead and his pale lips must have served as a forewarning as the person suddenly lurched forward, his hand buckling his mouth that was about to vomit out something. Pleas of displeasure echoed through his ears containing words of disgust and complaint. Someone decided to open the tight, rusty windows of the travel bus to dispense the reek from the vomit. 

However, Jaerim hasn't vomited yet. He had managed to swallow the urge and push it down to his throat. It wasn’t comfortable at the least since it’s twisting his gut quite strongly. Jaerim wasn’t the type that has seasickness so he should not be feeling this overwhelming flurry of dizziness as if he had been careening in a boat for a week. 

A familiar touch of a hand had reached out to his back and caressed it as if to relieve him from his discomfort. He raised his head sideways to see another person sitting beside him. The seat should be empty, despite the sudden problems with his body, he knows it is empty. The person must have walked in from somewhere to assist him. 

It’s just that the person is someone he knows quite well. 

“Aye, it’s not the first hour yet and you’re already vulnerable like this. You were not that favored, aren’t you?” The voice of his ex-murderer prodded. “C’mon, I will ask the driver to stop for a while so you could take a breather.”

Jaerim felt like the urge to vomit intensified. The corners of his eyes were red in a flush while teary-eyed, a reflex brought by the rumbling of his gut. He had not seen Noel for more than three months and was not interested to see him at all. Noel could see the disgust painted on the other person’s face very well that made him grimace. He’s not affected by the sour mood and even praised Jaerim for being so genuine. 

“You look like you’ve eaten something sour,” Noel commented. 

He thought that Jaerim looked very terrible. He stood up, leaned closer to Jaerim’s body, and proceeded on opening the window beside the young man halfway. It’s really hot and humid inside the bus that could easily make someone suffocate. The wisp of wind made Jaerim feel a bit refreshed so he leaned onto the window closer to breathe in some air. 

“Feeling better?”

The feeling of nausea is still present. It’s not also helping that the bus is swerving in a not-so uniform drive. But at least the urge to vomit had subsided. He closed his eyes and breathed uniformly. 

“I guess,” he replied after a while. “Thanks.”

Noel nodded. “No problem.”

Silence ensued between them. It’s not that it matters anyway. The whole bus is full of little chatters and noises anyway so them being silent did not affect the surroundings. Noel noticed that a few people had been watching in their direction and these people had the known maple mark on visible parts of their bodies. He ignored them easily and chose to sit beside Jaerim whom he had only noticed after a few minutes waking up. 

Like what he did in the first world, the first thing Noel did is to look around and investigate. There are not many places to go in this tight, cramped tourist bus so he only needed to raise his head and check the passengers by eyes. 

He also checked his clothes and concluded that he must be going on a trip or the like since he was wearing some tropical sunny clothes and had a camera slung over his neck. There are also large bags belonging to him, mostly clothes and souvenirs that he must have bought along the way. He wondered where they were going and looked outside to see everything was pitch dark.

Yes, everything is pitch dark. 

Even with the lighting of the bus, from both the inside and the ones on the front, it was unable to light up a little object of their surroundings. It is as if they are running in a void that has all the present except for physically seeing. The things around must be moving since there is air and noises of animals chirping and scurrying. 

Noel hugged himself and rubbed his arms. He dislikes this kind of set-up. It is easy to die in a world where nobody could see. 

Jaerim could feel the sudden coldness coming beside him. He squinted his eyes open, assessing the state of the person beside him. Noel is still sitting quite comfortably in his position but he had his guard up and his eyes showed vigilance. It made Jaerim wonder if there were enemies around. 

“You’re so tense,” he said, quite weakly. 

He leaned one of his arms to the window sill and supported his right cheek unto it. His movements were slow and quite fragile since Jaerim didn’t want to trigger his nausea by moving greatly. Noel shook his head in response. 

“As if you’re feeling any better.” Noel chided. 

It’s true. Amongst the two of them, the one who had released their full armor was Jaerim. He might look like resting and doing nothing but Noel could sense the attentiveness from the young man’s raised ears that had been listening to the surroundings seriously. Jaerim could not use his eyes apparently since it would make him dizzy with all the moving around, but he wasn’t deaf and used it to its full extent. 

To all the people he knows, Noel could say that Jaerim is the craziest - truly a mad man. His desire to live is similar to a small beast getting cornered. 

Jaerim did not say anything and chose to rest his head a bit. The wind blowing his face is cold and comfortable, lulling him to sleep. It caressed the sides of his throbbing temples, making him wonder if he was really out in the bus or inside his airconditioned room on the Autumn Dispatch Division. Though, he didn’t dare to sleep. If he sleeps, he would miss something for sure. 

As he was thinking about what things he could possibly miss, the bus suddenly made an abrupt stop. It made all the passengers lung forward. It wasn’t much force since the bus wasn’t running fast but the force was enough for the unattentive passengers to hit the back of the seat in front of them. For example, Jaerim, who had a face planted to the leather seat. 

Noel did not laugh at him, like usual, instead, he stood up like any other passengers who managed to hold onto their chairs. He was looking at the front where the bus driver panicky wiped his sweat and found that he could see some trees and a paved road ahead. It seems that they had reached a destination. 

“You guys stay, let me check something,” the driver unbuckled his seatbelt and hurriedly walked out from the door with the bus conductor following behind. 

Noel followed the two figures to walk towards the engine on the side of the bus. Noel stood closer to the window, almost squishing Jaerim’s figure, but Jaerim did not complain. He held his aching nose as he watched the same people examine the machines. 

The verdict is expected. The driver returned to the inside of the bus with a grease-stained hand and an exhausted expression. He looked at the worried expression coming from the tourist and groaned internally. 

He announced, “The engine failed. It seems that we will be staying in the wilderness overnight.”