Project: Death for Classroom Zero

Chapter 65: Escaping

Tristan Fauxier was sitting on a chair, at the corner of the cafeteria. Along with him is Rain. Both of them are sitting silently, as hot mixture of black coffee kept on steaming away from the white cup on their table. Both of them was lost for words. It has seemed that both of them has lost the ability to speak comfortably to each other. Or maybe not. It’s just that … their minds were filled with a lot of thoughts.

After what had happened at the outside of the building, Tristan—and perhaps not jus him, but all of them—realized that it was important for them to keep the numbers found on their wrist away from being discovered. What happened to the two people earlier—who have treated each other as real friends—was a concrete reason why they should be keeping their marks away from the eyes of other. By that, as they drink their coffee to ease of the stress from the traumatic scene earlier, Tristan and Rain was uncomfortably hiding their wrists away from each other.

There are also other students who can be found inside the cafeteria. It all of them, they are resonating an explainable gloom and dark auras surrounding in their presences. These glooms and darkness that Tristan can feel was surely because despite them trying their best to eat (to gain energy for the day), their mind and eyes were keenly observing the place, aware that there is a a big possibilty that someone from the people around would attack and attempt to kill them.

It is maybe not because they have shown their marked numbers, but because they are aware that with their current situation, there is a possibility that one of them would lose their mind, and would then lose its control to self, resulting to perhaps, having the urge to kill everyone just to make sure that the one who has the same number as him would be one of the people he had killed. There are a lot of possibilities one should not disregard.

From the silence, Tristan sighed. He cleared off the lump on his throat, then decided to start their conversation. “Rain,” he called.

Rain’s attention shifted from the cup of coffee she was drinking, towards him.

“Are you alright?” Tristan asked.

“I am, Tristan. I am just filled with a lot of thoughts,” she answered.

“Well, everyone of us do. Right now, everyone of us was filled with our own thoughts and worries,” Tristan said.

“I’m sorry, Tristan,” said Rain. From that, Tristan’s forehead scrunched.

“For what?”

“For the thing that I have done to you yesterday. I’ve been looking for opportunity since earlier to tell sorry to you.”

“What are you sorry from, Rain? I am not even mad about anything to you,” Tristan defended.

“About letting those men in white drag you to the detention room yesterday, and not fighting for the sudden disappearance of Caspian,” Rain explained.

“Ah, that,” said Tristan, “I have overreacted that time, Rain. I am sorry. But you deciding not to help me has brought at least a good thing. I have realized some truth about this place.”

“Wh—What truth?”

Tristan wanted to say to her about the things which Amara has told her yesterday and earlier this morning. But then, he remembered that he and Amara had promised that they will keep the truth yet for only the two of them.

Instead, he answered. “It made me realize that this place is real. For the time, I’ve been treating this place and everything we are doing as a nightmare—or maybe a lucid dream which I can manage to alter with they use of my thoughts and imaginations. But then, this place was real. This wasn’t a nightmare. This was a place where death may occur. I’ve been believing that I can protect everyone of you. I … I have this subconscious trust that I can manage to protect you from the possibility of dying. We have been safe from the terror of the so called activities and quizzes of this place, and none of us had died yet, that is why I have unconsciously thought we could make it until the end—which is, in reality, would never happen.” He stopped, then stared at blankness. “I finally realize that not all of us would be able to win this fight—not all of us would survive and would continue living the way we dreamingly wanted.”

As he stared back at Rain, he saw the smiling curve of Rain’s lips. That instant, he found Rain beautiful. It was his first time seeing the woman smiling beautifully. Perhaps it was not his first time seeing Rain’s smile. He may have seen it from some other time—but he couldn’t recall. However, this was the first time for him seeing such an impactful smile from her. It was terrifyingly beautiful and genuine to the point that he almost held his breath because of its beauty.

“I am glad that you have finally realized it, Tristan. Upon observing you, I found out that you are in that state; unacceptance for the fact that not everyone of us will be able to survive—perhaps none pf us will. Even me.”

Tristan has gripped his fist upon hearing it. “But still, it pains me whenever I would realize that thing.”

“It’s hard. But, inside this brutal place, we have no choice but to accept it.”

Tristan nodded. “I do have no choice.” He smiled. However, upon the spacing of his mind, there was a question that has fell in his mind; ‘If he would choose between his own self and of the safety of Rain, who would he choose?’

That question was an easy thing for him to answer. He smiled upon realizing it. Never in his imagination would he come up into this situation, wherein he would voluntarily offer his life for the sake of making this woman safe and alive.

“We have no choice but to accept that tragic path, but if we would attempt something out from the usual order, we would be able to get a new choice.”

From serene expression, Trista’s face suddenly became confused. “What do you mean, Rain?”

Secretly, Rain has looked and observed the surrounding, to check whether if there are other people who was watching and listening to them. When she realized that there is none, he leaned forwards towards Tristan. She did not do it over-actingly—it was just enough for Tristan to hear what she was about say.

“The secret exit door,” she said.

From that, Tristan’s breath deepened. Rain has a point. Indeed, they would not be able to have any choice if they will be going to choose in following the path that this place has been dictating. However, if they will be going to choose a new, different path, they would be able to find new set of choices that they can use and pick from.

One of it was escaping. If they will have the opportunity to find where the secret exit door was, they wouldn’t be able to find difficulty in preparing themselves from the catastrophes they would be encountering. Instead, they will have a new chance of choosing the choice of not seeing everyone falling into the pits of death. Everyone would have the chance to continue living—or at least, all of his groupmates.

“Y—You mean …”

“Yes, we will escape,” Rain directly said to him.

“But how about the others? About Blaze, Amara, Seven and the Twins?”

“They will join us, Tristan. We would push them to this furious decision. It’ either they will die here inside this grave place, or they will take the risk of escaping so that they can continue living the normal life we have all yearned to have, even though it’s poor and hard.”

“I … I will join, Rain. You can count on me, and I will do my best to help you for this plan.”

Rains nodded. “Thanks for that, Tristan. Actually, Blaze and I had already planned everything that we are going to do.”

“Blaze?” Tristan felt not good about what he had heard.

“Yes, Blaze. He had proposed this idea to me, when you were inside the detention room, after being enraged from Caspian’s disappearance. It was not just you who was deeply affected from the sudden disappearance of our friend. In fact, all of us felt sad, and at the same time, felt the grit and willingness of not having this kind of lose anymore. And so, Blaze and me decided to take the risk. We made ourselves fall into the risk of not coming back to our quarters the time before the curfew would hit. Instead, we made it to the restricted part of this building. There, we explored the whole area for the whole night long, until we, miraculously, found the secret door. The secret exit. The place that where if opened, would lead to the freedom we have been yearning for.”

Tristan felt that something bad would probably happen because of the inclusion of Blaze in this plan. Because of what Amara said to him earlier, he could not fully trust Blaze until he had proven himself. Sitting in front of Rain, he could not help himself but feel uncomfortable because he could not decide whether if he would let Blaze lead this plan. What would happen if indeed, just like what Amara has told him, that he was a suspicious person? There is surely a big possibility that they will be busted, and that the plan would fail.

Yet, on the other thought, what if Blaze was just as desperate as them? What if he was also just like them, an ordinary student of an ordinary high school who has been thrown by the circumstances into this hellish place? What if he was just as desperate as him and others to continue living? He doesn’t want that thing to be disregarded. He knew he was a suspicious man, but even Amara, as she have said to him, was not sure if indeed, Blaze was a man who has the capacity to betray them. That is why, he wanted to give chance to him. Also, if he would betray them, he wouldn’t put extreme effort for helping Rain in the plan that they are doing-to the point that he had willingly joined her in risking their lives just to find the passage towards exiting this Project Zero building. If he was a traitor, by this time, Rain’s life should be already in danger because he could surely bust her from whatever she was doing. Hence, since he had helped Rain—and her still not being in danger—was it a worthy decision, if … he would trust him once again?

“Tristan, are you okay?”

Out from nowhere, Tristan’s wondering thoughts came back to him.

“Huh? Ah, yes. I am fine. I was just dragged by my thoughts.”

Rain nodded seriously. The way she stare at Tristan is something that made him uncomfortable. “Then,” she said, “We should disregard our worries about the flags for now.” Unexpectedly, Rain held Tristan’s hand—the one without the tattoo. “Let’s escape from this hell, Tristan,” she added.

What could Tristan do then? He himself found out that one of his weakness was saying no to this woman in her front.