Project: Death for Classroom Zero

Chapter 24: Another Ally

Looking at a mirror hanging on the wall inside his quarter, Tristan looked at his reflection. He looked dashing. But with the ID hanging on his neck which the lace screaming the name of the morbid school he was currently studying at, his confidence in his handsome face splurged down.

Tristan almost wanted to laugh when he found out that the students of Classroom Zero had a designed uniform they had to wear. It was especially made for them. 

Looking back at the mirror, he arranged the slight crease on the shoulder part of his black-colored uniform. The color of death. On the sides of that uniform, there were elegant swirls of golden linings which added a special feature to its design. It was a short-sleeved uniform that was perfectly accompanied by plain slack pants (the color is black too), and well-polished shoes. The only white in his uniform was the hems of the sleeves, the collar folds, and the pocket near his left chest.

He had a hard time accepting the fact that this was a school uniform. Because he thinks this was a suit for a burial ceremony. Either way, he had to attend the class. Hearing the ring of the bell from the speaker attached above his room, he came outside.

As he opened the door of his room, he saw that Rain was about to come out of her own quarter as well.

“Morning,” Tristan greeted with a smile on his face.

Rain nodded to him, and continued on her own errands. Just like Rain, Tristan also locked the door of his room.

“Wow, man! You looked awesome in black!” from their back, Tristan heard Timmy complimenting his looks. 

“Ah, well … I hate it,” Tristan said awkwardly as he scratched his head. 

“W—Why, it looks good on you,” said Tammy. 

Both of them, also Rain, were wearing their own uniforms. Just like him, their uniform was black in color, but Tristan could not see its resemblance to any burial suit that he thinks on his uniform. 

“Nothing. I just hate black.” 

“Black is good. It’s mysterious,” said Rain. She passed through them, and walked on the hallway. 

Tristan and the twins followed Rain as they continued their conversations. Silent conversations.

Walking on the hallway means walking in the sea of their classmates with crimson and suspicious glares. They were whispering to each of their allies as they looked at them. Some of those people—their classmates—were looking at them while sitting on the tiled floor; or resting their back on the wall; or sulking in the corner as if they were sharing secrets. 

Tristan wasn’t sure why their classmates were looking at them in that manner. He was sure however that they had not done anything wrong towards any of them. He could not even think of any instance that they managed to harm any of their classmates. Nor even had a dire encounter with them. 

“Wh—why are they looking at us like that?”

“Tammy’s shaking from those glares. Seriously, I find it … creepy,” Timmy said. 

“It’s normal,” Rain said. “It’s their defensive mechanism. Even you, when you saw your classmates walking like what we’re doing—like friends with strong bonds, or strong foundation of alliance—then they would think we’re a threat. They will mark us. And those glares… it’s their way to say ‘do not touch us’.”

“B—But, are we a threat? We’re just like them,” said Tammy. 

“Everyone of us is a threat. Especially now that we’re starting to fall deeper inside the darkness of this classroom zero project. And when an individual threat suddenly grouped or clustered, who would not be afraid?”

“They have their own alliances, or groups, don’t they?” asked Timmy. 

“Still, we’re seen as an eyesore. If another group passed to our front just like what we’re doing now, our natural instinct will also say that they’re an eyesore. A threat in this place where any second, we could die. Because the nature of humans, just like other animals, is having an instinct to survive. By instinct, it means identifying the threat. Right now, we’re the threat.” 

“Sh—should we not walk in a group?” 

“Do it and you’ll be preyed upon. If on the first day you can walk alone, as time passes by, especially at the middle of our thirty-day survival, we cannot do it anymore. Once alone, they will take that opportunity.” 

“O—Opportunity to what?” Tammy asked. 

Rain stopped walking. She stared back at them—at Tammy, Timmy, and Tristan. 

With a loud, echoing voice, she said, “In the contract you’ve signed there were no rules that restricts one scholar to kill another of his or her co-scholar. Everyone is allowed to kill.” 

The whole alley exploded in silence. They heard what Rain fearlessly told. The eyes that were looking at them either shifted away, or… glowered more deadly. Lustful. 

Tristan took a few steps, and faced Rain. He looked at her straight in her eyes. 

With a cold, composed tone, he said; “what are you doing?”

There was a fast glisten of fear that passed through the cold eyes of Rain. However, after that, he had not seen it coming back.

“I just reduced half of our classmates that were glaring at us.” After that, she turned her back to him, and returned to the pace of her walk. 

“That was a nice scene.” 

Beside him, a man’s voice had appeared. He looked at him, and saw that it was Seven who accompanied the pace of their walk. 

“Rain’s a good tactician. If you observe the surroundings, there are two kinds of people, in relation to our group, present here.” 

“Two kinds of people?” Tristan asked. 

“Yep. One are our classmates who felt threatened yet terrified to attack our group since they knew that our group would not hesitate to kill anyone even though that's, of course, a fake claim. While the other one are the kinds of our classmates that also felt threatened, yet felt more challenged from our group.”

“The first one was good, the second was bad.” 

“But at least, since Rain indirectly announced that our group is fearless, the threat that we would be receiving will be lessened in half.” 

Hearing that, Tristan agreed. He felt that the total intensity of their classmate’s glares were reduced into half.

“But how about those kinds of people that feel more challenged to us?” 

“Let me ask you this question; if in a time-bounded exam, there were five questions, each question is equivalent to one point. Four of those were easy questions, while one was hard. Which of those questions would you answer first?” 

“If I’m aiming to score more, well, the four easy questions of course.” 

“And the hard one?” 

“Set it aside first since I’ll be getting from it the same one point, just like on the easy ones.” 

“What Rain said has just made us a hard question.” 

Tristan stopped. As he realized he was in the middle of the hallway, and most of his classmates were looking at them, he moved his legs again. “You mean…” 

“Rain claimed we’re a difficult question. Save the best for last? Nu-uh. Save the hardest for last. That just means no one will rashly attack us even though they’re challenged.” Seven shrugged his shoulders. “Better play safe.” 

While walking to their classroom dedicated for today’s session, Tristan was looking at Rain’s back. He wondered.

How did Rain knew all of the things about Classroom Zero? About phenomena in this classroom zero? About those tactics she was executing? 

It was as if… she has long been affiliated in this class. In this project. 

Seven and the Twins were unbothered. They were not thinking about the peculiarity in Rain’s personality; in her knowledge. 

With his mind flying from numerous thoughts, he was left behind by his group. They had finally entered the classroom they were scheduled to go. 

Tristan was about to follow them inside the classroom. But he stopped walking when a baritone voice of a man boomed in the left dark alley. 

“Tristan.” 

He recognized the man who called him. It was the ghost they had seen in the field of corpses, at the nest of Titan Arum.

“What is the alpha of the bullies doing here?” Tristan asked. 

It was not a ghost that they found in the field of corpses. It was Caspian Jones, the leader of the bullies. He was in a dire state that time when they met him, because his breathing was short, and becoming painful each time he would try to breathe. In fact, he and Rain had helped Caspian. At the summit of the mountain of dead bodies, they checked what was wrong with him. Until Tristan realized that he was suffering from Pneumothorax. 

“Rain! I think it was pneumothorax that he’s suffering from.” 

Rain checked him to observe the symptoms of his short breathing.

“He has a short sharp painful breathing, and a bluish skin,” Rain carefully analyzed Caspian’s condition. “He’s too tired.” 

“That’s perhaps because of his long travels here or maybe because of the collapsing of his lungs.” 

“Rapid breathing and pulse rate. Dry hacking cough.” 

“Those are the signs of pneumothorax.”  

“It is.” 

“But how are we going to help him?” 

“Pneumothorax is caused by a collapsed lung which makes the air enter the chest cavity.” 

“I’ve got a feeling I’m the reason why he’s suffering like this,” said Tristan. 

“Huh?”

“I happen to directly punch his chest with strong pressure when we’re fighting at the cafeteria. I think that pressure had made his lungs collapse.” 

“Whatever. What we need is to make a path to make the air escape from his cavity.” 

Caspian inhaled one painful breath, but then morbidly coughed. “H—Help…” 

“We need to do something.”

From her back, Rain grabbed the huge thorn she was hiding. She and Tristan plucked each thorn for each of them, when they found a titanic crown of thorn plant near the valley of flowers. It was originally about to be used by them as a knife to protect themselves from monstrous plant creatures or from anyone who would attempt to attack them. But by that time, it seems they will be using it in a different manner. They contemplated whether they would do it or not. The chances are slim. But if they will not do anything, he will die. 

Despite the contemplations, Rain stabbed her thorn exactly at his chest cavity. She pulled it after, and Caspian made a long, relieved gasp for breath. 

Now back to the present, Tristan asked, “Where did you go after we stabbed you with that thorn? We’re worried about you at that time. You stole one of our Titan Arum seeds and then ran away. We’re afraid there might be infections.”

“I’m sorry about that. I was a coward for I haven’t thanked you and that woman Rain for helping me. If not because of the both of you, I’ll never be standing back on my feet.”

Tristan noticed bandages on Caspian’s chest.

“Outside the forest of colorful plants, a group of people in white escorted me. They brought me to a white room, and there they treated me. Luckily, I am safe and was able to go back to the my room last night.” 

“That’s good.” 

“Tristan,” Caspian called with his whole, manly voice. “I have a favor to ask.” 

Tristan felt eerie. Awkward. “Wh—what is it?” he asked. 

“I want to return what you and Rain had done to me.”

“N—No, no! Don’t mind it. It’s ok—”

“Please accept me in your group.” He slightly bowed. “Allow me to be your ally.”