Israel shot upright in bed.
His breath came in sharp, uneven gasps.
His heart slammed violently against his chest.
Cold sweat soaked his skin.
His body trembled uncontrollably as if the nightmare had followed him into reality.
The crimson sky.
The screams.
Tari.
His hands….
"Israel?"
The bedroom door creaked open.
Israel's head snapped up.
His father stood there, concern etched across his face.
"Hey, kiddo," his dad said gently.
From downstairs, his mother's voice echoed.
"Is he awake?"
Israel stared.
His vision blurred.
His legs moved before his mind could catch up.
He jumped off the bed and crashed into his father, wrapping his arms around him tightly.
"You're okay," Israel whispered, his voice shaking.
"You're… you're really okay…"
His father stiffened in surprise, then chuckled softly, patting Israel's back.
"Hey, hey… what's wrong, son?" he asked.
"You look like you've seen a ghost."
Israel pulled back slightly, staring at his father's face.
"How are you alive?" he asked quietly.
"How are you still here?"
His father frowned in confusion.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"You collapsed as soon as you came back from school yesterday," his father continued.
"You scared us badly."
Israel's heart skipped.
"…Really?" Israel muttered.
"You don't remember anything?"
His father smiled warmly.
"You've been through a lot," he said.
"You need more rest."
Then he turned and left the room.
The door clicked shut.
Israel stood frozen.
"…That wasn't a dream," he whispered.
A voice spoke behind him.
"Hey, bro. Looks like you're finally awake."
Israel spun around violently.
Femi stood near the window, arms folded, smiling casually.
"Wha….?! When did you get here?!" Israel shouted.
Femi shrugged.
"I've been here since I brought you home."
Then he grinned.
"By the way," he added,
"you're surprisingly heavy."
Israel blinked.
"Oh… yeah?," he said slowly.
"What… what happened?"
He grabbed his head.
"The last thing I remember is"
His eyes widened.
"Wait. Where's Ikoko?" Israel asked sharply.
"…Did you kill him?"
Femi's smile faded slightly.
"He's dead," Femi said.
"But I wasn't the one who killed him."
Israel froze.
"Then who?" he asked.
"The last thing I remember… he slashed my parents, and everything went dark."
He looked around the room.
"Now everything looks… normal."
Femi leaned against the wall.
"They were dead," he said calmly.
"I brought them back while repairing the city."
Israel's eyes widened.
"…You did that?" he whispered.
Before Femi could react, Israel rushed forward and hugged him tightly.
"Thank you," Israel said quickly.
"Thank you so much."
"Hey…hey!" Femi protested, laughing.
"I'm not that kind of dude."
Israel pulled back, embarrassed.
"It's not weird!" he said quickly.
"It's just an appreciation hug."
They both laughed softly.
Then Israel's expression turned serious.
"You said you repaired the city," he said.
"Did Ikoko destroy it?"
"…And who killed him?"
Femi looked straight at him.
"You did."
Israel's breath caught.
"…What?"
"I killed him?"
"How? When?"
"Why can't I remember?"
Femi tilted his head.
"Are you unable to remember," he asked,
"or are you afraid to let yourself remember?"
Israel went silent.
Then Femi spoke again.
"You almost killed Tari too."
Israel's eyes widened in panic.
"What?!"
"Where is she?!"
"Is she okay?!"
"I healed her," Femi replied calmly.
"She's completely fine."
Israel exhaled shakily.
"…Why can't I remember anything?" he whispered.
Femi sighed.
"Two reasons," he said.
"One… your parents' death shattered you emotionally. The seal reacted and went out of control."
Israel clenched his fists.
"Two…" Femi continued, grinning,
"I knocked you out really hard."
He burst into laughter.
"I guess I don't know my own strength."
Israel stared at him.
"…Wait. How could you knock me out?" he asked.
"I killed Ikoko. I must've tapped into the seal's full power."
Femi shook his head.
"Nope," he said.
"You were at three percent."
Israel froze.
"…Three?"
"Oh," Israel muttered.
"I guess that explains why you could knock me out."
Femi laughed harder.
"Bro," he said, wiping a tear from his eye,
"even at one hundred percent…"
He looked directly into Israel's eyes.
"You still wouldn't be able to touch me."
Israel swallowed.
"…How strong are you?" he asked quietly.
Femi only laughed it off.
"I should get going," Femi said, turning away.
Then he stopped.
"One last thing," he added.
"I can only bring someone back from the dead once."
Israel stiffened.
Femi glanced over his shoulder.
"Don't waste it."
And in the next instant
He vanished.
The room fell silent.
Israel stood alone, staring at his trembling hands.
"…Three percent," he whispered.
Outside, the city lived on
Unaware of how close it had come to being erased.
Next day…. at school
"Hey, you're in school early today," Abdul said as he walked up to Israel.
"Yeah… couldn't sleep all night," Israel replied, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Hey….have you seen Tari?"
Abdul shook his head.
"No. She usually comes early, but I haven't seen her today. Why?" he asked.
"Oh…. nothing," Israel said quickly. "Just wanted to talk to her."
Abdul stared at him for a moment… then smiled.
"Talk, huh?" Abdul teased. "You bad guy."
"Hey…!"
Suddenly…
"HEYOOO!"
Israel and Abdul both jumped.
Femi burst out laughing.
"You should've seen your faces," he said, holding his stomach.
"You really need to stop doing that," Abdul complained.
Femi laughed even harder.
"Will Tari be at school today?" Israel asked.
"Nope," Femi replied casually.
"Why?!" Israel and Abdul asked at the same time.
"Oh, nothing serious," Femi said with a grin.
"The high-ups just want to talk to her."
"That doesn't sound like 'nothing,'" Abdul muttered.
Before anyone could respond
"Yoo, broskis!"
Ben came running toward them.
"Hey!" Israel and Abdul called out.
"Wow, you guys are early," Ben said, squinting at them.
"Hmm… everything okay? Or is the world about to end?"
They all laughed.
"Oh yeah," Ben said suddenly. "I thought I saw Femi just now…."
"Oh yeah, he was ju…" Abdul paused.
"…Wait."
Femi was gone.
"He disappeared again," Abdul said slowly.
Ben sighed dreamily.
"Man… if I had that kind of power, the things I'd do."
"Like peeping on girls?" Abdul said.
"That's literally the most useful thing," Ben replied.
They burst out laughing.
Ben suddenly looked at Israel.
"Hey… you seem off today, bro."
"Yeah," Abdul added. "You sure everything's okay?"
Israel forced a smile.
"Yeah. Of course. Everything's fine."
Ben and Abdul exchanged looks.
"…If you say so," they said.
Just then
RIIIIING!
The class bell rang.
"C'mon!" Ben shouted as they started running toward class.
Israel followed
Then
Femi appeared directly in front of him.
Before Israel could react…
Tap.
The world warped.
"Wha….?!"
In an instant, Israel vanished from the schoolyard.
Inside the classroom
"Wait… where's Israel?" Ben asked, looking around.
Abdul frowned.
"He was right behind us…"
The seat beside them was empty.
TO BE CONTINUED….