In the evening, I lay in bed. Facing my window, I am already dead.
Or I at least wish I was. At least then I wouldn't have to go through this whole ordeal.
I'm waiting for the bell. That faithful bell. According to that man in the suit, once that bell rings, anything goes.
I tuck myself tighter into the bed. The feeling of being compressed by my sheets gives me temporary relief. That's better. I sigh, looking up at the whirring blades of the ceiling fan above me. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Enrolling in Vesrough University was supposed to be a safe new beginning for me.
"What kind of ironic hell is this?" I whisper to myself, adjusting my position in bed.
I hear it. Oh no.
I hear it loud and clear.
The ringing of the bell. There it is, the official start of Univmorta. It's all downhill from here.
I jump out of bed, stumbling towards my room door. It's still locked, good. All I can do is stay here for a while and hope to God that the rest of my flatmates are as fearful as I am.
I return to my bed, this time sitting. My body feels hot and cold at the exact same time. I've never been more tense in my entire life.
I start to hear the faint sounds of rapid gunfire that can be heard from somewhere further into the campus. Already? It's only been thirteen seconds! At least nothing is happening around here. Surely not. I'd better go check just in case.
Rolling myself to bed lethargically, I hit the floor with a thud. I crawl across the small space between my bed and the window. I peer my eyes over the windowsill, looking down onto the ground floor outside. Nervous sweats bead down my forehead and onto the grey carpeting.
Nothing much seems to be going on outside. The only movement I see is the wind fluttering through blades of grass underneath the benches outside the building. Wait. No. Never mind. I'm wrong. There is something else going on.
Standing a metre away from one of the benches is a male student. In his right hand, there's a bloodied knife, which he can barely hold due to the nervous jitters that parade up and down his body. That is not a good look. At his feet is the body of a female student who holds an automatic rifle in her lifeless hands. That's an even worse look. I hear the door to the entrance of my accommodation building swing open. What's going on?
Out of the building marches another female student, who heads straight towards the knife-wielder.
"Oi, prick! What the fuck did you just do?" she growls, confronting him head-on.
The male student suddenly snaps out of his trance. He falls to his knees, begging the female student for mercy.
"Please forgive me, I didn't mean to!" he apologises. "I-, I just saw her with the gun, and I didn't know if she was actually going to do anything. It was an accident, I swear!"
"You cunt! She was my friend! She was my fucking friend!" screams the female student. "If you're going to kill someone, you better mean to fucking do it!"
The female student knocks him to the ground in a fit of intense rage. Before either of them can think twice, she grabs the rifle from the hands of the dead girl and unloads her fury into the male student's face.
"Oh, my fucking God!" I shriek compulsively.
My blood-curdling scream draws the attention of the female student. Just my luck.
She stares at me through the window with tears streaming down her deep, hateful eyes. She adjusts the rifle, grits her teeth and heads back into our accommodation building. Holy fuck. This is not good. Not good. Not good. Not good!
I slink down from the windowsill, crouching down to the floor and cradling my knees towards my face. What's going to happen now? Is she coming for me? If she wanted me dead, she would have just shot me through the window, wouldn't she? Or is she coming up here to deliver a more personal death?
A few seconds of silence pass as I remain in my crouching place, paralysed with fear. Within moments, I begin to hear the sounds of gunfire and bloodshed ringing through the floor of my accommodation building below. I let out an intense, ear-piercing shriek.
On impulse, I run towards my door, unlock it and sprint out of my flat.
As I barrel down the corridors of my flat, I see some of my flatmates emerge from their rooms, probably to investigate all the ruckus.
"Aminah, what's going on?" asks Jonathan.
I ignore him, bursting out of the floors, corridors and onto the staircases, desperate to escape with any means possible.
Wait? What the hell am I doing? Aren't I going towards the danger, right now?!
Maybe. But I can't stop myself.
I need to at least try to escape this building before the gunfights reach me.