2:50 P.M.

2:50 P.M.

 

“Habara-san! Habara-san!”

Someone shook me, calling my name. I finally woke up.

“Habara-san, are you okay?”

Shiro had his hands on my shoulder.

“Uh, yeah… I’m fine. Don’t worry.” I shook him off. “But…what happened to me?”

“You suddenly shouted…and then you collapsed.”

“I… I did?”

I shook my head, trying to clear my mind.

I looked around. The crowd was lying there asleep, nothing else wrong with them. None of them had actually been crushed flat.

“Were they here when we came out that door?”

“Hunh?” Shiro looked baffled. “What do you mean?”

“N-never mind. Ugh,” I sighed.

When had the illusion started? I couldn’t trust my own senses at all.

I remembered my phone, but…

“………”

Once again, I decided not to call. No telling what would answer.

“What’s up?” Shiro said, still clearly worried about me.

“Hmm…seems like it got to me again. Gotta be more careful.”

I slapped my cheeks.

We started moving again.

There had to be a control room somewhere in the building. We needed to find it.

A few minutes later, we discovered another door leading into the space below the floors.

This time, however, there was a woman slumped against it. We’d have to move her out of the way.

“Right…”

She was out like a light, so I didn’t bother being too gentle. I just grabbed her under the arms and dragged her away.

But she groaned in her sleep. Hmm, I thought, and knelt down and lightly patted her cheek.

“Hey? Can you wake up? Snap out of it,” I said, in her ear. She groaned again.

I took another look at her, and she seemed familiar.

“What is it?” Shiro said, coming over.

“Look, she’s…”

“Oh, the girl from earlier. The one you laughed at for fighting with that guy.”

“Seems like she might wake up.”

I grabbed her shoulders and gave her a good hard shake.

“Hunh…?”

Shiro reached out and touched her cheek.

Her eyes fluttered open. She winced a second, and then her eyes snapped into focus.