Dead Man's Tales: HSOTD

Kozen's eyes opened with a sudden jolt, and he immediately felt… off. His body felt both weightless and heavy at the same time, as if gravity had abandoned him and yet tethered him in some strange liminal space. He blinked, but his vision remained hazy, like looking through a fogged-up window. The world around him seemed to stretch and distort, its edges bending unnaturally.

Then, with a snap, his senses aligned, and he found himself sitting upright in what looked like an empty classroom. Except, this wasn't right—it wasn't his classroom. The desks were perfectly aligned, almost unnaturally so, each one polished to an impossible gleam, devoid of scratches or signs of wear. The walls were an oppressive shade of white, as sterile as a hospital, and the floor tiles gleamed under harsh fluorescent lighting. There were no posters, no scrawled doodles, no personal touches to suggest that students had ever inhabited this space. Even the clock on the wall was frozen at 12:00, its second hand eerily still.

The air smelled of antiseptic, sharp and clean, and the only sound was the faint hum of the lights overhead. It was a classroom, yet it wasn't—it felt more like a hollow imitation, as if someone had built it from a vague memory of what classrooms were supposed to look like.

Kozen tried to stand, but his limbs felt distant, sluggish, as if he wasn't fully connected to his body. For a moment, he thought he could see himself still sitting in the chair, an afterimage lingering in the sterile light. He shook his head violently, and the sensation faded, leaving him disoriented.

"What the hell…" he muttered under his breath, running a hand through his hair. His voice sounded strange, muffled, as if he were speaking underwater.

He clutched the edges of the desk, forcing himself to steady his thoughts. The last thing he remembered was that grotesque monster—the principal, or what had once been the principal—attacking the school. Tendrils of flesh, screams, Saeko yelling at him to move. And then… nothing. Just darkness.

"What happened? Where is everyone?" Kozen whispered, his voice cracking as he scanned the room. There were no signs of life, no clues to explain where he was or how he had ended up here. Panic began to creep in, but he forced it down, trying to focus.

Suddenly, a sharp knock echoed through the room, breaking the oppressive silence. Kozen's head snapped toward the door. There, through the small window set into the heavy metal frame, was a girl. She looked out of place in the sterile, lifeless room—vivid and alive. Her long, golden blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders in perfect waves, catching the light like spun gold. Her eyes were a striking shade of blue, wide with fear, and her delicate features were framed by faint streaks of dirt and dried tears.

"Kozen! Please, let me in!" she called, her voice trembling. "There are monsters outside!"

Kozen's heart skipped a beat, his mind racing. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place her. Who was she? Why did she know his name? And why was she here?

He stood cautiously, his instincts screaming at him to be careful. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice steady despite the unease curling in his gut.

"Please, just let me in!" the girl begged, her blue eyes brimming with tears. "I've been running for so long, I—I can't… please, I don't want to die!"

Kozen felt his resolve waver, his chest tightening at the sight of her distress. He instinctively reached for his retractable staff, the weapon he always carried, but his hand grasped at empty air. His brows furrowed as he patted himself down, realizing he had nothing—no staff, no weapons, nothing.

"Damn it…" he muttered under his breath, taking a step back from the door.

"What's wrong?" the girl asked, her voice softening. She sniffled, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "You don't have anything to protect yourself with? That's okay. You're smart. I know you'll figure something out."

Kozen's eyes narrowed. Something wasn't right.

"What happened?" he asked, his tone sharp. "Why are you here? What's going on?"

The girl hesitated, her lips quivering. "I was… I was feeding this stray cat when the eclipse started. And then… then these things came. They were everywhere! They killed so many people, Kozen. I barely got away." Her voice broke into sobs, her hands trembling as she clutched the edge of the window.

Kozen's unease deepened. He watched her carefully, noting the way her body trembled, the way her tears glistened. She seemed so… real. But something about her story didn't sit right.

"Do you have anything on you?" he asked, keeping his tone neutral.

The girl shook her head, her sobs quieting. "No. I lost everything when I was running. Please, Kozen, let me in. I can be helpful to you. I promise."

She straightened slightly, her hands brushing the neckline of her torn blouse. Slowly, deliberately, she adjusted the buttons, revealing a hint of cleavage. "I'll do whatever you want. Just let me in."

Kozen blinked, his mind momentarily blank. Her words felt like a slap to the face, snapping him out of his hesitation. He stared at her, his expression unreadable.

"Okay," he said flatly, his tone devoid of emotion.

The girl's face lit up, her tears vanishing almost instantly. "Yay!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. But before she could celebrate further, Kozen took a step closer to the door, his eyes narrowing.

"How do you know my name?," he said, his voice cutting through the room like a blade.

The girl tilted her head, her golden hair cascading to one side. "You're so pragmatic."

Her voice shifted, the sweetness fading, replaced with something sharper, darker. Kozen's heart pounded as her head began to twist unnaturally, the motion slow and deliberate. It turned, and turned, until it was completely upside down, her blue eyes staring at him with a predatory gleam.

Kozen jumped back as the girl-turned-monster shattered the door, the jagged wood splintering in all directions. The doorframe barely held as her grotesque, elongated body spilled into the room. Her head, still fixed in its unnatural upside-down position, seemed to leer at him with those wide, unsettling blue eyes, glowing faintly in the sterile light.

The air felt heavier, oppressive, as if the room itself recoiled in horror. The sinewy, roped arms snaked forward, their movements sickeningly smooth, dragging her twisted form into the sterile classroom.

Kozen stumbled back into the corner, his eyes darting to the lone chair and desk in the room—the only things between him and the monster. He cursed under his breath. What the hell am I supposed to do with this?

The monster lunged, its jagged, elongated fingers clawing at him with a wet, slithering sound. Kozen grabbed the chair instinctively, using it like a lion tamer fending off a beast. The legs of the chair caught the creature's arm mid-lunge, halting its advance for a brief moment.

The mask of the girl's face remained eerily still as it spoke again, its voice disjointed and broken, layered with grotesque echoes. "Why… won't… you… let me in?" The human lips smiled, but the body twisted further, exposing a gaping maw lined with what looked like cracked, splintered teeth.

Kozen gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut. His mind worked fast, trying to analyze the creature. It's using the human face—no, the human head—to see me. His gaze flicked to the grotesque "mask" that still dangled at the end of that thin, sinewy neck.

If I can blind it, I might stand a chance.

The creature lunged again, this time with both arms stretching unnaturally, the sound of snapping sinew filling the room. Kozen ducked, shoving the desk forward, its legs scraping loudly against the sterile floor. The desk caught the creature mid-charge, its weight knocking it backward for a moment.

"Come on!" Kozen shouted, using the chair to create distance again. The monster hissed, retreating momentarily, but he could see its long, spindly limbs beginning to coil like springs, preparing to strike again.

Kozen acted first. He swung the chair hard, smashing it directly into the girl's face-mask. The force sent her head snapping to the side, the glowing blue eyes flickering like dying lights. The creature shrieked, an otherworldly sound that rattled his bones, and its massive claws lashed out wildly, tearing long gouges into the walls.

It can't see me properly now. That's my opening.

Kozen's heart thundered in his chest as he darted to the side, narrowly avoiding another wild swing of the monster's claws. The girl's face was now cracked, one eye completely shattered, leaking a viscous, glowing fluid that hissed as it hit the floor.

The creature thrashed violently, its elongated arms swinging like whips, forcing Kozen to duck and weave to avoid being skewered. The hum of fluorescent lights above flickered in rhythm with the creature's erratic movements, casting long, warped shadows across the walls.

He grabbed the remnants of the broken chair, holding one of the jagged wooden legs like a makeshift weapon. The creature lunged again, and Kozen rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the swipe of its claws. As it turned its head to track him, he jabbed the wooden leg straight into its remaining eye.

The creature let out a deafening, guttural roar, its head snapping back as it convulsed in pain. Its flailing arms smashed into the walls and floor, leaving deep gouges and sending pieces of tile and wood flying in every direction.

"Come on, you bastard. This way," Kozen muttered, his voice shaking but determined. He grabbed a shard of broken desk and began banging it against the wall, the noise echoing through the sterile room. The creature's head jerked toward the sound, its movements erratic, as if trying to home in on him without sight.

Kozen kept moving, making more noise, luring the creature toward the classroom's large window. The glass rattled as the monster's clawed feet stomped closer, its hulking form tearing through desks and chairs in its blind pursuit.

"Here goes nothing," Kozen whispered. He timed it perfectly, dodging to the side at the last second as the creature lunged forward. Its massive body smashed through the window, shattering the glass and sending shards raining down like crystal rain.

Kozen collapsed to his knees, panting, his chest heaving as he watched the monster plummet into the void outside. But his relief was short-lived. He crawled to the edge of the broken window and froze.

There was no skyline, no familiar city streets below. Instead, the world outside was a vast, blank expanse. A perfect, featureless white stretched infinitely in all directions, unbroken by landmarks or horizons. There was no sky, no ground, no sense of up or down. It was as if the building existed in a pocket of nothingness, suspended in a void where reality itself had unraveled.

Kozen's breath hitched as he stared into the emptiness. His mind rebelled against what he was seeing, struggling to make sense of it. This can't be real. What is this place?

The silence of the void was oppressive, heavier than any sound. It was the kind of silence that seeped into your bones, making you feel small and insignificant, like a single grain of sand in an endless desert.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps broke the silence behind him.

Kozen turned sharply, his heart pounding, and froze.

Standing in the doorway was… himself. Or at least, it looked like him. The figure was identical in every way, down to the smallest detail to what he looked like in his previous life. 

The trash life!

But there was something… off. The double stood with an unnatural stillness, its posture rigid, its face calm in a way that made Kozen's skin crawl.

"Hey, Kozen," the figure said, its voice eerily familiar. It smiled, but the smile didn't reach its eyes. "Long time no see."

Kozen stared, his mouth dry. "What… who are you?"

The figure tilted its head, its movements slow and deliberate. "I'm another you. The you exist by myself."

Kozen took a cautious step back, his muscles tense. "What the hell does that mean?"

The figure chuckled, a low, unsettling sound. "You and I are the same, but also different. And different, but also the same. One thing I know for sure, though…" It leaned closer, its voice dropping to a whisper. "I'm on your side."

Kozen's pulse quickened. "I don't need a side."

The double's smile widened, its teeth unnaturally sharp. "Oh, but you do. Please, Kozen… tell me. What is it that you want?"

Before Kozen could respond, the sound of a school bell rang out, shrill and deafening. The walls seemed to vibrate with the noise, and Kozen's head throbbed as pain exploded behind his eyes. He staggered, clutching his temple as blood trickled from his nose.

The last thing he saw before the world went black was his doppelganger's grin, wide and hungry.

And then, there was nothing.

Author's Note:

If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead or support my work, you can check out my P@treon at [email protected]/LordCampione. But don't worry—all chapters will eventually be public. Just being here and reading means the world to me. Thank you for your time and support