A Decision
Chapter 2 - A Decision
Rachel woke up the next morning, her throat still hurting from last night. She found that her roommates had already left for class. She packed up her bags and headed to school. As she walked to class, she couldn't stop thinking about the horrible things her roommates had said about her last night. She had a dead look on her face, with no emotion at all. She just stared off into the distance. She was practically a ghost. Already dead.
She did not know what to do next. She knew she couldn't apologize to them. It's not like it would fix anything, and it's not like they would accept her apology. The only hope she had was that she could move out, and hopefully get a fresh start. But even if she did, she couldn't get over the guilt from all those terrible things she did, and many other classmates are already aware of her misdoings. It was all hopeless.
However, she immediately snapped out of her stupor when she noticed that there weren't as many people outside as usual. Even though she forgot her jacket, she did not feel chilly, nor did she feel any wind. She almost felt as though she was inside of some sort of greenhouse. She could hear little to no noise. Her footsteps seemed to echo as if she was inside of a large hallway, even though she was outside. Something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
She looked at the other students walking towards the school, and noticed they also had a blank and emotionless stare. They walked into the school building like zombies. None of them were talking. Rachel immediately started to feel on edge.
"Hello?" Rachel called out to them. Her voice echoed.
Some of them stopped and looked back slowly, but then continued walking into the building.
"Is this some sort of prank? What is going on here?"
"Rachel.." a random person called out softly from behind her.
Rachel froze as soon as she saw who it was.
It was her journalism professor.
"W-Wait a second.. are you.. it's you! Wait.. aren't you supposed to be dead?" Rachel asked in disbelief.
There was a long pause. The journalism professor just stared directly at her with a solemn look on his face.
"Answer me!" Rachel yelled, as she started to tremble with fear.
"Yes Rachel, I am dead. We are all dead here. As are you." The professor replied with a raspy voice.
Rachel felt a surge of anxiety rush through her body. She could not believe what she just heard. Her heart was beating rapidly. She tried to pinch herself, believing this to all be a dream.
"Wake up Rachel, wake up! This is all just a bad dream. A bad dream, yes. I'm not dead, I can't be dead! You are lying!" Rachel yelled.
She couldn't wake up. Already everyone was looking directly at her, staring with a sad look on their faces. Some of them looked as though someone had just killed their parents.
This scared Rachel more than anything. She was starting to hyperventilate.
She wanted to scream, but she couldn't. The journalism professor pointed towards the entrance to the school. She turned around and saw that the inside of the school building was pitch black behind the entrance doors.
"You will travel to your final destination. And then you will travel no more. All of us will meet our ultimate fate. There will be no escape." The journalism professor murmured.
"What do you mean? What are you talking about? I'm not going in there! You can't make me!"
"There is nothing you can do. There is nothing I can do. We are all doomed to meet our death. Nothing can stop it."
"Shut up! I'm not dead! You are dead! You are supposed to be dead you fucking piece of shit! You.."
All of the sudden, she felt a tight grip around her arm. There was someone or something in a black cloak trying to pull her towards the school building. She immediately tried to resist, and fought back as much as she could. With her adrenaline at its maximum capacity, she pulled with all her might.
"Let go of me you bastard! No, I don't want to go in there! I'm not dead! No! Please! Let go! Let go of me! Someone, help me! Help!" Rachel screamed at the top of her lungs.
It was no use. She was being dragged into the school building. She was being dragged into the darkness, and felt a cold wind coming from inside the building. She immediately stopped struggling. She was paralyzed with fear.
The strange man in the black cloak dragged her into the dark abyss, and Rachel could do nothing but stare off into the distance, with her eyes wide open. Her pupils had constricted to the size of pinpricks.
"Am I really.. dead?" Rachel thought to herself?
A few seconds later, she blacked out.
Rachel opened her eyes. She could see nothing but darkness. She tried to get up but something was holding her down. She looked to the side and saw what appeared to be a large expansive landscape, filled with people who appeared to be conversing with each other. They all seemed really happy, but she could barely hear their laughter.
There appeared to be a glass panel separating her from the outside. The people outside did not seem to notice her, and she tried to call for help, but they couldn't hear her.
She immediately looked down at her hands and feet and noticed they were chained down. She then remembered what had happened after she supposedly 'woke up' this morning. She started to get very worried. She tried to break out of her chains, but she couldn't. She once again started to hyperventilate.
"Help. Somebody, help me! Get me out of here! Please! Help me!" She cried.
All of the sudden, she heard a deep and painful moaning sound from a few feet away from her. She slowly turned her head to the left, and to her horror, she saw someone laying right next to her, also chained to the ground. She couldn't make out who it was, as he was turned the opposite direction.
"Hello? Hey, wake up! Please help me get out of here! I need to get out! Please help! Please! He.."
Rachel was interrupted by a large howling scream coming from the other man. Whilst screaming, he turned around and faced Rachel. It was the journalism professor again. However, his eyes were gouged out, and he had blood dripping down his face and down his mouth.
Rachel screamed at the top of her lungs once again.
The journalism professor yelled at Rachel, whilst foaming at the mouth, "This, is my fate.. my destiny.. this is what I have chosen.. the path I walked.. led me here.. there is nowhere else for me to go.. you have reached your path.. and you will stay here.. to watch others have the happiness and joy.. that you will never have.. ever again.. and you will suffer.. for all eternity!"
"No. No. This isn't real! You're not real! This is all just one big sick joke! Please! Stop this! I've had enough! I just want to go back home! Please, stop this! Stop!"
"Your roommates, and Tommy, and Lucy all know you are dead. They are happy, because you are dead. You wanted to make them happy Rachel? You wanted to make it up to them? You already have. You weren't worth anything to anyone. How does it feel, Rachel?"
Rachel started to tear up.
"Please.. stop. I can't take anymore of this. I, I can change. I can fix all of this. Please! Give me a second chance!"
"No! You.. are.. doomed!" The journalism professor screamed.
He then faded away out of existence, and Rachel was left there alone by herself. She couldn't speak. She realized. This was not a dream. This was real. This was all real. This was her ultimate fate. She lead herself here, and so she would be forced to live the life that she has created for herself. She let out one last scream, before falling back, staring out the window, her eyes turning back to pinpricks.
This was it. It was over. It was all over.
The alarm clock went off. Rachel awoke from her restless slumber. She still had the same aching feeling in her throat. A few seconds afterwards, she realized that she was no longer chained down, and that she was in her bedroom, laying sideways on the mattress.
"It was all a dream after all," Rachel thought to herself. "Or a nightmare rather. Probably the worst nightmare I ever had in my life. What did I eat last night?"
Rachel let out a long sigh of relief, and then realized that she still had to get to school quickly before she got late for class. She had to admit that she was a bit scarred from the dream she had. It made her think about her actions. She wanted to change, and she wanted earn the respect of her peers. She didn't want to live the rest of her college life being lonely.
Despite this, everything seemed to be back to normal. All the students were chatting and she could feel the wind blow against her jacket. She took a deep breath, and then let it all out. She felt relieved that everything was back to normal, and felt confident that she could continue her day without any problems.
Class was long this time. Rachel decided to spend the rest of the day studying for her Intro To Bio class. After she started to head home, she once again started to have that same anxious feeling. Then, the memories made their way back into her head. She started remembering all the horrible things her roommates said about her.
She once again stooped into depression, and sneaked back into her room again after getting some dinner and drinks from the fridge. She wouldn't dare sit at the same dining table as her roommates. They stared daggers at her almost every time she walked past the dining room, as if they were saying "don't even think about it," well, except maybe Jessica. Jessica never really held grudges that easily.
As she was about to finish her dinner in her bedroom, she started feeling melancholy again. However, she tried to snap herself out of it. She knew that self pity wasn't going to get herself anywhere. She started to get back her strength. She didn't know why, but she felt as though for some reason, she wanted to actually do something about this problem of hers. Sure, she previously admitted it was hopeless, but is it really? Is there really a chance she could turn all of this around?
"It's worth a shot I guess," Rachel thought to herself. "But what am I supposed to do?"
Rachel thought very long and hard. Then, she finally came to a conclusion.
"Well duh! How can I be so stupid? I have to apologize! That is what you are supposed to do! It may not fix the issue, but I owe them one anyways. It is the least I can do."
But of course, she knew it would not be easy. She wasn't sure how to go about apologizing to them. She was already scared shitless of her roommates, and she would be too embarrassed to even speak to them. She already apologized to Tommy, and she knew how bad that went, but she still had to try. It was not like she had any other options.
"C'mon Rachel, stop being so selfish. Stop thinking about yourself for once. It's not all about how you feel. Think about them instead," Rachel said to herself. "Don't worry about how embarrassed you will feel. Just do it!"
Rachel built up her courage, and walked out of the door of her room. She held up her head, and walked out towards the dining room. She was shaking, but she still kept walking ahead.
To her disappointment, she realized that only Beth was in the dining room. Beth, of all people. The other two roommates have already gone to bed early.
Rachel walked up to Beth slowly with her hands tucked behind her back. She could barely look her in the eye.
Beth looked back at her, frowning a little.
"What is it, Rachel?" She asked.
Rachel clenched her teeth, and cleared her throat a little before speaking.
"Umm, I.. just... wanted to say... that... um... I...um..."
Rachel was already struggling to apologize, and she was feeling her confidence being drained.
"Well, spit it out all ready! I haven't got all night!" Beth exclaimed.
"I... um... I am... s.. s...sssss..."
Rachel could not say it. She just could not say that word. Her feelings kept fighting her, and she couldn't fight back. Beth's death stare was just too much for her.
"Ugh, I am studying overtime at the library tomorrow. I.. um.. won't be here until 12:30 at midnight, just so you know," Rachel gabbled.
"Hmm, I see. Just don't wake us up when you come back in."
"Hehe.. no problem."
Rachel slowly backed away, and then ran back into her bedroom.
"That was weird," Beth thought to herself. She pushed it out of her mind and went back to eating.
Rachel decided to lay down on her bed again. This time she was furious.
"Ugh, how could I screw up like that? What is wrong with me? It was supposed to be just a simple apology. I just, I couldn't do it! I failed!" Rachel said to herself. "It's hopeless. I'm just gonna wait until I can move out. Why even bother with this. My goose is already cooked."
Rachel decided to just go to sleep and forget about the whole ordeal.
But then, Rachel heard a knock on her door. This startled her. She cannot remember the last time anyone ever knocked on her door.
Rachel got up and walked slowly towards the entrance to her room. She was getting nervous once more. She tried to hold it back, and came up to the door and turned the doorknob.
She opened her door. It was Jessica.