My brain couldn't process what just happened, and now the text on the paper is saying that I was returned from death?
"This is impossible," I muttered, barely holding my voice steady.
"No. No, this isn't real. It's a hallucination. It has to be. Maybe I drank something... or ate something weird... yeah, yeah. That's it." I tried to confront myself.
I looked at the paper again.
Text was still there, saying the same thing.
"No, this is impossible, it can't be real," I said.
As I said these words, the paper started to rustle again, but I acted quickly.
I tore the paper in half, stacked the pieces, and kept tearing. Again and again and again until there was nothing left to rip.
What now, huh? You gonna fool me again? Not this time!" I said with slight confidence.
It wasn't confidence. It was stupid bravery. The kind that comes when your brain short-circuits and all that's left is fight or die pretending.
I couldn't accept the fact that I just died. It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense until now, but dying? Then coming back? It only happens in movies or shows, right? It is not something that can happen in real life. I have to be in a dream, or I am hallucinating. Yes, yes. It has to be it.
This was the first time in my life that I refused reality. Because it didn't make sense. It can't be real.
No, no, no, no. It can't be real.
But it should be fine now, right? I just tore the paper. There shouldn't be any more instructions or games, right? No punishment, no death, no harm. Everything is fine.
Yes, everything is fine.
I can't hear elephants either.
There. Proof. Just some damn nightmare.
I didn't pay attention to my body. Because of how panicked I was. I didn't realize that my hands were shaking in fear. I couldn't move—not really. My body was frozen, but my hands trembled, like fear had taken over the wiring inside me.
Not just that, I also realized that I had nearly no strength left in my legs. Not because of tiredness but because of fear.
I slowly lifted my hands and covered my face with them, trying to calm myself down.
"It's not real, it's not real, it's not real," I started repeating to myself.
I forced each breath deeper, like I could suffocate the panic crawling up my throat. I needed to think. Anything. Just something.
At that moment, I heard some noise again. A familiar noise. That too-familiar noise snapped my fear back into focus.
I felt the ground shaking slightly. And the noises were what I thought it was.
But with a hope of being wrong, I tried to look at them. Without moving my hands from my face, I separated my fingers just enough to be able to see through them.
It was elephants. Again, elephants. A lot of them. From the same distance, again, charging full speed, trunks whipping through the air like furious samurai blades.
"No, noooo," I started screaming with all my might.
Fear started to wrap me around in its arms. The last memory of me with elephants ended with my death, and I was still not sure if it was real or just another hallucination.
I closed my eyes.
"This is no real, this is not real, this is not real," I repeated myself as the noise went louder and louder.
At that moment, not just my hands but my whole body was shaking in fear. I was repeating the same words in the hope of waking up as if I were in a dream.
When the noises were the loudest, I slowly moved my fingers to clearly see if I was still seeing the same thing.
As I opened my eyes, something hit me on the head.
I didn't feel any pain. Maybe I just couldn't. I don't truly know. All I know is that was the last thing I remember from that moment.
…
I slowly opened my eyes. As soon as I opened them, I felt the same fear again.
I was in the city, standing in the middle of the road with a bunch of papers around me while I was holding one. I was here again.
I uncontrollably started to breathe faster. The fear of dying again made me lose control over my body.
"Stop it," I screamed.
I lifted my trembling hands to hold my head from the sides.
"Stop it, please. I don't wanna die," I said with a shaky voice while tears started to fill my eyes.
I heard paper rustling at this moment.
I looked at the paper that I was holding.
Because of the fear, I didn't even realize it was still there when I lifted my hands.
New text was on it. It has changed.
"This paper is your only communication device for this game. You will have to carry this with you until you win.
Stop crying and run."
As I read the text, I heard that loud noise again.
The ground started to shake, voices of elephants started to get closer.
I tried to turn my back and run, but I realized.
I can't move.
Because of fear, my legs were numb, and I couldn't control them.
I tried to move them, but they didn't move.
Elephants were already close to me. They were about 10 meters from me when I gave up on moving.
I didn't know what to do. As tears were falling, since I couldn't even stop crying, I gave up and looked at the elephants as I accepted my death.
"Please, stop this," I said in a weak and shaky voice.
One of the elephants pushed me with its trunk, and I fell on the ground.
The last thing I remember is seeing the other elephant's foot over my face.