5 There's No Running

[Episode 5]

My eyelids twitch in displeasure as a sharp white light pierces through them.

With my body feeling heavy and chilled, I try opening my mouth, lips stuck closely together from their lack of moisture, "Why is it so loud? Roanna, Romiya, are you guys talking in my room again?" 

The intense chattering drives me mad enough to open my eyes out of pure annoyance. "How many times have I…!"

An intense shine partially blinds me as I push myself into a sitting position, waving my hand over my face and narrowing my eyes In an attempt to try to shelter them from the intense glare.

As my eyes succumb to the harsh glow, I notice and analyse the smooth white room I somehow ended up in. 

Ah right. I'm not on Earth anymore but what happened to the forest I was just in?

I look up and around at the ceiling and walls, "There's no lights?"

There aren't any windows either, however, the thick curved walls seem to be coated with luminescent white paint. I'm not happy to be here, but I have to admit, this is some incredible technology!

And I must say, "This place is crazy huge… It's definitely large enough to fit at least 500 people."

Though, looking around and considering how large the gaps are between everyone, I doubt that there's anywhere near that amount.

It seems that even though I fainted, I somehow managed to survive until the hour was up and automatically ended up here. 

I think Murim mentioned something about being moved to a safer place if we somehow manage to survive so this plain-white dome must be it.

I continue to scan the room. Other people who teleported to this world with me sit or stand in groups while seemingly discussing this abnormal situation amongst themselves with anxiety clearly painted on their faces. I wonder if something happened after I ran away.

Taking this moment of calm, I decide to properly examine my body. First with my chest. 

I take a deep breath, preparing myself for the worse. I slightly pull the collar of my t-shirt to decide whether I was just dreaming when I saw myself in the lake.

I can almost feel the glances I'm receiving questioning my sanity, but I'm too desperate to confirm if I have, in fact, become a girl. 

And Indeed, 'they' are here. Something, I never had as a man and something I never wished to have.

Lying flat on the ground I whisper, "Why did it have to be me of all the people here?" Biting my lip, I force myself to swallow my tears. I can't cry and let my guard down in front of strangers. "Ah, such a common trope has come for me... Does this mean I'm the main character of a comic or something?"

Thinking back at my actions so far, I chuckle tiredly at the thought of being the protagonist of a story.

 It wouldn't make sense for the lead of a story to be as cowardly as me. What kind of main character would leave a pack of wolves for other people to deal with?

"Besides, I don't even have a weapon."

After contemplating my misfortunes, a ball of blue flames spark in the centre of the room. 

I sit back up facing the flames and witness a familiar grey wolf, in his same striped suit, materialising out of them.

"Humans, you must be in a great deal of surprise." He ridicules us and flashes an extremely pretentious smirk, "Those who thought themselves dead are currently alive."

What did he just say? I honestly have no idea what he's talking about and it's probably because I split from the group so early on.

A tanned lady in a rather revealing outfit, visibly in shock, steps forward. "You called yourself Murim right? Are you the reason why many of us are still alive despite being torn limb by limb by those freakish dogs!?" Trauma spreads on her and many other people's faces.

"Well of course it was me, foolish woman. I mercifully decided to spare your pitiful lives for the first round." Proudly he glides closer to the woman with a smirk on his face, "My wolves did a brilliant job of letting you taste real fear for the first time!"

In disbelief, everyone continues to share visible glances.

"Huh?!" I jump up onto my feet and find, across the room, the man who was being shredded to death when I escaped, still alive.

If people like that man managed to survive because Murim saved them, does this mean that even if I died back there, I would still be alive here right now?

To think I ran off for no reason in the end.