Snakes in my hair? It’s more likely than you think. - Chapter 23：We Can't Fight So Let's Run Away!

That familiar deep voice startles her awake!

“Huh? What? Where? What’s the time?!”

“What?”

Then she hears it, a persistent knocking coming from one of the windows.

//How the hell?//

“Should I go and see what it is or should I hide?” she nervously whispers.

She rushes over clumsily, since she’s still weak. Sure enough she meets Eve’s angry stare.

“Let me in!” she mouths.

She tries to open the window but it’s locked down right!

“I can’t!”

Eve rolls her eyes, as if it’s somehow her fault that the windows are locked and gestures for her to stand back.

She pulls out some kind of lock picker and in a few minutes she gets the window open.

“Ugh, they don’t even let you open the windows for refresh air? Good thing I came prepared.”

Then she does something strange, “Thanks for the help, here.” She pulls out a snack from her sleeve and feeds what seems to be a bat?

Glancing at it quickly, she realizes it’s indeed a bat, a huge bat.

It quickly eats the snack and flies off to who knows where.

Juno gestures at the window, “Uh?”

“Oh, that’s my pet of sorts.”

“???”

“Pearl is a good bat.”

//The bat has a name?//

“So, let me get this right, your pet bat flew you to the third floor of the hospital room.”

“Yes,” she says as if that’s perfectly normal.

“Okay…”

“Enough small talk, we did you find out? Or have you been sleeping all day?”

“No! Well it’s a little of both.”

Eve paces back and forth while Juno briefly explains to her what she found out.

“Hm. This isn’t good.”

“Yeah I know but what now?”

Eve leans against the wall and is deep in thought, “Hm. Okay let me tell you what I know. I’ll keep it brief.”

Juno sits on the bed and waits for her to continue.

“We don’t know who’s targeting you. All we know is that they are extremely powerful, are able to manipulate memories and perhaps even dreams. You had those strange dreams right?”

“Yeah, I did. They were a lot different from what I usually have.”

“Dreams always hold a meaning. Do you remember any patterns?”

She thinks for a moment, “There was- There was always this cloaked person.”

“And?”

“They caused me pain. I don’t know if that means anything.”

She chews on her lip, “Is it a clue? Is it a trap? I think it’s both.”

“When you told me about that dream, the first one, I had a bad feeling. I looked up Dream Eaters, they’re creatures that manipulate dreams to drain people’s energy force. You were looking so weak, I was sure it was them but…”

“But what?”

“Even if a Dream Eater was targeting you, I don’t see how that could have done everything else.”

“B-but what if someone was using one?”

“That could be a possibility. But the question is the same. Who?”

“I don’t… know.”

“Who brought back the blessing? We know for sure it wasn’t Medusa.”

“Isn’t it the same person?”

“It should be. And if it is, I’m terrified of their power. It just doesn’t make sense. If that ‘ferocious monster’ you described caused them to disappear, they’re no ordinary monster. They must be an Immortal of sorts.”

“Wh-why do you say so?”

An immortal monster?

“What else could defeat an immortal if not another immortal?”

“Also, didn’t Noodles say something about a masking spell? They’re closer than we think and if they’re immortal, we are fucked.”

Juno ignores Noodles because now is not the time!

“Juno, I came here because I have something else I need to confess.”

“Oh come on! What now?! Please don’t tell me you’re secretly evil and going to kill me? Just do it instead!”

Eve sighs, “No. I already said that I’m on your side. Here’s the thing, I have a problem. I can’t see your future from here on out.”

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know. I believe my visions are being blocked.”

“How does it even work? I thought you said they were involuntary?”

“They are but over the years I’ve been able to control them a bit better. You see, if I meditate, I sometimes get a vision. Even then, I typically get them every few days. My visions of you are usually about stressful situations but that doesn’t always mean they’re very important. Like, I knew you were going to fail your math exam 2 weeks before you even took it. Also, they aren’t always linear. I knew you were going to have a breakdown over Medusa’s Blessing for over 3 years now…”

Juno winces a bit at her words. No matter what, it’s still creepy!

“But as of late, they’ve been blocked. The only possible reason could be because maybe there will be a meeting between you and an Immortal.”

“What?”

“Oracles are only allowed to see visions of mortals. That’s our weakness. We cannot see if your fate is intertwined with an Immortal. Long ago, it was the opposite. The first ever Oracle was a god and they could only give prophecies to Immortals.”

“Really? That’s kinda weird? Why have I never heard about it? I mean I knew there was an Oracle god but like…”

“That’s because you’re not supposed to know. It’s similar to Medusa’s Blessing actually, every new generation there is a new Oracle. It changes families every few hundreds of years, my mother was one though. Because of the power we possess we must keep our identity a secret for safety, only those close to us know.”

“Wow that’s a lot.”

“Yes. And now I’m telling you, because well I’m different from how I should be.”

Eve suddenly moves to grab her bag, “Listen, we don’t have much time. Even though I can’t see anything bad happening, I can feel it.”

“I already know something bad is going to happen?!”

“The point is that something very bad is going to happen, we don’t know what we’re dealing with except for the fact they’re powerful. Probably Immortal. At this point it doesn’t matter if we can’t find out who caused all this.”

“What do you mean?”

“We only have one option left.”

“You’re not thinking of-”

She smiles, “Escaping.”

She pulls out another bag and throws it at Juno, “Pack up everything. We’re leaving.”

“Excuse me?”

“We can’t fight, so we’ll run away. Don’t you want to leave?”

“Yes but I can’t just leave though! My parents… they said they would be…”

She looks at her with an indescribable emotion, “Juno if you stay here any longer, you’re going to die. Or worse.”

“B-but?”

“Isn’t it better to go after them than to wait for them to come back? Especially, since we know the threat is here. They probably thought leaving you here would be the safest scenario.”

“You’re right… they don’t know. But how are we going to escape.”

“I’ll figure it out but for now get dressed,” she tosses her some clothes, “I’ll pack your things. Hurry!”

Juno changes quickly, relieved to not be wearing those ugly hospital clothes anymore.

“These are my running shoes…”

“That’s true.”

When she leaves the bathroom she finds Eve still packing.

“Eve?”

“Yes?”

“Do-do you really think I’ll be able to find my family?”

She stops what she’s doing to give her an intense stare, “They’re still alive so I’ll do my best to make sure you’re reunited.”

“Why? I thought-”

“I won’t let you be alone. I may have resented you for a long time but, but I know. I know the pain of losing family.”

//No. It can’t be. Can it?//

“It’s simple, I’m alone. My grandma and my mother are gone. I’m alone in this world and I don’t want that to happen to you. Fate is cruel.”

“I am so-”

“Don’t you dare apologize! It’s not your fault. None of this, none of it, was ever your fault. I-”

She didn’t get to finish because the loudest and most obnoxious alarm goes off.

[There’s been a breach! A monster is on the school premises! Everyone evacuate in

an orderly fashion!]

“What do we do!?”

“Damn it!”

They both look over and see someone trying to open the door.

Juno pushes Eve into the bathroom so quickly she was caught off guard, unable to protest.

Juno wanted to go back to her bed and pretend like she wasn’t just about to escape but it’s too late.

The door opens.

“Juno! What are you doing?”

She freezes, it’s Nurse Pures.

“Ah, the alarm woke me up and I-”

He seems annoyed as he looks over at the bags and her outfit, “The alarm just went off. Don’t tell me that you’re planning on escaping before that?”

“No! I um-”

He sighs, “I know you’re lying. Didn’t I tell you no more lies?”

“Ah! I’m ssorry it’s just, I just, I have to leave! I can’t stay h-here!”

[[There’s been a breach! A monster is on the school premises! Everyone evacuate in an orderly fashion!]]

He walks towards her, “I can’t let you leave all by yourself. You have to come with me.”

He picks up one of the bags and Juno instinctively reaches for it.

That was her mistake.

“That’s mine-”

But.

But he grabs her wrist at an incredible speed!

A flash of pain makes her cry out and she crumples down on the ground.

“Let me go!” she sobs in pain.

[[[There’s been a breach! A monster is on the school premises! Everyone evacuate in an orderly fashion!]]]

He ignores her cries and instead he injects her arm with something.

The effects are immediate.

Juno can’t move.

She can’t move a single muscle!

“Juno, why must you make things hard for me?”

He lifts her up and begins to take her away.