27 Chapter 27 (1/2)

I was conscious again. I opened my eyes. It was no longer pitch black, and I could actually see colors. Although I felt a bit relieved for my well being, I hated having missed all the important events that happened when I was unconscious. Also; my back, arms and face were hurting very badly.

Someone slapped me on my left cheek. It hurt very mcuh, but I couldn't scream. I was still struggling to get in control of my body completely.

My vision was cleared and focused in a moment. I was laying down, and Idil was looking straight into my eyes. She was about to slap me once again.

”Hey, hey, hey; stop it, I'm awa-”

*slap*

I didn't scream, but I could see her looking at me in tears. We just stared into each other's eyes for a while.

”I'm awake.” I said. ”How heavy-handed are you?”

She started crying, silently.

”You got me really worried, idiot!” she said.

”It is okay.” I replied.

She wiped her tears.

”No, it is not.” she said. ”Nothing is okay.”

”What do you mean?” I asked.

”Bad news are... We couldn't make it out in time.” she replied.

Referring to that simply as 'bad news' was a big understatement.

I saw Mr. Kenan approaching me. He looked down at me.

”How do you feel?” he asked me.

”I'm... okay, although I feel a little weak.” I responded.

”We all do.” he said. ”Take care of yourself.”

I slowly got up on my feet and looked around. We were close to the main exit, which was now closed. I started walking towards the door.

”Don't spend your energy on that.” Mr. Kenan told me. ”We've already tried.”

”Oh... Alright.” I said, staring at the door. ”Was the fire extinguished?”

”That part is a bit complex.” Mr. Kenan said. ”While you were unconscious, we have been waiting for the firefighters to arrive. But after the black smoke dispersed, we noticed that there was no fire in the chemistry lab. There literally was no damage at all. It was like a fire never broke out in the first place.”

”What does that mean?” I asked.

”It is possible that we've experienced another phase shift when the smoke covered the hallway. 'The community' is doing everything to keep us in here.” Mr. Kenan said. ”So... to summarise, we are trapped once again, and the firefighters will never arrive.”

”I still don't know what exactly a 'phase shift' is.” I told him.

”I told you that before, you don't have to completely understand everything. I only know what is going on because I have died. You didn't.” he replied.