Voices in my head

The streets of the city are dark and empty, a lone, panting girl runs through them. Her clothes are partially torn, her purple hair is disheveled, and her skin is covered in strange patterns that seem to shimmer in the moonlight. Rumi feels tired, aching muscles and the urge to give up. But Mira and Zoey are out there somewhere among a crowd of hypnotized people, and she has to save them! But how? Rumi finally reaches her destination. She bursts into the stadium and freezes, when she sees the horrifying sight of... "Your Idol..." The SajaBoys' voices fall silent, as do the delighted cries of the crowd - all the people are literally covered in demons that have come to feast. They bite people's necks like vampires, gnawing into flesh up to their ears, slurping contentedly. Even though the souls of all the victims had already been devoured, even though they felt nothing, as she could tell from their indifferent stares and lack of resistance, Rumi is still sickened by what she saw. The bitter taste of vomit and tears, is that all she's going to get here? No! No. This isn't over... Is it? Or is it... There are so many demons that the girl has no doubt that she will never be able to cope with so many. Not alone. But... She's not alone? Maybe if she can find the girls, she can convince them to turn a blind eye to her demonic patterns for the greater good? She looks around, slowly making her way through the rows of feasting monsters. Everywhere she looks there are hordes of demons of all shapes and sizes, and the dazed eyes of their victims. No one is paying attention to her, and that's both a bit relieving and depressing at the same time. None of these bastards now consider her a threat, these vile creatures are completely immersed in the feeling of permissiveness... No wonder. The king of the horde himself has also made his way out into the human world - there he is, on the stage, so close... Anybody could plunge a blade into his flaming body, but there is no one to do it. No one but Rumi, frozen in a daze. - Zoey...? Mira...? - She whispers, finally noticing her friends. They are on the stage too, staggering around like they're drunk while Jinu's “buddies” are ... them... No! Blood drains from Rumi's face, and her empty stomach does a double somersault. She gasps, wants to look away, but she just can't. All her hopes collapse, burned away in a flash of despair. It can't be... This is some kind of nightmare, isn't it? This can't be real... Is this the end? "No, no, no, no!" She covers her face with her hands as the tears start to sting her eyes. Rumi is dizzy - most likely from hyperventilation - while the world around her slowly goes black. Is she losing consciousness? It's probably a good thing if she is. After all, in this case, death would not be such an agonizing experience... *** "Hey, hey, Rumi! What's wrong?" Someone's hands are slapping her cheeks insistently. "I'm worried, too, but don't you think you're overdoing it, girls?" Bobby's uncertain voice sounds somewhere nearby. "Argh, get off!" It's definitely Mira's voice, except it's a little... Too calm for the end of the world? Rumi blinks slowly, regaining focus. Is she alive? "Oh, it's working! I told you everything will be fine!" Cheerfully exclaims Zoey, while... Holding Rumi's head in her lap? "What happened-?!" The girl wants to jump up, but bumps her head on her friend's chin. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...!" She babbles as Zoey rubs the bruised area. "How are you feeling?" Bobby asks, awkwardly peeking out from behind Mira. "You passed out so suddenly during practice! Are you okay?" "Uh... Yes?" Rumi scratches the back of her head. What the hell is going on here? During practice? What about their fight? What about Gwi-Ma and the demons? Was that all just a dream? No, it's not! Absolutely not! These chilling scenes that she witnessed could not be imagined even in the worst delirium... "What happened? You've never fainted before. Correct me if I'm wrong..." Mira wonders, squatting down. Oh yes, Rumi once bragged about that fact to her friends. Nothing in this world can disable her! At least, that's what she used to think... She rubs the back of her head and finally looks up at her friends' worried faces. Even Mira, who wasn't particularly emotional, looks worried. "It's okay..." Rumi mutters. "Must be overworked." "And we told you to rest, didn't we?" Zoey says in a instructive tone, twirling her index finger in the air. "But no! We're not going to the spa, we're going to practice until we pass out!" They don't know about the marks yet... Rumi feels relieved. Her secret is safe. Which means her friendship with the girls is saved. Bobby, meanwhile, coughs and carefully holds out a glass of water to her. "Here, drink it. Practice can be rescheduled." He winks lightly at the girls. "You're doing great as it is!" "Thank you." Rumi replies briefly and takes a small sip. "Maybe I'm a little overstressed... So... I'm going outside to get some air!" She literally shoves the glass into the hands of a stunned Mira and rushes to the exit. "Ah, and you don't have to reschedule practice! I'll be back soon!" It's only when she's on the street that she allows herself to slow down and breathe a sigh of relief. There are people everywhere, alive and sane, going about their business, unaware of the looming threat.... Or maybe there is no threat at all? Perhaps... No! Rumi shakes her head. It's easy to pretend it was all just a bad dream. Just go on with her life as if nothing had happened. But what she saw was clearly no mere hallucination..... Even if it wasn't a trip to the past, but, for example, some vision of the future, she needs to pull herself together, to think of a plan to prevent such a disaster from happening. If the girls find out her secret and turn their backs on her again, if Jinu.... Jinu! It's all because of that deceitful, unscrupulous demon! Rumi clenches her hands into fists with such force that they're about to bleed. How could she ever trust that bastard... No! How could he do this to her! Talking about how they were alike, assuring her that he was ready to help, and in the end he just...! Argh! Liar! A traitor! Sneaky, treacherous...! I want to believe in your crazy plan, but...! All we can do is live with our pain in misery.... Rumi bites her lip, remembering the look on his face the last time she saw him, right after he betrayed her... He'd been sincere when he'd spoken to her. Sincere in the fact that he didn't believe in the success of their plan. That's probably why he's here now... Gwi-Ma wouldn't have sent a willful subordinates on such a mission... Argh! Rumi is stomping in annoyance. She made a mistake by putting too much faith in Jinu, causing everything to go downhill. This time, it'll be different! This time, she won't count on him. Burn in hell if that's what he wants! She doesn't need him, she's got the girls, that's all she needs! *** A voice. Rumi stands on the stage, clutching at her throat, which is sore from a labored cough. "You must be sad that the Huntrics are having health problems and can't entertain you with their performance. Neither are we, so to cheer everyone up, we're doing a live show tonight." Jinu's voice echoes through the silent hall. "Midnight at Nansan Tower. See you there." "No!" Rumi hisses as she watches the fans slowly turn towards the exit. "Wai-... Cough-cough-cough-cough-cough..." No, this isn't over! She still can... But the people are leaving, and the demons, sent probably by Jinu, slowly crawl out from around the corners and move towards them. Mira and Zoey forcefully drag her off the stage. "We screwed up..." Mira mutters. "We should have paid more attention to your health condition." "What do we do now? Should we go to Celine?" Zoey babbles. Rumi can't answer them. Her throat feels like sandpaper, and it is unbearably painful to make even the quietest sound. Fight without a voice? There's nothing else to do, though. But more and more demons arrive, and eventually Mira is the first to fall. Zoey rushes to help her and gets hit as well, while Rumi struggles to grunt “watch out”. They knew that the demons had already begun to slowly infiltrate the human world, but to do so in such numbers? This horde can only be dealt with by making a golden Honmoon, but unfortunately, Rumi has lost her voice. And now also her friends. And eventually her life when the clawed paw of one of the monsters rips out her vocal cords.... *** She opens her eyes again, coming to her senses in Zoey's lap during practice. But this time she doesn't waste any time talking. "Oh, it's kind of hot in here..." She mutters, bouncing to her feet as soon as she realizes she's in the past. "I'm going outside to get some air! Bye-bye, don't miss me, I'll be right back." She runs out of the building and freezes, leaning on her knees in the middle of the street. The pain in her throat is still there, so she stares into the bright lights of the streetlamps, the calm faces of the people. She inhales the smell of roasted meat, listens to the peaceful murmur of the crowd, trying to calm her panic-stricken heart. She's back again? What the fuck! One time was okay, but the second time... It's definitely not a mystrious coincidence... Maybe Celine did it? Yes, Celine! She should talk to her... We can still fix this. I'll tell Mira and Zoey that it was a lie, an illusion created by Gwi-Ma to break us up. The girl bites her lip, remembering how much that reaction hurt her. Her aunt had looked at her as if she were some kind of monster. Like she was some kind of wrong, defective creature.... This isn't going to work... Damn it, it's not an option! She can't just blindly rely on Celine like that. That woman's been out of business for a long time, and what does she have to say about these mysterious trips back in time anyway! “Rumi, you must be overworked” or something like that, nothing more. After all, her aunt had never really listened to her... When she told her about wanting to be friends with a girl in her class, all Celine did was remind her that she shouldn't show her demonic patterns, not even to her friends. When Rumi asked her for advice on how to solve a difficult problem, her aunt calmly asked if she should find her a new tutor. When she came to show off her art work, for which she'd gotten the highest grade in school, all she heard was a simple unemotional "Well done". Celine didn't even look in her direction... No, she certainly cared for Rumi, but.... In her own way. And it wasn't likely to be different this time... But what then? Jinu. It was with him that her voice recovered. It was his support that helped her sing... She should meet Jinu and try to change his mind or somehow trick him to foil their diabolical plan.... *** Thoughtless jerk! No matter what Rumi did, no matter what arguments and promises she made, this guy just smiled sweetly and.... He did the same old thing. She tried everything! Even tried to knock him out so he couldn't participate in the final performance, tried to follow him to get to their gang and destroy it. But all to no avail! And here we go again... Rumi wants to whine or stomp in frustration, but instead she writes another note on a small piece of paper. Again she hands the message to the tiger, again she tells the girls her already memorized excuse and walks outside, heading for the... Rumi freezes half a step when she realizes that she's doing all this on automatic, not believing in the success of her actions in the slightest.... No, no, no, no! What stupid thoughts, everything will be fine, this time she'll be able to change Gina's mind, or at least kill him, or else... What does she want this time? It's going to be the same as always... No... Something's different this time. Rumi suddenly notices a noise she hadn't heard before. A noise that sounds like a mosquito. A noise that follows her everywhere she goes. What the hell is that? She shakes her head to get rid of it, slaps herself on the cheeks, but it doesn't go away. It doesn't intensify, it doesn't weaken, it continues to buzz monotonously in the subcortex of her mind. ...What is this?