I Died When She Saved Me

What it feels to save someone

Io Atkinson

“Miss, are you okay?”

I slightly jumped in shock and look back at the girl who saved her life.

Everything. Everything that I thought was a dream was starting to happen again. The snatcher who bumps me on my shoulder, this girl, the advertisement, and that energy drink. 

I already saw this coming. But I thought it was a dream only? So how come? Whether it's a dream or not, I’m certain about one thing, this world, this world will start to fall today because of humankind.

“Miss?”

The girl waved her one hand in the front of my face, trying to get my attention. 

“Ah- T-thank you.” I said in embarrassment and look down at my shoes.

“No worries. Just please take care next time.”

The girl pet me on my head and smiled at me sweetly then walk away towards her acquaintance.

I remained standing there for a couple of minutes, just looking at the slightly fading figure of the girl. Instead of going to school, I found myself walking back to my apartment. 

What’s the point of going to school if the world will start falling apart starting today?

I sat on my bed and heaved a sigh, my mind was full of thoughts and questions that no one can answer even me. Suddenly, I remember what Savy asked me 3 years ago when I mention to her what I thought was a dream.

“What will you do if that’s actually true? That it will really happen 3 years from now?”

What I can do? I’m only a 2nd year Doctor of Medicine Program. I can’t do much.

I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes, thinking about what I should do.

If that drink is really the cause of behavioral changes in people, then that should be stopped. Isn’t that drink undergo the test if it’s really safe to drink it? How come that kind of drink manages to pass the inspection? Then that means the government was an accomplice of the creator. They maybe plan this, control the humankind's minds. 

I scroll down on my phone, reading news and updates about the drink but they're really not that much, maybe because it was only released yesterday.

I get up from the bed as an idea pops out of my head.

If I can’t stop the production, then I’ll just get ready for the upcoming apocalypse and at least warn people. I actually don’t care about other people, but this time, if I didn’t make a move I’ll get killed too so I need to care about them. 

I changed into a plain gray shirt and pants from my all-white uniform and go out of my room.

If my calculation is right, I can buy at least one or two bottles of that energy drink.

I smiled cockily as I saw one remaining bottle of Neurons in the nearest convenience store in my apartment. 

Lucky.

I bought the remaining bottle and went straight to home again.

“Now what will I do to you?”

I stared at the bottle for a couple of minutes, reading the contents of the energy drink. 

Nothing suspicious. All of its contents were the usual contents of all energy drinks. So how come this energy drink can make people’s strengths tripled in an instant? And how come this is the reason why people started losing their minds?

I sighed in frustration. I can’t taste this, I’m not sure what will happen to me if I drink this. Even if I’m so eager to know what’s with this drink. I can’t just taste this even if just a small sip.

I decided to walk outside again, to observe people, trying to gain at least a few knowledge of how people are acting now or how this drink was influencing people. I brought the bottle of Neurons with me not really sure of the reason.

I take a stroll in the park, they're really not many people holding and drinking this drink. Just maybe half of the people here.

I took a seat at one of the rusted benches there and wear the hoodie of my jacket, just looking around.

It’s been 10 minutes since I sat here but I can’t still learn anything from it. People are still acting normal, then maybe the effect of it was not right at the moment you drink it. Or maybe it actually depends on the people or the effects of the drink depends on how much people drank. 

I felt someone slightly tap me on my shoulder and when I look back I saw a girl with pale skin, smiling sweetly at me.

“Yes?”

I asked in confusion.

“Ahm, I just want to ask if you’re going to drink that bottle of Neurons of yours. It’s just that you’ve been holding that for at least 10 minutes now and you look like you don’t have any interest in that drink.”

“Why do you ask?’

The girl with pale skin didn’t even ask me if she can sit beside me and just sit down there.

“It’s just that, I have an illness, I have a weak body. I don’t even have any strength to get up from my bed, I'm bedridden but when I saw that advertisement of Neurons on the TV, I thought that maybe that was effective so I asked my mom to buy me one bottle. You’re maybe thinking that I’m stupid because I believe in that advertisement. That’s what I thought too at first but when I drink that, my strength really tripled. I manage to get up from my bed and I can even walk here at the park. It’s been almost 24 hours since I drink one bottle of that and my weak and frail body was starting to come back again, so I went out to buy another bottle, but all convenience stores don't have any more stock. And then, I saw you just holding that drink for almost 10 minutes already. So if you will accept my proposition to buy that drink, I’m willing to double the price.”

The girl pleads at me and reaches out for my hands, I don’t really know what to say to her. I’m weighing the situation and the way she acts.

Well, she really looks like she has an illness and weak but something was wrong with her eyes. The look on her eyes doesn’t justify everything she said.

“No, it’s okay. I can just give you this for free. I don’t really have any intention to drink this.”

Call me bad or what, because I give her the drink but I really want to see something on her when she drinks this drink. I want to witness the effects of this Neurons.

I lend her the drink in my hand and she squealed like a teenager then muttered her thanks.

I remained sitting beside her, just watching and observing every move of her. In just a few seconds, she managed to empty the 500 ml bottle of Neurons. She didn’t even pause to take a rest or breath. She looks like she became drunk and high on that energy drink.

The girl stood up and throw the bottle on the ground. She looks like she’s not the weak and frail girl that talks with me earlier. She looks like her strength not just tripled but quadrupled or more.

The girl was about to walk away from here but a middle-aged woman came in rushing and hug her.

“Faye, I’ve been looking for you. Why did you go on your own? What if you-“

The middle-aged woman, who I assume was her mom didn’t even get a chance to finish her statement because the girl pushes her harshly to the ground.

“The hell with you old woman! You stink! Didn't I already tell you to leave me alone? I don’t f*****g need you in my life anymore! So, just get lost and never bother me again!”

The girl was about to walk away when her mom stops her by pulling her leg.

“Faye, daughter. What’s wrong with you? Why are you acting like this? You’re not like this.”

What happens next shock me, the girl kick her mother away from her legs. Then she pulled her mom’s hair for the woman to stand up.

Her mother was crying in pain and begging her daughter to stop but she’s not listening. She choked her own mother and in just a few seconds she lost her life. And that’s when she only stop and let her mother’s body fell down on the ground. Then she kicked again the lifeless body of her mother and spit out her own saliva to her mother's face. 

I and all the people there didn’t do anything to stop the girl. We are all afraid of the girl because right now she looks like not human anymore. 

The girl laughs wickedly like she was proud of what she did. Then she looks at me. The way she looks at me makes my body shiver. I can feel all the hair on my body stand up in fear. Then she laughs and walks away, leaving her own mother’s body.

That girl, she’s no longer the girl that has a weak body that begged me earlier. She’s a completely different evil person. No- she doesn't look like a person to me.

I felt so guilty, remembering that I was the one who gave that drink to her. It felt like I helped her killed her own mother.

I felt a tear roll down my face due to guilt. With my knees trembling in fear, I forced myself to stand and run away from that place, desperate to get away from there.

After that incident, I locked myself inside my apartment.

That energy drink, I’m sure there is something in that which pushes people to do that. To act like you’re not thinking. To act like you lose the capability to know what’s right and wrong.

--

My sleep was interrupted by a loud bang coming from outside. I didn’t even bother to check what it is because I remember what it is, a car hitting a parked car.

It’s only 5:47 in the morning and I barely had any sleep because I studied and researched the energy drink Neurons until I don’t know what time.

From what I witnessed yesterday and everything I learned from the internet, the energy drink was all the reason why everyone is acting differently. 

But now what? What should I do next?

At exactly 8:50 am, I walked out of my room and I’m right. There’s a boy, beating a girl right now in the middle of the hallway just like what happened in my previous life. I didn’t even bother to call the police, I’m sure no one will answer the call.

I gather all my strength on me and slowly approach the suspect and hit the back of his head with all my strength with a vase that instantly sends him to the ground, unconscious.

The girl, crying out loud look at me.

“T-thank you.”

She said in a broken voice and stood up to face me.

“It’s okay. Go now before he gained his consciousness.”

The girl just nods and she was about to run away from me when I remember something so I tug her shirt lightly.

“And please don’t drink or at least take a sip of the energy drink, Neurons.”

Even though the girl doesn’t understand why she nods then walk away.

So this is how it felt to save people? I’m glad I didn’t do the same mistake in my previous life. 

--

My day went out like that, I think I managed to stop 3 people today from drinking that energy drink and it felt amazing.

Earlier, my plan was to buy all the stock of that Neurons energy drink on any convenience store then throw them all, but in all convenience stores, it was sold out. Which is not good.

It’s already 8:20 when I decided to go home. I’m starving and because of eagerness to at least save a few people, I forget about my own health.

I walked in haste to the direction of my apartment. I lowered my cap and avoided getting in contact with other people. Because of that, I can't see fully where I'm heading at which results in slightly bumping someone's shoulders, and when I look up it was the same girl that saved me yesterday.

“Oh, I’m sorry Miss.”

She apologized and smiled at me. I was about to apologize too when I notice what she’s holding in her right hand.

“That- that drink.”

She shifted her gaze to her right hand and raised it, showing it to my face.

“Oh, this was a-“

“P-please don’t drink that.”

I said and grip her arms while directly looking at her eyes.

I can’t let this woman, the one who once saved my life be one of the victims of that drink.

“Rylai.”

The girl looks back at her friend who called her then back her eyes at me.

“Okay, I won’t drink it. I promise.”

She said smiling sweetly to me then waved her hand and say goodbye.

I remained standing there for a couple of seconds until she lost on my vision.

I sighed and turned my back on the direction she went. Just when I was about to make my way again to go home, a cold and tight grip pulled me into a dark alley. Slamming my back on the cold wall.

I groaned in pain and squinted my eyes to look at the culprit.

“E-Ethan.”