Chapter Theme Music: Reborn ~ Cryochamber (Atrium Carceri)90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeOnz3XW3S7
Chapter Theme Music: Desert Lightning ~ Ace Combat 5 OST90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMUw37rtLh
<11/12/2010 - 12:13 | Saffrin Middle School (Media Center), Austell, GA, USA>
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Tapping my feet against the soft carpet of the library of our school, I crossed my arms in a soft pouting huff of annoyance, wondering what I was going to do about my situation today. I finished lunch early, and then came here in hopes of finding something to work on. But alas, I have failed to find anything, and now I'm sitting here, simmering in a silent fit over this boredom.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhiC8Om7kHX
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It's been almost two weeks now since I've known Lumina, and in all fairness, I wasn't angry with her in the slightest. She and I have been talking about all kinds of things over the week, whenever time would let it be possible. But right now, I was in this horribly uneasy and unnerving mood. She's been trying to tell me something interesting or random for the past fifteen minutes, but I've been brushing it off a little, a desire that isn't exactly normal.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZyivEYi7cj
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I knew at least that my overactive mind simply didn't have enough to do right now, causing me to become bored with just about everything I do or touch. I knew the bell would ring sometime soon, but I was also dreading this a little too. My next class is gym, involving physical fitness with no mental stimulus whatsoever. I have nothing to read in there, and I can't work on most of my digital projects when exercising either. I want something to do, and I want it to be fun or interesting; that's what I've been lacking today, and that's why I'm in such a pissy mood.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42I996LuWx
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"Man! Why can't this school just let us do something fun for a change?"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQf92rpK9FX
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"I suppose if school were fun, it would not be called school." Lumina was in her usual mood today as well, contributing nothing useful to lighten my mood. I wondered if she simply ran out of things to say.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTg1nz0iIAp
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I never felt so tense like this from boredom before, but the waiting made everything far more aggravating than anything else did. "I can't take it anymore! I've been sitting here trying to think of something to do for the past twenty minutes now! And there's still nothing new to talk about."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvryoy8uz7
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"I'm sure I'll think of something. Every time I pick a topic however, you change your mind and want to do something else. Don't be mad at me."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡik4ZCBWyRN
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While I have noticed myself doing that, today exclusively, I could care less. I tried thinking about this backwards too, trying to figure out why I was so upset. "I have no other assignments to work on. I already finished them all before the others could. If I'm smart enough to work faster than everyone else on my own, then why the hell have I not been given a new assignment, or simply something else to work on?"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHx6O47Cf41
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"Now call me amazed! You actually want more homework to work on?"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdLtAFZyxA
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"That's not what I meant." Of course I didn't want more homework for myself, but the idea of sitting here while my brain rots is totally unacceptable. I won't allow myself to be bored. "I just need something to do. I can't keep sitting here like this."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2BTI8Y4BF
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Lumina then found a way to be even less helpful than I thought she could. "Well, if you're that bored, then I guess there is nothing you can do about it. You'll just have to sit here and wait it out."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNUsaozRW3
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"Fuck that noise!" I cursed out of pure aggression, unwilling to imagine such a plan. Me, just sitting here without a thing to do in the world set me beside myself in a fit of anger stronger than what I felt lately towards heathens. "If that bell doesn't ring in the next minute, I'm going to storm out of here and walk home!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjt8s3bM5cb
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I really was as serious about it, which is why the toll of the school bells just one second afterwards allowed me to calm down slightly. Even though I would only be going to gym, just transitioning between classes without knowing what to expect was enticing enough, if barely capable of holding my attention at all. I nearly flipped the chair behind me as I stood up, taking no time in between stretching and speed walking through the exit of the library.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡht1kA2rjQj
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"I guess fate is on your side today." Lumina is only saying that since she is slightly impressed with the timing of that bell.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxadjIcEmDQ
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But I could care less about her excitement now. I'm only invested in my own sanity for the day. At every corner, my patience has been tested over and over. I've gotten a much better handle on completing schoolwork, paying attention in class, and talking to Lumina about more subject matter all at the same time. This had the unfortunate consequence of giving me more free time within school and at home than I knew what to do with. "At least now, I can go to gym!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88idy6Q7RY
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"Yeah, but there are always a lot more heathens in that class."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMS7SnROrb
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She's worried about that of all things? Ever since last Monday, I've been learning to match my aggression towards heathens with Lumina, the both of us now yelling telepathically at every male that comes near me, even though they cannot detect our rage. But today of all days, I'm not in the mood. Heathens don't piss me off as much as having nothing to do. "That's why I normally just opt out of their sports crap. It will be more fun today."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLBgVwDqFG
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Anyone who knows me also knows that I am no fan of gym. I've learned to hate it more and more, and only for the specific reason that it exercises the body without exercising the mind at the same time. It's the lack of mental activity that I cannot stand. And when it comes to heathens and their stupid little events, such as basketball, fake baseball in the gym, and other highly competitive mini-sports, I duck out on purpose, because I couldn't care less about some stupid heathen desire such as a pointless game that contributes nothing to society.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSbgnvTk21
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So why would today be so different, that I would anticipate having fun today? That's easy. Today is a Friday, and with all Fridays in my gym class, this tradition launches another full-length dodge ball session. Dodge Ball is a competitive sport too, but there is one reason I like it above all other events. Unlike with other sports, dodge ball forces on me a level of alertness to every vector of my surroundings. Balls are flying everywhere and from many directions, where a single touch or tap gets someone out. Making full use of my own reflexes like that is mentally stimulating, not nearly to the same level of my favorite videos games, such as Freelancer for the PC, but enough to fulfill my desire to have something specific loading down my endless chain of thoughts. I'd rather play dodge ball than any other sport in this entire school, and will only go out of my way to do so. So, there is something for me to look forward today in gym. By playing dodge ball, I can rid myself of this foul mood that threatens to consume me. It will only take ten minutes tops.
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<11/12/2010 - 12:27 | Saffrin Middle School (Gym), Austell, GA, USA>90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOam8PaXO9L
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Okay, so it's been more than ten minutes, and nothing is happening. I tried to keep myself calm, sitting on the waxed wooden floor of the gym with my thin jersey shorts and t-shirt, anticipating the event like everyone else was. It takes some time to get to gym, change my clothes in the locker room, and then come to sit out here in an imaginary assigned seat. They then do a roll call before sending us on our way to set up what we need to. I got here faster than usual too, in my own haste to put an end to my anxiety.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIglCE4W7uS
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But something isn't right with this picture. As I looked around in the awkward silence filling the huge gym, just about every single student was still sitting down, mainly because we all need permission to start. The teachers were whispering among themselves however, skipping roll call or having already completed it unbeknownst to me. Why the hesitation? Why this hiccup? I'm not the only one looking around confused; I could see it on everyone's face right now.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJd1YpNxvFQ
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Then, at last, Mr. Richard and other coaches took to our groups and delivered their news. "Attention all students: Due to our missing equipment, part of some dumb prank, dodge ball is hereby canceled. So instead, today will be a free for all. You are allowed to proceed."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7sPxCycy93
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To my utter amazement, just about everyone in the entire gymnasium simply stood up and got on with their lives, giving off zero visible complaint or hesitation to do a free for all day. Just like that, for the first time in school history, dodge ball is canceled on a Friday! I can't believe this!90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrotp2bT0O
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"Tough luck huh. Leave it to a dumb heathen to ruin a sports day."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6cjEiILE6
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I stood up too, not to engage in anything, only to avoid standing out, but I had zero interest in doing anything in this gym now. Forget about walking; that won't do my mind any good. "You know what? Whatever!" Just because dodge ball is canceled doesn't mean this is a catastrophe. "I don't care about dodge ball anyway. As long as I can find something to do, everything will be fine!" Even in my own projected thoughts, I didn't sound fine or calm at all, and it was obvious to Lumina that this turnout pissed me off to a new level.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhO9Rv3jNk
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"They still said today was free-for-all. So just do some sit-ups or something."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvJIQBoPo1
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She just doesn't get it! Lumina doesn't seem to understand how important it is that I have something to do, something more mental than physical, something for my brain to capture on. My body can perform an Olympic miracle for all I care. I still have to have my mind doing something, since all physical exercise takes away maybe 1% of the load from these chaotic thoughts. Besides, I was now prepared to just walk out of gym and go do something else. If I get detention for it later, so be it. I have to find something to do! "Don't suggest something so unhelpful. Isn't there somebody I can talk to in here today?"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1kxJxHOrO
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She had yet to comment on how strange it was that I couldn't seem to calm down my internal anger. Even I knew it was uncharacteristic of me. However, since that's how I feel in this very moment, I also didn't care. "Are Banarus and Laura not here today?"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0ACI3b0SF
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My class changed in a weird way last week, leading me to attend gym slightly earlier, and resulting in a situation where Banarus and Laura are both in this class, along with Ashly. However, "I don't see Banarus today. I think she might be absent or something. As for Laura and Ashly, I really don't feel like talking to them today. I just want something to do."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5jxvL6GGE
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"Well, what the hell do you actually want to do then?"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7npirxxwYa
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"If I knew, I would be doing it, now wouldn't I?" Despite how I made it sound, I wasn't upset with Lumina in the slightest, as this wasn't her fault. Still, I have to rely on her for suggestions, since I'm coming up shorthanded myself.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9LUyagkn0
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"Now you're just being difficult today. Just take a rest Reed." Lumina finally caught onto my pattern of problems. The strangest aspect to this was that I could still find myself a few things to do, but immediately grow board of them when considering the idea. I don't know why this happened, and I was so sure it wouldn't happen with dodge ball. But with that event canceled, my hands are tied here.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AUkftweYg
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I ignored Lumina this time, having been dunked right over the edge. I'm the least confrontational person I know, but the situation I was in now melted away all of my edges, forcing me to give 100% effort to solving this problem immediately. I turned my feet, walking straight to coach Jennifer, who was talking about this and that with another student holding a basketball in his hands. With my hands balled into fists, I stormed right in the middle of their conversation, and let my voice be heard to the teacher. This chaos can go on no longer! "Hey! Like, is there actually something to do in this class? Every day is a free day, the same thing over and over again." Even I knew that wasn't entirely true, but I didn't bother explaining how I skipped any sport that I wasn't going to be part of.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhyoBNbpt6c
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"Somebody please give poor Reed something to do." Lumina tacked onto my bold choice of words, possibly hoping to mess with me a little, even though it had zero effect.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVXsbgGGQ4
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The look on the teacher's face was of moderate shock, though she kept quiet only because the other nameless dude said something to me first. Most wouldn't take kindly to anybody insulting the nature of gym class itself, but as I'm not normally one to speak my mind, their reply seemed slower to me. "If you want, you could come play basketball with us," he said, holding the ball in his hands like a trophy.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOWp81KMz9
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I had to pause after hearing that. Something momentarily caused me to zone out, thinking about the prospect of playing basketball like all the other idiots on the court. "Play basketball? That waste of space sport designed for a bunch of stupid heathens played with a bunch of rotten animals? This guy is a lunatic!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfiZfjqf5U
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"Yes, but he has no idea that you actually hate all men like him." Lumina had a point, but I still didn't care.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67UmQwcyAw
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In fact, hearing a suggestion that not only waste more of my time, but to do so playing in the fields with a bunch of evil people descendant from the man who destroyed Zinod only infuriated the rage burning deeper inside me, like adding gasoline onto a fire. "Cut the crap kid! I'm talking about something productive! I need something productive that won't waste everybody's time." At this point, I wasn't even sure what I was saying aloud. All I knew for certain that that basketball would produce nothing positive to the world or to myself, deeming it a waste of time entirely.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ90bfwBoV2T
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Of course, my teacher didn't like what I had to say at all, and struggled modulating her voice to repress her own anger that I would speak so harshly of a sport everyone else plays. "I'm going to ask that you be far more respectful today Reed. You're already on thin ice for that outburst. Just try a game."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7aB7BnZyaX
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"Oh, screw off!" I had just enough decency to restrain myself from giving both of these losers the double-middle-finger-salute, as I stormed off marching and stomping my shoes into the ground. I made way for the bleachers set vertically in the back, preventing anyone from sitting anywhere near them. I wasn't going to put up with their unhelpful suggestions anymore, nor was I going to keep giving into stupid little tasks that didn't give me a meaningful purpose anymore.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU3sOGcyMsh
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But I was extremely angry. I knew that I was extremely angry, the sensation becoming stronger and more obvious each second. It's why I retreated over here, to this isolated corner where nobody else goes. I leaned back against the bleachers, making that face, as if something was wrong with me. It certainly felt that way now. I wished I could just stop being so hung up on this detail. I've been bored before, but never to this length or depth. And for reasons I don't understand, I'm not handling it very well.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQdFuEZH77
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"Reed?" I ignored Lumina some more, but she was ever so persistent. "Are you okay? I'm usually not the one who has to ask."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKf8BKQHIu
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I took another deep breath to myself, though it didn't help for long. I felt my body tremble on and off in cycles randomly, though it wasn't intense enough for others to notice. I knew I was reacting to my own internalized rage, but I wasn't sure why. Does being this bored really anger me this much? Why am I so unhinged right now? "Just peachy! I'll just stand here with a thumb up my arse until I turn to stone." Whatever venting trick I thought I was using did nothing to calm my upticking insanity of anger. My muscles tightened every time I had to think about it!90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9U6wMQHHfZ
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"I can totally sense that you are angry." Lumina knew it went beyond normal sensations. I was making it pretty obvious myself. The way I spoke in front of a teacher or that student was miles away from how I would normally behave. It's probably the reason I wasn't in any trouble right now, because it's so unusual to them that they would be more concerned than spiteful. "But I don't have any idea why. Reed, you have to talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjz21e0Ht2E
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But I can't tell Lumina what's wrong, not in a manner that would make any sense. In truth, I wasn't too sure why this mattered to me so much; it just does. Finding something for my mind to take on is the most important priority for me in this very moment, like a core requirement that is being left unfulfilled. I'm bored to hell, and it's somehow driving me mad. "I need something to do..." As this didn't answer her question, Lumina didn't return any words to me. I wasn't really talking to her anymore anyway, just stating a fact to myself. It's the ultimate matter of importance now, that I solve this situation here and now. "I have to find something to do. I have to find something to do! I have to find something to do!" Each time I kept projecting the same thought, certain Lumina could hear me, it became much louder each time, until my last declaration was but a chilling yell of my demand. It started to freak her out, but Lumina hung in there and kept talking to me.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFlcIIGnWqk
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"Then find something! Don't stay in here if it's that important!" Lumina was yelling too now, but only in response to match my new volumetric level of sincerity.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYrCNEqBDn
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Unfortunately, my chaotic thoughts which by now felt out of control already simulated all possible options outside of this gym, only to return nothing interesting for this craving. I even considering going home. It would take about an hour or more to walk home, which is almost the same amount of time it would take to wait it out. There could be more to do at home, but I need something now! I can't wait another second anymore. "There is nothing! I can't come up with anything! School sucks! Gym sucks! Everything sucks!" With this sensation continuing to rise, I couldn't revert the screaming volume of my thoughts to go down to an indoor vocal level. Lumina had to know that there is no solution to this problem.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLF3AV0mdE
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"Right now, I just can't understand you."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnPZidOXRI
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Which is why I ignored her. I knew Lumina would not understand this sensation. How could she, when it was so foreign to my own experiences? Whatever this is only continued to grow stronger, causing my desire to want something to do to rise to a new level as one minute turned into five excruciating minutes from hell itself. My mind was so bothered by the absence of anything interesting focus on, that all of my thoughts became more chaotic, less controllable, and too random for me to track them anymore. Finding something to do was now all I could think about, veiling everything else behind some stonewall of subconscious manipulation.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGC0UEctlZ
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And from this short wait in failure to my priority, pure, unfiltered rage of absolution pulsed through my veins in a perpetual cycle, dominating what was left of my mind and body. I let out one more warning through my projected thoughts, with the sound of a screaming madman that pierced her ears as I yelled, "That is it! I have fucking had it!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc7buukGuVR
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"You better stop shouting in my head like that!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm59PQPu6sK
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"I have to find something to do!" My external voice was currently softer than my internal voice, which is why my words currently attracted no attention. I was standing by myself in the first place by the bleachers, but there was far more happening to me than what anyone else would ever realize by looking. I managed to close everything out, my thoughts out of control, and my focus stuck on the fruitless process of finding a task to occupy them.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEdkT1T0lh
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Whatever limiter was set to restrain me from turning my rage into violence was stripped away, as I unleashed a fist right into the wall of the bleachers. The impact was weak and didn't make a lot of noise, but as the runaway train of crashing thoughts continued to amplify inside, I tried to hit the wall again and in again in a vicious cycle, screaming vocally through my tongue in a psychotic rage that finally stopped everyone in the gym, turning all eyes onto me. I managed to increase the force of my punches each time, despite not damaging the bleachers at all. The damage was still being done to something, and that was good enough.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNmcslxkye
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I finally have the urge to kill! My fury can go all out, all the way with nothing to stop me! I only banged my shoes and fists against the bleachers because that was the closest structure from me. My nuclear aggression made its public peak that I've never got it to before. My manly wail of a wild war cry echoed shocked gasps and murmurs throughout the entire student body of this gym class, frightening even the teachers watching the beginning of this spectacle, failing to understand the meaning behind it, and I could finally drop all care for everything! Of course, this didn't mean I was happy by any means. I still can't find anything to do! I still can't figure out what to focus on! I have to find something!90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRLvOPEbFa
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"What the hell is going on?" Lumina sounded off once more, but she spoke normally rather than telepathically, wondering if I might react to her by doing so, but I didn't. In fact, all Lumina's confusion did was attract the attention of her co-pilot, Junko.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qqAvpPYpw
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But I was already advancing in my quest for devastation. Since I had my backpack already by this area, I lifted it from the ground with the strength of a brute, and flipped the strap so that it may slam with intense force onto the hard floor, knocking out the zipper and plopping notebooks to the ground. I then took my notebooks and repetitively slapped them up and down against the polish, screaming and wailing through it all. I would shift tactics too, switching between this destruction and kicking combos against the bleachers yet again.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIH01F4vdCT
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Finally, it registered to some of the teachers that this was all really happening before them. "Haaaaay!" Ms. Jenifer screeched to the person generating the commotion, extending the quiet between all the other students, who never in their lives witnessed this much aggressive and chaotic insanity from another individual before. She and Mr. Richard started heading my way, perhaps to try and stop me.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe59FLSZv0J
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Of course, I cared not for anything, other than using everything I was to lash out at the frustrating situation. With nothing to do, my rage was unleashed, forcing me to damage as much around me as possible. My knuckles hurt from the force of the bleachers, though I blocked out some of the pain itself. Tired of this solidary static target, I threw myself to the floor, smashing my arms and fists up and down in cycles, as if I were trying to swim in water while killing whatever was below me. My teeth tightened to stone while my body tenses beyond what was normal for most people. Kicking and screaming was the literal state I presented myself, and because of that, both of the coaches kept quite a distance from me, afraid of what I might do. I could hear their screams directed at me, but I could not care to understand what they were saying anymore. It all sounded like dull drivel to me, even Lumina, who by now I forgot about entirely.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYGUNQQXZN
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"Reed! Reed! Respond!" Lumina called my name over and over, but I just wasn't registering her words at all.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6eyXCfNOVu
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Even my own voice was treated the same way, though I still managed to roar out some legible words from my lips between my cycles of raging and screeching. "I will find a task!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFB5FB0YRQG
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"What is going on in here?" It was Junko, desperately asking Lumina what had her so spooked. Even though my ears could pick up both their voices, every last thought I had was stuck in the limbo mission of finding something to do.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRTnOKi615
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"Junko! I can't help Reed right now! He's having some kind of rage attack. I don't know where it came from!" So much desperation filled her voice, doing her best to drown out my continued cycles of wails and screams.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJLYl3DETf
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By now, the coaches were using their handheld radios to call for security, but no matter what words I could hear in the background, nothing registered with me any longer. I kept this up for as long as I could, bruising my hands while my screams became more defined and louder.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshpcF3Ihcy
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"Are you still connected?"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLL93buDoa
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"Yes, but he won't listen to me! What do I do?" Lumina and Junko started arguing about what action to take in this situation, having no way to stop me.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZauzU3XAK
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"What can you do?" Junko gave Lumina the ultimatum, her mild confusion adding to the reality. Lumina could do absolutely nothing in this situation; she could only watch as I continued to devolve into a man who lost all sanity.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA41nKoRBQL
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For just a few seconds, my screaming leveled down, just long enough for me to catch my breath. I could hear some of the students further away from me speaking a little louder as their observations began to spread.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98ZThhTOAZ
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Ashly was the first person I heard judging my uncontrollable rage. "I never knew Reed could act that way!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRgLOnqoLM
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"That boy is psycho, man!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQCNndTdyR
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Their voices all started echoing louder, though their words all fell on my deaf ears. I felt a tightening tense all around like never before, as if I were preparing to consolidate all my strength into one crushing blow. And by now, I realized there were other targets for my fury in the same vicinity. Their voices led my attention to them, while I faulted everything around me for having nothing to set my mind to. I've got plenty more where that came from!90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwxG56BPuu
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"There must be something we can do! I don't want him hurting anybody!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkhtBGifhU
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Just as I was about to move my feet forward to advance towards the cluster of students of the gym, some other powerful force stopped me first. In an instant, all of the energy that kept me going drained out of my body from head to toe, until this ultimate numbing sensation was left behind in its place. The dizziness and lightheaded sensation filling my head pushed against me hard, making me feel as if I were sinking deep underwater with a crushing pressure holding me down. I lost the strength to tense as I had before, and all of my out of control thoughts nearly vanished, the pace of my mind slowing to a crawl. And two seconds afterwards, after I fell silent which scared half the people in the gym, I lost what little balance I had remaining, letting my limp body fall to the hard wooden floor. My legs bent in a strange manner, causing me to shift the direction of my collapse so that I would fall backwards, but with much less of an impact.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDjtnRUKed
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"What the hell?"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ29GXw9t4m9
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This weight and pressure against me, this intense underwater gravity of darkness pinned me to the ground as I fell, robbing me of all physical strength and preventing me from lifting myself back up. I couldn't move anymore, beyond the basics of breathing and shivering. I wasn't cold, but my body started to tremble all on its own, against my control. However, I was still awake for it all, still conscious though disoriented, confused, and dizzy enough to make the room spin. At last, my rage vanished before me, as did my memory of it.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KdV5Svis7
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"Reed? Reed!" Lumina still tried calling my name, her level of panic doubled having noticed that I fell to the floor based on our shared vision.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JlGUomWLG
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"What happened?"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIufjoFfMf8
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Updating Junko in real time, Lumina nervously paced about the room of the cockpit, uncertain what she should do. "I don't know. He just collapsed... But I'm still on him." Lumina must have expected the connection to drop on its own with whatever was going on.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3w0mLRecKV
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"That isn't possible."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgx768Y4Hi
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Weak as I felt, I realized that the connection was still alive, as was my own chain of thoughts. They were different now, slow, calm, and exhausted. I kept hearing so many people talking at once, between Lumina and Junko, many of the confused students in the gym, and the two teachers, who were activating their radios again given the changed situation. I however was just as confused as everyone else, having no idea what happened to me or how I ended up on the floor of the gym. The white lights above me were so bright, but I couldn't move my arms to shield my eyes from it. It was as if some sort of low-key paralysis set in everywhere. I knew I could still talk if I needed to, but I preserved what little energy I had left, feeling more tired than I was supposed to.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4gFLNr1yw6
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"That's right," Ms. Jennifer confirmed into the radio. "Get a nurse in here STAT!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtUX8nLdXs
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The sounds of everyone around me went from horrified to concerned so swiftly, though I didn't have much context for why, nor could I care anymore. Before I knew it, a surge of pain shot throughout my body, causing me to cringe and jerk upwards slightly in response. My pain became immediately visible to whoever was watching, and the groaning forced from my lips made it more obvious. It felt like I was being pricked with thumbtacks over and over, in thousands of tiny locations all over. Such intensity added to my difficulty of movement, making it impossible for me to recover from whatever was happening to me.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNE7kcU68B
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"I don't understand how we can still be connected if he's passed out."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVkrSB7RYu
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I could hear Lumina's physical voice, confirming to me that whatever happened didn't actually kill the connection. I was partly glad to hear it, to hear her voice with everything going on. I'm too scared to do anything else, but I feel like I might be okay as long as I can still hear her voice. Even so, the pain flowing throughout me managed to overshadow the first few thoughts I wanted to project towards her, dominating my fluctuation of distracting pain. "It hurts!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrk2J8WX79
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"Reed!" Lumina reacted to my words on instinct, but Junko tried calming her down before she could explain to her why.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknhNjEDQNo
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"Calm down Lumina. There isn't anything you can do for him here. You just have to relax."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYebhIguJ5
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While I heard the two of them talking it out to explain that I could finally hear Lumina once more, I considered the strangeness of my situation even as I was now. I can tell that despite how horrible I feel, none of this pain is being transferred to or felt by Lumina in any capacity. Telepathy is supposed to transfer the sensation of pain as well, but it looks like this kind isn't something Lumina is capable of experiencing on her own.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2iayOqSQDj
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"Reed! Talk to me if you can hear me."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9KQTexUi9
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I kept using projection to talk to Lumina, since it was difficult enough just to move my mouth at all. "Lumina... I can hear you, but I can't move! It hurts! Pins and needles everywhere..." Some of my thoughts took longer to send out than I wanted to, the underwater drifting sensation becoming stronger. Whatever mental energy I had before was vanishing fast.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILUcwlPGFA
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"Junko! He's in some kind of trouble!" She finally understood that whatever was wrong isn't over just yet. Lumina tried everything she could to assure me that I would be okay. "Reed, you have to keep talking to me. Take it easy and keep talking to me!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PldcgP4C8
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I've never heard so much worry and panic in Lumina's tone before, but I guess this situation called for her reaction. As scared as I was, the pain of these pins and needles kept me focused on the pain instead of the fear. I ignored most of my surroundings, being only capable of hearing rather than seeing with the lights in my eyes and my back glued to the floor. I wasn't sure how long I was lying here, but two people came bursting into the gym already, gliding the noise of plastic rolling wheels against the hard floor.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVTjQUho3C
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"Hey, he's not out! Get that stretcher over here already!" Ms. Jennifer realized it by now too, that whatever happened to me was not something I initiated on my own, nor was any of it under my control. With my eyes still open, others were able to use that factor to determine that I had not actually lost consciousness.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUqidsqzOs
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"Wait, why are they talking him on a stretcher? Is Reed hurt?" Many of the students began to alter the rumors they already started throwing around about me being a psycho, changing their tune at the sight of whatever injury ailed against me. Soon enough, I had the nurse hovering right over me.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr2JnjexDey
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"Let me by! I'm checking him."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrWa4nuVFmQ
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The nurse crouched right over me, holding my arm to determine that I still had a pulse. I tried my absolute hardest to move some part of my body, maybe to get up or to signal to somebody that I was still awake while in great pain, but I couldn't move them. The pins and needles somehow prevented me from dictating physical action to my whole body, even though I could feel myself trembling uncontrollably through the sensations.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQCrxFrwbU
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"It's amazing you can still be conscious enough for a connection right now. But don't worry Reed. I'm right here with you. Just stay awake and stay calm."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmt0U9jh19x
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"I know, but it really hurts!" I can't make the sensation stop. It won't stop hurting!90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ4gBdggWBB
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"He's shivering a bit, but no fever." The same nurse started snapping her fingers in my face a few times, trying to get my attention. "Can you speak or respond?"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0Du2aRz7d
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She's trying to see how responsive I am. My eyes were already staying fixed to her hands, while I forced myself to put some trust in the medical team of two evaluating my impossible situation. However, when I went to open my mouth and speak in return, no words could escape me. I managed to open my mouth, but I couldn't control my vocal chords enough to let out anything but a faint whistling whimper. I previously assumed I could still speak against this flooding feeling, but I couldn't get any words out! "I can't speak anymore! I can't move!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡom7xZ7cEzc
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"Just calm down. Let them figure that out."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00UwegxWRQ
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With her evaluation complete, the nurse snapper her fingers once more, signaling her partner to prepare grabbing into my legs. "He has low responsiveness. We're taking him to the office." She glanced at my teacher with a final instruction. "Call his parents immediately."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqfKTg1Pbl
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My breathing was still quick and suffocating. I could feel them lifting me from the ground and moving me, while the rumbling of the stretcher wheels beneath me clouded my sense of location. The pain in my body didn't let up at all, and the sensation of this strange pressure deep in my mind continued to amplify, finally darkening all of my senses, both sight and sound... I'm fading away.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡScuvo2Irz1
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"Reed?"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQbx6g5Owo3
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"Lumina... I can't..." I can't hold on and stay awake any longer. This underwater sensation of being dragged under the weight of gravity affected my mind as well, slowing down my thoughts until there wasn't much left to process anymore. The slowness and stillness of everything around me banished me from my own plane, leaving behind nothing but pure darkness and emptiness.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmnt7P5q8h
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"No... No!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeDGILma7o
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I'm sorry Lumina. I can't stay awake anymore... Whatever happens, happens. The connection is already failing, and so am I. All I want now is a long comfortable rest. Both mind and body, sound asleep at last.
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