[Novel] Dream Ability #2
"Dai, what's this interesting story you have?"
"Now, now, Aira, don't be so impatient. Let's wait until Rea gets here to talk about it."
A little while later, Rea entered the hall. When Dai waved his hand above his head, Rea noticed and hurried over to the two of them.
"Morning, Aira, Dai."
"Morning! Big Sis Rea!"
Aira jumped at Rea just as she always did, and the two hugged.
"You're late as usual."
Dai complained.
"Girls take time to get ready! You're as tactless as ever, Dai."
Rea said dismissively, then stuck her tongue out at him.
"Hah! Whatever."
Dai stuck his tongue back out at her.
"Dai, Rea, don't fight!"
"Sorry, sorry. I'll forgive Dai this time for cute Aira's sake."
Rea sat down, and Aira climbed onto her lap. From there, she could see Dai's expression, which didn't look convinced.
"So, what were you two talking about until I got here?"
Rea started the conversation. Aira answered her question.
"Oh right, Dai said he had something interesting to tell us."
"Something interesting?"
Both of them turned their attention to Dai. Sensing this, Dai glanced at the guards near the entrance of the hall and began to speak in a low voice.
"Actually, I had a dream today. That man appeared in it. In the dream, he was engulfed in flames and suffering."
Dai's gaze shifted to one of the guards. That guard was wearing a name tag that read "Lambda."
"What!"
Rea covered Aira's mouth before she could shout. Aira muffled a sound, and was released a few seconds later.
"If he appeared in your dream..."
"Yeah, given my dream ability, he's going to die today."
Dai narrowed his eyes.
Subject A-103, dream ability name: die (Human Death). His ability, which Aira and Rea called Dai, allowed him to know who would die the next day and their general cause of death.
"Did you tell the guards about the dream?"
"No, I lied and said I didn't have a dream."
"That's bad! If they find out you lied... you'll be sent to the torture room!"
The torture room—a room where people were taken when they lied about their dreams. Since everyone who returned from there came back covered in bruises, that's what the three of them called it.
"They won't find out if you two don't tell anyone else. I trust you both. Besides! Several other guards appeared in the dream too. Something might happen in this facility!"
When something out of the ordinary happens in daily life, it's exciting. That's what it's like to be a child. Dai was no exception.
As if to tease the excited Dai, Rea raised her eyebrows and one corner of her mouth, and lifted her hand slightly.
"Since you're so excited, Dai, I have something to tell you too."
Following Rea's beckoning, Dai leaned his body slightly toward the two of them.
"Actually, I had a dream too. And I didn't tell the guards."
Dai gasped. When Rea held her right index finger up in front of her mouth, Dai hurriedly covered his own mouth with his hand.
"Aira doesn't want you two to be taken to the torture room..."
To the sad-looking Aira, Dai turned his sparkling eyes toward Rea.
"So, what dream did you have, Rea?"
Rea answered confidently.
"A dream where this building explodes. There was a bomb in the storage room... and it exploded. The explosions happened over and over, and the building was engulfed in huge flames. I was blown away by the first explosion and just collapsed, so I don't know the details..."
"What!"
Dai put his hands on both cheeks and stretched his face. He looked exactly like the famous painting, "The Scream."
"But this makes it clear, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Dai's face returned to normal.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
It seemed only Aira didn't understand. Rea opened her mouth to explain gently to her.
"If we compare my story and Dai's... an explosion accident will happen in this facility today. And it's highly likely to be a major accident with fatalities."
Rea glanced at the two of them. Dai nodded in response.
"Aren't you going to tell the guards about this?"
Dai shook his head at Aira's question.
"It's better not to. The moment we tell them, it's guaranteed that Rea and I will be sent to the torture room."
"True. I definitely don't want that... But! Shouldn't we tell the other dreamers?"
Aira said, looking back and forth between Dai and Rea. Rea twisted her mouth, unsure how to respond. Meanwhile, Dai looked at Aira with a sharp expression.
"Let's refrain from telling the other dreamers too. For one thing, there's no time to tell them, and the more we spread it, the higher the risk of the guards finding out."
"But if we do that, the other dreamers will..."
Rea gently stroked Aira's head as she choked on her words.
"Regarding telling the other dreamers about the explosion, I think I agree with Aira."
Dai glared slightly at Rea as she said that, sticking his chin out.
"You think we should tell them?"
"Only the other dreamers. Though, since I already told the guard in charge that we'd be in the hall... we can't leave, so we can only tell the few people here..."
Hearing Rea's words, Aira looked around the entire hall. In the large hall, besides the three of them, there were only two girls chatting happily and a boy reading a difficult-looking book in the corner.
And then there were several guards watching over the dreamers. Aira made eye contact with one of them, so she quickly turned her gaze to Dai.
Dai opened his mouth with a grimace.
"What if the other dreamers tell the guards? There's no need to increase the risk. I feel bad for the others, but... I'm fine as long as Rea and Aira are safe."
Dai's straight gaze and powerful words made the two of them shrink back. Dai continued speaking to the two who remained silent.
"Besides, this is a chance, isn't it?"
"A chance?"
Seeing Aira's face as she asked, Dai explained while pointing his right index finger at the ceiling.
"Our dream, our long-cherished wish. This is our chance to escape from this facility, right? We can escape in the confusion of the explosion. If it goes well, we might be able to go to the outside world!"
"The outside world..."
It was a world they longed for, a shining world. A world the three of them had never seen—
"Let's go to the outside world! Let's grab our freedom!"
"But what if we get caught by the guards? They use violence if we lie, right? They might kill us if we try to escape."
Aira's mind was full of worry and anxiety. And above all, she was afraid of being separated from the two of them.
"In Rea's dream, the whole building was burning, right? If we stay here, we'll just be burned."
Aira could understand what Dai was saying. However... her fear remained unshaken.
"But it's still scary... What do you think, Rea?"
"If an explosion is going to happen... I think we should escape from this facility too."
"Even you, Rea!"
Now it was 2 against 1. Rea continued.
"I do have a desire to go outside, but... I thought we should escape because that gives us a higher chance of survival. If we die before we get our freedom, it's all for nothing, right?"
To Aira, who was tilting her head, Dai added, "It means there's no point if we die," and then said:
"However, let's at least tell the dreamers in this hall, okay? I think everyone here is a comrade who is trapped in this facility and seeking freedom..."
Hearing Rea's words, Dai gave a small groan, "Hmm," and then sighed.
"Fine. Let's tell the dreamers here."
"Aira is happy about that too!"
Dai watched Aira, who looked happy, with a smile, then opened his right hand and thrust it forward.
"I refuse to die in a place like this with my freedom stolen. We will definitely escape from here!"
"I'm in."
Rea also put her right hand out and placed it on top of Dai's.
"What about you, Aira?"
Their gazes turned to Aira.
Honestly, she was still scared. However, she could understand their reasoning, and it wasn't like she didn't want to see the outside world.
If the two of them were going to escape—
"If you two say so, then Aira too!"
Finally, Aira placed her hand on top. Now the three hands were one.
"Seeking freedom... we will definitely escape!"
"Yeah!"
So the guards wouldn't hear, but to solidify their resolve. The three hands were raised high.
After that, Rea and Aira began explaining the possibility of an explosion to the two girls talking in the hall, and Dai began explaining it to the boy reading a book in the corner.
A little while after they started explaining...
【Ding-dong! It is 10 o'clock. Please return to your rooms and begin today's studies.】
The announcement that free time was over played, and the dreamers and guards in the hall began to return to their rooms. The three of them approached each other while walking and exchanged final words.
"Let's stay alert today so we can respond whenever the explosion happens. Next time... let's meet in the outside world."
Dai said powerfully, making eye contact with the two of them.
"You absolutely cannot die, okay?"
The two nodded at Rea's words.
"Definitely the three of us—"
"Hey, you three! Get back to your rooms quickly!"
Aira's final words were cut off by a guard.
The guard stomped toward the three of them.
Dai and Rea hurried to leave the hall. And Aira followed behind them.
Once they left the hall, they would be scattered. This was their only chance to talk before the escape.
At the entrance to the hall, Aira called out to the two of them.
"Dai, Rea, see you later."
The two turned around at Aira's words. Then, the three of them waved goodbye and returned to their respective rooms.