He Thought I Was Faking My Death, But I Was Really Gone Chapter 01

He Thought I Was Faking My Death, But I Was Really Gone Chapter 01

On the last day of the graduation trip, an extreme heat wave hit without warning.

I went down with heatstroke.

My boyfriend, however, handed the only bottle of electrolyte solution straight to my best friend.

“You’re usually in good shape, and you know first aid. Just drink some bottled water and you’ll be fine.”

“Paige isn’t like you, though. She’s got a weak constitution. If she doesn’t get some electrolytes in her, something bad could happen.”

Too dizzy to argue, I turned to the rest of the group for help.

They just rolled their eyes at me.

“Seriously, Nora? Can you dial back the jealousy for five minutes?”

“Derek’s just taking care of someone who’s sick. Do you really have to act like you’re dying?”

As the group pushed on, my boyfriend glanced back at me, sitting on the ground, and frowned.

“Do you really have to ruin everyone’s mood right now?”

“Fine. Stay here and think about what you did. Catch up whenever you figure out what you did wrong.”

What he didn’t know was that I already had full-blown heatstroke.

He also didn’t know that, the moment he walked off, a voice began speaking inside my head.

[Detecting host nearing death. Withdraw from current world? Y/N]

I closed my eyes calmly.

“Yes.”

…

“Nora, are you seriously still not done throwing a tantrum?”

“Paige is so upset by your little scene earlier that she’s too guilty to even drink water.”

“You never turn on the AC at home. And now you’re too fragile for the heat? What exactly are you playing at?”

“You just have to act weak right now and dump this guilt trip on the whole group, don’t you?”

I don’t know how much time passed.

Derek’s irritated voice came crackling through the walkie-talkie in my backpack.

Then came Paige’s voice, thick with tears.

“Derek, don’t be hard on Nora.”

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have taken that bottle of electrolyte water.”

“She’s definitely mad at me. Maybe I should go back and give her the rest of it.”

Derek’s voice instantly softened.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Your heel is already blistered raw. If you walk back and it gets infected, then what?”

“She’s just playing on your guilt. Don’t fall for it.”

“Don’t worry about her. Once she’s done acting out, she’ll catch up on her own.”

The other hikers teammates in over the channel, one after another.

“Seriously, Paige, why do you even bother with her?”

“Derek spoiled Nora rotten—that’s why she’s always pulling this playing-dead routine.”

“This heat is brutal—we’re all getting roasted alive. Nobody has the bandwidth for her petty jealousy act.”

“Let her cool off back there. Maybe it’ll clear her head.”

I wanted so badly to crawl to my pack, grab the walkie-talkie, and tell them I wasn’t faking.

But I didn’t have the strength to move.

The voices on the walkie-talkie kept going.

The System’s voice sounded again.

[Disengagement command confirmed. World transition countdown: 30 minutes.]

At the same moment, cheering suddenly erupted over the walkie-talkie.

“There’s a truck! A rescue truck!”

“Thank God, we don’t have to walk anymore!”

Then, an unfamiliar man’s voice.

“You folks with Falcon Ridge Expedition Club?”

“Did you check the forecast? Ground temp’s over a hundred and twenty today. You were still headed into the backcountry?”

Derek’s voice turned polite.

“Sorry about that. We misjudged the weather.”

“Officer, one of our female members has a foot injury and mild heatstroke. Could you take her back to base?”

The rescue crew member flipped through his roster.

“Yeah, we can take her.”

“Says here your group’s got eight people registered. Why do I only count seven?”

“Where’s the other one?”

I thought I was finally about to be saved.

The next second, Derek’s voice came through the walkie-talkie again, flat and unbothered.

“Oh—her.”

“She had an emergency come up and had to drop out early. It’s just the seven of us now.”

Nobody else said a word. Nobody contradicted him.

The rescue worker didn’t question it.

“Alright. Get the injured one in. We’ve got AC and cold water in the back.”

“The rest of you, don’t push yourselves. Just head back down the main trail.”

In the depths of despair, I heard Derek’s voice drop low.

“Nora, I know you can hear this.”

“There’s only two open seats in that truck. Paige’s foot needs medical attention—every minute you make her wait is another minute of infection risk.”

“Don’t you dare key the walkie-talkie and make a scene right now.”

“Walk back to camp on your own. I’ll take you out for that barbecue you love tonight.”