A week later, in class, Dean was resting his chin on his desk, listening to his teacher, looking really bored. He glanced at his phone but had no notifications from his app. He sighed and looked out the window, watching the 11th-grade PE class happening outside.
"Hi," Claire's voice suddenly popped into his head.
"What's up?" Dean thought back.
"Bored," Claire replied.
"Haaah... same here," Dean thought.
"Mom still hasn't decided if I can move in with you. What should I do?" Claire asked.
"Oh... it's been a week, right? (hehehe, good)," Dean thought.
"Yeah, she's talked to Dad, and Dad's fine with it, but Mom says she'd be all alone if I moved out," Claire answered.
"Well, in that case, maybe just move later then," Dean replied.
"Huuu... but I want to be with you! I don't know anyone here, and it feels awkward living as Claire," Claire thought.
"I know, it must be tough, but your mom's reason is valid. She would be alone," Dean said.
"Yeah, I know. What should I do?" Claire asked.
"For this past week, you've been working at my cafe, so just keep doing that for now," Dean replied.
"Hmm, okay, just for now then," Claire said.
"Dling!" Suddenly, a notification popped up on Dean's phone. He glanced at it under his desk, and his eyes widened. It was a notification from the Nightmare Revenge app:
=====================================
Request Data:
Name: Ryan White
Age: 37
Race: Human
Status: Coma in hospital
Soul Value: $550,000
Target: Helga White
Accept: Yes / No
=====================================
"Dean, something came in," Claire said.
"Yeah, let's go, Claire! I'll head to the roof, and you teleport straight to me," Dean said.
"Okay, let me know when you're on the roof," Claire replied.
Dean immediately stood up and raised his hand, but the teacher didn't seem to notice him.
"Oh, right," Dean mumbled.
Without delay, Dean calmly walked out of the classroom and straight up to the roof. Once there, he pulled out his phone and accepted the mission. A holographic screen popped up in front of him, showing a map of the client's location. It turned out the client was in a hospital.
"Hoo, a hospital, huh?" Dean muttered to himself.
"Hey... are you on the roof yet? I'm in the restroom now," Claire said.
"Okay, I'm on the roof. Just teleport," Dean replied.
"Blip!" Suddenly, Claire appeared right above Dean, and he caught her as she fell.
"Hehe, thanks," Claire said, being held princess-style by Dean.
"Okay, let's go," Dean said, setting Claire down.
"Are we going straight to the hospital?" Claire asked.
"Yep, we'll go through the nightmare world first and then enter the hospital," Dean answered.
"Okay," Claire replied.
Dean glanced at Claire next to him. She seemed tense but excited at the same time.
"Is this your first mission?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, I'm a little nervous, hehe," Claire admitted.
"Okay, let's go," Dean said, pulling out his scythe.
Dean raised his scythe, and a black vortex, looking like a portal, opened in front of him and Claire. They walked into it hand-in-hand, as Claire was holding Dean's hand. The portal closed. A girl then jumped down from where the water tank was on top of the roof entrance building. She wore glasses, had long black hair braided down her back, and was beautiful. She was holding a mystery magazine. The girl ran towards where the portal had vanished and looked around.
"Wow... that was... a portal? That girl just appeared out of thin air, and... that guy had a big scythe like the Grim Reaper... interesting... this is really interesting," the girl said excitedly.
*****
A few moments later, "Drap!" Dean and Claire stood in front of a terrifying hospital lobby in the nightmare world. Dean glanced at Claire's changed appearance: she had long white hair, red eyes, and wore a white t-shirt layered with a black jacket that had a long-haired skull emblem, though her face remained the same and beautiful. Feeling his gaze, Claire looked back at Dean.
"What?" Claire asked.
"Hmm... nothing. Let's go in," Dean replied.
"Okay, let's go," Claire said, pulling out a large, long black katana in her hand.
Dean and Claire stepped forward. Dean pushed open the lobby doors, and they went inside. The hospital's interior was lit by red lights. The building itself looked good, like in the real world, but there were many bloody handprints and claw marks on the walls. Several empty, wheeled hospital beds were overturned, the waiting chairs in the lobby were broken and destroyed, and barbed wire replaced doors, sealing off rooms.
"Ugh... this place is way scarier than a horror movie. When I was admitted here, it didn't feel like this," Claire mumbled.
"Yep, this is what the nightmare world is like. Get ready, a lot of zombie-like evil spirits and ghouls are going to attack. Be careful, okay?" Dean warned.
"I-I know," Claire replied, raising her sword.
"Tap... tap... tap," their footsteps echoed through the hospital hallway. Claire looked over; the elevator was unusable, and all the rooms were blocked by barbed wire. She then ran closer to Dean, holding her katana with both hands. "Graaaaaaah!" Claire flinched and stopped dead because Dean stopped in front of her, holding out a hand for her to halt.
Soon after, dozens of zombies, dressed in hospital gowns, nurse uniforms, security outfits, and doctor scrubs, came charging from the end of the hallway, attacking them.
"Get ready, Claire," Dean said, raising his scythe.
"Yeah," Claire replied, getting into her stance.
"Shriiing!" Dean swung his scythe from left to right, and a crescent moon-like beam shot out toward the horde of ugly zombies running at him. "Craaak... kraak," several zombies in the front row split apart, but it didn't stop the mindless horde from continuing their charge. "Shriiing... shriiiing!" Dean swung his scythe again, left to right, then top to bottom, creating a cross-shaped beam—horizontal and vertical—that moved forward together. But still, the zombie horde didn't stop.
"De... Dean, they keep coming," Claire said.
"Yeah, it's fine. Come on, Claire," Dean replied, getting into his stance.
"W-what should I do?" Claire asked.
"Hit them," Dean answered.
"T-that many?" Claire questioned.
"Hmm... try closing your eyes and really feel your katana mastery," Dean advised.
"O-okay," Claire said.
Claire immediately closed her eyes as the zombie horde got closer. "Graaaah... graaah!" "Click!" Dean gripped his scythe and lowered his stance, ready to dash forward. But suddenly, a flash of light appeared next to him. He looked over to see Claire bent forward, her katana at her waist, then "Swooooosh!" Claire transformed into a comet and shot forward with incredible speed, like a bullet, slicing through the entire zombie horde all the way to the end of the hallway, leaving none behind.
"Wow," Dean said, twirling his large scythe and standing upright again.
"Clang!" Claire dropped her katana on the floor right at the end of the hallway, then "Thud!" she fell and sat down on the floor. "Claire!" Dean, seeing Claire fall at the end of the hallway, immediately ran to her. When he reached her, Dean knelt beside her, holding her shoulder from behind as she hunched over.
"Are you okay, Claire?" Dean asked.
"Waaaaaah... waaaaaah... I'm so scared!" Claire shrieked, crying and turning to hug Dean.
"Oh... okay, you're fine," Dean said, hugging Claire.