BEYOND THE STARS AND BACK
Chapter 4: behind the masks
A pure white sky filled my view.
It looked unreal—too perfect to be natural, as though someone had painted it. But then, blood seeped in. My parents' blood.
I saw them being slaughtered by the Time Reaper. I screamed with every fiber of my being, but my voice was trapped, unable to break through.
The world around me came crashing down as my parents took their final breaths. Their eyes pleaded for me to stay hidden.
My own eyes grew wide with terror as a massive shadow loomed, casting a dark veil over the void. Silence stretched out, oppressive and heavy.
Footsteps echoed through the emptiness—slow and deliberate.
I held my breath, trying to remain still, not making a sound. But it was in vain.
A middle-aged man in a suit opened the door, and my world was torn apart as he slashed me open. The last thing I saw was a silver pocket watch glinting by his side.
---
I woke up gasping for air, my heart racing like a jackhammer.
As consciousness slowly returned, I realized my brother and I were lying in a time machine—having been sent to the past.
Panic set in. I dragged him out, my mind reeling with questions. *Where are we? When are we?*
My vision blurred as I shook Vector, panic rising in my chest.
"Vector, Vector, are you okay?" I shouted, desperation creeping into my voice.
He slowly came to, his eyes red-rimmed and haunted.
"I'm fine," he whispered, tears streaming down his face like a dam had burst. "He was there, right there. I was too weak… too afraid. I didn't do anything."
His voice cracked as he relived the memories.
"He killed everyone in the facility. Our newly formed family—stripped away from us. The same way he murdered our parents. I was unable to stop him."
The pain in his eyes was palpable, and I felt my own emotions unraveling.
"I thought I changed after everything we've been through," Vector continued, his voice laced with self-loathing. "But nothing changed, not even one goddamn bit. I'm still as useless as I've always been. Nothing's changed."
As I watched my brother break down, something inside me shattered.
I had always been the strong one—holding it together, pretending to be okay. But in that moment, I couldn't keep up the facade.
Tears streamed down my face, and I sobbed, releasing all the pent-up emotions I'd been carrying since our parents' death.
The weight of our shared trauma crushed me, and I felt like I was drowning in a sea of pain.
---
When we finally composed ourselves, we turned our attention to the task at hand.
We rummaged through the time machine, gathering the equipment and materials that would aid us in our mission.
Amidst the gear, an audio tape caught our eye—a detailed outline of the mission, recorded by Dr. Zulu Emmanh himself.
---
"Lisa, Vector," the voice began, urgent and strained.
"I made this recording in the last minute after the facility was breached by the Time Reaper. You are in the year 2023. Your mission is to find the Time Reaper and put him down. Everything you need for the mission—firearms, money, and documents—is in the time machine. Grab them, you don't have much time."
His tone darkened.
"On March 9th, 2023, seventy-three students and teachers at Lufwayama High were killed in cold blood. Even more chilling—the entire administration was wiped out, along with every student in Class 11A… except for one. That lone survivor is the prime suspect of being the Time Reaper.
The police were baffled. One person, armed with nothing but a small hand blade, slaughtered that many people. But that was only the beginning of the Time Reaper's spree.
Your mission: infiltrate Lufwayama High disguised as students, and take down the Time Reaper before his power is awakened.
At the time you were sent to the past, you have about ten weeks before the massacre. His powers will likely awaken two weeks before that day."
---
Ever since arriving in the past, it had been a challenge.
It took us a week to find Lufwayama High and a place to stay—a temporary base for our mission.
I've been shouldering the load, trying to keep everything together. My brother's been struggling, still reeling from what happened in the facility.
Sometimes, the weight of it all gets to me too. Tears prick at my eyes, and I feel like screaming.
The sadness is suffocating, but I push it down.
For my brother's sake. For the mission's sake.
No matter how hard it gets… no matter how suffocating or depressing it becomes… we have to keep moving.
---
We started school in Class 11A—the same class where the Time Reaper will emerge from.
The thought sends a shiver down my spine. Any one of our classmates might be him.
---
I glared at my brother as he walked into our apartment, my voice laced with both concern and frustration.
"Vector, where have you been? I've been worried sick about you!"
His expression softened. He stepped closer, eyes apologetic.
"I'm sorry, Lisa. I was with Joel. We were attacked by bullies, and I had to make sure he got home safely. I didn't want to leave him alone in case they followed him."
I raised an eyebrow, my tone firm.
"You've been spending a lot of time with him. I'm starting to get concerned you're getting too close. We don't know who the Time Reaper is—it could be him. We can't afford risks."
Vector's face lit with both sadness and compassion.
"Joel's like me. We've both been through hell. After Mother's and Father's murder, we were left to fend for ourselves. The Phoenix Initiative was a nightmare, but Jim saved me. We went through all that trauma together.
Joel's been alone, dealing with his trauma and depression by himself. But ever since we started talking, he's changed. He's opening up. He's… happier."
When he said that, I knew I was fighting a losing battle.
---
I'd never paid much attention to Joel before, thinking he was just another quiet person who kept to himself.
That changed the day my brother and I stumbled upon him being brutally bullied. His small frame trembled under the onslaught.
My brother instinctively wanted to step in, his eyes flashing with anger, but I held him back.
I didn't want us to get involved. But as the bullies walked away, laughing, Joel's desperate pleas for help lingered in the air—haunting and heavy.
In that moment, I felt his pain as if it were my own. The weight of it was suffocating.
Regret hit me hard.
Vector's eyes burned with disappointment. He rushed to Joel's side, helping him up, while I stood frozen in my guilt.
That was when I began to see Joel differently—not as someone invisible by choice, but as someone forced into the shadows.
---
The next day, I decided to confront him.
I waited after class, watching the hallway empty. The warm glow of the setting sun spilled across the floor.
As the last student left, I approached.
"Hey," I said softly.
Joel looked up, curiosity in his eyes.
"This isn't a confession or anything," I blurted.
He studied me for a moment, then said calmly, "Don't worry, I didn't think that. But I have an idea why you want to talk—it's about Vector, right?"
Before I could answer, he continued, his voice gentle.
"Vector's a good person. I've never seen anyone so kind, so cheerful. There's something special about his smile—it carries hope.
But behind that smile, I can see the pain. The brokenness. He's helped me a lot, and I want to show him he's not alone."
Hearing him, I couldn't help but smile sadly.
"Joel… you're a good person," I said.
He tilted his head. "Where is this coming from?"
I lowered my gaze. "I'm sorry. That day you were attacked… we saw everything. My brother wanted to help, but I stopped him. I was afraid. And when you cried for help… it still echoes in my head."
His smile was faint, tinged with sadness.
"It's fine. You don't have to be sorry. I'm alright."
But as I looked into his eyes, I wondered if he truly believed that… or if he was just sparing me from the truth