Here is the story which shows the Effects of High Levels of Acute Stress by Michael Osland:
·
“What happened? I'm… overwhelmed by this amount
of information.”
·
The young man who was interviewed in the news
article, named Hideo Takahashi, was clearly disheveled and traumatized. He had
been visibly struggling with his emotions while answering the interviewer's
questions. The reporter made a notation on her pad of how Takahashi's hands
shook constantly as he spoke, which seemed to be a sign that he was on the
verge of breaking down.
·
"Then let me ask you this," she said
in a gentle tone, "What is it specifically that you're having trouble
processing?"
·
Takahashi looked up from his shaking hands and
took a deep breath before speaking. "It… I mean… I don't know where to
begin with what happened." He struggled for words for a few moments more.
"I think… no, I know it started when we were asked to fight a monster. But
what really gets me is how normal everything seemed right up until then! And
even after we killed—no, *destroyed* the monster, it… it was as if nothing had
changed! What kind of crazy world is this?!"
·
After Takahashi's outburst, he buried his face
in his hands and began crying. The interviewer quickly scooted over to him and
wrapped an arm around his shoulders to comfort him. "I promise you,"
she said, her tone serious but reassuring, "that I will do my very best
for this story to reach as many people as possible so they can understand
what's going on. It's a tall order, but I won't stop until everyone knows the
truth of this matter." A faint sense of determination could be heard from
her words.
·
Takahashi looked up at that wiped away some
tears with the back of his sleeve, and then looked back at the interviewer.
"I just pray that… no, I *demand* that people listen to what happened so
they know how dangerous this is! And I'm not alone in that! Everyone who
experienced it feels the same way!"
· "I will do my best," she assured him again.
·
Of course, on paper, all was not as it seemed. A
corruption had manifested itself within Takahashi's psyche after he'd unleashed
something terrible, but only moments before he'd started suffering from this
corruption he'd been freed of another malady of sorts— amnesia . He could still
recall most things about his life up until becoming a student of Hope's Peak
Academy, right down to details like the names of his parents and what he did
for a living.
·
However, the specific circumstances surrounding
the deaths of so many of his classmates were obscured from him by a haze that
twisted his memories beyond retrieval. While he could remember things like
fighting a monster or being rescued from it, there was no way to tell whether
those had been dreams or real events. It had been too long ago. Nothing was clear
anymore.
·
Only two certainties remained in his mind: that
Hope's Peak Academy was officially declared dead and that he himself survived
something terrible while at the school. At least… he thought it must have been
while at the school—that much seemed safe to assume since he'd acquired this
incredible power after awakening inside some kind of strange ruins. But beyond
that, he had no idea how he got to where he was now or who put him there.
·
And this world… it was so bizarre. He'd heard
the words monster, ruins, Hope's Peak Academy, and other things at various
points since regaining his senses inside these ruins—and before that? It seemed
like he should remember something about the outside world too, but there was
nothing at all except for emptiness in his head.
·
'What am I supposed to do?' Takahashi thought
while looking at his hands once more, 'I don't have any memories of what
happened to me… I only know the power I have.'
Conclusion:
This story will follow the main character as he tries to piece together what happened and where he is now by Michael Osland.
It is not known how Takahashi got to where he was now or who
put him there. However, at present there's no reason to assume that his
memories of the outside world are any less accurate than those from within the
ruins.
