The bus arrived late. Marc and Elie both got on. Elie was still wiping away tears. Marc didn't know what to say. The journey seemed even longer than the last. Elie and Marc didn't say a word.

Arriving at the school, Nathanaël was the first to come and find them. Manon followed. Chris didn't want to come. He still had dark circles from the night, but wouldn't tell anyone why. Finally, they were all gathered in the same place.

None of them said anything for the first five minutes. But Nathanaël broke the silence first.

“I saw a cathedral on a mountain peak. I wanted to walk towards it, but I felt footsteps coming from behind me. The man in black was walking quietly towards the cathedral too. I wanted to move, but I was scared to death. He approached me, raised his arm silently, said the word and cut my head off.”

Nathanaël didn't need to say the word. Everyone knew what he was talking about.

“I saw the same cathedral. Except I was lying down and could only see the roof. Black feathers started falling on me. I couldn't move. I was as good as dead.”

Chris wasn't entirely wrong. He was in a coffin. We only put dead people in coffins.

After Elie had told his dream, only Marc and Manon remained. Marc recounted his, but Manon seemed so traumatized she couldn't speak. She turned pale and began to scream.

“No. No, no. I'd forgotten all about him. I don't want to see him anymore.”

Everyone was surprised. But they all wanted to know.

“Manon. Calm down and explain what you saw.”

Manon tried to calm down, but tears were streaming down her cheeks.

“I was hanging.”

At these words, everyone held their breath.

“I was hanging upside down over the cathedral. There was nothing I could do. I was beginning to run out of breath when I saw the same two eyes looking at me. They were watching me die.”

Marc understood why she didn't want to talk about it.

“Why?”

Chris glowered at Marc.

“Why are you the only one who isn't dead?”

Everyone wanted to know. Marc was the only one who hadn't died in the dream. To be exact, he hadn't been killed. He didn't know if the dream had ended in his death or not. He didn't know why he hadn't been killed. He just didn't know.

Marc could understand their confusion. The fact that he hadn't been killed and had been “lucky” enough to hear a new word made him seem special.

“Oh. Excuse me. Maybe you're a chosen one among us, right? You're the only one who's going to survive this tragedy.”

“Calm down, Chris. Marc hasn't d... anything.”

“Shut up, Nath. You can see I'm talking to the chosen one. The child of prophecy. The one for whom we've been shown this nonsense in order to see his advent.”

No one dared speak. Everyone found it strange. It was at times like these that some of mankind's most destructive feelings come to the fore: jealousy and frustration. They could provoke conflict and even war. Having what the other has. But in this case, it was more about being what the other is. A survivor.

Marc had no quarrel with this. He understood Chris's feelings very well.

“Maybe you're the man in black who wants to kill us ? Or maybe you sent him to do it ?”

Chris had grabbed him by the collar. He might not be able to lift him, but it was uncomfortable for Marc. But even so, he let himself do it.

“Why don't you say something? You're really in cahoots with the people who attacked us.”

“......”

“I'm going to punch you in the face.”

“Chris, stop it.”

The others stood up to stop him. Only Manon remained seated. She didn't trust Marc either. She already didn't understand why he didn't like Chris and why he hadn't been killed in the dream, but this was getting really suspicious.

Nathanaël had pushed Chris away. Elie hadn't done much. Chris had grabbed his bag and left.

“Damn. I don't want to see your face again, you hear me.”

Manon took her bag and left too.

“Don't worry, Marc. It's not your fault. I'm sure there's an explanation but we just can't figure it out. Maybe you saw something else that would help us understand.”

Nathanaël really was a good person. Always looking out for others, he never complained when asked for something. He had an infectious smile and was as gentle as a lamb. Marc liked Nathanaël, even if he sometimes thought he was too nice.

“Two things. The first is that when I got home, I saw lots of notifications about the death of average people on my phone. The second was that the man in black had appeared in the novel I was reading and that the author had left a message under the chapter saying 'This world is going to change'.”

Nathanaël took his information very seriously. Even though he told himself that the Man in Black was a character who often appeared in novels and that notifications of deaths were normal given that so many people died every day, he wrote them down in a notebook and put them in his bag.

“Okay. I don't know what it means yet, but I promise I'll look into it. That, plus the symbols in the cathedral, I'll have no trouble keeping busy these days.”

Nathanaël took his bag in turn, turned and looked at Marc.

“Eh. We'll manage.”

Marc opened his eyes wide. It was the first time anyone had comforted him. Usually, it was he who consoled the others, since he had an easy way with words. He'd even managed to bring some of Chris's buddies back, even though he didn't like him. Marc and Nathanaël got along well, even if they didn't speak often. They were good people who attracted each other. Except that one seemed lonely and the other not. Marc seemed hurt by people, while Nathanaël saw only the good in them. This made them differ.

“If you say so.”

Marc had somehow regained hope. It wasn't up to him to do himself in or let others die. Marc was worth more than that. He may have been only human, but that meant he had to consider himself above it all. Or else he was really getting a big head. But it was enough to give him the courage to face the dangers that awaited them.

“I'm here too, Marc.”

“I know you are. Don't worry.”

Elis didn't want to leave these two to deal with this alone. She wanted to help. After all, she was included no matter what.

Marc could see that he had to find a way out. But he didn't know where to start. He'd look for this cathedral first, but he'd have to be prepared.

“It'll all start after school.”

“All right.”

This time, something had to be done.

After school, Marc already had an idea in mind. He had to know how to defend himself. And the first thing anyone did to defend themselves was take up combat sports. He had already checked the timetable, and could only take part in three sports at a time, so as not to overlap. Taekwondo on Mondays and Thursdays, karate on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and jujitsu on Saturdays and Fridays. Sundays were rest days. He didn't want to overexert himself.

Elie decided to follow him, but the girls' schedules were different. So they took the same sports, but he only had two classes in common, and that was jujitsu.

It seemed silly, given that the man in black surely had supernatural powers and a “magic” sword, but you never knew what to expect.

They both went home and asked their parents directly for permission to enroll. To which Marc's parents hesitated.

“Why all at once?”

“I want to know how to fight.”

“Did something happen to you at school?”

“No.”

Marc's parents knew he wasn't lying to them. For the simple reason that their son was already strong enough to defend himself. Not just strength. Their son had all the physical capabilities to stand up to someone doing mma.

“If that's what you want, I won't stand in your way. Become a great fighter Marc.”

Marc often described his parents as the best parents in the world. As far as he was concerned, his upbringing had been anything but unsuccessful. He lived in fear and love of his parents. What could be better?

“But don't come home and say you hurt yourself in every class.”

“Don't worry. I'm tough.”

“I know, but you never know.”

“I'll call them right away.”

This is why Marc loved his family.

On the other side. Elie's mom had grabbed a belt ready to do battle with this Marc.

“He'll hear me.”

“No, wait, Mom.”

“He'll hear me.”

“Marc's chosen combat sports too.”

At these words, Elie's mother paused.

“Is it true?”

“Yes.”

Elie's mother looked into her daughter's eyes.

“I'll go and ask him, will he say yes too?”

“You can go.”

Elie's mother took her belt and went to ring Marc's doorbell. Marc's mother opened the door.

“Hello, Catherine. How are you?”

“Hello Marie. I'd like to know if your son has decided to take up combat sports?”

“Uh, yes. How do you know about it?”

“Elie told me.”

“Did he? He's not one to spill his guts to everyone.”

“Apparently, he's my daughter's boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Yes. It sounds like you didn't know. Well, I'll leave you to it. That's all I wanted to know. Have a nice day.”

Marc's mother couldn't believe her ears. Marc had never had a girlfriend. If he were to have one, it would surely be his future wife. She closed the door and ran to see her husband.

“Honey, did you know Marc had a girlfriend?”

Marc's father spat out the tea he was drinking.

“What?”

“Elie. Catherine's daughter.”

“Really?”

“The two ran upstairs to their son's room.

“Marc can we talk for two minutes?”

“Yes, no problem.”

“Listen. We know that teenagers need that kind of relationship.”

“What the hell is he talking about?”

“They have trouble calming their hormones.”

“What the hell is she talking about?”

“I know Catherine's daughter is a pretty girl and we'll have a hard time changing your mind but...”

“We're not a couple.”

“Oh, you're not?”

“She's just a friend.”

“Phew, that makes us feel better. We really thought you were going to get married.”

The two had spoken at the same time.

“We'll leave you to it then. Ah yes. They've all agreed to let you come to their class.”

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

After closing the door, Marc refocused on looking for the cathedral.

“Why do you insist on signing up for all this stuff?”

“I want to be with Marc.”

“But you don't even have the same classes, since you're a girl.”

“Some classes are in common.”

“But that doesn't mean you have to do martial arts.”

“I don't see why not.”

“Because it doesn't do you any good. You do martial arts if you want to defend yourself, but you told me it doesn't do anything to you. So...”

“Mom. I want to do combat sports. So why not?”

Elie had said this with a broad smile. The kind of innocent smile that would bring down any mother. Catherine didn't want to stop her daughter from doing what she loved. With the man she loved. Even if she didn't love him.

“All right, then. I'll sign you up. But don't come to regret it later.”

“I could never regret it.”

Elie was proud of her. She often got what she wanted from her mother, but this was no mean feat. She thought she'd never make it. As soon as it came to boyfriends, her mother wouldn't listen.

She went off to her room with a smile on her face.