I Went Into A Sauna Room To Avoid The Heat

To make sure they would not find me, I did not go to the nearest sauna. Instead, I chose one farther away.

“Welcome...”

“Ten hours, dry sauna, highest temperature.”

I slapped my ID and phone down on the counter. My voice was hoarse and unrecognizable.

The clerk was a young woman in her early twenties. She beamed a well-practiced frontdesk’s smile. She repeatedly checked the reservation details on the screen, then looked up at me. Sweat was dripping down my jaw. My T-shirt was soaked through.

“Ma’am, 140 degrees Fahrenheit for ten hours could be fatal...” She swallowed hard, forcing the words “cremation” back down her throat. “Our shop only sells sessions of up to two hours at a time. You will have to come out in between to rehydrate and check your blood pressure.”

“Are you afraid I’ll die in there?” I raised my hand to wipe the sweat from my eyelashes and smiled. “I’ve got accident insurance. I’ll name your shop as the beneficiary. Is that okay?”

The young woman was speechless. Her finger trembled over the confirmation button.

I reached out and pressed it for her.

Beep! Payment successful.

The ticket machine clicked as it spat out the wristband. I snatched it and slipped it on like I was fastening shackles around my own wrists.

In the changing room, I shoved my phone, watch, and necklace into the locker.

The moment I saw the necklace. My mind went blank.

It was my half of the “couple’s set” Rio had gifted me last month.

I stared at it for two seconds. Then, I swung my arm and smashed it hard into the corner of the wall.

After changing into my bathrobe, I stood at the entrance to the sauna. The wave of heat wafting through the crack in the door slammed into my face.

Suddenly, I got cold feet.

What if... the system did not fall for this at all?

What if... the heat did not transfer to Rena across space, but stayed right here inside me instead?

At 140 degrees Fahrenheit, proteins would denature in just ten minutes. My internal organs would crack open like overcooked eggs.

My hand gripping the doorknob began to shake uncontrollably.

“Ma’am, if you change your mind now, we can still offer you a half-refund.” The clerk caught up to me. She almost whispered the line, as if she was afraid of disturbing the Grim Reaper.

I turned to look at her, and a vision from my past timeline flashed before my eyes. I was all curled up in an air-conditioned room set to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. My skin had cracked and peeled. My dead eyes were cloudy. Beside my corpse, a flash came from Rio’s phone. He was photographing me as if I were a new dish.

“No refunds.” I heard myself say.

The next second, I yanked the door open.

A wall of heat slammed into me. My nostrils dried out instantly, and the air I inhaled carried sparks.

The door locked automatically behind me with a “click” that carried the finality of a life sentence.

I set the timer for ten hours.

I turned the temperature dial all the way to the right, to “170 degrees Fahrenheit.”

The numbers on the display panel fluctuated wildly before settling at “140 degrees Fahrenheit”. The red warning light began to flash.

I slid slowly along the wall until I was sitting on the wooden plank in the farthest corner. The moment my skin touched it, there was a sizzling sound.

The very next instant, I heard a piercing scream coming from outside the spa.