The 11 Miles Ritual: Clinton Road At Midnight [Published Under Ukiyoto]

Chapter 12

Thinking of Him

***

In the room where Emil is lying, as if he is sleeping soundly, many pieces of hospital equipment can be seen attached to him. No noise could be heard except the sound of the vital machine, but suddenly one of his fingers moved, signaling that he was about to wake up. His friends were just outside the room, but Archer thought to peek out the window again, watching his friend lying on the bed.

He turned the doorknob and entered inside, and his friends noticed that. They didnʼt follow, but Zelle stood up to look out the window, and Archer slowly approached his friend, who was still unconscious. How much time has passed? In the more than three hours they waited for Emil to wake up, they still hadnʼt returned to their respective houses. They canʼt leave Emil just like that, because when he wakes up, there won't be any friends who will sympathize with him or check his condition.

They endured their stay in the hospital even though they hadnʼt slept yet. Archer raised his hand, trying to reach Emilʼs hand that was just lying on the bed, but suddenly he was surprised by its sudden movement, as if he already knew what it meant. Emilʼs eyes slowly opened, and in his vision everything was very blurry. The surroundings are not clear to him. He changes the place wherever he is.

What caught his eye was something so obvious that he didnʼt realize he was inside a room where he was lying. He also didnʼt realize what he was seeing was a white ceiling that first appeared to him, but when he turned his head in the other direction, and saw someone standing by his side, he tried to recognize him.

He couldnʼt recognize it. His vision was still blurry, but eventually everything became clearer. Archer didnʼt know what to do when he saw his friendʼs eyes widening. He didnʼt know what he should feel, especially since his chest was beating so fast again. He suddenly ran outside when Zelle surprised him by peeking through the window. “Whatʼs happening?” Everyone stood up from their seats.

Archer suddenly ran out of the room in a panic. “Call a nurse! Emil is awake!” He didnʼt know if he was still afraid of the tone of his voice or if he could feel the excitement when he witnessed his friendʼs eyes widening. It didn‹t take long; a nurse and a doctor arrived to check on the patient, and fortunately Emil woke up well. “Heʼs fine now,” the doctor said.

“Thank you very much, doc,” they said. The doctor and the nurse left the room. Their other friends entered to see Emil awake. They smiled and waved at their friend, who was now sitting on the bed, and he could see his friends in front of him now. “We thought you wouldnʼt wake up,” Fio teased, but Phineas immediately elbowed him to scold him because their friend had just woken up. “How are you feeling?” Zelle asked him, but he didnʼt answer and tried to remember everything.

“I still donʼt remember what happened,” he said. They were all silent and couldnʼt respond to what Emil said, because they knew what happened. They just couldnʼt say more and go back to those times that caused them to end up in this situation. Zelle sighed, then approached Emil and told her. “You donʼt have to worry about what happened, as long as youʼre okay and youʼve woken up.” Emil immediately looked at Zelle, frowning when he remembered what happened when he saw Zelle.

He also looked at his friends, Fio and Phineas. It can be seen that they are in good condition, but he can see that every part of their bodies has bandages. “I know everything!” He was shaking. What happened last night came back to him, and at that time, his head suddenly hurt.

Everyone had a reason why they ended up in this situation. There was a part of him that seemed to have memories coming back to him of those times when they were about to finish the 11-Mile Ritual, but what he couldnʼt understand was why he was being triggered by voices and shouts around him that seemed to be very close to him, which is why he suddenly lost himself and could not control the driving of the car.