C.R.A.N.E (Strange Editing WiP)

Chapter Two: Sanctuary

"Yes. It's okay, really."

Of course, he won't give in that easy, Aatu thought. He thought hard while he glanced at him. Then it hit him when he saw the desolation in his eyes.

"It's about Accalia, isn't it?" He guessed.

Damn it. Right on the head of the nail.

"Why do I even bother trying to hide things from you?"

"Because you shouldn't hide things from me. You're not putting a burden on me when you tell me your worries. Remember that, especially when it's something about Accalia. I care for her as if she was my own daughter. She's okay, right?" He began to sound very concerned.

"Yeah she's fine. It's just..."

"...just?" He waited.

Roukan sighed deeply, running his hand through his hair and scratching the back of his neck. He knew that he had to tell him eventually. Leaving him in the dark would only scare him more. He could trust him. He always did. He had every right to know what was going on.

"Is this what her life has to be from now on?"

Aatu stared at him blankly for a moment, before touching his small goatee and figuring out his answer.

"You mean, always being in the hospital?" He wondered where Roukan was going with this. It didn't sound like it was going to lead anywhere pleasant.

"Partly. I mean, I know she has to be there, but what if something happens to her all of a sudden? What if she falls ill, and I wasn't there? And not just that, what about all of this?" He gestured at everything around him. "Even if she gets well, how will she live in a world like this? There's barely any food, no guaranteed protection-"

"Woah, woah. Slow down," Aatu interrupted, raising his hands up. "Relax, Rouk. What brought all of this up?"

The moment Roukan remembered what the doctor had told him, he couldn't stop repeating it in his head over and over again. The doctor's voice was deep and clear when he explained. You could tell that he tried to sound as sympathetic as possible, apologising in every second sentence.

"They're running out of medicine for her," he explained.

Aatu suddenly halted. His cold breath stopped escaping from his mouth, and the green colour of his eyes seemed like they slowly desaturated.

"The demand is too high. All of the medication is running out even quicker now that there are more patients."

"Shit," Aatu mumbled, unconsciously spilling out his profanity. "I-I didn't know that."

Roukan slowly stopped a few more steps in front of him. The people walked past both of them, all with glum expressions, tired eyes and a spirit broken beyond repair.

"God dammit." Roukan became frustrated, resting his hands behind his head. "If only they helped those who actually needed it, we wouldn't have as many people in the hospital."

"You can't blame them Roukan. They're doing the best they can." Aatu tried to calm him down, because people started to raise their heads in suspicion. It wasn't a place where you wanted to attract attention to yourself. As soon as you did, people became concerned and became frightened, you were at a risk of being a threat. Aatu didn't want to end up in the same hole as those people.

"Well, they're not doing enough!" Roukan unintentionally shouted, making a few passersby lift their heads up. His breathing turned heavy, letting out a cold breath of air. He quickly tried to regain his composure after people started to look at him strangely.