There was a feeling people felt at abrupt moments, when their hearts lurched and they felt sick to the stomach, but didn't know why.
A moment of alarm, of their body telling them that something was about to happen.
Lucas furrowed his eyebrows deeply, raising his body with the help of Elias' hand, pressing against the small of his back. He gazed out at the hospital as Nora passed the gates and parked on the side.
It wasn't small, but compared to normal clinics it was a regular-sized block that was illuminated brightly from the inside. Only three levels, with glass windows to indicate different rooms.
However, there was an oppressive feeling that radiated from the inside that made everyone in the car stare outside cautiously.
Not exactly the danger of being attacked... but of a powerful presence watching them inside, scrutinizing their every move. Additionally, there was a blurry figure he couldn't make out standing at the door, peering outside.
Lucas struggled to turn around and yank out the phone from the side of the car door. He'd left it behind during the Story and hadn't checked it since.
[L: I have arrived outside of the hospital.]
There was yet to be any response, so the group exited and approached the doors. Nora recalled the barrier preventing her to enter when she came by earlier.
"I think we have no other option but to wait."
Wren scoffed. "There are clearly little things watching us from the window—just yell at them to come down. They weren't there before."
However, it was unlikely that all of a sudden, a bunch of people had rushed inside the hospital that had been sealed off. They must've been hidden on the group's previous visit, only daring to peek through the glass panels now.
Why now? One could assume it was because their leader was back that they dared to look.
Upon previous research, it was a children's hospital. During these violent times, it was only expected that younger children would hide away fearfully, listening to the orders of an adult they trusted.
Then, Lucas made out the figure turning and speaking to somebody.
Walking down the few steps, a sickly looking boy approached them, swaying like a ghost. His face was gaunt, and his limbs extremely skinny as he appeared to be around the age of 14.
For some reason, most of the oppressive force seemed to radiate from him!
Nora held a hand over her gun, not eager to shoot at a child, but it would be done if there was no other option. Similarly, all the members tensed.
Underestimating the unknown opponent before them could be a grave mistake, killing them instantly.
The boy had messy scarlet hair that hung over his face, giving a depressing atmosphere while his lips were thin and pale, devoid of colour.
He hoarsely wondered, "Who... are you?"
Nora took a step in the front, smiling gently. "We're not here to harm you. We've been contacting a man by the name of Kane, in order to remove a curse on both him and the man beside me."
She gestured to Elliot, who waved enthusiastically but didn't dispel his killing intent. For a wild character that acted often on instinct, he would let down his guard now.
Even the people around him could become his enemy again any moment.
"...the doctor?" The boy frowned, wobbling closer but keeping a reasonable amount of distance. "He is... resting. I didn't hear about a visitor."
He stretched out a hand in the air, spreading his bony fingers wide.
"Liars cannot enter."
A premonition rang out in Lucas' ears as he yanked Nora and Rome back, leaving Elliot in the front of the group. Everyone else had reacted except for the mad youth.
Elliot's eyes widened before he choked, collapsing to one knee. He scrambled to wrap his hands around his throat, trying to move. An invisible barrier stopped his hands, trapping him in the space where he fell.
"The... hell... kid? Wanna... die?"
His body convulsed, face losing its colour as he fell onto his elbows, hatred burning in his vision.
Lucas yelled out, "Stop! Unless you want your doctor to lose his hands. If that man dies, you'll trouble Kane."
Expectedly, the boy jolted and swung his hand away. Elliot gasped, gulping for air as Lucas stepped forward expressionlessly, holding out a hand to stop the youth from attacking the child out of anger.
The boy wobbled again and frowned. "Lose his hands...?"
"The pair are under a curse that they experienced in a Story. If they are unable to meet, then they will both lose their hand." stated Lucas calmly before adding solemnly,
"Losing a hand might mean having it directly cut off. Then, there will be an endless pool of blood draining out of their body until they collapse, dying from blood loss."
The boy's pale expression somehow turned paler as he shook his head quickly.
"You're... lying!"
"Want to test that?" Lucas' lips curled slightly, a vague and sinister smile that made the boy tremble. "If you don't, then call your doctor outside and tell him that the person he's been waiting for has arrived."
The boy looked confused and cautious, glancing at them and then back at the doors. Finally, he nodded with great reluctance. "Wait here...."
The doors shut behind him, and Lucas had no doubt the barrier had been put back up, preventing them from sneaking inside. The youth was likely protecting the other children here in Kane's stead.
However, for the young boy to even possess an ability... it would mean he survived a Story and made large contributions, or he defeated somebody during the Ranking.
Either way, being made practically of skin and bones, he was a formidable child.
Lucas' palms felt sweaty while waiting, despite the cool air that brushed past from the aftermath of rainy and foggy weather. His wound painfully throbbed, the ache spreading from his stomach, to his chest before crowding his mind.
Elias—the only one truly aware of the situation for unknown reasons—glanced at Lucas, eager to see the following scenes. Since the existence of a 'brother' had been erased to Lucas' memories, those who knew the connection between the two would also forget.
However, that didn't prevent people from making assumptions based on similar appearances, such as Elliot who thought that Kane and Lucas were definitely related.
Of course, it couldn't erase the memories of the person directly involved, as that would alter the majority of his memories, resulting in a possible mental infliction. Lucas didn't count since he had wished for it himself.
"Nervous?" wondered Elias, hovering nearby in case the slightly hunched man collapsed from a sudden worsening of his condition.
He still recalled the blood, the confused white pupils that stared at him before dimming. The crumpled body slumped against the wall lifelessly.
And the striking fear he'd felt.
Lucas didn't hide his feelings. "Yeah. I don't know why, though."
The seemingly indifferent man glanced sideways, silent. How had Elias escaped that warped house in the woods? How had he survived?
And in the deepest, submerged thoughts he decided, 'It's good he survived.'
Of course, that was because the other man was still a useful partner. Nothing more than that.
He was a little curious as to what happened, but didn't want to accidentally remind Elias of bad thoughts. It wasn't that Lucas felt especially considerate, but the sights that had been seen might trigger a terrifying response.
"Hm... here, put this on." As he spoke, Elias tossed over a large jacket on top of Lucas' head. "Hide yourself for a bit."
"...ha?"
One of Lucas' eyebrows raised with irritation, as he scowled. He stretched up a hand to yank the jacket off, unamused, before Elias pressed a heavy hand down firmly on his head.
"I think it'll be a little more interesting that way. The main character should show up last, right?"
"The hell are you saying?"
Elias grinned, a sly sort of smile filled with malicious intent. "Trust me?"
"Over my dead body." replied Lucas, ready to rip the jacket to shreds.
Elias usually knew when to stop, but instead continued to insist. Kane's reaction would be more spectacular if he saw Lucas a second later. No doubt would the man coldly come out and respond to the group, looking around for his little brother.
How would his chilling expression twist upon seeing Lucas?
No, Elias wasn't just curious about that—Kane was a boring character in his eyes. But how would Lucas' expression distort, seeing somebody he loved and couldn't recall?
Lucas eventually gave up struggling, allowing Elias to do as he pleased.
At that moment, the door swung open again and a tall man with sharp eyes that darted around stepped out, his long legs quickly rushing down the steps. A white doctor's coat fluttered behind him as he moved with haste that contridicted his disposition.
The gloomy teenager from before hovered closely behind, keeping a close eye for any strange movements.
Elias recognized Kane in a moment, and the confusion that fell upon the familiar expressionless face. He was looking for Lucas.
Lucas, with his eyes half-covered by the jacket, couldn't see but involuntarily shivered at the sound of heavy footsteps approaching.
Kane's gaze eventually settled on Elias, tensing.
"You're from the Story."
Elias smiled, waving. "It's a pleasure seeing you again."
"......" The man tilted his head before narrowing his eyes onto Elliot who lit up like a lamp, brightly hopping forward as if he'd seen his saviour. He peeked carefully at the gloomy teenager wandering behind.
"Come, come, handsome sir! I think we just need to touch a little for the curse to be deactivated!"
Kane took a step back, slight disgust creeping into his frown, watching the wriggling hands that misbehaved.
However, it was true that the time limit would soon be up, and he worked up his courage before stretching out a hand. Elliot rushed over, shook it with a blooming smile before hearing the notification in his head.
The curse was lifted! What an anxiety-filled journey that had been. To begin with, they'd only gotten cursed because Elliot provoked one of the big bosses in the Story...
Well, as long as it was over now.
Kane blinked, before politely pulling out a hankerchief and wiping his hands without trying to hide it, folding it into a neat square and pocketing it away. Elliot wasn't offended; he was too busy rejoicing over his saved body part.
The calm man's gaze swept over the group of people again, more srutinizing and sharp than before, losing its clumsy sense of hurry. His voice was cold and firm as he spoke, the deep sound showing no fluctuations in his emotions.
"The person who texted me... are they in your group?"
There was no other possibility, unless Lucas himself had given away Kane's number at some point. Since there was only one person who knew the number on Kane's phone.
He had a back-up one solely for work, but he regularly carried his old phone around instead, in case he received a particular text from a certain little brother.
The desperation in Kane's voice wasn't completely hidden.
Lucas faltered, exhaling underneath the shade of the jacket. The oddness in his chest was growing tighter, making it harder to breath, the pressure of the voice weighing down his mind. His fingers curled against the corner of the jacket, subconsciously pulling it further down.
He was grateful for the chill that settled in his bones, keeping him awake.
Kane's dark stare moved from person to person, before settling on the hidden character. He swallowed, going stiff and robotic. Although he couldn't see their face, it was in the collected and yet somehow awkward way the man stood hiding his face.
Something about it that seemed undeniably familiar.
Elias noticed the siblings' reactions, and thought it would be the perfect time to force a reveal. All he had to do was pull the jacket off of Lucas' head, and he would be able to see the display of emotions he'd hoped to witness.
A grand specacle worth witnessing, orchasized by his hand. He wouldn't feel any guilt this late into the game.
However, he couldn't bring himself to raise his hand. The man wasn't one to care for other's emotional state—no, he sought things that would interest and satisfy him.
But, catching a glimpse of Lucas' pale expression, Elias frowned and turned away, waiting for the man to make a move first.
Lucas took a few more moments, before returning to a calm expression, and removed the jacket from his head. He pulled it down, letting his arm hang loosely, swaying at his side.
"I was the one who texted you."
There was still silence as the pair's eyes met, a reflected, familiar gaze.
The clouds in the sky shifted, allowing for the new moonlight to shimmer through, muffled by the sheen of fog. But it was enough to illuminate their figures against the shadowed earth.
Kane felt his heart drop to his stomach, mind dizzying in disbelief. How long had it been? Was this another one of the hallucinations he once had?
His one and only family.
"Lucas." Kane finally let go of a breath he'd been holding for a decade, startled raven eyes wide, lips slightly parted. He stumbled forward clumsily, a hand outstretched as if in a daze. "It's you. It's... really you."
He didn't seem to believe it.
Lucas swallowed, feeling the ache in his mind hammer violently against his skull. He took a step back, furrowing his eyebrows. The words implied a relationship between them... but they were nothing more than an author and a character.
Right?
The other paused in his approach, a rare smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. He glanced down at the hand he'd been reaching out with. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
He dropped his hand to his side, and smiled helplessly. He took Lucas' adverse reaction as a rejection.
The man had thought of his younger sibling numerous times since the terrible separation. He couldn't chase a stubborn person who wanted to disappear, although he did try, never stopping.
In the stormy weather, until his feet were sore and bleeding, and his nights were spent searching for all the possible places his brother could run away, hoping for even a ghost of his brother's figure to tell him that he was still alive.
Only, when Lucas wanted to hide, he would make sure to bury himself so deeply that not even the phantom of his footsteps could be found. Of course, he always won at hide-and-seek.
Kane didn't know what he was feeling, a mixture of euphoria and delight, and of nostalgic sadness. Anxiety, happiness—so many things that he was blessed to feel.
And yet... why was his younger brother's expression so confused?
Sure, Lucas had been running away this whole time, but that didn't mean he started to despise Kane, right? After all, it had been him who reached out first to this old number Kane hopelessly kept using.
The typically stoic man took another step forward, almost pathetically. He narrowed his eyes, the smiling slowly slipping off his face.
"Lucas?"
Lucas stared at him blankly, a nervous thudding at his chest. "I'm... sorry."
'I know him.'
'He's....' His mind screamed, tangled and messy. '...just a character in my book?'
'That's.... Not...'
"What do you mean? You don't have to apologize for anything. I'm happy we could meet again in this lifetime. I'm happy you've come back." At this point, even Kane himself knew that something was out of place.
He just didn't want to believe it. Because, it couldn't be, after so long.
Lucas couldn't have forgotten him.
Not now.
"I'm sorry." Lucas repeated, licking his dry lips with an anxiety that came so rarely. He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
It was like he knew how to say nothing else, a child apologizing to his sibling for a mistake. Kane recognized the careful look weighed behind repeated words—Lucas always had the habit of repeating his apologies, always so bad at saying them.
Kane always thought it was an adorable habit of his younger brother, clumsy and antisocial as he was... but not right now.
Because, what was Lucas apologizing for?
And did he even want to know?
Lucas shook his head again as Kane took another step, tears burning at the corners of his eyes. Kane gritted his teeth and finally stopped, not trying to approach any longer.
"Lucas." He hesitated to continue, scared to ask. "What are you sorry for?"
The words felt like sand stuck in his throat. Lucas swallowed and started to say, "I'm sorry."
And four words to have his world coming crashing down.
"I don't remember you."
Despair painted over Kane's fine features, twisting it before he nodded. Tension lined his shoulders as a mask of calm desperately replaced his surprise.
It was as if he'd been pulled into the deepest abyss.
"You don't remember me." He repeated, mulling over each syllable slowly. He laughed wryly as his tone turned dead and cold, nodding as his words choked. "I... see. I see. I apologize... it seems like I've mistaken you for somebody else."
And for some reason, those words felt more painful than anything Lucas had ever remembered before.
But, it was true. The man before him, and himself...
...had no relation to speak of.