Shion's POV
"Hey! Shion!" Inukashi calls after me. "Listen to me!"
"I can't!" I snap. How can she expect me to listen to her calmly and everything when I haven't heard from Nezumi in so long? What if something really did happen to him? I can't live my life properly knowing that he could be in danger, god dammit!
On top of that, people are still dropping dead like there's no tomorrow. There have already been 5 other cases of people ageing quickly and dropping dead with minutes, and it obviously isn't helping.
"At least sit down and take a breath! You pacing around isn't going to calm you down or help you with your situation--whatever the heck your situation is," Inukashi says with sympathetic eyes. "Pacing around is just making everyone else around nervous and on edge. I know that a lot is happening right now, but you need to be calm in order to think straight!"
I give in and head for a chair, only to collapse before the light goes out.
-----
When I open my eyes again, I see Nezumi sitting on the rock, playing with a small knife in hand.
I'm not quite sure what happened, but seeing him still alive and well is making me let out a really big breath. It felt as if all the weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Even with everything going on, seeing him alive and well makes me feel like I can keep going, to keep fighting.
Nezumi turns his head around when a twig snaps under my weight and a big smile pulls at my lips. "Hey," I managed to breathe out.
"Hey..." Nezumi seems so confused as if he wasn't sure he was actually seeing me right now.
"What's wrong?" I ask, curious of the confused face he is showing.
"Nothing much..." Nezumi says and turns around. His sitting position is slouchy as if he was exhausted and tired.
I walk over and stand in front of him. "What happened to you? I haven't gotten any contact from you for days! Maybe even weeks! I haven't really been counting with all the stuff that's going on out there."
"Look," Nezumi starts, "I'm sort of in a situation that's hard to explain, and I'm quite busy right now. I don't think I can get to Elyurias anymore... especially with what I'm dealing with. This... I don't think I can help you for a while." Nezumi looks up at me with a troubled look. Nezumi never really shows this much emotion... he's sometimes an easy going guy, but he would always put up a strong front and smirk or laugh things off. But... but Nezumi right now just seems so vulnerable.
"Hey..." I sit down side him and reach out to take his hand. "What's wrong? Tell me, I'm listening. No matter how complicated it is... You can talk to me, even if I may not understand."
"It's... it's just really complicated, and I can't really put it into words... I'm sorry." Nezumi turns to me with a pained look. "I'm actually surprised that I can even talk to you right now. Maybe I have gone crazy."
I blink, and when I open my eyes again, and I find myself in a foreign room. I look around and find a sink in the corner of the room, and a couple of chairs lined up against the wall. From the smell of the blankets, I'm guessing I'm in the hospital.
I let out an audible sigh and run my fingers through my white hair.
What the heck?! Why can't they give me more time to talk to Nezumi? God dammit!!! UGH! I grit my teeth so I don't yell out in frustration.
What did he mean by him being surprised he could even talk to me? Why would he not be able to? We've spoken through dreams multiple times, and it proved that this power or whatever it is is real. Why was he so unsure of this? Nezumi was never unsure of something. He was never hesitant when he set his mind on something.
There's definitely something going on with Nezumi, but he seems reluctant to talk about it. The pain in his eyes is unmistakable. There's definitely something bothering him, or else he wouldn't look so tired and vulnerable. He was always the strong-willed one. The stubborn one and never gave up. He was always the one that held me together... but he just looked so broken and exhausted.
Nezumi... Are you okay?
"Shion?" A small and muffled voice called my name and the door slowly to my room slowly opened, revealing Shion-chan. A/N: This is so awkward cuz there's two Shion's here and I don't know how to differ between the two without it sounding weird, so little Shion will be called Shion-chan from now on.
"Hey," I say to him and he runs to the side of my bed.
"Are you okay now? Momma said you were tired and needed to sleep, but momma lies to me sometimes so I don't have to worry. Are you okay?" Shion-chan says and I give a small smile.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just needed a bit of sleep. I just haven't been sleeping very much these days. But it's okay, 'cause I'm all recharged now!" I force a smile.
Shion-chan beams and hops onto my bed and gives me a hug.
Inukashi then walks in with Rikiga, both holding tense and dark expressions on their face.
"What's wrong? What happened?" I ask the both of them. I look at Rikiga first, asking him to answer.
Rikiga looks over at Inukashi as if he was afraid to speak. I switch and look over at Inukashi, finding her fists closed tightly, turning her knuckles pale.
"I think it'd be better if we talked later..." Rikiga says.
"Okay," I agree since Inukashi and Rikiga both seem pretty down.
Inukashi lifts her eyes to meet mine, and I find furry with a hint of sadness. I really want to know what had happened, but I hold my tongue since Inukashi looks like she'd snap if I was to ask about it.
A man wearing a lab coat then enters the room and greets me. "Hey, Shion, how are you feeling?"
"Better," I lied. I feel like crap right now, and I would love it if I got more sleep, but I can't have the pleasure of sleeping at a time like this. People are dying and Nezumi seems to be in a tight situation.
"You don't look that much better, Shion." Rikiga gives me the don't-lie-to-me look and raises his eyebrows.
I let out a small sigh and admit the truth. "I'm still pretty exhausted..."
"I guessed. Having the whole entire city to take care of while some citizens don't seem to be appreciating what you're doing for them. Can be pretty stressful, huh?" The man with the lab coat walks closer to the side of my bed and reaches his hands out. "I'm Dr. Carter. I'm filling in for Dr. Scott."
Now that I thought about it, I haven't seen Dr. Scott in quite a long time. He was always the doctor that would take care of my mother and I. "Do you have any idea where Dr. Scott is? I haven't seen him in quite some time."
"I'm not quite sure either. The hospital had called me in without prior notice, so I had to rush here a few weeks ago. Apparently, Dr. Scott had randomly stopped coming to work one day." Dr. Carter says.
He randomly stopped coming to work? But Dr. Scott was a passionate guy who loved his work. He would never randomly stop coming to work like that unless if something had happened to him. "How long ago was that?"
"I think it was around 3 weeks ago, maybe?" Dr. Carter looks at me confusedly. " I think it was around the time you mother passed away, maybe. Why ask?"
"Nothing... Just curious."
"Well, anyways, if you're still tired, it's better if you get some more sleep in while you have the chance," Dr. Carter says, "If you anything else, just buzz."
"Okay, thanks," I say and he turns to leave the room.
Before Dr. Carter closes the door, he turns to Inukashi and Rikiga. "Visiting hours are almost over, so you guys might want to finish up a bit faster. Shion will be able to leave tomorrow morning when he feels better."
Well, I guess I'm staying overnight here...
I was never too fond of hospitals. The smell, the atmosphere, the memories. But I guess I'll have to deal with it for one night.
-----
"We were about to tell you Dr. Scott, but I guess now you know," Rikiga says, shrugging.
"What about Dr. Scott though? Do you guys know anything else about him other than the fact that he randomly stopped going to work?" I ask, hoping for some answers because I really do need them. There have been so many unanswered questions popping up here and there, and it's driving me insane.
"Yeah... but we're not really sure if you want to hear about them." Rikiga looks quite nervous as he scratches his cheeks with his index finger.
"I think it's better if he knows about it," Inukashi says for the first time since she had entered the room.
Rikiga stays silent before confirming with Inukashi, "Are you sure?"
Inukashi nods and begins to speak. "I don't know why Dr. Carter didn't tell you the truth, but we found out that Dr. Scott is dead."
"What?" Confusion masks over my face.
"We heard some staff talking about "the late Dr. Scott" when we had gone to the wrong floor. Some nurses were talking to a man, but we couldn't make out his face since the halls were dimly lit. You'd think that hospitals would be brightly lit even during the day, but no. The floor we went to seemed vacant and only some lights were on. We had planned on coming back down as fast as we could since we thought we went somewhere we weren't supposed to go, but we overheard some stuff before the elevator closed." Inukashi's expression was dark, and so was Rikiga's.
"How are you guys sure Dr. Scott was killed though? Maybe he's just gone missing or something."
"We don't know. All we know is that they were saying "the late Dr. Scott," so we assumed that he was dead." Rikiga walked over to a chair and sat down.
Another sigh escapes my lips and I lean back against the bed. "Do you guys think he was one of the victims then?"
"He might be, but we don't know the details. We didn't hear that much."
Great, another mystery to be solved.
"We're going to leave now... it's getting quite late. We'll come get you tomorrow morning." Rikiga says.
"Sleep tight. If anything happens, you know how to contact us." Inukashi picks Shion-chan up and they all walk out the door.
Sleep tight, huh? I don't think I'm capable of even sleeping tonight with everything that's going on.
I get off the bed and head downstairs to the cafeteria. I need something to eat. I haven't eaten today and my stomach is obviously not happy about that.
Unfortunately, they only had a few leftovers since it was late into the night, and way past dinner time. Well, it's better than nothing, so I take it.
I find a clean table- because not all of them are clean, sadly- and sit down, eating my food.
"How are you feeling so far?" Dr. Carter walks up to my table and sits across from me.
"I guess I'm doing fine. I can't really sleep with everything that's going on though," I admit. "This whole situation thing is pretty stressful."
"Well, you better eat fast and rest up to regain those energies you lost," Dr. Carter says with a beaming smile. "I really do hope you feel better soon. We can't have our ruler fall ill, can we?"
"Probably not," I say with a smile. I finish up with my food and throw out the garbage and composts, and leave the tray sitting on top of the garbage can for the worker to pick up. "I'm gonna head back up to my room now, good night."
"Good night."
I take the elevator up to my room and think about brushing my teeth. I probably won't, because I feel really sleepy. I hope on to the bed and fall into an uneasy sleep.
I fall in and out of consciousness throughout the night, and can't get a good sleep.
At one point, I think someone came into my room, but I'm not quite too sure since I'm way too groggy to care.
When I woke up the next morning, I wish I hadn't.
Author's Note
Happy mother's day!!!!!!!!
For Shion's side of the story, it's going to focus on the death of his mother more since it has some connection with the new virus and everything (hint hint)
For Nezumi's side of the story, it's going to focus on him trying to get out of wherever he is
we'll have to see how the story flows...
Anyways, ENJOY!!