Duane's passionate shout caused the atmosphere in the hospital ward to suddenly turn a bit strange.
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan and Dr. Gale looked at each other, their faces filled with expressions of being caught between laughter and tears.
Louis, who had been publicly 'anointed' as the savior, reacted with startling speed after his initial moment of bewilderment.
Instead of refuting it, he went along with Duane's words, his deep blue eyes widening as he put on a look of sudden realization.
"So that's how it really is!"
He walked quickly to Duane's bedside and said excitedly, "I thought Mom and Dad were lying to me before; after all, I never managed to learn any magic."
He clenched his fists, eyes sparkling with light, and announced in an incredibly serious tone:
"I didn't expect that I really am the savior!"
Seeing his solemn act, the adults in the ward all smiled knowingly, though their smiles carried a hint of the bitterness unique to adults.
They almost immediately recalled Louis's suitcase full of 'relics' and his fairy tales about Hogwarts and magic.
Clearly, in this poor child's heart, there had always lived a dream of becoming a hero.
Duane, as if finding a kindred spirit, nodded with great certainty, his face saying 'I told you so': "Exactly! That's what God told me!"
The adults obviously didn't take it to heart, treating it as just some fun play between two children.
On the surface, Louis cheerfully exchanged childish talk with Duane about 'God's mission' and 'how to save the world,' but internally, his mind was racing.
Could this kid actually have some talent for prophecy?
He remembered that in the original work, there seemed to be a character who vaguely perceived the future of Walkers invading the camp through dreams.
Of course, this could also just be a coincidence—Duane, while unconscious, might have combined the stories of Louis saving Paul and keeping watch over him with his own heroic fantasies.
Regardless, this wasn't something he could verify right now.
Sigh, add it to the 'long-term consideration' list then!
Just as the ward was filled with a cheerful air, a loud 'clatter and bang' suddenly echoed from the other end of the hallway, as if something had been knocked over!
This sudden, strange noise caused everyone's smiles in the ward to freeze instantly.
The expressions on Mr. and Mrs. Morgan and Dr. Gale's faces became serious at once.
Morgan even instinctively shielded his wife and son behind him, grabbing the iron shovel from the corner that was used for self-defense.
Only Louis's eyes brightened sharply the moment he heard the sound, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.
This commotion... this timing... "Everyone stay here and don't move!" Dr. Gale lowered her voice, her face full of vigilance. "I'll go check the situation!"
"It's too dangerous for you alone, Doctor!"
Morgan countered immediately. He raised the iron shovel, the old shotgun on his back appearing particularly conspicuous. "I'll go with you. I'll scout the way ahead!"
"Wait!"
Just as the two were about to head out, Louis suddenly spoke up to interrupt them.
"I think... everyone doesn't need to worry too much."
Under everyone's puzzled gazes, he analyzed calmly, "Listen, although that sound was loud, it was very brief, and there was no follow-up sound of Walkers snarling."
"If I'm not mistaken, it's very likely that a patient who has been unconscious has woken up."
His words were like a bolt of lightning, immediately alerting Dr. Gale.
She quieted down at once, tilting her head to listen.
Sure enough, in that dead silence, the weak, raspy cry of a man could be heard faintly.
"...Doctor?...Is anyone there?"
"Someone really did wake up!" The seriousness on Dr. Gale's face was replaced by immense joy! She immediately turned and walked out.
Morgan was still uneasy and followed her with the shovel, while Louis also insisted on trailing behind at the end.
Following the sound, the three of them soon arrived in front of a ward on the third floor.
There, a tall man wearing a hospital gown and with curly brown hair had fallen clumsily to the floor, next to an overturned metal tray.
He looked weak to the extreme, struggling to try and crawl up.
Seeing that man's face, Louis's heart completely settled.
Safe.
It really was Rick Grimes.
He had originally been worried that his appearance, like a small butterfly, might flap its wings and create uncontrollable waves, causing Rick not to wake up or even die while unconscious.
Looking at it now, the halo of this chosen one was still very strong... Rick's memory was still stuck on the moment the gunshot rang out, the tearing pain in his body, and Shane's face filled with terror.
He had been shot and fell.
When he opened his eyes again, what greeted him was not heaven, but a dead silence—a ward with only himself in it.
The room was very tidy; the flowers in the vase and the clean room indicated that someone had been looking after it.
Probably a doctor and a nurse.
Rick didn't think much of it.
He looked down; the wound on his body seemed to have healed, but his body had become incredibly stiff and weak from lying down for a long time.
What happened outside?
He struggled to pull out the tubes from his body and staggered out of the ward, only to find the entire hospital deserted, the corridors in a mess, and even bullet holes and dried bloodstains on the walls.
A massive sense of unease and fear seized his heart.
Lori... Carl... where are they?
He stumbled along, his mouth parched and his body weak to the extreme. He wanted to find someone to ask about the situation, but he couldn't see even a ghost of a shadow.
Is this some kind of ridiculous prank show?
But looking at the all-too-real dilapidated scenery around him and smelling that faint scent of blood in the air, he felt it was all terrifyingly real.
"...Doctor?...Is anyone there?"
He kept calling out for medical staff, his voice as raspy as sandpaper.
Just as he accidentally knocked over a metal tray in the hallway due to lack of strength and fell to the ground, footsteps finally came from around the corner.
He looked up and saw a female doctor in a white coat, a tall black man holding a shovel, and... a young boy with blond hair and blue eyes.
"Hey! Are you okay? Don't move, your body is still very weak!"
Dr. Gale and Morgan hurried forward, helping the immobile Rick up and letting him lean against the wall.
After a brief exchange, Rick learned a fact from Dr. Gale that hit him like a thunderbolt—
He had been unconscious for several weeks, and in those few weeks, the entire world had changed.
A terrible 'flu' had swept the globe, the dead were rising, the living were being treated as food, the army had collapsed, and cities had fallen... It all sounded like a fairy tale; the newly awakened Rick even thought he hadn't woken up yet, or that these people were joking with him.
Dr. Gale saw his disbelief but didn't offer more explanation.
She knew that for someone who had just woken up, words were hollow; he needed time to accept reality himself.
"Rest here for a moment; I'll go get you some water and antibiotics." After she finished speaking, she turned and walked toward the pharmacy.
Seeing that there was no immediate danger here and worrying about his own wife and son, Morgan nodded to Rick and turned back to Duane's ward.
For a moment, only Rick and Louis were left in the hallway.