After parting with the general, Peter, who was walking towards the hospital in the military barracks, had to stop when he felt a vibration on his wrist.
He raised his hand and saw an incoming message from his older sister, Chloe. When Peter opened the message, it contained an encouraging sentence and a brief instruction to contact his sister if his mission was over and he returned to the city.
Looking closer, the message should have been sent this morning, but due to the distance and the difficulty of communication outside the wall, it only arrived now.
But why now? Shouldn't it have been when he passed through the gate?
So much time had passed, from Cain's evacuation and going to the hospital, as well as his conversation with the general. That must have taken up quite some time.
The time gap somehow felt unsettling in his head.
Peter shook his head, not wanting to deal with unclear issues. He had a more important matter now, which was the safety of his comrades who were on the verge of collapse.
Before he entered, he typed a brief reply saying he had arrived and gave a short account of what had happened. Of course, the boy kept the actual truth a secret and only told his sister that he was undergoing treatment for minor wounds from the fight.
'I think that's enough. I hope she doesn't read into it too much.'
He lowered his hand and continued on his way, walking up the stairs and entering the hospital, where his leader was being treated.
As he entered the interior, Peter found a spacious, relatively empty hall. Metal chairs were neatly lined up facing the counter, behind which several female receptionists sat, their fingers dancing on keyboards as they faced screens.
But all that was irrelevant when the figure of a yellow-haired boy came into his view. Abel widened his eyes and swung his arm to greet Peter.
Peter nodded; he sauntered to approach Abel. When the distance between them narrowed, Abel let out a light sigh, one hand resting on his hip.
"It's a good thing we crossed paths."
"How are the Leader and Rika?"
Abel averted his gaze while biting his lip, looking annoyed. That was enough of an answer for Peter as he patted the blonde boy's shoulder.
"Let's trust them. They'll be fine."
Unlike usual, Abel always showed a bright, optimistic face. He scoffed, as if cursing himself for being unable to do anything but wait.
"I hope so."
Peter squeezed Abel's shoulder, which made them look at each other. Their eyes saw the dark side of one another. It was clear from the emotional turmoil, with their hearts wrapped in worry and fear that someone close to them would disappear from their lives.
A heavy silence cascaded around the two for seconds before Peter released his hand from Abel's shoulder and spoke.
"Where are the others?"
Abel raised his thumb to point to the side as he opened his mouth.
"Follow me. That's the main reason I came down to this hall anyway."
"Alright."
The two men nodded, then left the spacious and empty room. They were tracing the narrow hallway adorned with bright silver neon lights above, indicating that night would soon arrive.
Peter's nose twitched, smelling the odour of antiseptic and medicines that sailed in the air. But the deeper he went, the more his body shivered because the atmosphere suddenly turned cold, and it penetrated his bones.
The white light that gave a sterile, sacred impression slowly dimmed, replaced by deep green neon, a blend of red hues that conveyed urgency. Peter's expression twisted. At the end of the hallway, he saw an iron door standing; above it, a red lens kept twitching.
There were several metal benches on either side of it. It was occupied by Louise, who was embracing Rika, who sat next to her. The two were pressing their shoulders and foreheads together, sobbing.
Louise's body flinched when she heard approaching footsteps. The girl peeked and found that Abel had returned with Peter.
"You came?"
Abel nodded and stood before the two.
"Is there still no news from Professor Albert?"
Louise's brown eyes turned teary, biting her lip hard while shaking her head to the side.
"I see."
Peter turned to the girl beside Louise, Rika, their vice leader, who seemed to have regained a little clarity, as evidenced by the light returning to her red eyes.
He looked down, seeing the hospital floor covered with iron. His right hand twitched when a vibration stung his consciousness, coming from the smartwatch wrapped around his wrist.
The boy turned, and his blue pupils shrank as he saw an incoming call from his older sister. The vibration in his hand did not subside, which automatically attracted the attention of the other three.
Peter bowed his head while showing his strained smile.
"Excuse me, I need to step away for a moment."
Without waiting for an answer. Peter turned around and walked towards the corner of the hallway, then tapped the small screen of his smartwatch.
(Hello, Peter, are you okay?)
The cheerful voice echoing in his head twisted the boy's expression. He remained silent for a few seconds, staring into the distance.
(Oooi, Peter? Did something happen?)
His fingers clenched tightly when he heard his older sister's voice. As usual, the girl had a sharp intuition. Peter didn't know why, but when he heard his sister's voice, the bottled-up emotions in his chest burst, blurring his vision.
(Peter?)
His sister's intonation also changed into deep, filled with concern, perhaps accidentally hearing him sniffling.
(Where are you right now?)
Peter took a deep breath, then wiped his eyes hard. He cleared his throat and answered his sister in a calm tone, although his lips were trembling.
"I'm at the barracks now. One of my comrades is injured and needs treatment."
(I'm going there.)
His connection to his sister was cut instantly, and Peter leaned his back against the flat, cold wall next to him, letting out a long sigh as he stared into the emptiness in front of him.
"Huh, why am I such a crybaby in front of her. So lame."
Peter scoffed at himself and chuckled softly because it seemed he still couldn't escape his sister's grasp.
***
Meanwhile, inside a narrow room filled with sophisticated equipment, a monitor stood beside the bed where Cain was lying. The numbers and graphs on the screen continuously changed, a sign that the sleeping boy was still fighting for his life.
Albert, who was monitoring Cain's progress, approached him after putting on a pair of sterile gloves.
Although wearing full gear, the man was not afraid of contracting the virus; he did it all as a habit from his days as a doctor on the battlefield.
The cosmic virus itself was indeed dangerous, but when someone was infected, they could not transmit it to others; it remained in their bodies until they died, turning them into mindless virus beasts.
His black eyes swept through the boy's naked body. Albert did not find any severe wounds, as most of his injuries came from within. He frowned, witnessing the red stain coming from the boy's ear.
'His ears busted, huh. He needs something to help him hear later.'
His hand reached for the boy's face, turning it to the side to get a better view. Albert moved closer to get a better look at the crimson line that spread from Cain's eyes.
"Judging by the symptoms. The virus in his body is still in the early stage."
Albert stared at the boy for a few seconds. The man clicked his tongue; he didn't know if it was out of disappointment or what?
That showed how high Albert valued the boy.
He moved from his spot to approach the nearest table. On top of it, there was a syringe. And next to it, a small vial containing a clear liquid.
However, when he was about to snap off the vial's cap, Cain's body convulsed, which made Albert widen his eyes as he moved to the side bed.
"What is this!?"
Albert, who accidentally stared at the sleeping boy's face, held his breath. The crimson line in the boy's eyes slowly crawled away, as if watching a time-reversal phenomenon, and Cain's face was clean of any infection signs.
"Wha!?"
The man leaned his body forward to get a closer look at Cain's face and opened the boy's eyes.
"There are no signs of infection; everything disappeared. This!?"
A few seconds passed in silence, and only the 'beeping' sound from the monitor echoed, covering the room with a gloomy atmosphere. Albert straightened his posture and smirked; his normal black pupils were once again twisted sickeningly, filled with ominous light.
"Aha, ahahaha. As I thought, you are the perfect subject for me."
The creepy laughter was loud, bringing back the dark side of Albert, who was planning something for the sleeping prince.