Chapter 116 - Devil's Claw

The old man looked at me silently for a few moments. It was as though he was in disbelief.

The old man blinked.

"You... You don't know?"

I lowered my head ever so slightly.

"...Sorry."

The old man opened his mouth and raised his hand. But shortly after, he closed his mouth and lowered his hand.

It was as though the only thing this old man could do was hesitate.

But something about his countenance changed.

The old man nodded.

"I see... thank you for the advice."

He turned around and walked a few steps forward.

Despite how lacking my words were, the old man seemed to treat them like gold. As though the words, 'I don't know', were enlightening.

The old man stood up straight and looked high up into the sky.

"...I've made my choice."

...

My eyes slowly opened to greet a raging headache.

"...Agh."

There was a faint ringing sound in my ears that gradually cleared up.

"You're awake."

I slowly opened my eyes to see Ned sitting in a chair a meter or so away. As for me, I was on the floor. There was a blanket underneath me and a pillow under my head. Faint breathing sounds filled the room.

After turning to the side, I recognized that it was coming from Mildred.

It seemed like her condition had stabilized.

I rubbed my temple with my knuckle.

"Ugh... it seems like everything is fine?"

Ned shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, pretty much."

I took a deep breath.

"How long has it been?"

Ned scratched the side of his head.

"Probably a few hours, nothing too long."

I tried to sit up, but my mind immediately grew in pain when I did so. It was as though it was protesting.

With a sigh, I laid back down.

"You were watching over us the whole time?"

Ned nodded.

"Yeah, after someone has a seizure, they usually need someone to calm them down after they come to. Though, Mildred seems to have slept right after hers."

I squirmed around uncomfortably while a cheeky smile spread across my face.

"Thanks, but not being on a bed is a little uncomfortable."

Ned rolled his eyes.

"Come on, the only way I can watch over both of you is if the two of you are in the same room. The fact I even got your pillow and everything is pretty good if I say so myself."

I laughed.

"Alright, alright. Thanks for watching over the two of us."

Ned chuckled.

"No problem. But still, once you feel better, you are going to have to watch over Mildred, alright?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, sure."

Ned smirked and shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

"It seems like Mildred isn't waking up soon, but it's still best she wakes up with someone to explain the whole thing to her."

I scratched my cheek with my forefinger.

"Is it like, scary for them or something?"

Ned rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.

"Well... I imagine so. At least confused, that I'm pretty sure of."

I looked at Ned blankly for a few moments.

"Sorry if this is too personal, but have you experienced something similar to this before?"

Ned chuckled.

"Well, yeah."

He sighed and placed his elbow on his thigh.

"It was my mother."

I blinked a few times.

"Oh... is she ok now?"

Ned scratched the side of his head.

"Probably. She essentially recovered by the time I was summoned to this world."

I nodded.

"Ah, that's good."

Ned chuckled.

"Yeah, but there really were too many close calls."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds scary."

Ned nodded.

"Yeah, it really was."

He leaned back in his chair.

"When my mother suddenly quit drinking, she just had a seizure out of nowhere."

Ned sighed and facepalmed.

"At the time, I had no idea what I was supposed to do. In the end, I tried to hold her down and stop the shaking."

He smiled bitterly.

"Turns out, that's really bad for someone having a seizure."

I scratched the back of my neck.

"Well, at least you had all the best intentions."

Ned shrugged helplessly.

"I guess... though really, I should've just called the emergency services. After all, they usually know what to do."

He placed his hands on his knees.

"I don't know why, but my brain just short-circuited when it mattered."

I shook my head.

"Well, lots of things can happen in a panic. It's hard to really think things through at that stage."

Ned smiled bitterly.

"Even though those are the most important moments to think things through."

I laughed.

"Quite ironic, I guess."

Ned smirked.

"Yet, you were able to perform the right actions quite easily. It's almost like you've experienced something like that before."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"I mean, I spent a good few moments just staring. The only reason I even blocked her head was because of the loud sounds it was making while hitting the ground."

Ned nodded a few times and sighed.

"If only I did that... then my mother wouldn't have suffered the head trauma afterwards."

I used a finger to rub my eye.

"That sounds bad."

Ned chuckled.

"It is bad."

He raised his hands to cover the back of his head while sticking out his elbows.

"Basically, a lot of trouble could've been prevented. So much time and money for me and my mother was lost."

Ned sighed helplessly.

"I had to visit her in the hospital fairly frequently since she didn't trust any of the staff."

He laughed.

"She thought that the hospital staff captured her and sent her to some underground facility for whatever reason."

A small smile formed on my face.

"Sounds wild."

Ned nodded.

"Sometimes my mother wouldn't even believe that it was me! She thought I was a clone and would only be reassured after asking me a bunch of questions."

I let out a few laughs before the room descended into silence for a few moments.

My eyes narrowed.

"Alcohol... sounds so scary."

Ned smiled bitterly.

"It is."

I blinked a few times.

"How can people do something so scary? Do they not know?"

Ned shrugged his shoulders.

"Most people pretty much know about the consequences, just maybe not to the full extent."

I furrowed my brows.

"Then... why?"

Ned sighed despondently.

"It's really just because the good feeling is far too tempting. It's not like there aren't people who can drink in moderation, but for some, it's just too addicting."

I took a deep breath.

"And then... the withdrawal happens."

Ned chuckled softly.

"Yeah."

He looked into the palm of his hand.

"You can think of it like a devil's claw."

Ned began to slowly clench his fist.

"At first, everything is fine. You are as safe as you can be."

His eyes narrowed.

"But... as time passes, that devil claw closes in on you. It's slow, very slow. No matter what, it's always moving."

Ned pressed his lips together.

"It lulls you into a false sense of security since you can escape at any time."

He clenched his fist.

"Until the claw has wrapped around you entirely. If you try to escape then, you basically face hell itself."

I sighed.

"Sounds kinda... crazy."

Ned smiled bitterly.

"That's why I was too scared to try it for myself, even when it was legal for me and all."

Another moment of silence lingered between us.

Ned's analogy of the devil's claw made me think of something else. It was the question lingering in the back of my mind that I forced back.

What was Ned hiding?

It seemed pretty clear that he didn't want to reveal it, and I didn't want to force him.

But still...

"Hey, Ned?"

Ned looked at me with a bit of confusion.

"Yeah?"

The room fell into silence as I found myself unable to find a way to phrase my question.

...In the end, my mind wasn't able to think of a good way to say it.

"Do you... ever keep secrets?"

Ned smiled bitterly and furrowed his brows.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

I laughed awkwardly.

"I... I don't know. Just a little curious, that's all."

Ned rolled his eyes.

"Frankly, I feel like everybody has their secrets."

I looked at Ned curiously and raised my eyebrow.

"That would make a lot of secrets."

Ned shrugged his shoulders.

"I mean, there will always be more things we don't know than what we do. Every time we answer a question, there always seems to be another one."

I scratched the side of my head.

"Sounds really philosophical."

Ned sighed.

"Is it really though?"

He smirked.

"I'm sure you have your own secrets, right?"

I pressed my lips together.

"...Well, there are a few here and there."

Ned leaned back in his chair and casually rested his arm on top of the backrest.

"And why don't you want to share them?"

I scratched my cheek with my forefinger.

"Well..."

There were.... a few reasons.