CH 63

In the school clinic, a young boy was lied down on a bed. His burning forehead was covered in sweat that was being constantly wiped by a damp towel. His polo was already removed, and he only wore his inner shirt and pants, covered by a thick blanket.

"Poor boy, I wonder what happened to him?" The young woman wearing a white blouse and similarly white skirt was jotting down notes as she observed what was in front of her. The red-haired Joy merely watched the head nurse Linda take care for the unconscious child.

He was delivered here a few minutes ago, already in his present state. But what was important was who brought him here. She even received a silent order, receiving the 'keep on lockdown' code which means the child stays here until further instructions. Currently, they were holding a few tests to see if the boy was in urgent need of a more complex treatment.

However, the young nurse couldn't find out the cause of his sickness even after consuming a few odd minutes. That's why the head nurse herself had to do them. If even she couldn't recognize his condition, then they required a more informed opinion before delivering the boy something to soothe the pain.

Nurse Linda was a middle aged woman who had been stationed at this school for fifteen years now, but what she was seeing here was quite unusual to her. Even more than what was normal. Having seen the children they keep here over the years, she had seen her fair share of 'their' work having some... side effects. Quite curious.

" Hmmm? " But the older woman Linda found something strange when she observed the boy's left arm. But it wasn't something she should address in front of her subordinate, as it was sensitive information. However, her involuntary reaction had already been recognized by the woman.

"What is it? Did you find something?" Joy went closer, as she was curious to find out what caught her mentor's attention. Though she was only able to see his arm being propped up by the head nurse. Her hand covered it.

"Nothing really. Most of his vitals is normal, but his blood pressure is increasing to a rather dangerous level. There's no need for immediate treatment, but he should be admitted to a hospital if it gets worse. Check up on him occasionally, alright Joy?"

Linda stood up from her seat, passing the used towel in her hand to the young nurse. When she swapped places with her subordinate, she watched as the young boy had a crunched face. He looked like he was having a nightmare, he was having it for a while now. Hopefully he gets better soon, but she has to call on a few friends to see if they know his peculiar condition.

"Stay here for a while. I'll be heading out." Grabbing her purse and personal coat, she went out of the clinic. The young nurse she left followed her back, looking quite afraid of being left alone with the sleeping boy. She wasn't quite keen to be left unattended after all, it's also her first day as a school nurse.

"Oh, my. Phew. Relax Joy. You're doing fine." Wiping away the boy's sweat was an easy job, there was no way she could screw this up. All she had to do was observe him anyway, something she had accomplished many times before. She routinely wiped his burning body and washed the towel, stopping only when she heard a beeping noise.

"Oh, yeah." It seems the thermometer in his mouth looked like it was done, so she took it out to check.

'38.1 °C'

"Hmmm... You're burning up kid. Take a long rest. You'll be better soon." Using her pen, she took notes of his vitals for review. If he gets worse later, then she needed to send him to a hospital to get the treatment he deserves. But if he doesn't, then he'll be better with some rest.

"Hello? Is there anyone in?" A pleasant youthful voice cried out from the reception area. As the rest beds are situated in a secluded area, the nurse in charge wasn't easily seen.

"Yes?" Joy stood up, leaving the young boy behind. She gently placed the towel over his burning forehead and fixed his blanket before heading to the reception area, but it wasn't properly covering the boy's exposed feet. It was because the constant shouts distracted her that she didn't see the blanket fix itself.

"Um, hello. Is Zel still here?" A little girl approached Joy timidly. Her black hair was carefully tied to cute pigtails that were hanging gracefully by the side of her head. She traditionally wore the white blouse and plaid skirt uniform of the school, so she must be a student. Perhaps a friend of the boy?

"Oh, he's inside there." Pointing at the rest area, Joy carefully moved to the side. Emilia, who wasn't expecting to be easily let through, was standing still in her place, as she didn't know what to do.

"Is something wrong? I thought you were here to see him." Joy looked on as the young girl sheepishly twist her foot against the floor while hiding her arms behind her back. The girl couldn't look her in the eyes, so she squatted down to more easily see ger face to face.

"It's alright, he's just resting. You can take a look if you want." Seeing the lovely girl back away when she did so, Joy cheekily swayed her head. Thinking that the sensitive girl was quite cute, she promptly proceeded to go back to the rest area first. Hoping she'd be more courageous if she wasn't there to witness her go in.

"Umm, he left his notebook. I just..." Emilia, who thoughtfully watched the nurse move back inside shouted involuntarily, inadvertently causing the young girl to feel bitterly embarrassed and apologetic. Raising the notebook Zel had left behind, she lowered her head.

"I see. His things are in that locker over there, feel free to put it back in his bag." Worried about leaving the boy for too long, Joy merely pointed at the lockers in the other side of the reception area. She needed to watch over the boy after all, that was her job for today.

"Oh, thank you." Emilia walked to the locker, sneakily looking at the back of nurse Joy as she closed the curtains that forcibly separated the rest area and the reception area. She tightly held the notebook in her nervous hands, as things weren't going according to plan at all.

"Sigh. That was..." Opening the door of the locker, she found a black backpack. She unzipped the bag and placed the fake notebook inside, fake because there really wasn't anything in it. It was just a flimsy excuse to see him. But then a scream from the rest area seized her attention. "Hmmm?"

Inside the rest area, Joy had just come back inside when she saw that Zel had already sat up. His body was engulfed in sweat, as even his inner shirt was drenched. There was, on top of that, a silhouette made of sweat on the bed, resembling his figure.

"Ahhh! Who are you?" Zel still had his eyes closed, but his head was looking around as if he could see. Joy was quite startled about the unusual situation, as she was frozen on the spot.

A while ago he saw glimpses of bizarre scenes. All of them were in the perspective of a person, and everyone called him by his name. He grimly watched as they were introduced to him, shared years with them, with some even being close as family. Before finally, they get murdered in more ways than his heart could take.

(Yeah, I should have known. You will probably die if I continue. Sigh. )

A voice only heard by Zel sounded out in his puzzled head. He shifted his head to the left where a vague figure could be discerned. It was a tall, blue fire, but what was strange was that the sacred fire was very blurry.

"Please! Sniff. I don't want to see any more!" Uncontrollable tears were dripping to the blanket on his lap as Zel quickly shouted back, certain that this was the terrible person who was messing with him. He had been witnessing endless death and brutal destruction, of hideous monsters that obliterated everything they see. Even though cruel murders were hard enough to see personally, what was worse were being murdered!

(I get it Zel. It's not a pleasant sight to see. But if you don't understand why we're going to do what we're going to do, then we'd fail again.)

The vague figure turned foggier, making it harder to see what he is, who he is.

"Fail? Fail what? Tell me!" Zel shouted more loudly, making Joy more anxious as she had terribly missed what happened to unknowingly make the boy act hysterical. She hastily left the rest area and snatched her phone from her desk.

"Ring- Ring- Ring-" Only the prolonged sound of ringing was heard, and only now did Joy discover something. The boy's ramblings had forcibly stopped, and the little girl was already gone. She went back inside the rest area while still holding the phone against her ear.

"Hello? Joy?" Linda's toneless voice was heard, but Joy didn't know what to reply. She was looking on silently as the boy had already fallen back to sleep. Only, he was gently resting his head on the thighs of an affectionate person.

The young girl from earlier sat by the bedside. She was brushing his hair with her left hand while holding on to his face with her right. Solemnly giving an oddly emotional stare to the sleeping boy, not minding anything else.

"Joy? Is something wrong with the boy?" Linda's kind voice was getting anxious as she couldn't hear anything from the other side. She was worried that something happened to the boy, and she will be punished if there was. She cried out for an answer, even turning her car around to try and go back as fast as she could.

Though her panic didn't last for long as Joy finally decided to reply.

"He's... Sigh. Fine. I just wanted to ask if I should give him anything when he wakes up." Joy was whispering tensely as she sincerely felt like she was intruding on something. So, she just winged it, as she might get in grave trouble if she told the truth.

' Sigh . Fucking hell! You almost made me crash my car!'

Linda noiselessly gave a sigh of relief from the eventual reply. She had never felt her heart beating out of her chest ever since she was born, except for this day. She knows how important following orders are, and she swore never to leave the young nurse alone ever again.

"Oh, good! Is he showing any signs of waking up? Just give him water for now. I'm not quite sure what we can give him yet. Ask him if there are any discomforts he has, then give him medicine for that. But limit it..." Then Linda carefully listed out a relentless series of medicines and symptoms while Joy watched on. Finding the peaceful scene playing out in front of her to be quite picturesque.

"Alright, I got it. Thank you nurse Linda." Joy put down the phone and placed it by the desk on the bed side. She then squatted in front of the young girl who was still gently brushing the boy's hair.

"How did you do it? I thought he was going crazy just a while ago." Joy was tired of waiting for the girl to talk to her first. She seemed to be too focused on Zel to care about paying her any attention.

"Shhh... He might wake up. Go sit in your office." Emilia only placed a finger over her dainty red lips, giving the nurse a shooing motion afterwards. Though the nurse Joy would normally be angry, she unsually just walked away after giving a nod. Her face totally expressionless.