After what happened earlier, a few minutes later, Markus stopped in front of one of the doors in the corridor and opened it to enter. The place was a medium-sized room with gray wooden walls, several cabinets against the walls, and in the middle, a wooden table filled with papers. An old man with white hair, wearing clothes similar to the others in this place, sat calmly on his chair, writing something.
When Markus entered, the old man stopped writing and placed his old pen on the table while directing his gaze toward them. After a few seconds, a light smile appeared on his face, followed by him rising from his chair and saying in an optimistic tone,"Welcome back, Markus. It's been a while. How have you been?"Markus replied in a calm tone,"I've been busy with some things, but I'm fine."The man responded,"Alright. I've heard about the reason for your visit, so let's get to the point. Did you bring a sample of that plague so we can find a cure?"Markus dropped the box on the floor, opened it, and said,"I brought a victim of this plague. I think that will be enough."The man replied,"Alright, that will do. No need to worry, we'll find a cure as quickly as possible."
The man headed to the corner of the room where a string was hanging from above the wall. He walked over and pulled it several times strongly, which caused a loud bell sound to echo from the room. Shock and confusion appeared on Jenny, Ethan, and Nicholas's faces because of the loud sound. Their heartbeats sped up from the sudden sound, and Jenny thought, "That startled me. It was unexpected."
A few seconds later, the door opened and four men in blue uniforms entered. The old man looked at them and said in a firm tone,"Take this infected body to the examination room and start searching for a cure for the disease that has infected him (cough) Good luck, doctors."
The doctors headed toward the box, lifted it, and carried it out of the room, then closed the door. Jenny looked at the door with her usual worried expression and said silently, "That was strange."
The old man walked back to his desk and said as he sat on his chair,"It may take a while to create the vaccine, so you're free to explore the place until they're done (cough) You may leave now."Nicholas opened the door and walked out along with the others. But before he closed the door, the old man called to him,"Oh, sorry to bother you, but may I have a few minutes to talk?"Markus turned toward him and said,"What do you want?"The old man replied,"Nothing but a few minutes of your time."Markus walked toward him and sat on one of the chairs, then said in a calm tone,"Speak."(Shift to Ethan)
After Ethan and the others exited, they started wandering around aimlessly. While they were strolling, Nicholas said,"This place is huge, don't you think?"Jenny replied in a tense tone,"Yes, but I don't feel comfortable in this place. I still haven't gotten used to how the infected look."Nicholas responded with a slightly serious tone,"Seriously, are you worried about them because they're deformed?"Jenny replied,"To be honest, yes."Nicholas's expression grew more stern."Even if they're deformed, they're still regular human beings in the end (deep breath). Just don't look at them that way. See them as normal people."Jenny said,"I know that, but I still feel uncomfortable around them."Nicholas took a deep breath as faint signs of anger appeared on his face, then said sharply,"Fine. Just be quiet."Worry deepened on Jenny's face, and she looked away from Nicholas, and silence fell between them.
At the same time, Ethan was watching the doctors and patients with curiosity and confusion, wondering about the reason behind the strange appearances of the patients. People without hands. People with various deformities all over their bodies.
Suddenly, a loud scream was heard from one of the rooms, as if someone was being tortured. Ethan, Nicholas, and Jenny all turned toward the source of the sound with expressions of anxiety and shock. Nicholas quickly pulled out his gun, ready for any potential danger, while Jenny remained frozen in place, overtaken by fear and worry.
At that moment, Jenny noticed something strange. Despite the loud scream that everyone should have heard, no one in the place reacted to it except the three of them, as if they were the only ones who heard it."Why didn't anyone move? Why do they seem indifferent?"
One of the patients noticed the gun Nicholas was holding. His eyes widened and his mouth opened in panic. Fear and terror took over his body, and suddenly he started screaming hysterically, pointing toward the gun and shouting in a terrified tone,"G-g-gun!"He closed his eyes, placed his hands on his head, and kept screaming hysterically as if painful memories were flooding his mind. Nicholas looked at him with shock and confusion, then said while reaching his hand toward the man with concern,"What's wrong with you, man? Are you okay?"
One of the doctors approached, pushed Nicholas aside, and started calming the patient by hugging him and patting his head, trying to soothe him while saying gently,"Calm down, calm down, Martin. You're okay, there's no need to be afraid. It's just a toy gun, so don't be scared."
Nicholas watched them in confusion."What's wrong with these people?"
Nicholas turned to his right and saw that everyone in the room was now staring at him — fearful, annoyed, angry. All the doctors and patients were looking at him with different expressions, but they shared one meaning: Nicholas had done something he shouldn't have.
After Martin calmed down a bit, the doctor called another to escort him to his room. Once he was taken away, the doctor's face filled with rage as he approached Nicholas and pushed him hard.
Anger showed on Nicholas's face as he grabbed the doctor by his shirt and said in a furious tone,"What's your problem, you %#$%?"
The doctor, who was a bit shorter than Nicholas, grabbed his shirt in return and shouted back with equal anger,"My problem? What's YOUR problem? Why would you pull a gun in front of someone suffering from hoplophobia? Are you an idiot or what?"Surprise appeared on Nicholas's face,"Hoplo-what? What the hell are you saying?"
The doctor tightened his grip on Nicholas and replied,"Let's forget that for now. Why the hell would you draw a gun in the middle of a hospital, you lowlife? Who does that besides a lunatic?"Nicholas felt uncomfortable and responded,"Why are you acting like I did something wrong? (He pointed toward the door the scream came from) Didn't you hear the painful scream from that room? How was I supposed to stay calm?"
They both let go of each other. The doctor then looked at Nicholas with disgust and said, pointing toward the door marked 'No Entry' in the center,"Are you clueless? That's the operating room. Someone's infected with parasites in his legs, so we have to cut them. What did you expect?"
Nicholas replied with frustration,"How was I supposed to know that? I've only been here for a few minutes!"The doctor took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and replied in a sharp tone,"Oh right, you're new here. But that's no excuse for pulling a gun inside a hospital. Consider this your first and last warning. Do it again, and you won't like what happens next."
The doctor turned and walked away, leaving Nicholas standing still, his face filled with confusion and thoughts.
As things calmed down, people stopped focusing on Nicholas and returned to what they were doing. Nicholas took a deep breath and continued walking without saying a word. Jenny looked at him with her usual worried face.
While Ethan was rubbing his eyes, he noticed a man exiting the room from which the scream had come, leaving the door open. Ethan looked at Nicholas and Jenny, then back at the door. Unable to fight his curiosity, he slowly approached the room, leaving Nicholas and Jenny behind.
Upon reaching the door, he took a quick glance inside and saw a white bed in front of him, a wooden table with sharp tools, and a window overlooking the outside. In front of the window sat a doctor on a chair, gazing out.
Ethan slowly walked into the room, looking around curiously. He approached the bed and stared at it, surprise appearing on his face. The floor beneath it and part of the bed were stained with blood. On the bed lay someone without legs, and the remaining parts were wrapped in bloody bandages that had lost their whiteness.
Ethan looked slightly to the right and saw a black bucket by the wall. Inside were the severed legs of the person on the bed — pale, almost gray due to blood loss, with exposed bones visible to anyone.
Ethan slowly approached the bucket and began touching the foot with curiosity. It was cold, devoid of warmth, with a damp and soft texture. His hands got stained with blood, but he didn't care and continued feeling it curiously.
Suddenly, strange sounds began emanating from the foot, like slicing and tearing. Ethan noticed the sounds, but before he could react, part of the foot began to swell rapidly. In a flash, a strange creature resembling a worm but the size of a snake burst out of it. The worm lunged at Ethan's left arm and stuck itself to it.
Ethan felt excruciating pain and fell to the ground, his facial muscles tightening, his mouth open as if screaming, but no sound came out. He grabbed the worm and began pulling it, trying to rip it off his arm. But it wouldn't budge and began burrowing slowly into his arm.
Ethan felt unbearable pain — like his arm was being sliced slowly. The worm crept under his skin visibly, like a large vein. Amidst the commotion, the doctor who had left earlier returned.
He entered the room and was instantly horrified by the scene. He rushed to the table, grabbed one of the sharp knives, then approached Ethan on the floor. He grabbed Ethan's arm firmly and, with speed and precision, stabbed the worm with all his strength. The worm squirmed in panic, trying to enter Ethan's arm faster.
The doctor pulled the knife out and stabbed again, this time directly at the worm's position. The worm's movements gradually slowed until it stopped completely. The pain in Ethan's arm began to fade as he struggled to breathe. The doctor wiped the sweat from his forehead and slowly pulled the worm out of Ethan's arm, then threw it into the bucket.
The doctor looked at Ethan with a tired face and asked in an exhausted tone,"Are you okay, boy?"Ethan looked at him, sweating and in pain, and tried to move his arm, but the pain stopped him. The doctor helped Ethan off the ground and seated him on one of the chairs, then went to the other doctor who was sitting by the window. He found him asleep and shouted in his face,"Wake up, you idiot! You're supposed to be guarding the place, not sleeping!"The other doctor woke up in surprise, then looked back to find Ethan sitting in the chair, his arm with a deep, bleeding wound. His face filled with worry and panic. He rushed to one of the cabinets and pulled out a box containing a strange liquid, thread, and needle.
He hurried to Ethan and poured some of the liquid on his arm. Ethan felt a burning pain and tried to pull away, but the first doctor held him firmly in place. After finishing the liquid, the second doctor placed the box on the ground and began stitching the wound slowly and carefully. Ethan tried to move, but the doctor held him down tightly and said,"I know it hurts, but this is for your own good. Just bear with it."
After a few minutes, the doctor finished stitching the wound. He took a deep breath and said with relief,"Alright, I'm done. You can let him go now."Once the doctor released him, Ethan clutched his arm tightly, his face showing the pain he still felt. The doctor patted him on the back and said,"Don't worry. The pain will go away in a few minutes."The other doctor turned toward him and asked in a surprised tone,"Who is this and what is he doing here?"The other replied,"I don't know. I left, and when I came back, I found him here with the worm trying to enter his body."The second doctor took a deep breath, then stood and walked out of the room.
(Continue)