Ryan pulled a long face while he strutted through the hallway of the hospital, a big sized eco bag filled with containers of food dangling on his right shoulder. Under such unbearable pressure to rant, plus the surrounding that smells nothing but antiseptic which made his head spun, Ryan mumbled to himself.
“First you told me you can’t go to school because you’re sick, and now you want me to bring you some food to the hospital? What am I, your mom?” His rant ended—when he arrived in the entrance of the VIP ward which Asher had told him about—replaced with a calm face he tried so hard to construct. He spent a few minutes solely staring emptily at the lavish, dark colored sliding door which separates the room from the other common ward while wondering why his friend chose such ward out of all other ward rooms.
‘Oh, right. His mother is rich, so he might receive some kind of special treatment.’ Ryan thought while pulling the door open.
What met his eyes the firs
(Asher’s POV) “Oh!” A female nurse with a metal trolley in front of her exclaimed softly as she covered her mouth. “Pardon me.” Her tone sounded guilty. “No no, it’s alright.” Asher frantically squirmed on his seat, trying to put Elaine onto the bed with one hand holding the food container and the other one holding a fork. Meanwhile, Ryan is holding to dear life, making sure he didn’t die from choking because he’s trying to stifle his laugh from looking at Asher’s awkward attempt. “Give me a few moments, Miss Nurse. I’ll get up from the bed.” Asher said in a restrained voice, his eyes widened when Elaine’s head was about to slip off from his chest and fell onto the floor beside the bed. “No, it’s okay.” The nurse raised both of her hand before waving them, signaling a no. “I’ll just place the food tray here. You can wake her up later, but please do so when the food is still warm.” She informed, her hands swiftly took out a metal food tra
(Asher’s POV) I froze on my seat, trying to register the sight I just see in front of my eyes. Meanwhile, Rufus made himself comfortable by sitting in front of Ryan, even nibbling the fries which Ryan just bought for himself. Ryan chuckled and pushed the large paper packaging of fries to Rufus’s front. “I’ve read your messages. You want to know about Elaine Ozark, right?” Rufus paced his gaze between us. Ryan nodded his head, followed by me. “Okay.” He finished the fries inside his mouth first before he began. “So, what you guys wanna know about her?” “Wait.” I raised my hand a stop, my forehead creased into a look of conflict. “I didn’t hear anything about Rufus the one helping us.” I said while shooting Ryan conflicted glances. Ryan blinked his eyes a bit, before he gave me an answer. “You didn’t ask?” He’s definitely trying to defend himself, this sneaky bastard. “Wait, Ryan. You didn’t tell him that it’s me?” Now it’s Rufus
(Asher’s POV) Is that a nurse or a doctor? Maybe. But I’m pretty sure doctors and nurses won’t wear a suspicious looking top hat while utterly clad in black. I started to quicken my pace. Unfortunately, the figure noticed me and scurried away as fast as it could. Warily, I flung open the door, but not too much to produce any sound that could wake Elaine up. It’s almost 10 in the evening, and I’m not going to the hospital to get sent home again by her. For a few moments, I adjusted my eyes to the dim surrounding of the ward. At the end of the room, Elaine is snoozing on the bed, her back facing the windows. The moonlight that comes through in between the window curtains is bright, but I still couldn’t clearly see my surrounding except the area near the windows. Seeing how calm she look in her sleep, her peaceful face is enough to calm the worry I have in me, but it was only awhile when I realized there’s something on the bed table. I carefully
For any of the café visitors of that sunny evening, the two figures who were sitting silently at a table—not uttering any word or not even moving except subtle movements—look like a living mannequin, brilliantly elegant in addition of their highlighted features due to the ray of sunlight. Suddenly one of the figures—with a long silky hair and slanted eyes—who’s actually none other than Inspector Carl Heinz raised one of his hand to shield himself from the burning sun. “Ugh…” He softly moaned. “Remind me again why we chose this kind of place?” Nathan—who’s sitting in front of Carl—cleared his throat. “I’m very sorry for burdening you, but we couldn’t really let ourselves be seen in public. Her eyes are everywhere.” Nathan said before darting his eyes to the endless flow of customers of the café. Not too far from him, a group of people were seen having some idle chat with each other. Though he doubt it they were simply just hanging out. After all, what kind of
(Asher’s POV) “Son, long time no see!” My mother exclaimed from afar as she sashayed near the table where I sat. At a glance, you can never tell that she’s my mother based on her youthful looks and strong personality. With jet black hair and eyes the color of fury amber, anyone who glanced at her will found themselves entranced, but ladies and gentlemen, she is my mother, so mind your own business. She blew a sigh and fanned her light brown button up shirt as she sat down on the chair across me. Putting her outer coat on the chair beside her, she crossed her legs and shifted her seat to face me straight. Then, she bloomed a wide, happy grin, the one I loved seeing forming on her face. “Long time no see, mom.” I gently replied. With all the depressing things happening around me, I forgot that I have this ray of sunshine still by my side. The one who supports me from the sidelines, the one who secretly cheers for me throughout my life, and the one who tries her
(Asher’s POV) I was woken up when I choked my breath. That, was what I initially thought but common sense betray me here in The Flesh, when what I actually choked was blood which had gotten inside my mouth when I found myself almost drowned in a huge lake of blood. Luckily, the lake is much shallow than it look. I turned to my surrounding to see the level of blood is just below my knee when I stood up. But still, my clothes are drenched in blood, which I’m convinced will surprise my mother when I got back to the real world. IF, I managed to get back there. For one more time, I darted my eyes to the new surrounding of The Flesh. This time is a bit different than the last time, where I stood in a cavernous place—the interior is still fleshy red—but instead of damp, soft and dry ground, the ground I’m stepping on is flooded with blood until as far as my eyes can see. I squinted my eyes to perceive my surroundings. While in constant confusion, I h
(Elaine’s POV) Even in death, I guess it’s unavoidable to dream your last dream. As my body limped from the amount of blood I lost, the sight of my detached tongue—cold and stiff on the surface of the bed—was the last thing I saw before my eyes closed. The darkness continued until I mysteriously heard a familiar voice near me. Silence filled my ears again after that last desperate call, then it appeared, this time right beside me. I felt something warm engulfing me, something I don’t even know but I feel safe in it. Is this what death feels like? If so, why didn’t I think of dying sooner? It’s better dying than living, it’s better to end this suffering than constantly getting trapped in it. “You’re beautiful…” My heart jumped in elation from that single sentence. I tried to look for the person who said those cherishing words to me, but apart from the unclear red view I’m seeing, the person’s face is blurry. It’
(Asher’s POV) I don’t know whether to be impressed, or horrified. A few days ago, I was eating with my beloved mother, and due to my lack of tact and preparation, I was summoned to The Flesh, involuntarily. That’s not the worst part, to be honest. After my victory inside the new environment of The Flesh, I, was teleported back to the real world, drenched in blood, and inside the communal toilet where people can go in and out freely. You might be able to guess what happens after that. The staffs of the restaurant looking horrified? Absolutely. My mother looking horrified? Well… Of course. That’s where me getting grounded in the main house started. Luckily it was just for the whole weekend, and I understand why my mother did all of this. Particularly triggered by the stench of blood—which probably triggered the traumatizing memory of the death of her husband—my mother, worried and frightened at the same time, want me to stay close to her so I am not los
(Asher’s POV) “This place is…” Elaine gaped for a bit as she looked at the night sky in awe, the two of us were standing on the apartment building that acted as the witness to my first encounter with her that changed our entire life. “You remember this place, right?” I stepped beside her and glanced at every corner of the roof of the old apartment building. Now that I have seen my surroundings with clear eyes, the apartment block really looks brittle like it’s going to fall off anytime. Meanwhile, at the corner of my eyes, I saw Elaine nodded slowly, though her eyes still looking at the sky. It’s probably because of the clear sky that I am seeing Elaine’s eyes sparkled more than usual, but I couldn’t help myself from staring at her. Unwittingly, I let out a scoff. “If I didn’t jump to save you I don’t think the two of us wil be where we are right now.” Elaine turned to look at me and chuckled. “I know. I still wondered how we survived
(A few hour after Asher woke up)“Uncle Gary called me yesterday.”Elaine began, trying to break the awkward silence between her and Asher that came out of nowhere. Asher who was still in a daze flinched when she suddenly spoke, his eyes rolled to the exit door for a few minutes to register the fact that his mother just left to finish work and took the next few minutes to muster his courage to reply her.“…What?”Elaine heaved a sharp sigh. Given how he delayed his response, Elaine knew something was wrong with him, yet she refrained from asking. Despite Asher’s vital and his response is normal and all, he must have still be in shock after waking up from the coma.“My uncle called me yesterday. He asked to meet me for dinner.” Elaine stated while adjusting her knee length pleated grey skirt to cover a margin of her shin. Plus the air conditioning of this VIP ward room, the chilly weather outside didn
(Asher’s POV)It was the day after I woke up from coma. The chill from the fall season is really been getting into me lately. In spite of me telling myself I’m cold, nature’s weather is better than the coldness coming from the air conditioner of my ward. Because of that, I have been wasting the hospital’s electric bills by opening the windows and basking my face in the evening air and sunlight.“It’s so cold…” I mumbled to myself.“Of course it would.” A voice appeared from behind me, followed by the sound of a door sliding.I turned around to see Ryan and Rufus entering the ward, each of them was was holding a bag of their own.“Whoa…” I snorted, trying to not cry because honestly, I missed them two even though it’s only about a week.Ryan sighed. “I might as well apply for membership in this hospital because of how frequent I’ve been visiting
(Asher’s POV)The first emotion after I regained my consciousness and stayed dormant for a few seconds was shame. The clips of scenes when Elaine was saying the words I have said to her inside The Flesh previously haunted my mind in a repetitive cycle that I slowly mustered the strength to one of my arms just so I could cover my face in embarrassment.I was definitely shocked to hear those words. “We’re in this together.” Was the last words I said to her when we’re inside the poison region of The Flesh. If she remembers my words, doesn’t that mean she heard my confession?“No way…” I croaked, ignoring my scratchy voice from just waking up.Apparently my voice is loud enough for this deadly silent room, that Elaine was awoken even by the subtelity of my voice.She blinked her eyes as her head tilted up. Seeing as I was lying down with my eyes open, she immediately shot up and exclaimed my name.
(Elaine's POV)The two of us stopped at the side of the lake and he sat down. He waited for me to sit, before finally uttered a word in a form of random conversation.“This place looks beautiful, isn’t it?”I was absentminded for a few moments, before I agreed.“Indeed. Do you know where this place is?” I asked the oddest thing I have ever asked. It’s obvious that this is just a dream, a realistic dream at that, but most dreams felt like this one.Asher shot me an undecipherable look, his eyes looked quite empty even though the orange hue from setting sun glinted on the glassy surface. Then he stated, “This is my inner consciousness.”I thought he was talking gibberish for a second, yet the look on his face speaks the truth. He wasn’t lying.“What…” I breathed. “What are you talking about?”His facts were too hard for me to process, yet I have
(Elaine’s POV)Currently, I am in a pretty inconvenient situation. I blame my gut feeling for coaxing me to follow it’s orders, as right now I am walking through a long way of inside some woods, of somewhere I didn’t know. I just suddenly got transferred here like magic.I gave up on wondering where I am the moment these ivies and vines began moving on it’s own and attacked me. It might be just the trick of my mind, originally, but that doesn’t matter anymore if the plant literally tried to pull you back into the bushes. Only God knows how terrified I am at that time, which actually happened just a few minutes ago.Right now I am trascending through the path of the woods. With the entrance of the woods already closing behind me, there was only one way and that was to go forward. I really wondered why am I sent here when I was visiting Asher.Suddenly memories of him flashed through my mind as I trudged the gloomy path. That&r
ElaineAfter school, Elaine decided to visit Asher at the hospital. She was informed by Madam Rhea that Asher just escaped a life threatening condition—by dodging the bullet from getting straight through the heart. That being said, Asher still won’t wake up despite his condition, as if something is holding him down from coming back to life.The young girl avoided going to the hospital at first because of the fear and trauma of seeing Asher being shot like that. Even though Rose Chadwick is already as good as inside a grave, that wretched woman still managed to inflict trauma even at the end of her life. What a cunning woman.Falling in a daze, Elaine didn’t realize that she had already reached the hospital. She went out from the car and thanked the driver before telling him that she will call when she wanted to get back. After that, she entered the building with a heavy heart.‘It would be better if Ryan and Rufus is here.’ T
ElaineThe poor girl named Elaine was once again inflicted with damage to her emotions. Unlike her surroundings which were pretty loud and chaotic; siren coming from the ambulance bellowing through the air from the distance and the paramedic doing their job, security and defense team securing the peremeter and the other spectators who were bustling into chattering among each other, Elaine felt her senses pretty numb for someone who just witnessed someone close to her being shot right in front of her eyes.Her daze lasted even until the ambulance went away. Only her guardian, Rhea Ildian’s voice managed to shook her out from daze.Elaine shot her gaze up to meet Madam Rhea’s.Despite adam Rhea asking her condition, the middle aged woman was trying haard to not show any sign’s of trauma or discomfort for this young girl who probably faced many more fears than her. Yet her feelings still spill out to reflect upon her eyes. Still, she picked
(Asher’s POV)“H-Hello?” I don’t know why I’m stuttering, probably feeling nervous now that all the tension that’s building up just because of Elaine’s case had cleared up most of the space inside my heart, I now am able to think about something else involving us.“Hey.” Elaine chirped.I then unknowingly rubbed the back of my neck as I fell silent.“Oh, sorry. Did I call at a wrong time?”“What? No, not at all. It’s just…” I pursed my lips. “Anyway, what are you doing right now?”“I just took a bath and was on the bed.”“Oh.” I chuckled. “It’s still about 8 and a half in the evening, yet people are so tired.”Elaine replied my statement with a chuckle. “No doubt about it.”The silence between us ensues. Elaine suddenly thanked me, saying that she is just a random st