The nightmare was so realistic that Winnie remained terrified after she sat up on the bed even when a long time had passed.
The nightmare was so realistic that Winnie remained terrified after she sat up on the bed even when a long time had passed.Clutching her chest that felt tight, she panted heavily.As soon as Xavier noticed her unusual condition outside the glass door, he sought out the staff and requested that they open the door.The instant the outermost door was opened, he made to rush in.At once, the staff stopped him.
âWait, Mr. Fairchild. You must wear protective equipment. You canât go in like this!âXavier shook off their hands. âIâm already wearing it!âWhile saying that, he picked up the mask on the ground and put it on.Still, the staff was rather conflicted. Although heâs indeed wearing protective equipment, it doesnât work anymore.âMr. Fairchild, the protective equipment youâre wearing is probably from yesterday, right?
After coming out of the room, you need to change into a new set before going back in,â a staff member implored.âThereâs no need for that!â By then, Xavier was already at the end of his patience.I even took off the mask in the room, but am I not still in perfect health now? Iâve already put on the mask. What else do they want?He was adamant about entering the room, but the staff similarly insisted that he change.Just when they were at a stalemate, Josiah came over with a new set of protective equipment.âChange into it, Xavier. Winnie has gone to the bathroom, so thereâs no hurry.â As he spoke, he looked into the quarantine room through the glass.Then, he glanced at the staff at the side before adding, âThey have their own rules. We canât put them in a difficult position in their own territory, no?âHonestly, Xavier understood everything the man was saying.Earlier, he had merely lost control of his emotions and wanted to instantly go into the room and comfort the woman he loved.Right then, however, he had calmed down. He reached out and took the protective equipment from Josiah before apologizing to the staff at the side.In truth, the staff could understand his feelings at the moment. They swiftly allowed him into the room after he changed into the new protective equipment.When Xavier entered the room, Winnie was already taking a shower.Her senses were sharp in the first place. Due to her visual impairment, her sense of hearing had become far more sensitive.The bathroom door was opened. She was bent at the waist, washing her face, but she promptly stilled upon hearing the manâs footsteps. That aside, she even turned off the faucet.Distress swamped Xavier at the sight of her wariness.Not wanting her to suffer a fright, he called out to her.No sooner had Winnie heard the voice than she knew that it was Xavier.She relaxed entirely.She spun around, but she trained her eyes in the wrong direction. âWhy did you come so early, Xavier? Where are you? Come here!âHaving said that, she extended a hand toward the man.Xavier hurried over in huge strides and pulled her into his arms.âWhat happened just now? Why were you clutching at your chest? Were you hurting?âGently pulling away from his embrace, Winnie put some distance between them. âHow do you know that? Did you witness everything earlier?ââYeah. Whatâs wrong?â Instead of answering Xavier right away, Winnie asked, âDonât tell me you were outside for the whole of last night and didnât go home?ââYeah. I wanted to keep you company.ââSo, youâve been sitting outside all along?ââThat isnât important, Winnie. Tell me what exactly happened to you.âNot only did Winnie narrate her nightmare to Xavier, but she also voiced her suspicion. âSay, was the person who was shot dead at the elementary school in the mountains that day really Harold? Could it be someone else? And could that person be Haroldâs substitute?âXavier tenderly wiped the water off her face before carrying her back to the bed. He sat down with her. âWhy do you think that? Just because of the dream you had just now? He told you he had plastic surgery in the dream?ââYes, it was indeed the dream that led to such speculation from me. But this isnât unfounded.â Grabbing the manâs hand, Winnie asserted, âDo you still remember what Mason told us back then? He said Harold had undergone plastic surgery, his face wrapped in gauze. He sounded incredibly confident at that time. If that wasnât true, and Harold was still wearing the hideous face littered with scars, why would he be so sure about it? Itâd been several months since Harold was caught in the explosion. Even if he wanted to conceal his face, he couldâve just worn a surgical mask or masquerade full-face mask. Why must he keep his face wrapped in gauze?âDespite disagreeing with her conjecture, Xavier didnât refute her immediately.Instead, he asked, âWas there any interaction between the two of you when he later brought you to the school in the mountains from the chemical plant?âWinnie bobbed her head. âYeah, we interacted along the way.ââThen you both must have talked about the past events in Lightspring. You experienced all that back then too. Did he give anything away? Or did he say anything thatâs blatantly flawed? Also, thereâs his voice. Did you hear anything wrong with it?âIn a flash, Winnie fell silent.Calming down, she pondered for a while before admitting, âWell⦠I donât have an echoic memory when it comes to voices. I can remember a melody Iâve only heard once or the particular sound of a musical instrument, but Iâm not sensitive to the timbre of the human voice. As far as I remembered, it wasnât much different from Haroldâs voice. However, we canât rule out the possibility of two people or more in this world having similar or the same voice, Xavier. That man had scars all over his face, so no one knows his appearance in the past.âXavier nodded. âYes, we indeed canât rule out that possibility. What about everything he said, then? Was there anything out of place?âWinnie mulled over it carefully. âNo, but itâs possible that Harold told him all that.ââBut Winnie, Harold couldnât have possibly transmitted all his memories to someone else like data transfer.
Additionally, it isnât plausible for the person to have made no mistakes.âThat was the first time Xavier had ever seen her so paranoid about a matter that had been set in stone.She seems to be lacking a sense of security because sheâs about to lose her vision. The most important thing right now is to restore her eyesight.Patting her on the head in anguish, he coaxed, âDonât overthink things, Winnie.
Harold is already dead. Relax, okay? Weâll be going to the hospital for your surgery soon.âNevertheless, Winnie couldnât shake off the feeling that something was amiss. âHelp me phone Officer Clark, Xavier.â