46 | strings; chaos of the mind

The atmosphere in the office was awkward, similar to a situation when putting strangers in one room and having nobody say a word while facing each other.

Kane's eyes were in a daze as he stared silently across the table, placing his gaze slightly off from where Lucas sat. The latter felt the intense, tragic and hopeful stare but could say nothing.

He felt like the man—the doctor, and the protagonist of his story—had unshed tears in his eyes.

It made him uncomfortable.

Finally, Kane cleared his throat and spoke hoarsely, "Thank you for helping me meet Elliot again. The curse would've had unpleasant consequences."

Lucas nodded curtly. "No problem."

They fell into silence again, and Kane resisted the urge to run off and dive back into his ward, or participate in another Story to take his mind off everything.

Although his younger sibling's silence had never bothered him, with the pair enjoying the peaceful comfortability of not needing to speak in the space of the two of them, it was different.

Because...

'Lucas doesn't remember me.'

He suspected there were other reasons behind it—Lucas wasn't a heartless person who would forget the older brother he once treasured.

Even if he hated Kane, he couldn't have forgotten.

Kane recognized his thoughts, sitting with his back straight in the chair of the meeting room that had been long abandoned. Because of his moodiness, the surrounding people could feel the dark gloominess radiating off him.

Nora smiled in attempt to appease the situation. "Similarly, thank you for inviting us inside, Kane. We attempted to visit previously, but nobody came out."

"Yes, the children are under orders to remain inside as long as I'm not there." explained Kane calmly, clenching his hands under the table. "The hospital has been made a safe-zone by us."

"Are there only children here, Dr. Kane?"

He took in the form of address naturally, and nodded.

"When the apocalypse started, there was a small Story that took place in here. Due to that, several patients and doctors died. I was one of the few that survived. The other doctors have ran away to look for their families, in hopes to make sure they're safe."

He chuckled self-depreciatingly, with a polite smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I chose to stay behind with the kids."

Because he had no family to go look for.

Lucas lowered his gaze to the table, suddenly taking interest in the patterns in the glazed wood. Turbulence stirred in his chest making him not want to face this person.

Such a thing was cowardly for the acting-before-speaking Lucas Silvius, but he couldn't resist the urge to look away. At least, that eased the throb of his head.

However, he realized he had something in common with this doctor, occasionally looking up to observe the man, and character of his novel.

They both didn't have any family left.

He felt a throb in his injury that had been wrapped properly with the help of Kane's instructions earlier.

"For now, your group may stay here as long as you need. If you prove to be a threat to the children," His words stagnated, and a dangerous air exuded from his body as his gaze turned cold. "Then we will be forced to take the necessary repercussions."

After his warning, his aura turned back to normal and he stood up, opening the door.

"There are several available rooms on the third floor, and the end of the corridor. Please do not disturb the children. It seems you've driven quite the while, so feel free to rest first."

It was a hidden invitation to kindly get out of his sight, noted Wren with a laugh as she took the lead to saunter out, going first to explore. As for bothering children, she had no interest in those noisy, terrifying creatures.

Kane calmly turned towards Lucas. "I'll lead you to our private room."

It was a high-quality space that wasn't shared with any other, with a good view of the outside and it's own bathroom. These were for exclusive patients that needed to be isolated from the others.

In order to make it as comfortable and natural for certain patients, it had been built to resemble a normal room as much as possible, though it was empty except for the bed.

Additionally, Kane's room was nearby, located close to the monitor room in the case of emergencies. Even for him, it was difficult to keep track of a dozen different children at all times during the day.

Elias coughed, keeping his laugh to himself at the blatant favoritism.

Kane said nothing, keeping a straight face. Even if his younger brother didn't remember him, he would still provide the best for him!

Elliot peered at him, jumping up in complaint. "Hey! I'm psychologically ill, shouldn't I get a private room too?"

Kane's bland eyes turned towards him. "We have a mental ward where we can lock you up in case of sudden outbursts..."

"No, no, no, I'll pass."

"The private rooms are few since our hospital is small."

"Then why does he get it?"

"Because he's injured." stated Kane with a scholarly air, speaking with such calmness nobody could refute. "I can't risk having an injured patient worsen when you are my present guests."

Elliot fell silent. Did the doctor in front of him think he was stupid? Although it was true that the ghost's injuries were currently in a terrible state... with a huff, he sulked off to the shared rooms on the third floor, dragging the unwilling Rome along with him.

Lucas stepped forward to pluck the little body from the other, narrowing his gaze. "I don't trust you around children."

"Ha? Excuse me, I haven't even done anything. Sure, the mass murder in the first Story was something, but there weren't any children at that ball!"

Lucas turned to Nora, trusting in the woman's ability. "Are you able to keep an eye on him? If you fire a shot, I will know that an issue came up and will rush in immediately."

Nora smiled, pleased by his trust and nodded agreeable. In fact, she also didn't trust the strange and chaotic youth, and intended to keep an eye on him, regardless. "Yes, of course. We'll head to the rooms now, get some rest Lucas."

She spun around to stare at Elias dead in the eye, with a reprimanding tone despite her smile. "And you as well, Elias."

He raised his hands up in mock surrender, turning to Lucas.

"Shall we share a room again, darling? With us sleeping together so often, I don't think I can sleep without you anymore."

He was referring to outside the jail cell during the Prison Story, and in Lucas' room at the apartment. He smiled shamelessly, even glancing over to Kane's darkening expression and lifting his chin slightly.

Honestly, Lucas couldn't care less. The most dangerous person in here was not Elliot, but in fact the shameless fellow in front of him. It would be wise to keep him nearby.

"Do as you please."

Kane resisted the urge to protest, and directed them to the private rooms, located on the second floor.

He stopped at the door as Lucas and Elias entered, hesitant to leave.

Lucas turned to him, not directly meeting the doctor's eyes as he said, "Did you need anything else?"

"There is..." Kane swallowed back any questions or words. He saw the bloody gape on Lucas' stomach, and how he'd almost fainted. It wasn't the time to probe. "There's nothing. Please rest well and let me know if you need anything."

Lucas nodded. "There's something I need to discuss, but it can wait until tomorrow."

"I see. Then I won't disturb you further tonight."

Kane offered another one of his vague smiles to Lucas, filled with a gentle, soothing air, before closing the door. He stopped outside, gaze lowered and gloomy.

At the very least, he would make sure that his current self would be remembered with smiles in Lucas' memories.

'Even if I can never be his brother again.'

With a deep exhale, Kane leaned against the door for a minute to clear his mind before going on his routine check-ups of the children in the hospital in hopes of distracting himself.

Lucas' sight lingered on the door for a few moments, perplexed and in a confused state that he wasn't used to.

He forced himself to turn away, and flopped onto the bed face-first, before rolling onto his back. He pointed crudely at the sofa on the side. "You can sleep there."

"How cruel of you, making your wife sleep on the sofa in the cold night." teased Elias, referring to their conversations when carrying the explosive egg.

Lucas deadpanned. "Or feel free to sleep on the floor."

"The couch sounds wonderful."

Honestly, although it was a private room, there was still the secluded air of a hospital, and the lingering stench of disinfectants and medicine. The metal under the bed creaked, and the white walls made the room seem even emptier.

Elias left the room temporarily to go hunting for extra pillows and a blanket, which he believed a certain older brother purposely forgot in order to have him sleep in a different room.

Lucas directly rolled over, careful not to press on his stomach before closing his eyes.

He was still tired after the Story, thinking of the tragic young girl who had gone through such abuse, and the brother who'd failed to save her...

He thought of Cinderella's madness, and how she was abandoned by everyone before turning them into strange puppets while desiring company.

Then he thought of the strange child with an adult's voice, whose wish was to escape from his delusions.

And the prisoner who was falsely executed after suffering domestic abuse, and then taking the blame for his child trying to save himself.

The Stories that would remain just that, a spot on the blank sheet of life.

Insignificant, and forgotten.

His mood felt turbulent, especially with the lurching feeling in his guts when he saw Kane, a character he'd written destined for tragedy. Destined to suffer and struggle fruitlessly, only to meet death.

Elias placed the pillows on his bed before noticing Lucas' dampened mood.

'This fool takes too many things to heart... even if he acts like that.'

"Sleep." said Elias finally, furrowing his eyebrows as he felt something scratch against his scalp, and pulling the blanket over half of his body. He'd unbuttoned a few buttons of his shirt, lazily leaning back while somehow still appearing elegant.

Lucas turned around, submerging himself in the blankets. "Obviously. What else would I do in a bed?"

"I have some suggestions."

"And I don't care for them."

Elias chuckled, and hearing the man on the metal hospital bed roll over again, and the forced breathing that came with no more words, he too closed his eyes.

There weren't any sounds as the lights in the hospital flickered off, one by one, shrouded by the deep night. One could almost pretend that everything was still normal, that they were in their own comfortable beds.

A tall figure stood outside Lucas' door after doing his rounds around the hospital, lowering his head silently.

His shoulders slumped, defeated, before he turned and walked away.

Lucas woke up in the middle of the night, opening his snowy eyes as he blinked, adjusting to the darkness. He glanced at the door habitually, before looking away. There were low groans, as if the other man was in a deep nightmare.

Frowning, Lucas took off the covers and moved to take a closer look before Elias' body jerked violently.

Strings burst from his skin, wrapping around him and floating in a circular motion that floated wildly in the air. There was a faint glow behind each strand that also cycled in his open eyes, wide and empty pupils with strings twisting inside.

Elias convulsed in pain before slumping over, grasping his head in two hands as he curled up, the strings still wildly surrounding him.

Lucas didn't dare go close, rushing out of the bed and backing away.

Elias' pain was soundless, an occasional wretched groan, or his trembling body. The powerful man's distress made Lucas uncomfortable, as he took a step closer.

"...Elias?"

The other party didn't respond, hardly conscious.

He took another step closer, reaching out as sweat beaded his forehead before the door to the room slammed open.

Wren stood at the entrance, huffing.

"Damn, I knew it. I thought something was off earlier, but I guess he was holding it back. Too bad that idiot's more pathetic than he thought, ha!"

Lucas frowned. "What's wrong with him?"

"It's really private... so, anyway, basically do you know what his ability is? You think it's just control, right? It's more than that... sort of like panpsychism. Ugh, I actually failed science back in high school...."

"I've read about that. It's the philosophical belief that everything has a mind, right?" Lucas furrowed his eyebrows.

"To put it simply, yeah. He can send 'ideas' to anything. To make a person think they've forgotten something, or to make a house crumble apart because it's 'broken'. A powerful suggestion that isn't limited to the living."

"That's..."

"Before you go thinking it's some crazy awesome ability, the truth is..." Suddenly, the strings condensed into a pointed spike and rushed towards Wren.

Wren jumped back, narrowly dodging as it sliced past her skin and slammed into a wall. She narrowed her eyes, rubbing her hair in frustration.

"We won't talk more about his ability, I guess. God, how are you annoying even when you're sleeping? If you die, will you come back as a zombie to piss us off?"

She cursed out the blank Elias, patting the wound on her arm.

"The backlash is severe. His mental barriers are strong, but his powers go haywire every time he uses it. It'll pass, but the more he uses it, I don't know. He might go crazy, or be stuck in that state permanently."

She sighed, and stared at Lucas solemnly. "However, do not touch those strings. They might end up turning you into a mindless marionette. Unless you're into that, I guess."

Having the bond she'd finally tested and straightened out expire this early in the apocalypse wasn't exactly something he hoped for.

Plus, Nora would likely part ways in the event of Lucas' death. And for now, Wren enjoyed the pretty woman's company—a beautiful face could put anybody in a good mood.

"Got it?" asked Wren after hearing no response.

Lucas nodded before posing a question. "How do you know so much about his ability?"

The woman faltered, and it was all too easy to read the surprise and then the conflict that flickered across her youthful features. Under the scrutinizing white gaze, she gave up on coming up with an excuse.

"You could say we have a history, him and I. Not a friendly one, mind you, but it's something."

"A history?"

"We've just crossed paths a few times. Anyway, if you really want to help him, talking works. It's a good distraction, and a tie to reality."

Lucas fell silent, even as she complained about having to run out and ruining her beauty sleep, before running back to the third floor to dive into her dreams about... a harem? He wasn't really listening.

Elias had been completely silent throughout the exchange, his large body curled up as the blankets had long fallen to the ground, the protruding strings painfully yanking out of his flesh.

Lucas heeded Wren's warning, having no desire to accidentally harm himself and doing absolutely nothing to help.

He walked in a circle, a frown still present on his face.

Then he walked outside of the room. Elias' still body flinched, laboured breaths causing his body to slowly move as he struggled to raise his head slightly. Through strands of dark hair, his eyes gazed toward the open door.

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, having regained a certain amount of alertness. He could hear the conversation, but had no strength to speak.

Well, that foolish sponge would probably find another room to sleep in, bothered by the display at the side.

His body jerked in an attempt to pull at the strings and force them back into his body, only to have them wrap around him tightly and splinter apart again, bursting in the surrounding air.

Then, a shadow walked inside, taking a seat naturally on the hospital bed with crossed legs. There was a book in his hand.

Lucas stared at Elias blandly. "Thinking of conversations is too tiring."

He couldn't find enough things to talk about in order to ease Elias' aliment, nor did he really want to wrack his brain for conversation topics with a non-responsive troublemaker.

Therefore, he pulled out a book and opened his mouth.

"How to kill an idiot."

"....."

"Step one. One must determine whether their target is truly an idiot, lest they kill the wrong person. In order to do this, pay attention to their aura. Do they radiate a foolish air, irritating to the bone? Do they commit actions that put themselves at risk? Or are they simply born with the disposition?"

Lucas' voice remained steady and emotionless, sounding robotic as he read out loud. After he finished one segment, he added his own comment.

"Just look at yourself. Don't you fit it perfectly?"

Elias, still paralyzed and in extreme measures of pain with his ability going haywire, felt his eye twitch as Lucas droned on.

After a certain amount of time with Lucas adding a few more insulting comments with his bland reading, Elias felt his mind grow heavier.

The strings floated lazily in the air, slowly drawing into his body. Gradually, they inched back into his skin before completely settling inside. Elias felt a little touched as he grew sleepier, raising his head to offer his thanks.

Who would've thought that Lucas, seeing the other's calmer appearance, would immediately place the book down and flop down onto the bed?

A few minutes later, Elias even heard a soft snoring.