The hospital lobby was stacked with people. Flashing cameras and pointed microphones flooded the area, overwhelming the secretaries and nurses on duty. A reporter stepped in front of the crowd, walking quickly behind a nurse.
"Ma'am, can you or can you not confirm the wellbeing of the Royal Ambassador? She's been missing from public eye for nearly five days now. Is she still being treated?" The reporter continued following the nurse, who paid no attention, down the lobby. As the nurse entered a hallway, two security guards stepped in front of the reporter, blocking him off.
Hideyo waited in the hall, leaning against the wall as the nurse approached. She wore a yellow hoodie and baggy sweatpants to disguise herself. "This is ridiculous," the girl said.
"Tell me about it," the nurse mumbled, rolling her eyes. "Sorry for the wait, miss. She's this way."
The two began walking down the hallway together. Hideyo observed as nurses and doctors stammered through the building, overwhelmed with patients. "This is too chaotic. I'll work on passing a bill to prevent the press from invading your business."
"No need for that," the nurse said. "We don't need something that heavy-handed. Besides, the press is already silenced enough as it is, right?" The nurse paused, realizing who she was talking to. She stuttered, changing the subject. "I'm sure you'll be busy with other things anyway. More guards would be nice, though, maybe a fence outside?"
Hideyo looked around as they passed a receptionist desk. She met eye contact with a doctor dressed in all blue scrubs. He stared at her intently and angrily, ignoring the person who was talking to him. Hideyo turned her head, dismissing him as she pulled her hood tighter over her head.
"Do normal people... like us?" Hideyo asked the nurse, thinking about the looks she's been getting recently.
The nurse's eyes widened and her cheeks filled with red. "W-what do you mean by that? Everyone here is... so thankful for what you and your administration is doing for this city."
Hideyo shook her head, her pace steadily increasing. "Be honest." She lifted her hand to her neck, running her thumb over her choker to feel the 'A' imprinted on the stone emblem. "I'm pretty removed from the world outside of the Grand Hall. I have no connections outside of those walls, so I rarely get to know what the people are thinking of us nowadays."
Looking down, the nurse responded. "Well, to be blatant about it... people are scared right now. They're... we're starting to think that the Royal Ambassador is unreliable and not fit to protect this city." Hideyo turned her head, listening closely as they climbed a staircase. "In times like these, all we need is closure. And yet, it seems like our own leaders don't trust us and so, we don't trust them. People are starting to believe rumors and photoshopped pictures circulating around the internet more so than you guys."
Hideyo's eyes widened. She lifted her head up once she reached the top, staring the nurse in the face intently. "Do you truly believe those pictures are edited?"
"I hope they are... really," the nurse said, staring at a television behind Hideyo. The girl turned around, watching the screen as a reporter spoke to the audience. She cursed under her breath as a blurry picture of a huge Compactor hand on Aminawa Bridge appeared on screen. "If those pictures are real, then I'd almost rather not know. Most of them are bogus, but I really believe that the saying 'ignorance is bliss' holds strong, even today."
Hideyo sighed, turning her back to the television. "Well, they are fake, so you can rest easy. I can assure you that our administration is working hard to protect this city. Whomever is at the root of all this is a mystery to us just as much as it is to everyone else."
YOU ARE READING
Division-A
Ação"Humanity is a figment of imagination." 100 years ago, humanity flocked to a makeshift island due to an event that threatened to massacre everything in its path. Now, in present day, Akino has nightmares about an event that nearly killed him and his...
