Trigger ↬ [ P.JS ]

Chapter 37:

Astrid glanced on Jisung, not knowing how to react. She knew something was wrong as soon as she saw him freeze. She felt his hands work their way up to hers, pulses almost syncing.

"Don't try to run away now." The woman smiled. "You didn't tell me that friends mean so much to you, little boy." she exhaled a short giggle.

Astrid found the giggle disgusting. The smile was so twisted that she wanted to throw up. She didn't want to say anything as she had a hunch that this lady has a bad temper and it'll just make things worse. Her hand was squeezed hard, it was a signal to run.

Jisung pulled Astrid with him, annoyed at the situation. He didn't want to run. He was so tired of running, but for him, it was the only way of surviving.

"You're telling me that that guy wasn't really Chenle!?" Astrid said breathlessly. "I think it's just better if I killed myself, really." she whispered to herself. She felt the glass on her hip tear more of her muscles as she forced herself to run.

As she observed more, the blur she's seeing became still, like they're running in place. Are they not moving? She looked at Jisung, holding the same confused face as her. She pulled him to a stop, panting and sweating, feeling her cuts sting.

In the corner of her eye, she saw the lady walking towards them. She looks agitated. "Oh no." she whispered.

"What did I say about running away? It's useless. Now, don't tire yourselves and do as I say." The woman smiled, holding her hands in front of her, palms up. "Come with me, and all of this will become easier." she convinced the two. "You guys are safe with me, I won't hurt you. I'm trying to help. You know that Astrid, right?"

The said girl just stared, not wanting to say anything.

Jisung formed a fist in his hand, landing a punch in the woman's stomach knocking her off her feet. Hearing a pained groan, he grabbed Astrid once again, pulling her to a motorbike. He was eyeing the vehicle a while ago and he noticed that the key was left plugged in. He started the engine and drove away from the stranger.

Astrid squealed as she wasn't ready for the wheels to start moving. She gripped Jisung's shirt, cursing him under her breath. "You need to stop acting so impulsive." she sighed.

Jisung laughed, making the bike run faster. He felt the speed on his face, air filling both of their lungs. Astrid joined his laughter, enjoying the brief moment of peace. Thrill ran through her veins, the moment was making her go insane. This was the first time she experienced this, almost the sense of euphoria, and it was so intoxicating.

They came to a stop in front of a hospital. Astrid gently hopped off the bike and looked at Jisung. "What are we doing here?" she looked up the building. She only received a hand pointing a poster as a response. She followed his finger and read, 'Free treatment, free checkups, easy consultation.' Her eyebrows furrowed. "Are we really gonna trust this?" she turned to the boy.

He shrugged and lead her to the entrance. "We have a crazy lady on our tail, our friends are missing, we're severely injured, I don't know what could go worse." He observed the busy environment. There were numbers of nurses running around, doctors in a hurry, and other staffs in frantic.

"Hi, I'll lead you to an empty room and we'll wait for your doctor. This way please." A nurse started, leading Astrid to another area.

"Oh uhm, I have a friend and he's hurt too-"

"Yes, I am referring to the both of you. Sir, please follow me too." The nurse smiled.

Jisung scanned Astrid's face, clueless.

They both were escorted into an empty room with two small beds. The walls painted white, it was clean. It was a typical running hospital.

"I hope the siblings are safe." Astrid mumbled. She propped up her feet comfortably in the bed and took the time to scan herself. She has a huge bruise in her right temple, a gash in her shoulders, scratches all over her, especially in her stomach, bruises in her knees and ankles, and the glass in her hip. She sighed, finally feeling the pain of the wounds.

"Now I can feel the pain." Jisung breathed out. He held his feet realizing that he might've been sprained his ankle.

A male doctor entered the room making the two sit up.

"Hiya, I'm here to help. Can you tell me what happened? You guys seem heavily injured."

"We happen to survive a plane crash.." Astrid said, surprised that the doctor can speak fluent english. She guessed it was just an assigned task or something like that.

"Ah, the crash. Everybody is talking about it. Mind if I examine you first, ma'am?"

"No, not at all."

"I know it's weird that we're offering free treatments but that's just how it is since the apocalypse. Don't worry, we're just really trying to help everyone." his voice was low, making Jisung curious about what they're talking about.

Astrid nodded, understanding the situation.

"Can I ask what happened? Why did the plane crash? And why are you guys here?"

"Well, we had our friend operate the plane. He was trained by his father. He can fly well but I guess he passed out so we lost control. By what Jisung told me, the guy I'm with," she pointed to him "He said that everybody survived, but we were split up. Somebody was running after us." she looked at his hands on her hips, unable to breathe.

"Ah, I see. There are no serious wounds except for the one on your hip, we'll get that fixed for you in the room across. You can bring your boyfriend with you."

"He's not my boyfriend," she laughed nervously. "And please examine him first before tending me." 

The doctor laughed, he nodded and went to Jisung. A nurse then entered the room and took Astrid to the said room. The doctor noticed Jisung tensing up so he said, "We're taking off the glass on her hip. You can come there after I'm done treating you."

Jisung relaxed, nodding at the doctor.

"You seem like you're very concerned about her." the doctor teased.

"Is there anything wrong about that?"

"No, not really. I'm assuming you guys are close. We need to get an x-ray and scan you. Your feet are swollen, it might be a broken bone. Follow me."

Jisung was placed in a wheelchair. He felt fidgety now that he's away from Astrid. Everything seemed so strange and foreign for him. He was thankful that the doctor was nice but he wished that the process would be faster as he wanted to be with the girl as fast as possible.

The lady was still in his mind.