Wither With Me

CHAPTER 32 - SOLIDARITY

The boy grabbed the visor of his cap and tilted it forward, hoping that it would obscure his face as much as possible. He kept his eyes on the open double doors across the room. The hallway was empty, with the exception of the occasional person passing by. And he knew that sooner or later, the one he wanted to see would show up.

Nobody seemed to mind his presence at all. With his face half-hidden by shadows, wearing dark clothes and standing suspiciously against a pillar, he expected to attract one or two pairs of curious eyes. In solitude or in small groups, some of them wandering around and some others sitting in their own corners; the hospital was bustling. There was a lot of activity, of the kind the place hadn't seen since ages ago. And yet, not a single soul gave a damn about him.

To be honest, they were most likely thankful to be where they were. Too thankful to question anything. Most of those people had spent months living under horrible conditions or performing heinous atrocities just to survive. And, out of nowhere, that place opened its gates to anyone in need.

Food. Water. Shelter. Safety. The humanitarian help everyone needed. Even if it was more than six months late, it became a new, renewed beacon of hope for those who were already scraping the bottom of the barrel. And he was no exception.

He pondered about what he was about to do. Just days ago, it would've been unconceivable for him to care about anything that didn't imply a spoonful of beans or a sip a water. It was almost funny, how the tables had turned.

'What am I even doing...?'

...

A man walked in front of the door.

'...!!'

It was the one he was waiting for. At last. Keeping his calm as best as he could, he walked towards the door.

He peeked towards the right side. The man got farther and farther away, until he eventually disappeared behind a corner. Everyone has to urinate sooner or later. He looked towards the left side, focusing his attention on a particular door in the hallway. Nobody was guarding it now.

He walked as fast as his legs allowed him, but making the conscious effort of softening his footsteps as much as possible. Getting caught would be problematic, if not outright dangerous.

As soon as the doorknob was within reach, he turned it, swung the door open and slipped inside. He made sure to close the it behind his back. He didn't want any potential passerby to stick their nose into that room.

After rummaging in the pockets of his coat in complete darkness, he pulled out a flashlight and turned it on. His heartbeats got louder and faster, and his nerves skyrocketed as his eyes crept over the many boxes and shelves packed with supplies.

'Come on, Ethan...! You have to be quick...!'

It didn't take him long to identify a box half-empty of canned food. A couple of missing cans would be too obvious in a brand-new box, but they might go unnoticed in that one, which made it the optimal target.

His pockets weren't too big, but they were deep enough to conceal the smaller cans.

'Alright...! Let's get out of here...!'

As he turned around back towards the entrance, several footsteps approached the door from the other side, along with a faint, unintelligible murmur.

'Ah, crap...! Did he come back already...!?'

...

"—the hell is Carson? Wasn't he supposed to be watching the place? Did he go take a piss, or something...?" a male voice echoed within the room as soon as the door opened, followed by a couple of figures stepping inside. "Ah, whatever. I'll report this to him later."