The Homeseeker: An Elemental Adventurer LitRPG

Chapter 32 - Thoughts and Scares

Zalan gripped the armrests of the chair tightly as he stared at the door in front of him. The rational part of his mind knew that something was wrong. He shouldn't be at the hospital. But his heart was running on all cylinders, crashing against his chest and desperately seeking an explanation. He didn't understand what was going on, and his thoughts were shrouded like he was desperately sleepy.

"Hello!" Zalan screamed to the empty corridors of the hospital. There were no doctors, nurses, or patients milling about. Just him and the door. "Where are..." he was reaching for names of people in his mind, maybe friends. But they wouldn't come to mind. There was only one thing that mattered right now. It was across from him. Waiting. He had to open the door and visit his mom.

He stood up shakily, his body feeling like it was an enormous task simply to stand up. He reached his jittering hand out and swallowed hard as it made contact with the cold doorknob. He stood frozen for a moment. His mind was flailing between wanting and not wanting to go inside. He twisted slowly and pushed the door open. It creaked, gradually revealing the room beyond it.

"Mom?" Zalan asked hopeful as he stepped inside.

The room was dark, the day overcast out the window and the privacy blinds drawn in front of the single hospital bed in the room. He still couldn't see his mother. Zalan approached the bed much faster, his heart rate skyrocketing in fear and apprehension. He desperately wanted to see his mom's face. It would help him so much just to see her, even if she was asleep. He threw the curtains open and gasped in rage and fear.

The bed was empty.

"Mom?" Zalan asked, turning himself around and looking around the room for her. "Mom!" he escalated. The room was brightening itself up, the dull ambience of the hospital transitioning to blinding.

"Mom! I visited! Where are you?" Zalan begged as he had to shield his eyes from the searing hot-white color enveloping his vision.

When his vision cleared, Zalan saw Gorb kneeling over, panting heavily in front of the monsters that were now dead at his feet. Zalan looked around himself and saw that his companions, similar to himself, were sprawled out on the floor as though they had been struck down. Zalan looked vacantly at Gorb, his heart still pounding away unceasingly in his chest. His thoughts were messy. He had a massive headache and his body felt like it had just run miles on end.

"Where's Mom? She was supposed to be... What happened?" Zalan asked, sitting himself up and blinking past the lightheadedness that immediately came over him. "Where am I? Where's the hospital?"

Gorb looked over at him, trying to get a hold of his breathing. The bruise on his eye was gone and the expression on his face was distraught.

"Fran? Are you okay?" Gorb asked, his voice caught in his throat.

"I am alive?" Fran asked. Zalan saw wet streaks on her cheeks. She had been crying. Looking around at the others around him, they had all been crying. Except for him. Yelsa laid on the ground, wiping her eyes furiously as she sat herself up.

"What just happened? Why would I jump again!?" she demanded, looking around the room for answers.

"They were Melders," Fran replied as the thought came to mind. "I had heard of them before, but had never seen them in person. I had no idea that they looked so grotesque. My God, that was terrible."

"What do you mean?" Zalan asked sternly, not following anyone's comments. "Where's my mom? This time, I went to visit, but she wasn't..."

It had taken a while, but Zalan was finally piecing together the fact he was still in what he called the dream world. The stone floor was a part of the Castle of Docrun and those surrounding him were his friends. But he was just in the hospital!