Out of the ordinary

4

Danielle

We were now in the waiting room, hoping for some good news. "Karina, what the hell did you mean by not Hanni too?" I asked and Karina only let out a sigh. "I've seen so many go through this same fever, Hanni isn't the only one." she said and I looked even more confused.

"Before the cafe, I used to work in this exact hospital. I've seen cases of this fever and they all seem to end the same way, Hanni won't be an exemption." Karina said and I furrowed my eyebrows. "As soon as the fever sets in, the families come by and try to get urgent care for them, and next thing the Kim's are inside the patient's room with money in a suitcase to pay the hospital and the parents for their release." My eyebrows shot up and my eyes widened.

"The Kim's take them and disappear for a month or so, and once they come back. They're completely different people." Karina let out a sigh. "I was able to see Hyein, right after the Kim's took her in after Minji. And well, she definitely isn't the malnourished girl that I saw." And my jaw went slack.

"Minji was worse, Danielle. My mind can't seem to wrap around what could've happened in that month for Minji to get that ripped. She could destroy a man if she wanted to. Much less with that added height, for all of them. They all have to be at least six feet or more." I looked down and let her words sink in.

"So you're telling me that the same would happen to Hanni?" I asked and Karina shrugged. "If they take her in, then maybe. But the muscular body or the increase in height isn't the case sometimes. The changes are sometimes different, especially for most of the girls. Like them cutting their hair short, not using makeup, and becoming a lot more dirty. You know?" This was starting to freak me out.

"And this is all odd, I still don't understand how the fever could've hit her. She's not from here." Danielle said and I nodded. I just hope Hanni will be okay. "This whole town believes that some witch exists among us and sets the fever and the attributes to these poor teenagers." I looked up at Karina. "Hanni isn't a teenager." I said.

"I don't even know anymore, she's a freshly turned adult?" I shrugged as I looked down. What Karina said definitely had my mind spinning. What was going to happen to Hanni? Would I really not see her again? "Minji and Hanni couldn't stop looking at each other, and something about Minji had caused Hanni's fever to go up higher." I said and Karina turned to look at me confused.

"They were literally talking with their eyes, I don't even know what went through their minds but Hanni's fever kept increasing." I explained and Karina tilted her head in confusion. "That...has never happened before. Anyone who gets the fever has never gotten it by looking at one of the Kim's. Did the fever set in last night?" She asked and I nodded.

"It's so weird." I said as my head was buzzing with how stressed I was. "Go breathe some air, I'll tell you if anything." Karina said, not leaving it up for discussion as she grabbed my purse and handed it over to me. "You need it." And that was enough to convince me to step out.

Once I stood outside the hospital, I let the cold wind hit my face. It was tremendously freezing, I was about to turn into a popsicle if I stayed out here for longer.

But Karina was right, I needed to breathe some fresh and freezing air to relieve the stress in my brain. Everything here in Alaska is weird, when I ask my father about stuff like this he never gives me a solid answer, or maybe he's just too clueless to know about what I'm asking.

As I kept pacing back and forth my eyes caught sight of a shadow at the end of the building that was looking right at me, I felt myself being paralyzed on the spot, my body not being able to move even though I was pretty sure I was trying to run.

I felt my legs start to move but in the direction of the shadow, I was trying my best to turn around but I couldn't. I was under some type of control and my body was shaking in fear as I kept going closer to the shadow. I felt my heart drop realizing that the same thing happened with Haerin at the cafe.

This had to be some sick joke.

My eyes were wide open as I tried to make out the figure that was a lot closer now, but either I was blind or being played tricks on because I couldn't make out shit. I didn't know if it was a woman or a man.

The more I tried to resist the force, the stronger it became and I could feel my life flashing before my eyes. What the hell was going on?!

But a sudden tap on my shoulder broke the trance off and I felt my body being mine again. I kept staring at where the shadow stood once. It was gone and I wasn't comprehending anything. And when I turned around to see who the savior was, anger rushed through me.

"You! What did you do to Hanni?!" I yelled as I pushed Minji back harshly. The super, scarily, frightening tall woman in front of me only frowned as she stood her ground. "Miss, I didn't do anything wrong." She said and I let out a groan in frustration.

My brain was scrambled like eggs and I didn't know what to think or do. And there was a rage inside of me that I never knew I had. So I was letting out on Minji. "It's your fault she's here!" I yelled and kept pushing her until I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and pull me away from a Minji who seemed to be fuming as she was being dragged away at the same time by who seemed to be Jake.

"Minji! Let's go inside." Jake was raising his voice to snap Minji out of her anger which practically sent shivers down my damn spine. She was trying not to loose control of her temper and I didn't understand why, but I knew if she gave in to that temper. Things weren't going to go well for me.

As soon as she was shoved inside the arms around me, let go and that's when I turned around ready to throw another tantrum but I was met with a woman that I'd never seen before. "I'm Jennie, or in other words the mom of the group." She didn't seem much older than me which was weird. At the same time, she looked nowhere near my age and it was confusing.

"Ms. Kim?" I asked and she nodded. "That's me, now let me warn you to not do what you did to Minji to anyone else in the group." She said and I furrowed my eyebrows and took a step back because it seemed that she was threatening me.

"I'm only saying this for your own sake, Minji is the calmest one. And you were about to make her snap. You would've ended up as fresh meat if me and Jake didn't see what was happening." My eyes went wide. Was Minji going to kill me off if I kept going?

"Now, let's go inside so that we can talk properly." I wanted to refuse because I knew what was about to happen. I didn't want them to take Hanni away from me. She's all I have besides my dad and I can't be away from her. She's my platonic soulmate. I can't.

Ms. Kim looked around and stared at where the shadow once stood. "It's not safe for you to be out here." She said as of it was safe to be inside with Minji. But she was right, it's best that I went inside before I'm tranced once more and end up dying.

But as we were about to enter I looked back at where the shadow once stood, only to have my jaw drop to the ground as fear suddenly embraced me.

There stood Haerin.

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