I Have Seen It Somewhere

"I'm sorry. The number you have dialed is not in service or temporarily disconnected. Please reach out to your operator to help you. This is a recording."

Sinclair didn't have enough time to finish listening to the intercepting message from the network. He was suddenly encumbered by a heavy feeling as if his heart suddenly raced from a phantom reason. Then again, since his dragon's heart was inside Ainsley's body, he decided to give the idiot a call. However, the phone was out of service? What could have happened?

His heart sank so deep as this… this was the same as that time when he first felt that something bad had happened to his friend.

"I'm not sitting here." Sinclair grabbed his phone, wallet, and keys before rushing out of his office without taking his long coat. Who cared if he was only dressed in the turtleneck? It was already hot as it was. He just speed-walked past his secretaries. "Cancel all my meetings. Stuart, follow me."

"Yes, Mr. King." The three chorused even if they didn't know what happened. Only Stuart got up promptly to follow his master. The other two quickly worked on the cancellations that followed. Actually, if this was last week, they would be at a loss.

Ever since they discovered that the CEO's friend was sent to the hospital, they had seen their boss like this—running around like a headless chicken with poise. Perhaps, something happened to Ainsley twenty-four hours after his discharge from the hospital.

…

In contrast to what happened, Ainsley was merrily walking towards the hospital. They didn't opt for an ambulance or even waiting for the police. After all, Gavyn's wound couldn't wait. That's right, Ainsley had been chatting with the unfamiliar man. Apparently, Gavyn was passing by when he noticed the commotion.

"Man, you were so cool! Like you didn't even have troubles in kicking—" Ainsley couldn't finish his words. He knew what happened to his senior Stephen, and yet he still decided to leave the old man to the elements on the streets.

"There are things that other people had done to prepare for their jobs. I'm a doctor, so I have trained myself to make sure I can subdue unstable patients on my own." Gavyn chuckled, but he saw the sudden change in Ainsley's countenance. "Ainsley, don't blame yourself. His condition was already too complicated. I don't believe he wasn't asked to come to the hospital before today. After all, the changes don't happen over a minute."

Ainsley was pulled out of trance by Gavyn's words. "Huh? Do you know what happened to Stephen? Why do you sound like you do?"

With a sigh, Gavyn smiled warmly. "So you weren't listening to me." He then laughed out as Ainsley gasped. "I just told you. I'm a village doctor; I have seen it before. This unnamed disease is spreading all across the country. Actually, it just reached this place just now. It had been spreading for weeks, starting from the capital."

"Oh, no… so you know what's causing it?"

"No. I came to this place to find out if the doctors in the city knew. I have only heard about it and saw how the people degrade into strange creatures, but I don't know what causes it." Gavyn shook his head. "It seemed strange, though. This thing hits a lot of people in the rural areas, and yet only the working class is being affected here."

His gaze then stirred, and he turned to Ainsley. "If you feel like your body is revolting or doing anything very strange, you should get checked. You might be infected. In fact, I might be infected as well. It won't be good if we're both aware that we might be carriers, but we ignored the risks."

Ainsley then remembered the things that happened to him. What if that miraculous healing was a symptom instead? There was no way it was safe for Sinclair to come close to him if he was carrying something. After all, he was not sure that it was actually Sinclair who helped him recover instead. It was better to be sure than sorry.

"Alright, we can get tested after we get another doctor to take a look at your wound." Ainsley then twitched. "Gavyn, you're a doctor, too, right? Can't you take a look at your own wound?"

"My license only lets me practice family medicine. As for specific things like this, I can't rely on myself. Even if I did take a look, I won't be able to help myself. This needs stitching." Gavyn sighed. This man felt like he was quite an airhead.

Ainsley only nodded as he stared longer at Gavyn. Even if this man was also good-looking, his looks were not as attractive as those of Sinclair. Their hairs were of different shades of brown—his was lighter. Sinclair's eyes were grayish, while Gavyn's were closer to blue than green. The doctor was taller, but the aura coming from Sinclair's public persona was more imposing and suffocating. Gavyn really did have this vibe that made people trust him.

In just one look, Ainsley was able to convince himself that Gavyn must be as good as Sinclair in doing his job. Even from a few minutes of speaking, Gavyn could pretty much draw anyone's distrust into the wind. He was indeed someone a person would want to share their medical records with no matter what it was.

When they got to the hospital, Ainsley only stood around as another doctor dealt with Gavyn's wound. Since he was not needed in the room and the other person was already an adult, Ainsley only took a look around the hospital.

Unlike the vibe when he was discharged that early morning, the place was like pulsing with a suffocating scent of death and madness. The nurses stayed in their stations as well as the orderlies who often looked disturbed. In a flicker, the pagers of the orderlies flashed with a red light. They then all ran off, along with some nurses.

It was as if they were hurrying to deal with something.

"Aaaah!" A scream filled with terror and pain echoed from the next hallway. Ainsley then walked towards the place, while most civilians didn't even think of being involved. They hunched their shoulders as if denying the sounds… like it was nothing new to them anymore.

"What's going on?" Ainsley took a look from the corner and saw a patient running wild. Three bulky orderlies took the patient down, only for the nurse to finally use a sedative to put the patient to sleep. The patient's face… was the same as that of Stephen.

A hand then covered Ainsley's eyes as if keeping him from seeing things. Before he could flinch, Sinclair's deep voice traveled to his ears. "It's better if you don't see them like this. They don't need your pity."