On the bed beside Elia, a lady with one arm and leg torn turned toward him, a wide smile spreading across her face.
'What is wrong with her? Why is her face twisting into a devilish one?' Elia stared at her for a while, then turned his gaze away.
For Elia, he was the type of person who watched horror movies for fun. I mean the ones that could make someone fear sleeping alone for their entire life. So, he knew each of the devilish smiles.
"Hello," Joana, a ginger-skinned nurse in a blue gown, waved, drawing his attention. "How are you feeling today, Mr. Wilson?"
"I'm fine." Elia's eyes abruptly shifted from the nurse's face to her chest, gazing at the raised breasts that looked as if they wanted to peel out from the gown.
"Do you feel any pain in your head?" the lady asked, pointing a finger toward the white bandage wrapped around the boy's head.
"Yes, I feel a subtle pain on the left side of my head." Elia bowed his head slightly, his arms brushing the seams on his skin.
"Joana." Nicholas, a junior doctor who always played the role of the main doctor, called. "Are you done with the McKinley guy?"
Although Elia always lived a soft, distinct life – office, home, parties at night – he disliked people knowing him from everywhere.
'Fuck! Why did he add the name of the company I work for as a reference to me?' Elia frowned, squinting his eyes in the guy's direction.
"I will be done in a minute." Joana turned, gestured to Nicholas, then back at Elia.
"Seems your condition is a bit stable, so we will get back to you." She turned and walked in the opposite direction.
'Damn… what an ass.' A lustful smile appeared on Elia's face as soon as he focused on the wobbling, soft back of the nurse.
Despite being in the hospital, having part of his body under a bandage, his mind never let go of his lust.
"Sir," the lady beside him called out, stretching her arm toward Elia. "Please, can you hand me the bottle of water?"
The wide smile remained on her face even as she spoke.
'Is her cheekbone fractured, or is that just how her face is?' Elia focused on her for a while, then did as she had ordered him to.
At the left side of the hospital, along the road, black military jeeps drove at full speed, their tires rolling and sending dust and torn paper bursting upward.
All five cars halted before the hospital, a mixture of smoke and dust whirling around them.
From inside the driver's side of the first car, a man dressed in a full combat outfit – a sleek leathered black suit, a titanium helmet on his head, and boots that looked as if they could crack a mountain into two – stepped out.
"Hmm… this place seems unaffected." He scanned the environment around the hospital, then exhaled sharply.
He turned his head, lips close to the small sieved microphone on his collar. "SGT-5 reporting. The ground is safe to commence."
Yes, in Amestris, all military personnel, from Enlisted Personnel to Commissioned Officers, used code names instead of their original birth names.
From the backseat of the second vehicle, another soldier of the same rank as SGT-5 exited. He walked toward the end of the last car, his black SPAS-12 held tightly.
"SGT-7, area clear. Proceed."
In a flash, a few other soldiers in the same outfit exited. Some rushed to stand by the entrance of the hospital, while the remaining stayed by the vehicles, their assorted guns glistening as the early afternoon sun's rays shone on them.
From inside the third vehicle, a woman in white exited, her long dark hair whipping the air. Aria Zephryn glanced at the faces of the military personnel, then neared SGT-5.
"Are you sure this is the hospital he was admitted to?"
"Yes, Madam."
"Alright. Two of you should follow me inside."
Aria moved toward the sliding glass door without checking to see if they were actually following her.
"GIVE WAY!" SGT-1 shouted, gesturing at the nurses who blocked the way, attending to the injured on benches.
After a few minutes, they stood by the center of the hospital, where all family members of the injured and dying were seated, watching the new being displayed on the large screen.
"This is all bullshit," Aria gestured in disgust, seeing the video of the winged creatures chasing humans and destroying buildings. "This will just instill fear in the weak."
"Turn it off."
SGT-1 moved without waiting or asking for permission from any of the hospital officials, then pulled the cable connecting the screen to the hospital's power supply.
"HEY! WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" Popster, a retired special forces agent serving as security personnel for the hospital, stood up, breaking his relaxed posture.
"Why didn't you ask permission before turning off the television?"
"Be quiet!" Aria screamed at the bald man, but he refused, then spat at her feet.
Around the man, all the families – old men, women, children, and even the nurses – had pale faces.
From the back, SGT-1 dashed forward and slammed the side of his right arm toward the man's neck.
A wired smile tore across Popster's face as soon as he felt the wind of the incoming fist. He turned, ducked under the arm, then forced the military personnel to kneel.
From behind Aria, SGT-3, a woman in military uniform, moved forward, her Beretta M9 raised. "Stop, or I shoot."
Popster's face turned pale when he saw the silver eyes of the military woman. His heart sank deep within him, causing his grip on the military guy to loosen.
"Fuck you!" SGT-1 stood up abruptly, kicked the man's knees, forcing him to slam both knees hard on the ground.
'This is what I get after taking care of you, Agnes.' Soft tears dripped from his eyes when the lady – the only daughter he had in his entire life – slammed the base of the pistol on his head.
"It's okay… leave him. He's not why we are here." Aria gestured to them, then continued down the hallway to the right, where there seemed to be only a few people gathered.
SGT-3 turned back, her hard gaze softening when she noticed blood seeping from the spot she had struck.
'This is what the work demands, not my own will.' She turned her gaze swiftly, then followed, her gun held closer to her chest.
Inside the room Elia was in, Joana dashed toward the door, opened it wide, then directed the three people toward the boy's bed.
'What is she here for?' Elia's gaze hardened the moment he saw her face.
"It's good to see you again, Elia Wilson." Aria's eyes glistened with hope, a wide but adorable smile appearing on her lips.
…
"Sign here," SGT-1 said, bringing a sheet with long details written on it, handing Elia a black pen, and gesturing to the dotted lines.
'Who said I don't know?' Elia's jaw tightened, staring at the guy's brown eyes, the only part not covered by the mask.
"What is this?" Elia shifted his gaze from the man to the paper he was holding, and then to Aria, who had relaxed in the foamy chair.
"Read the details," she said, not looking in the boy's direction.
"I know I should read it, but what is it? Why this?"
Irritation filled Aria so deeply her face began to redden. For Aria, Elia, and the two military personnel knew what she was capable of whenever anger filled her gut.
"It's okay… I have seen it."
"LIFE AND DEATH CONTRACT?" Elia's expression shifted to shock.
SGT-1 and SGT-3 exchanged confused glances. All other patients in the room, the nurse, and the junior doctor turned their gazes toward the McKinley boy.