"Where… am I?" Leon's tongue felt thick as the words echoed the second time.
When he tilted his head, he became extremely confused, seeing two men and one girl standing beside him.
"Who are you?" he asked in a voice that cracked as he swallowed hard.
The two men standing at Leon's right side turned confused expressions at each other when Leon turned and focused on them.
His gaze stayed on them for a little longer before finally shifting himself and turning to his left when he felt something touching his skin.
The girl moved a step back but kept her hand stretched above Leon. Leon's eyes widened as panic surged through him when he saw the girl's hands hovering over his.
*'Don't.'* A voice rose in Leon's head before fear could swallow him, but he gave more ear to fear. *'None of this is real.'* The thought came and went like smoke — too fast to hold, too loud to ignore.
"MOVE AWAY FROM ME!" He screamed and pushed the girl's arms from his, before pulling the white cloth covering his waist to his face.
The girl's eyes welled up instantly as a shockwave lanced through her small body while her mouth moved up and down.
Before either of the two men could say a word, they stopped focusing on Leon and tried chasing after the small girl who was now running out of the room.
"Feng, go after her. I will stay here and watch Leon." The older man said and gestured toward the door.
Feng hesitated for a moment before exiting the room and chasing after the little girl, who was running through the hospital's hallway crying heavily.
---
At 3:00 PM, when the hospital's end-of-visiting alarm clicked, the one seated on Leon's right stood up and walked out as well.
A nurse approached — the top button of her uniform undone, her steps unhurried. She smiled once at Leon without breaking stride and moved straight to the monitor beeping at his side.
"Don't worry, okay," she said, reaching for the syringe on the metallic plate beside him.
She held it up briefly, tipped the needle toward the glass jar, and drew the sleeping medicine in a single slow pull — her other eye staying on Leon the whole time.
Leon's jaw tightened.
Without a word she pressed two fingers to his shoulder, found the vein, and slid the needle in.
Leon felt the warmth spread before he could decide what to do about it. His fingers grew heavy. The ceiling softened at its edges.
Countless faces, voices, and words looped in his head like a stone sinking to the bottom of still water while darkness began to slowly swallow his senses.
"What I gave you will help you sleep," the nurse said, already moving toward the next bed. "Don't fight it."
---
When the 6:00 PM alarm chime rang, Mr. Lee and Feng returned to the room Leon was admitted to and walked to his bed.
Both of them pulled a plastic chair, dragged it from the wall and sat closer to Leon's bed, crossing their legs.
Mr. Lee pulled out a family photo from his pocket and slapped it to his palm, then looked at Feng. "Let's try, if this will help bring back his memories."
Feng looked at the photo for a moment then brushed his hands on his face, exhaling sharply. "I doubt it will help. But all the same, let's try it and see."
Feng relaxed himself in the chair, leaning back and stretching his legs as he watched Mr. Lee stand toward the sleeping boy.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
After three consecutive taps landed on Leon's left shoulder, Mr. Lee sat on the bed when he saw the boy's eyes open.
He raised his arms and held Leon's shoulders when Leon tried to scream. "We're not here to harm you."
Mr. Lee only loosened his grip when Leon's wild expression calmed slightly. He raised the photo, looked at the figures in it before turning the proper side for Leon to watch.
For two minutes, Mr. Lee's face brightened when he noticed the boy's eyes were now fixed on the photo.
"Cut the crap," Feng said and laughed the moment the boy's hasty movement began.
Though the boy kept tilting his gaze sideways, Mr. Lee continued, using the same photo as bait whenever the boy stopped and stared at him.
"How many times do you want to repeat that same action?!" Feng hissed when he became fed up with Mr. Lee's fifteen failed attempts.
Mr. Lee turned his tired eyes to Feng then curled his mouth inward. "Feng, we still need to try, otherwise he's gone for good."
He stood up from the bed, neared the chair at the right and sat on it.
At Mr. Lee's side, Feng's eyes widened when a thought bounced in his head. "I think we need to act fast," he said and turned to Mr. Lee with a serious expression.
"Why?" Mr. Lee asked while his own face contorted with more unsolved questions.
"I just remembered something I needed to tell you earlier," Feng said, voice dropping. He began rubbing his palms together slowly.
Mr. Lee's eyes went dead as he gave all his attention to Feng.
"I got information that someone who is part of the selected members reported a case to the heads of the Alchemania." Feng paused and brushed his finger on his face. "Due to that, the rules and regulations governing the training have changed."
Silence ruled as the words sank deep in Mr. Lee's head while the fraying curtains filled the room with chilled air.
Then, as they waited, their heads tilted toward the door's angle as it screeched across the floor and opened. Footsteps drew closer, rushing like storm wind.
"Please, sir, hold his hands so I can inject him with this serum." A thin voice echoed from behind Mr. Lee as the footsteps faded.
When Mr. Lee turned and saw a beautiful doctor standing behind him, he moved with a smile on his face as he held Leon's arms as instructed.
Immediately he saw the doctor pull out a syringe holding a shimmering blue liquid, his brow tightened.
"I thought he already received that," Mr. Lee said in a tone that cut through the doctor's composure while his gaze drilled for answers.
The doctor only adjusted the drip and pressed the needle in without saying a single word or stopping her actions.
Mr. Lee and Feng exchanged confused glances and watched the last drop of the blue liquid disappear into Leon's veins.
"We need answers… or you'll regret it." The two of them said in a voice that needed an urgent response, but she smiled and nodded once.
"Sorry, I'm not the right person to explain. Only the top proctors can disclose that detail." She said and moved a step back, placing her hands behind her back.
Immediately she exited, Lily burst into the room, sweat dripping from her face.
"Sir… where's my brother?" Lily said in a weak voice that was barely holding itself together, then looked at Feng's face.
Feng walked to Lily, wrapped his hands around her shoulders and guided her to Leon's bed without a word. Lily pulled herself away from Feng's grip and neared Leon like someone bracing for a blow she already knew was coming.
"Leon," Lily said in a soft watery voice as she scanned Leon's face while trying to make the tears in her eyes dry without falling. "Leon, it's me."
Lily grabbed Leon's right arm, pressed the palm on her cheeks while a faint smile tore at her lips. But Leon jerked his hand back before Lily could embrace it more.
She staggered back as the tears in her eyes blurred everything out, then covered her face as she fled the way she came. Her sobs tore through the entire hospital's hall like a ghost locked in a room.
"Easy, easy," Mr. Lee said and placed a hand on Leon's chest. "You're safe."
Leon pushed the hand away, shaking his head hard. The voices were back — layered, overlapping, each one a blade dragging across the inside of his skull.
He thrashed his hand on the table at his side. The monitor screamed. He ripped the cable from his vein.
When he screamed, everyone standing around him or at a far distance covered their ears and closed their eyes shut.
Footsteps hammered from the entrance. A new doctor burst through the door. "Hold him! Hold him well!"
Mr. Lee lunged for Leon's left arm. Feng grabbed the right.
Leon threw both arms wide in one violent motion. Feng left the ground — his back hit the wall hard enough to crack the air out of him. He slid down slowly, teeth clenched, one hand pressed flat to the wall as he tried to find his feet. His legs didn't answer right away.
Leon's eyes turned red as the doctor forcefully pierced the syringe into his skin.