Title: Nowhere to run
Chapter 1
Written by: Lisse08
Summary: Trapped inside the 'fourth' floor of the hospital that didn't even existed, how are Yuuri, Wolfram and Conrad going to escape from this place?
"Where is this place?" Wolfram coughed.
"Hospital." Yuuri simply replied. Even his insensitive nose was still able to pick up the smell of strong disinfectant in the air. There was a sense of discomfort right from the moment they stepped feet into this building. Goosebumps were erecting on his neck even though it was summer. There were lots of patients around. He could tell just by looking at their pathetic state. He saw women that were dressed in white walking around them, Yuuri had pointed them out as nurses. Their jobs were similar to what Gisela was doing, except that they don't use Maryoku. Following the direction pointed above them, they passed by the registration counter, blood donation bank, cafeteria, therapeutic garden and a few more laboratory which Wolfram was not interested in.
According to Yuuri, they were finding a piece of board called directory board. Usually, it was placed either on the front door or the registration counter, but they didn't see one. So now, they were wandering around the floor searching for it. After passing by the haemodialysis unit, Yuuri finally found it, plastered at the corner of the wall besides the door.
Yuuri pointed to the directory board. Together, they headed nearer to the board and looked for the place where they wanted to go. Scanning his eyes up and down the lists, he finally caught the name, squeezed in the middle of names, emblazoned in golden. He smiled and pointed at the small 'Dr. Lisa.'
"Here it is. Fifth floor, 5-13." Yuuri stated to them. "Let's take the lift."
Sulking silently, Wolfram followed his fiancé and his brother over to the silver metallic door. He watched the digit above count-down towards the ground floor where they were currently standing. He had just arrived in Earth with Yuuri. He had been having this flu for over two weeks, which was quite rare for a normal Mazoku. He insisted that he didn't need any treatment from Earth but Yuuri dissuaded him from doing so and brought him over with Conrad in a twice.
"Dr. Lisa is my regular doctor. She just transferred to this hospital last week. Don't worry. She's a great doctor."
"You didn't fall in love with her, did you?" Wolfram threatening asked.
"You never quit, huh?" Yuuri countered.
"Heika." Conrad cut in before Wolfram could shout.
"It's Yuuri, Conrad."
"Yuuri…"
"Yuuri! It skipped the fourth floor." Wolfram interjected.
"Hah?" Yuuri snapped his head over.
"The number…" He pointed up the digit that now indicated the second floor. "It changed from the fifth straight to the third."
"Oh, don't worry. There is no fourth floor in this hospital. Sometimes in a hospital or apartment, they don't have the digit 4 in the numbering because they believed that four is an unlucky number. It's either replaced with a '3A' or they skipped it." Yuuri explained. Wolfram nodded.
Yuuri continued to talk with Conrad. Wolfram coughed again. His throat was itching.
'Ding.'
The door opened. There was no one inside. Only the tile of big mirror reflected the image of the three of them back. Wolfram tentatively gulped. Again, the eerie feelings were all over him. He shivered.
"You alright?" Yuuri asked.
"Yeah."
"Shall we go?" Conrad patted his back. He gave him a look of annoy and mustered up his courage to walk in. He wouldn't act weak in front of Conrad.
As they fit into the lift, they waited for the door to close in front of them, Wolfram tried to brush off the uneasiness that was rising. Yuuri leaned over and pressed on the number five.
"Nervous?" His king asked.
"You gotta be kidding me. Why would I feel nervous?" Wolfram lied. He averted his glance and focused his attention on the number. Conrad giggled behind.
"What are they gonna do to me?" It was not good going in clueless. He might as well get himself familiar with the procedure first before meeting them.
"You mean Dr. Lisa? Don't worry, she will ask you a few questions, then probably do a body check if necessary." Yuuri gave him a convincing smile.
Wolfram widened his eyes. Shrieked, he shielded his body with his hands.
"What's with that body check?! You don't mean, I have to take off my clothes?"
"Um…" the smile wasn't that convincing anymore.
"You didn't tell me that. I'm getting out of here!"
"Wolfram, you had come this far." Conrad started.
The door slid open in a swift motion. Yuuri pushed at Wolfram's back to get him out from the small cramped space before he could slip away. Although Yuuri doubted whether if Wolfram knew how the buttons of the lift worked, he didn't want to take the risk. Wolfram was half-protesting.
"Yeah, since we are here. They wouldn't do anything weird to you. Trust me." Yuuri said.
"I'm fine already!"
"No, you're not." Conrad pointed out. Whining, Wolfram let himself being pushed around by his fiancé.
Xxxx
"Where's the place again?" Wolfram asked after they walked passed a few wards. Their footsteps echoed loudly back to them. The sunlight shone through the rustled-metal window, illuminating the tiny particles of dusts floating in the air. Wolfram squirmed. There was something weird about this place. There wasn't a single person around the area, specifically, at this floor. He hadn't seen any living soul since he was here. Wolfram thought of asking Yuuri about it, but since he had never been to a hospital, he thought that it might be a usual phenomenon for Earth.
"5-13…" Yuuri mumbled softly. He seemed to have lost his soul.
"Yuuri?"
"Why is this place so empty?" Yuuri muttered. Not seeing any nurses around was weird enough, but what's weirder is that there is no patient.
"You mean, it isn't normal?" Wolfram questioned.
"Of course it's not. This hospital weren't supposed to be empty. You see, there were so many patients at the ground floor just now, but this…" Yuuri said. He stopped suddenly, causing Conrad and Wolfram to bump into him from behind.
"Wimp, don't do that!"
"What's wrong, heika?"
"We'd better get out of here."
With a shaky finger, Yuuri pointed towards the number painted red on the wall. Wolfram froze, his breathing became ragged.
"Is that supposed to be the number for this floor?" Wolfram whispered. His voice was barely audible.
He could hear his heart clearly as he saw Yuuri nodded his head, up and down stiffly.
Written on the wall, was the number 4.
Xxxx
"What's happening? Didn't you say that there aren't supposed to be a 4th floor here?"
"How'd I know?" Yuuri cried. From behind, they heard the hurried footsteps. They turned to see that Conrad had moved, heading back towards the door where they passed by. Yuuri knew it was a ward. Both boys held their collective breath as they saw Conrad peered into the room through the frosty glass.
"Heika, it's empty." Conrad reported. Heart sinking, Yuuri quickly ran to his right, where there was another ward located. A glance was enough to scare the hell out of him. He backed away, ignoring the fear that was stepping in, Yuuri ran a few steps forward and checked the next one. Wolfram did the same, checking the two on the left.
"Empty…" They voiced.
"Something's wrong. Yuuri. Let's get out of here." Wolfram suggested.
"Y—yeah." Yuuri agreed. They needed no more words and started tracing back from where they came out from. They ran through the hall. The footsteps followed them. The surroundings seemed to be the same all around him.
"I don't remember the lift to be so far!?" Yuuri shouted. They had run for at least five minutes but there is no metal box seemed in their vicinity anywhere. In fact, he felt like he had been going around in circle. The hospital isn't that big. Something is deadly wrong. He stopped, panting hard for air.
"What's happening?" Wolfram shrieked, his body began to shake vigorously.
Conrad managed to compose his calm self, caught a glimpse at the scene outside the window.
"Yuuri."
"Yeah?"
"Look at this." Conrad pointed.
They followed. He felt his heart stopped practically. The scene of the buildings in Tokyo's city was gone. Outside the glass, water filled their eyes.
Yuuri stood rooted to his place, unable to think. Wolfram sank down to his knees, strength and courage deserted him. Conrad stood still, looking out at the image. Cold waves washed over them, one after another as they realized something.
They were trapped, under the deep sea and there was nowhere out.