Vol. 1 - CH. 1 - P1

Chapter 1 – Certain Death

Part 1

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BANG!

Gunshots were fired and could be heard very clearly and loudly from inside the bank. The shot was not a warning shot into the air, but rather fired directly towards a 16-year-old teenage girl.

"DAMMIT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! BASTARD!!!"

Shouted one of the robbers who seemed to be the leader of this robbers. He yelled at the shooter furiously and his anger was clearly visible from behind his mask.

"S-Sorry... I-I panicked." The shooter replied with a trembling body.

BAM!

"YOU IDIOT!!!" Their leader hit the shooter on the head and continued to scold him angrily.

"I TOLD YOU TO SHOOT INTO THE AIR INSTEAD OF AIMING FORWARD, DIDN'T I!" He continued.

"EEEIIKK! S-Sorry. I-It's my first time robbing-"

"SO ARE WE, IDIOT!"

"E-Eiikk!! F-Forgive me!"

"TCH! YOU IDIOT! You should have stayed in your room and continued playing games there!"

The shooter was unable to reply and say anything else after being scolded by his leader.

The robber leader looked at the wounded girl from a distance. He saw that the poor girl was beyond help. The bullet had hit the girl's left chest and seemed to have pierced her heart. It was a bit of a miracle that the girl didn't die instantly even though her heart had been shot out and was still conscious although dying and slowly losing consciousness.

"TCH! You idiot! Look what you've done! You're going to kill that poor girl you know!"

"N-No way... I-I didn't mean to... I-I panicked.. I-I.."

The shooter was frightened and panicked. His body trembled violently as he realized that he was the cause of the girl's misfortune. He also immediately realized that he would be the prime suspect of the girl's murder.

"TCH! It can't be helped. We'll continue with the heist! What about you guys?" Asked their leader to the other members.

The others nodded to continue their heist.

"Alright then."

"W-Wait!" The shooter shouted.

"What?!" Asked the leader.

"This is not entirely my fault, is it? I-I'm innocent-"

"We're all guilty here! From the start of the heist, we've been guilty. But, the shooting victim is your fault! You're guilty of the shooting victim!"

"N-No way... I-I... W-What should I do?" He asked frantically.

"The risk is your own! If you want to come with us, then go ahead. But if you want to run away from now on, you'll probably be caught by the people outside."

The shooter could not make up his mind. He knew that he had acted worse than their previous plan and he could not run away from it. The shooter could only regret his actions and knelt helplessly on the floor with his knees and hands on the floor.

"Wh-What have I done?"

"Tch! We really shouldn't have accepted you in."

"What do we do next?" Asked one of the other members.

"I already told you before. We continue our heist."

They left the heavily depressed shooter alone and began to continue their robbery.

Thanks to the earlier shots, everyone inside the bank was already on the ground with their hands in the air. To ensure that no one attempted to report to the police, the leader of the robbers gave a warning-

"ALRIGHT, NOBODY MOVE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO END UP LIKE THAT GIRL!" Threatened the leader of the robbers to everyone in the bank.

The leader fired one bullet into the air as a warning and to make it clear to everyone that they weren't messing around here.

"We're not messing around here! If you still love your lives, then follow our words!"

From the direction of the poor girl, there was a normal-sized man who was trying to approach the girl slowly. His movements were noticed by the leader of the robbers and he pointed his gun at the man and asked-

"YOU! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?" He asked in a shouting and threatening manner.

The man immediately replied-

"I-I was trying to help her. That's all. I'm not going to do anything but help her." The man replied slowly while being scared and while trying to convince the robbers.

"It's useless!" Said the leader of the robbers.

"I am a doctor!" The man continued trying to convince the robbers once again.

"Then you know it's useless, don't you!" Asserted the robber leader once more.

"Th-That's..." The doctor glanced at the poor girl. And from just looking at her, he also knew that she was beyond help.

The girl's gaze was straight and blank. Her eyes were wide open and slowly, her eyelids began to close. Her breathing was heavy but slow. Her body was very limp. Her head was still trying to be raised. A lot of blood was coming out of her left chest. Although she could not be helped, it was a small miracle that the girl did not die immediately and was still trying to survive. Although the girl herself was also very sure that she could not be saved.

The doctor knew very well that he alone in this condition could not save the girl. The doctor's face looked very guilty and disappointed with himself. The doctor whispered quietly from a distance, "I'm sorry" many times to the poor girl, apologizing that he could not help her.

"It's useless, Doc! None of us here can help her. It's all thanks to that idiot!" The leader of the robbers assured the doctor that the girl could no longer be saved.

"Now, do you want to join that girl and save her in the afterlife. Or do you still want to save other patients after this?"

Asked the robber leader while threatening the doctor by pointing his gun at him.

The doctor knew that he couldn't do anything. With an annoyed and guilty look on his face, the doctor raised his hands indicating that he was surrendering to the robbers.

"Good. That's the right choice, Doc. We don't want to make the same mistake as that idiot" The robber leader lowered his weapon.

"Since you are brave enough and have shown your worth as a doctor, I will let you accompany the girl until she dies" The leader of the robbers allowed the doctor to stay near the girl to accompany her while she was dying.

The doctor approached the girl closer slowly. Once the doctor was near and next to the girl, the doctor started to slowly lay down and held the girl's left hand gently, trying to keep her company and ease her suffering. The girl reciprocated by holding the doctor's right hand with her left hand limply. Although it was not visible, the girl felt a little happy that someone was still worried about her in times like this.

The doctor whispered, "I'm sorry", over and over again to the girl while bowing his head, feeling very guilty and feeling like a failure as a doctor at this time and situation.

The girl could not say anything and her face did not change at all. But the doctor knew, from the girl's grip on his hand, that she forgave him and was happy with his concern.

Back to the robbers' action-

"YOU OVER THERE!" The leader of the robbers pointed his gun at the female bank teller and started threatening her.

"Y-YES!?" The bank teller replied frantically while raising her hands in the air.

The 2 robber members handed the bank teller 2 large open bags.

"You know what to do! There's no need to explain!" The leader continued.

"YES!" The bank teller got the point and replied frantically.

"If you're in trouble, ask your friends to help you!" The leader of the robbers suggested.

"UNDERSTOOD!" The bank teller replied.

"Do it quickly! And don't call the police! If all goes well, then we won't hurt you! Understood!?"

"YES, SIR!"

"If we manage to escape from here, you can arrest that idiot! He's just a burden and he's the main culprit of shooting and killing that girl."

"O-Okay...."

"HURRY START FILLING THE BAG WITH MONEY!" The leader of the robbers shouted and ordered the bank tellers who were there to fill the two big bags with money until they were filled to the brim.

"AND DO IT QUICKLY!" He shouted and ordered once again.

The bank tellers filled the bags immediately. But even though they filled them quickly, it wasn't easy to fill both bags with money in one go.

The leader of the robbers turned his body from the bank tellers who were filling the bags with money towards his men.

"You guys keep watch so that no one tries to escape and call the police. Once the bags are filled with money, we'll get out of here and leave that idiot alone. And don't fire a single bullet at the hostages! Got it!"

"Understood!" His men replied.

There are 5 robbers here. The leader and 3 of his men plus the shooter. According to the leader, this was their first time robbing a bank. But from the nature and mentality of the leader, it seems that this is not their first time committing a crime. Except for the shooter before where it seems like this is his first time committing a crime.

Their current goal is very clear, which is to rob banks. But their ultimate goal in robbing the bank is still unclear and the reason is unknown. If the reason is to make money, then this kind of action is very unnecessary. If they are robbing banks just to make money, then they are already depressed when it comes to making money.

But that doesn't seem to be the case. It seems that they had another purpose in robbing a bank.

"I'll contact Boss. You guys stay alert and let me know when the bags are fully loaded!"

"Got it!"

The leader of the robbers moved a little away from all of them to call the person he called, "Boss". The robber leader took a flip phone from his pocket and started calling the person he had called "Boss" earlier.

"Hello, Boss. It's me. I'd like to report on our progress so far..."

Back to the poor girl. The girl did not seem to be able to hold on any longer. Her body was more limp than ever and her eyelids had begun to close completely.

The doctor realized that, the doctor gripped the girl's hand tighter and began to whisper softly, "I'm sorry. Don't worry. Everything will be fine" to the girl. Of course the doctor said all that just to calm the girl down and so that the girl would not feel so much pain while dying and starting to lose her life slowly.

Slowly, the girl began to lose consciousness. Her eyelids began to close slowly and the grip of her hand holding the doctor also slowly began to weaken.

The doctor's face was already starting to look sad and guilty, knowing that the girl's time was running out and would soon die.

However, this is where the real miracle happened for the girl.

The time around the girl began to slow down. Very slow. The girl sensed that the area around her was becoming abnormally slow. She began to realize that she was the only one who could sense this phenomenon. She concluded that this was the last time that dying people felt before they died.

Then suddenly, in front of the girl, the girl could see something that no one else could see but herself. Even the doctor and the robbers couldn't see what the girl was seeing at this moment. Not only that, the girl could also hear what no one else here could hear.

What did the girl see? That is...

"Aahh... How unfortunate you are. Isn't that so?" Said the mysterious entity that had just arrived in front of the girl.

The girl could see and hear the mysterious creature's voice very clearly. She also immediately realized that she was the only one who could see and hear the creature. The girl then concluded...

"Are you the God of Death?" Asked the girl.

"Me? No. I'm not the God of Death at all," replied the mysterious entity.

The girl was confused. The girl began to try to ascertain who exactly this creature that appeared before her was.

"If you are not the God of Death who came to take my life, then who are you?" Asked the girl.

"Hmmm... That's a question that humans always ask us," he replied.

"'Us?' So there are many of you, huh?"

"Sure. I just happen to be one of my race."

"Well then, if you're not the God of Death... Then who are you?" The girl asked once more to make sure.

The question was not answered immediately by the mysterious entity. The mysterious entity was only silent for a moment and immediately changed the topic.

"For now, who 'We' are is not an important matter here. You may save your curiosity for now and ask again later. There are more important matters than that here right now"

The girl was silent for a while and did not reply immediately. The girl did feel very curious about who this mysterious creature really was. But, the girl also didn't want to force it because her stamina was also no longer enough to last any longer.

"How about we chat for a while before getting to the point?" The mysterious entity asked the girl.

"You said that there was 'more important business' but now you're asking me to chat" replied the girl.

"This is precisely the first stage of that 'important business'" replied the mysterious entity.

"... I see. Are you sure you just don't want to make small talk?"

"Little bit, yes. But for the rest, it's important for my previous 'business'"

"Why?" Asked the girl to confirm the mysterious being's intentions.

"Why do you ask? Hmmm... Maybe because this...-"

"-...could be the last time both for you and for me!"

The mysterious being's answer and statement gave the girl goosebumps and a bit of confusion. She knew that this was "definitely" the last time for her. But she was confused and wondered what it meant that this was also the last time for the mysterious entity.

To the girl's eyes, the creature looked perfectly healthy even though its form was as terrifying as the monsters that appear in horror and fantasy movies. It didn't look like it was dying in the same way as the girl right now.

The girl was trying to convince what the creature meant before-

"What do you mean? I knew that I would die here. But I don't know what you meant before that this is also your last time. Will we not meet again after I die?"

"Of course not. Your destination after death is either Heaven or Hell. While the place where I live and where I come from is not from those two worlds. But in another world between Heaven and Hell and the earth. Do you know what that is?"

The girl could only shake her head very slowly with what little stamina she had left indicating that she did not know and was also very confused.

"So are 'We'" The mysterious entity said to the girl.

The girl became even more confused.

"Forget about it. Your time is short. If you want this 'thing I'll give you', then entertain me for a while by chatting with me. After that, I will give you something."

The girl was silent for a while then replied-

"...I see. So this is the beginning and procedure of the 'Contract', huh"

The mysterious entity was immediately shocked but not too much. He was just surprised that the girl knew what he meant right now.

"Hooo... You're making me feel like I'm starting to be amused. How do you know if 'that' is what I really meant?"

The girl answered simply and honestly-

"I don't know. I don't know at all. I don't know who you are and I don't know what you want to give me and what you really want. But... From what you said earlier, it's pretty clear that you want something and it sounds like an agreement"

The girl's words that sounded very smart in the mysterious entity's ear left the mysterious entity speechless and made him very amazed at the girl's clever logic and quick thinking while in this condition. He didn't expect a girl like her to be so quick to deduce things.

"HAH! I was amazed!~ Really amazed!~ I didn't expect you to be this smart!~ I like you~ You've kept me very entertained so far~"

"That was really fast. You were entertained very quickly. I thought it would be that hard"

"It should be, yes. But, your intelligence and thinking are an exception. You are indeed the 'chosen one'"

"What do you mean? Have you all been watching me from afar?"

"No. Not at all. No one knows who you really are. No one knows what your name is, your age, your appearance, and so on... Other than me!"

The mysterious entity's statement made the girl realize one thing. The girl instantly realized one very important thing.

"...I see. So you're the one who's been watching me all this time from your world," said the girl.

The girl's words made the mysterious entity's mouth open very wide and made the mysterious entity laugh out loud.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! IT'S TRUE! I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO'S BEEN WATCHING YOU FROM MY WORLD! THE OTHERS AREN'T WATCHING YOU AT ALL! I'M THE ONLY ONE! BWAHAHAHAHA!...-"

"-...I'm amazed that you jumped to that conclusion. And the answer is very correct. What magic did you use?" The mysterious entity asked the girl.

"Magic? I don't know what you mean. I have no magical powers and I have no mystical powers whatsoever. I'm just an ordinary human," the girl answered honestly.

"WELL THEN, THANKS TO THAT, YOU'RE MORE INTERESTING AND CAN ENTERTAIN ME MORE THAN I EXPECTED! BWAHAHAHAHA!"

The mysterious entity burst out laughing and he looked very amused. Not only that, but the creature seemed to be amazed at the cleverness of the girl's inference.

The girl then began to ask once again-

"...May I ask you one thing?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"Are you all the same or different?"

"Of course we all have different forms"

"So... Are any of you gorgeous?"

"HAH! Unfortunately of course not!~ All of us, although different, our forms are all very scary~ We are all very scary in the eyes of humans!~ No one is beautiful or handsome~ All of us are very scary!~ But... Aren't we cool in this form?~ Hmmm?~"

".... Yes... I think even though you guys are scary, you look pretty cool too"

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA! THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMENT!~ BWAHAHAHA!"

The mysterious entity was hideous and had a humanoid body. His face was a skull that almost resembled a human skull. In both eyeholes of the creature's skull, there were like red fireballs that were always blazing. If the creature was happy, the fireball would become bigger and bigger. There was a sunglass on top of the creature's skull. Around its neck, there were countless bones coiled around it as if they were a necklace for it. Although the head was a skull, the body was not completely bone at all. It looked like skin. This mysterious entity was wearing a red furry jacket. It was unclear whether he was wearing pants or not because the girl's eyes could not distinguish whether it was pants or his limbs.

"So... Aren't all of you skeletons?"

"No, no. Not all of us. I'm just one of the few who have a skull face. The rest are many different and there are even many who don't have skull faces."

"...I see. You guys are unique, huh"

"BWAHAHAHA! OF COURSE!~"

"And creepy" the girl emphasized.

"Haha! Yes, that's how we should be. Horrifying in front of the humans. But... Even though we're scary... We can give the humans something very special!"

"'Something special?' What is it?" Asked the girl.

The girl's question made the mysterious entity smile. Although the skull's face couldn't show the smile, that was how the creature felt at the moment. The mysterious entity began to answer the girl's questions as well as explain them vigorously.

"ANYTHING!"

"Anything?"

"YES! ANYTHING!"

"...I still don't understand"

"ANYTHING! ANYTHING YOU WANT!"

"Like?"

"ANYTHING! WHAT DID YOU WANT BEFORE?"

"...to withdraw money from the bank"

"THEN WHAT DID YOU WITHDRAW THE MONEY FROM THE BANK FOR?"

"...To buy new computer parts"

"YES! THAT! YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK AND BUY THEM AT THE STORE WHEN YOU CAN JUST ASK US!"

"....???"

"NOT ONLY THAT! YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO SPEND MONEY TO BUY THINGS! NO! NOT ONLY THAT! YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO GO TO THE TROUBLE OF BEING LIKE THIS WHEN YOU CAN JUST ASK US DIRECTLY!"

"....."

"WHATEVER YOU ASK FOR! WHATEVER YOU WANT! WE WILL GRANT IT AND GIVE IT TO YOU! HOWEVER-"

"There's a price! Isn't that so?" The girl cut off the mysterious entity's speech and answered it herself or said the words that the mysterious entity actually wanted to say.

In the midst of its fervor, the mysterious entity instantly stopped and became uncharacteristically calm. It was because he was surprised once again that the girl was able to figure out that "For a gift, there is a price".

"...Yes. Of course. How did you know?" Asked the mysterious entity.

The girl immediately answered-

"Every contract has a price!"

The girl wasn't done yet-

"There's a gift, so there's a fee!"

"And also...-" The girl was still continuing-

"-...Nothing is free in this world!"

The mysterious entity and the girl fell silent. They both fell silent. The creature tried to look into the girl's eyes, but the girl couldn't return its gaze because her body had begun to limp even more than before. The girl's time was getting very close.

After falling silent to each other, the mysterious entity began to speak. This time, he became more serious than before.

"You seem to have understood, yes"

"And I don't think I can entertain you anymore" The girl replied.

"No, no. That's not it. This is the decider!" The mysterious entity emphasized.

The girl, without further ado, immediately understood what the mysterious entity meant.

"...I see. It's about time, huh."

"Yes. So what's your answer?" Asked the creature.

With eyes that were already very weak and would soon lose the focus of her vision, the girl could only remain silent. Her grip on the kind doctor's hand had also begun to weaken. Her body was also very weak. The girl's time was only seconds away.

The mysterious entity realized it. He frantically shouted and demanded the girl's answer and decision in a hurried manner. More precisely, in a pushy manner. In order to get a definite answer.

"HEY! QUICKLY ANSWER WHAT YOU WANT! EXPLAIN IT QUICKLY! HURRY UP! DO YOU WANT SOMETHING FROM ME OR NOT!? GIRL! ANSWER QUICKLY! WHAT'S YOUR ANSWER?!"

Frantically and shouting, the mysterious entity tried to get a definite answer from the girl. The girl, however, still did not answer and slowly she began to lose consciousness.

"HEY! GIRL! ANSWER QUICKLY!" Asked frantically and hurriedly by the mysterious entity.

"I CAN'T JUST GIVE YOU YOUR POWER OR YOUR WISH IF WE DON'T CONTRACT PROPERLY! I MUST KNOW WHAT YOU WANT AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE PRICE!"

The girl was still silent.

"GIRL! ANSWER ME! YOU MUST STILL BE ABLE TO SPEAK, RIGHT!"

Hearing those words, the girl finally began to open her mouth. The girl said-

"...What... What do you want from this girl who is about to die and what's in it for me if I'm about to die?" Asked the girl seriously with her last bit of stamina left.

The girl's questions and words left the mysterious entity speechless. He knew he couldn't answer at all because what the girl was saying made perfect sense and was logically correct.

Unable to answer, the mysterious entity began to explain to the girl how contracts worked in situations like this.

"Actually, this is a very rare situation. We definitely don't want to be making contracts with people who are about to die. And also... I haven't explained at all what I will or want to give you. Not only that, but you also haven't said anything about what you want from me. Your request. So to answer that, I will only give you what I will or want to give you. How's that?"

The girl could only fall limply silent with a very blank gaze and eyelids that were about to close.

The mysterious entity also fell silent, but his gaze was piercing towards the girl.

The mysterious entity also noticed something about the girl. He saw that her mouth was open slightly. He immediately realized that the girl had previously wanted to say something or was about to say something. So the mysterious entity could only remain silent, waiting for the girl to speak.

But...

The girl was still very limply silent not uttering or saying anything.

The creature waited and waited for a few seconds but he didn't get any answer from the girl at all.

And finally... It was at a moment like this that The creature knew something and realized it. The creature realized it late but now he was very aware of it and was forced to accept it.

The mysterious entity said-

"...I see. Aaahh... I see..."

"It seems like it is"

"It seems... This is the answer and the way"

"I knew it would be like this"

"Looks like I failed you."

"Aaahh... I see."

"I can't help it, huh..."

"..Alright. If that's the case"

"Then... I'll do it!"

"Don't waste this chance!"

"Goodbye...-"

"Rain"

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"HEY! HEY! WAKE UP! ARE YOU AWAKE?! HEY! PLEASE WAKE UP!"

Where am I?

What's going on?

Who's yelling?

"WAKE UP! OH, GOD! THIS CAN'T BE!"

"No... Way... Is this a miracle?"

"I-I don't know..."

"What happened?"

"How did this happen?"

Whose voice is that?

Who are they exactly?

I... Can't see very clearly.

It's very blurry here.

What exactly am I seeing here? Lights? Is it because there's too much glare that I can't see clearly?

What's really going on here?

"HEY! I KNOW YOU'RE STILL IN THERE WITH US! WAKE UP!"

"SOMEONE, PLEASE GET HER SOME WATER!"

"OKAY, WAIT A MINUTE!"

I could hear a lot of people yelling at me. I could also just hear someone running hurriedly.

What the hell is going on?

Where am I?

Am I still in the bank?

Or am I already dead?

!?!?!?!

By the way... Where is 'He?!'

HUH?! 'HE?!' WHERE IS 'HE!?'

In an instant, without realizing it, I managed to open my eyes very wide. And in that instant, I could also see very clearly what was in front of me.

"KID! OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOD! ARE YOU... REALLY ALIVE?!"

"E-Eeehh... Y-You... That D-Doctor.. Isn't it?"

"YES! It's me!"

Weird... I can clearly see the doctor who was holding and grasping my hand tightly and now he seems to be... crying. But his face looked very grateful.

Not only that, as I started to move my head to turn around and look around, I could clearly see that the people who were previously inside the bank started to crowd around me and looked very surprised, astonished, and also grateful.

I...

Strange... I can see clearly and even speak clearly. I can also move my head easily as usual. I also don't feel very weak nor do I feel any pain.

Am I really dead? Or...

"Here's the drink!"

"AH! Thank you so much! Here, please drink this. You really need it."

The doctor handed me a glass of water to drink. I took it and started drinking it slowly. It was weird... I was able to drink it very easily as usual.

It's not like I was shot before-

!?!?!?!

I immediately rubbed my left chest to check and confirm one thing. And sure enough... What I suspected turned out to be true.

"Does your chest still hurt?" The doctor asked me.

I replied-

"N-No. Not at all."

"Thank goodness. It really is a miracle."

"By the way... What about the robbers? Did they leave?" I asked.

"A-About that..."

"How should we explain it?"

"T-That matter..."

"Maybe you can see for yourself directly."

The people who were previously surrounding me now began to spread out a bit and allowed me to see one thing that I hadn't expected at all before.

"Wh-What's going on?! I-It's..." I was shocked by what I had just seen.

"We're all also very surprised and confused"

"This is... It's very unexpected for us."

"And after they became like that, the doctor said that he could feel your pulse starting to come back in your hand and that you were starting to breathe again"

"This... It's really a very mysterious miracle."

"...." I couldn't say anything.

What did I see?

It was...

The 5 corpses of the robbers who had previously attempted to rob this bank.

The five corpses were lying on the floor and from what I could see, there were absolutely no gunshot wounds or external physical wounds that injured them to the extent that they could die. Was it an internal wound or something?

"W-Was it a heart attack?"

"No, it's not. I checked, but... They didn't have a heart attack at all."

"So you're saying they..."

"Y-Yes... Just died..."

They... Just died without any apparent cause and effect!

What exactly has happened here.

By the way... What did I say before I...-

!?!?!?!

That's right!

Aaahhh.. That's right!

I just remember it!

I just realize it!

Is it not because...-

"Aaahhh.. So... I see. Apparently... You and I..."

"H-Hey...?"

I immediately fainted and became unconscious. Before my body fell onto the cold floor, the doctor seemed to catch me.

"H-HEY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!? WAKE UP! OPEN YOUR EYES!"

"WHAT'S WRONG, DOC?!"

"I-Is she okay?"

"She's okay, calm down everyone! We need to get her to the hospital fast! Anybody I can ask to take me to the hospital where I work, please!"

"ME! DOC, JUST COME WITH ME! I'LL TAKE YOU TWO!"

"Thank you very much!"

..............

Aaahhh... So that's how it is, huh.

Aaahhh... So that's what it looks like.

I feel so guilty. I should have said it right away.

Thank you.

And...

"I'm sorry."