2 Found

It was a brisk Saturday morning. The first rays of light just started to glimmer upon the calm ocean. The salty scent of the sea pervaded the air. Three figures could be seen in the distance strolling along the shoreline, radiating an aura of happy family.

A couple walked along the damp sand hand-in-hand, with small waves softly crashing against their ankles. A young girl, around 5 or 6, ran in front of them, leaving small cute footprints in the sand. She joyfully laughed as she looked behind, beckoning them to catch up.

The woman looked in her late 20s and was very beautiful, with sparkling azure eyes. The ocean breeze blew her long blonde hair to the right. The man who stood next to her looked the same age, but had dark black hair cut short in a military manner. He had a stern face with sharp eyebrows, but held a tender look in his deep black eyes when gazing at the young girl running in front of him.

While running, the little girl spotted a pile of seaweed and ran over to it. She poked at it but became disinterested almost immediately. She continued forward with the couple following behind her. When passing by the lump of seaweed, the man glanced at it and saw a pale blue hand barely sticking out from under it. Alarmed by this sight, the man hurriedly ran towards the pile of seaweed and rapidly tossed the seaweed, uncovering a sickly looking boy. He tried to feel for a pulse from his wrist, but felt none. He then proceeded with mouth-to-mouth CPR and pumped his chest repeatedly, breaking the boy's ribs in the process.

"Honey, call 911! This boy's about to die!"

The young girl finally realized that something was wrong and ran back towards her parents and held her mother's hand, worriedly looking at her dad. The woman placed her hand onto her daughter's head and comforted her daughter. She dialed 911 and calmly informed them of the situation and their location, with a tone of urgency.

The man continued to perform CPR and after a few minutes the boy's heart started beating once more. He sighed in relief and periodically checked the boy's pulse until the ambulance arrived. The family decided to accompany the ambulance to the hospital as there was no other guardian with the boy. The boy was ushered into the emergency room and given immediate care.

After the boy was in a less critical state, the doctor approached the couple.

"Are you two the guardians of this child?"

"...Yes"

"The boy was in a very serious condition. He was suffering from hypothermia and trench foot. Twenty more minutes and he would've been beyond saving."

"How long do you think he'll need to stay in the hospital?" the woman asked worriedly.

"Judging from the severity of his body condition, about 2-3 months. The cost of the medical treatment is well in the thousands... can it be covered?"

The woman looked at the man beside her and gave him a stern look. The man saw the look on his wife's face and helplessly smiled before responding to the doctor.

"Put him in a VIP room and give him the best treatment available for his recovery."

The doctor looked astonished, but didn't question the man and ordered the receptionist to book one of their best rooms. The man gave the receptionist his ID and a credit card. The receptionist looked shocked when she looked at the ID before she respectfully led the man and his family to the VIP room the boy would stay in.

[2 days later]

Charles woke in a daze, slowly opening his eyes. The brightness of the room blinded him, forcing him to blink multiple time in order to adjust to the light. He weakly tried to get up but realized that his right arm had an IV drip attached to it and his legs were raised by some sort of configuration.

"Wh- Where am I?"

[Host is currently in a VIP recovery room in Miller Children's and Women's Hospital Long Beach]

"I see... WAIT, WHAT?"