The Clinic

The rabbit was nowhere to be found. Arthur looked around the store and he saw a ball of white rushing towards the door.

"Hey, wait!" The young man called after the Jade Rabbit as he raced to catch up to his latest client. However, his two human legs were slower than the rabbit's four legs. When he reached the front door, the Jade Rabbit had already disappeared. Arthur poked his head out and turned to look left and right. The street was deserted and quiet. The moon was still glowing quietly in the sky, and for some reason, Arthur felt like the moon was observing him.

Perhaps it was the Moon Fairy watching him to make sure he did not bully her pet.

Arthur leaned against the Midnight Emporium's front door and tried to figure out what he should do next. He felt the responsibility to chase after the Jade Rabbit. Even though it was a mythical creature, Arthur did not feel the rabbit had the ability to protect itself. It just did not give off that dangerous vibe. The internet article also did not mention the Jade Rabbit have any skills to defend itself. Arthur just could not imagine the little white fur ball being any sort of threat to anyone.

He knew there was a chance that he had underestimated the Jade Rabbit but Arthur simply could not stop himself from worrying about it. Perhaps it was his natural protectiveness towards animals... or the fact that the Jade Rabbit was just so damn cute.

Even though Arthur did not see for himself the direction the Jade Rabbit had taken, the young man had a fairly good guess. The Jade Rabbit reacted this way after it saw the street view for the abandoned building on Third Street. The place where the alleged, mysterious doctor had moved in to supply miracle pills... at least according to hearsay on the streets.

Therefore, it was only a logical jump for the Jade Rabbit to head that way. Furthermore, the miracle pills sold at this place was supposed to be the cure for all sickness and the job of the Jade Rabbit according to the internet entry was to make elixir of life, the parallel between the two was quite obvious.

It was Arthur's speculation that this mysterious doctor was no doctor at all but some chum that happened across the Jade Rabbit's magical mortar and pestle and decided to make a business out of it. Arthur sighed and shook his head, human greed knew no bounds.

Arthur looked at the time on his phone. It was slightly past 2 am. He doubted the clinic would be open so late at night but he could make use of this opportunity to stake the place out. Furthermore, he was worried about the Jade Rabbit who bounded off alone. He doubted it could get into any real danger but what if...

Arthur shuddered from the thought. He'd hate to be the reason behind the death of a mythical rabbit, he answered the creature's petition and had unwittingly led it to its grave. His conscience would not be able to stomach something like that and that was not to mention the repercussion this might lead to. What if the Jade Rabbit's companion, the Moon Fairy decided to take vengeance on the rabbit's behalf?

For Arthur's own sake and the Jade Rabbit's sake, the young man felt the responsibility to chase after the rabbit, to ensure its safety. He walked out from the Midnight Emporium and the front door slammed close behind him like the store was telling him to move it. This meant that either the Book of Thoth or the Midnight Emporium approved of his decision.

Arthur ran down the street to head for Third Street. There was just a three blocks distance between First Street and Third Street so it did not take much time for Arthur to arrive at his destination. Third Street was as quiet as First Street but since Third Street was further away from the city centre compared to First Street where the Midnight Emporium was located, the place felt darker and more isolated. That sense of desertion was heightened by the general silence of the night. Arthur felt like he was alone in this world.

He walked down the lonely street until he reached the end of the block. The building that he saw on his phone earlier was now sitting before him. The place looked more dilapidated and worn in person. According to the rumours that Arthur managed to eavesdrop from the group of young men, this was supposed to be an abandoned office building.

There was no shop sign or lights to suggest that the place was open much less being an operating clinic. There was no window on the first floor and the single window on the second floor had the lights on. Arthur could have sworn he saw a flash of shadow at the window before it disappeared.

Arthur was careful enough to not barge right into the unknown territory. He walked around the building to scope it out first and during the stake-out, Arthur hoped that he might run into the Jade Rabbit. Unfortunately, the mythical rabbit was nowhere to be found and the building looked pretty much unassuming from the outside, he could not gather any valuable information.

Since the Jade Rabbit was not outside, this probably meant it had wandered into the clinic already. Arthur hesitated and finally decided to make the move. He remembered the young man said the entrance was at the side of the building.

Arthur found the metal door that seemed to melt into the darkness. He pulled it open and walked in. The interior of the building was definitely not what he expected. If no one had told him this was a clinic, he would not have any trouble believing this was a warehouse. In fact, he had started to doubt the place was indeed a warehouse and he had gotten the wrong address.