Return (1)

'Must have been my imagination,' Hazel thought when the space around them was silent again except for their footsteps.

Hazel sighed as he wondered if he would ever escape from this labyrinth of a sewer at this rate. This sewer system seemed to go on for infinity and without a blueprint he was almost convinced this would become his grave.

'Can I at least have a blueprint?' Hazel complained while dragging along Adelaide with him.

[Blueprint Provided]

A bright translucent grey screen popped up in front of Hazel's face. The map displayed that the sewer system had many hidden components due to its long, complicated history. It went all the way back into the 17th century with many old parts being constantly renovated and rebuilt, causing the many tunnels in various directions. .

Maybe the system felt bad for Hazel since they raised the difficulty level multiple times. A line was drawn on the map to display the fastest and safest way to escape from the sewers.

'Finally,' Hazel turned in another direction to follow the map.

It did not take more than ten minutes for Hazel to glance up to face the strong daylight. He never thought he would be so glad to look up to find the blue sky as he bathed in the sunlight.

"We're out," Hazel finally faced Adelaide instead of forcefully dragging her along with him.

However, Adelaide didn't answer. Her face appeared flushed with shades of red and she limped as she walked. She huffed and staggered with his bare support while her eyes appeared muddled and out of focus.

When Hazel placed his cold hand against her forehand out of concern, his hand stinged like her flesh was burning hot.

[Warning: The girl has a fever. Without medical treatment, she will die]

[Penalty: Death if fail mission]

Hazel didn't need the system to tell him that Adelaide had a fever. She looked like she would faint at any minute and he knew it would be hard to carry her with this child form he was in.

He supported Adelaide with his other arm and shoulder as he slowly walked to a nice old couple taking a stroll under the bridge.

"Do you know where the hospital may be?" Hazel desperately asked while not looking better than Adelaide himself.

The old couple shook their heads while trying to hide their disgust towards the young children who appeared as beggars.

"Shoo. We don't have any money to give you." An old man waved his hand with disgust.

Hazel looked down to find his nice clothes in tatters and new shoes that appeared to be severely aged with its worn-out appearance. He could tell why the old couple thought they were beggars.

Even he would look at the same type of people with disgust in his privileged former life, his own little world where he was the king. He was covered with mud and dirty water which gave off the impression that he hadn't bathed for months or potentially years.

He did unfortunately know where the orphanage was located from his horrible experience in his past life. He often went out for errands in this neighborhood given by the thugs as a means to earn his keep. However, he considered going to the orphanage as the very last resort.

Similar to the old couple, the other people in the area looked at the two young children with disdain and disgust and pretended they didn't exist. But that didn't stop Hazel from asking the people around them one by one to find a way to save Adelaide.

"There is a hospital a block away from here," a kind social worker finally gave the answer Hazel had desperately searched for.

A block wasn't too bad of a walk. Hazel pushed through the wooden doors of a small hospital with a large white square sign of a red cross on their roof.

The walls had some peeled wallpaper and some cracks with some mice running around the floor. Where the wall was peeled it revealed yellow muddy stains like it was from leaked water that rotted onto the surface.

There was one unfriendly receptionist that ate some potato chips while she watched a movie with an old thick television screen. The setting of the hospital was like time hadn't flowed since the mid-1900s. The old receptionist even dressed in old fashioned clothing with her excessive laced blouse and long black skirt. She had a pencil-like stick in her hair to keep her bun in place and had matching square black glasses to complete her outfit.

"Hello,' Hazel greeted the receptionist.

The receptionist pretended she didn't see anything as she continued to munch on her chips while focusing on her movie, a dull, annoyed look manifesting on her face.

"Hello!" Hazel yelled to get her attention.

"What? I'm clearly at the climax part here. Don't you see?" She looked at them with a mix of irritation and annoyance.

"I would like to have an appointment with a doctor," Hazel shouted.

"Can you even pay for it?" She stopped her movie.

"I can."

"Then where's the money?" She held out her hand..

"I don't have the money now, but my father will come for me to pay the bill." Hazel shook his head with a remorseful look present on his face. His small countenance was ridden with shame. .

"Then scram. No money means no treatment." She gestured to him to leave.

"Please," Hazel kneeled down onto the ground.

"She'll die without any treatment," He begged while Adelaide's condition worsened with every passing minute, hearing her heart beating slower with his improved hearing.

Everything felt more intense.

It was hard to explain, but it was like she had a clock in her chest.

Something had to be done, nothing was being done!.

The door slammed open from a new set of patients coming in. A familiar set of people entered like they held dominance and power in the hospital while the receptionist quickly fixed her lazy posture.

They wore the same black baseball caps that the kidnappers wore paired with dark sunglasses and an oval, fitting mask that covered the rest of their faces. Their outfit barely showed their skin with their long sleeves and pants.

'The thugs,' Hazel started to panic, but tried to take a deep breath. He didn't lift his head from the ground.

Unfortunately, the thug smiled when he saw Hazel's dirty, little face with the poor noticeable Adelaide that they should have thrown into the river.

"Ahhh, my nephew. Come here," The thug pretended to warmly smile.

"You mean kidnapper? I'll call the police," Hazel ran over to the phone on the receptionist's desk.

"Don't do that. Let's make a deal. If you obediently come with us, then I'll make sure this girl doesn't die." The thug's smirk spread across his face.

Hazel knew he didn't have much of a choice, his eyes beginning to show resolve. It was obvious that the receptionist was on their side as she pretended to be actually working with the television screen now off.

He grinded his teeth as he pulled his hand off the phone while obediently walking towards his kidnappers. He couldn't fail his mission now. Maybe this was what the system wanted all along. To go back to the orphanage to kill all his kidnappers directly.

"Will you really heal her?" Hazel skeptically stopped while pointing at Adelaide.

"Why not?" The thug pulled him by his collar as Hazel's eyes widened from the suddenness.

The thug punched Hazel's head to knock him out as they held the two kids in their arms before throwing them into the trunk of a car like unliving, unimportant items.

They drove to the familiar abandoned building that was filled with new furnishings to serve as an orphanage. It was a tall mansion that looked out of place in the poor neighborhood it was built in. To make sure the boy could be threatened with the girl they held, one of the thugs handed the sick girl to the nurse in the orphanage infirmary.

When Hazel woke up, he stared at the dull grey ceiling as he laid down on his tough stone-like bed. He glided his hand through the hard mattress with unsanitary bed sheets that appeared like they came from a junkyard. He was pretty sure his mattress also came from the junkyard as well as his back stung from the broken springs.

He was back again in this miserable room of his that had ruined his previous life. The room where he lived and was placed when he first stepped into the orphanage.