Chapter 17: The Longest Night

"They're all still alive."

"Oh…" Rhys was now seated on the floor. His back, against the wall as the blood that drowned his entire silhouette started to dry up, "I… do not really know what to feel about that, Dr. Lopez."

"Rhys, this…"

Katarina could really only place her hand on her waist as she stared at Rhys; her breaths, slightly stuttered as several thoughts also circled in her mind—but for some reason, one prevails the most.

"Look," Katarina then started wearing a pair of gloves she had in her pocket, "I took the oath of Asclepius, I am obligated to save lives and do no harm intentionally…

…but if you wish to end them, I won't stop you."

"..." Rhys quickly turned to look at Katarina as soon as she heard her words, only to see her eyes staring straight at his.

"But there will be consequences to that, but I am willing to go down with you," Katarina said without breaking eye contact, "I can heal them right here, right now. But there will also be consequences to that. They might come after you even harder… or if you're lucky, they will start avoiding you altogether."

"..."

"It's Lex and these students… right? The one who has been beating you for 6 straight years?" Katarina's eyes suddenly turned cold as she looked at the three almost lifeless bodies around her,

"Their lives are in your hands now, choose."

"..." Rhys stood up; squinting his eyes as he looked back and forth between Katarina and his three unconscious schoolmates. He did not even have to think, however, as he quickly shook his head after,

"...No," he said, "I think I just need to clean myself, Dr. Lopez."

"..." Katarina looked Rhys in the eyes again, before sighing and nodding her head, "Go wait in the car, I will take you back to the dorm. As for clothes… I have some on the back and some wet wipes…

…let me handle this."

"...Okay," Rhys didn't think again as he just nodded and started walking away. Before taking a step down the stairs, however, he glanced back at Katarina,

"Thank you, Dr. Katarina."

"..." Katarina did not really respond and just watched as Rhys disappeared into the darkness. And as soon as she was sure she was gone, a long and very deep sigh echoed throughout the entire floor.

She said that the three were alive… they were, but barely. It will take a doctor with a greater healing ability than her to fully bring them back to normal.

This is what Katarina has been afraid of ever since meeting Rhys.

Throughout the years of seeing him almost every day in the clinic, she came to know the kind of man Rhys is. One could say she knew him better than he knew himself, much more.

Rhys is extremely reserved due to past traumas—well, that is what he seems at first glance.

But he is a man riddled with illnesses of the mind.

Clinical depression, scopophobia, schizoid personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder; all derived from severe post-traumatic stress disorder from what happened to him as a 12-year-old.

Traits and diagnoses like this usually drive a person into psychosis; most become clinically insane and will have high tendencies for violence and self-harm. But throughout the years they have been seeing each other, never once has Rhys shown any signs of that—one could even say he avoids it completely.

But now, Rhys was starting to show emotions and even smiling casually—that was good… but he was also starting to show signs of something else.

"Hm…" Katarina placed her hand on her chin as she started whispering to herself, "Did finally gaining the power to fight back triggered everything Rhys has been hiding… or was it knowing her sister is joining the same guild as the very person that caused his illness in the first place?"

Katarina continued whispering to herself as she looked at the three dying students lying on the floor. But after a few more seconds, she let out a small but very deep sigh and looked at the shadows on the walls.

"So, until when are you gonna hide there?"

"..."

"Are you going to come out, or should I help you?"

"..."

"..."

"Hm…" And after a few seconds of silence, the sound of steps started whispering in the air; the shadows that were on the wall, forming into a silhouette that slowly made its way closer to Katarina,

"...I knew I recognized the name of the student."

The silhouette then formed into the shape of a woman. And if Rhys was still here, he would quickly recognize her as the female agent that briefly questioned him back in the interrogation room, Maria,

"Rhys Barber, son of the victim of the Sylas West incident," the shadows beneath Maria's feet started gathering to her; like tails being retracted back into her body.

"Wilder," Katarina clicked her tongue as she looked at Maria from head to toe, "And he is not the son of the victim, he is one of the victims."

"Semantics," Maria also looked at Katarina from head to toe, "What I truly did not expect, however, is to see you here, Agent Lopez."

"Dr. Lopez…" Katarina once again sighed, "...I quit a long time ago."

"Hm."

"..."

"..."

"...Since you're here, call someone to heal these thugs."

"...Right."

***

"Well, I guess it fits… pft. Just go back straight to your dorm, you need to rest."

Rhys was now back in front of the school. The people that were handling the aftermath of the Hole were still there, but the reporters were forced to go home.

"It's fine." As for Rhys, he was standing in front of the gate and wearing Katarina's clothes. And since Katarina's clothes were overly loose because of her bountiful figure and humongous breasts, the clothes fit him just fine,

"Thank you again, Dr. Katarina," Rhys said as he looked at Katarina inside the car.

"Stop thanking me already," Katarina sighed and rolled her eyes, "But… are you sure you don't want to spend the night at my place? I'm not going to make you pay, you know."

"..." Rhys quickly looked at the 3 Red Hearts above Katarina's head.

'I want you to be happy.'

And with her desires whispering into Rhys's mind, he just shook his head and smiled, "I don't want to bother you any further than I already have."

"Your loss. You almost got to spend the night with a hot lady," Katarina then chuckled, "Also, don't worry about being questioned by the police about what happened tonight anymore—I'll talk to them and just say you were with me."

"You… don't need to do that."

"But I will," Katarina then stuck out her tongue as the window between them started to close, "Remember, go straight to sleep!"

"I… will. Drive safel—"

'I want you to be happy… with me.'

"..." Rhys could really only blink a couple of times as he watched as the car drove away. But after a few more seconds, he just shrugged his shoulders and started walking into the campus—must have been the wind, he thought.

"!!!" It would seem that Rhys's longest night was not over, however, as his body once again instinctively moved to the side, grabbing a hand that was stretching toward him from behind.

"Woah… you really do have the reflexes of a spider."

"..." Rhys then quickly turned to look at the owner of the hand, only to see a woman with short brown hair, and heavy makeup on her face—it was the female explorer from earlier, Lina.

"So, coffee or juice?" Lina then raised her hands; holding coffee, and the juice that Rhys drank earlier on the other.

'Don't sleep yet. I want to get to know you more.'

"..." And as Rhys heard her thoughts, he slowly turned his eyes toward the 5 Hearts floating above her head. He then turned to look at Katarina's car; its rear lights, now the only things visible from the distance.

"I… I'm a little tired," Rhys then whispered.

"Oh…" Lina could really only awkwardly drop her arms as she heard Rhys's words. The only Red heart of the 5 Hearts above her head, now flickering.

"So…

…Is it alright if we drink them in my room?"

Rhys's longest night, it would seem… was not over just yet.