Your sister has...

The journey to the hospital wasn't long nor short, it was about twenty minutes filled with tension, with Arthur clinging to his sister's side as the ambulance rushed through the city streets.

When they finally arrived at the A&E, Arthur's eyes dilated by the chaotic scene.

The waiting area was overflowing with people, each lost in their world of pain and worry.

Arthur's heart sank.

'It would be hours before we are seen. Can she hold on? as he looked at his sister.' He thought, his worry etched on his face.

Time crawled by, each second stretching as Arthur's mind spiralled with worry and frustration.

'Damn it, what is this?' he thought, gripping his knees tightly as he glanced down at Charlotte, who was still pale and barely conscious.

Every part of him ached with helplessness, anger simmering beneath the surface.

'If only I was rich, if only I had real power,' he thought bitterly. 'I wouldn't be at their mercy, forced to wait and beg for help like this.'

Finally, after four long hours, a nurse called his name.

"Arthur!"

"Yes, I'm here." He quickly said, as he got up and carried his sister.

"Follow me," she said, before turning around.

He followed her into a sterile examination room, holding Charlotte's hand tightly as she was placed on the examination bed.

The doctor got close his clipboard in hand, his gaze flicking between Charlotte and Arthur before he approached her.

The doctor went through his initial checks, his face shifting into a frown as he completed the physical exam.

He looked up at Arthur, his expression grave and gloomy.

"She's showing signs of…" He paused, almost hesitant to continue. "Middle to late signs of… cancer."

Arthur's eyes widened, his grip on the edge of his chair tightening as the doctor dropped the bombshell.

"WHAT! What did you just say?" he demanded, standing up, his voice laced with anger and disbelief.

His whole world seemed to spin at that moment.

'Cancer?'

The word echoed in his mind, dark and cold.

The doctor raised a hand, urging him to calm down.

"I understand this might be a lot to take in, but I need you to stay calm. I'm only saying she's showing signs. I'm not saying it's a confirmed diagnosis."

Arthur's heart was pounding in his chest, his mind racing.

"So… what now?" he asked, voice laced with both dread and desperation.

The doctor sighed, his expression solemn. "We'll need to run more tests to be sure, but…"

"But what? Just say it," Arthur pressed, feeling his patience wearing thin.

The doctor hesitated, his gaze flicking over Arthur's worn clothes and the rough condition of his sister's blanket. "The tests are… expensive. I don't think you'll be able to afford them."

Arthur felt a flash of anger flare up, burning away the desperation and fear. The doctor's pitying expression only made it worse.

He clenched his fists, meeting the doctor's gaze with a steely glare.

"Don't give us that look," Arthur said coldly, his voice filled with barely restrained fury. "I don't need your pity."

He reached into his pocket, pulling out the card with every last dollar he had from the other world.

Holding it out to the doctor, he forced himself to speak evenly. "I have the money. Here—take it."

The doctor looked at the card, clearly surprised, though a trace of scepticism remained in his eyes.

After a brief pause, he took it, nodding slowly as he approached the POS machine.

He calculated the price for the necessary tests, his expression unreadable as he tapped the card against the reader.

[Ding! The payment was successful! $500 has been deducted.]

Arthur exhaled, watching as the transaction went through.

'I still have more, in case anything happens,' He thought, grateful that he was selected as a beta tester.

His focus was solely on Charlotte.

As the doctor went to arrange the tests, Arthur returned to his sister's side, his mind racing with a painful mix of anger, sadness, and determination.

'No matter what it takes,' he thought, brushing a strand of hair from Charlotte's face, 'I'll make sure she gets through this.'

'I'll find a way.'

Arthur sat in the cold, waiting room once more as his sister underwent the tests, his mind occupied with his thoughts that he couldn't quiet down or dismiss.

He glanced at the clock, noting how slowly time crawled.

'Cancer. Signs of it, at least,' he thought bitterly. It was a word that haunted him now.

'Everything was finally getting better, why... why!' He thought as he looked down at his hands, clenched into tight fists on his lap.

'How could this happen? To her, of all people?'

As he waited, memories from their childhood flashed through his mind.

'If only I had more money. Real money. Real Power.' The thought swirled in his brain, as anger and frustration built up.

He was tired of scraping by, of constantly being at the mercy of others, of fate itself.

He wanted control, the kind that didn't rely on someone's pity or charity.

If he had the means, Charlotte wouldn't be lying in that room, waiting for tests they could barely afford.

Hours later, the doctor returned, his face calm but unreadable.

He motioned for Arthur to follow him into the small office, where he sat across from the doctor, his heart thumping hard against his chest.

"Alright," the doctor began, flipping through the charts and notes. "We've run the preliminary tests, but to be sure of her condition, we'll need to perform a few more detailed exams in the coming days."

Arthur swallowed hard, trying to keep his voice steady. "What… what did the tests say?"