Symptoms in the Night

Timothy, standing outside with his friends, watched Chiaki and Glaze.

"Chiaki, if you would be so kind as to connect with Timothy's heart. I would like to proceed with the analysis."

Chiaki nodded, "Of course." She leaned her palm on her heart, shut her eyes, and entered the soul-linking state.

Her vision became black but no more than that. She couldn't connect with Timothy's heart. "Huh? I-I can't seem to be able and connect with his heart. But... why? I know I managed to do it always." She breathed in and out, trying to find an opening to Timothy's heart, but something prevented her from doing so.

"I... I can't breathe. I can't feel his presence at all." Glaze and Chiaki sharpened their gaze on Timothy. He stood there passively, folding his arms and thinking. "What am I doing wrong?"

She started feeling a fiery, lost, and terrified sensation. As if Timothy's heart didn't exist, despite being in front of her in a physical form.

Glaze held his eyes tight, "I don't think it's you, Chiaki. I think there's something wrong with Timothy. His mind doesn't let your soul enter his body." He explained, looking at Timothy uncertainly and suspiciously.

"Hey, Tim! Is everything all right?" She inquired, but Timothy continued looking at the snow below his feet. "Tim!"

No response.

"What's going on? I've never seen him like this. How he acts doesn't make sense..." Trinity and Cassidy watched, bewildered, "Yo! Tim! Chiaki needs your consciousness!" Cassidy stretched her words. "Has he gone deaf?"

Trinity pounded his shoulder, snapping him to reality. He squeaked and became scared. "W-Whoa... H-Hey, calm down. I didn't want to scare you."

Timothy looked at Trinity, "I... Uh, what happened?" He threw views around him, "You zoned out. What the heck were you thinking about even? You freaked me out." Trinity wondered, getting interrupted by Aurora's coughing in the background.

That hooked Timothy's stare onto her immediately, "Is everything all right, Aurora?" Cassidy curiously asked, drawing a line with her eyes.

"I... Um! Y-Yeah! Don't worry. I just had something stuck in my throat. A-Anyway, I'll go hunt down some wood for the fireplace. I'll be back soon." She rotated and pressed her palm on her heart, "N-Not now..." She coughed one more time and walked toward the snowy woods.

Timothy returned his look to Chiaki and Glaze. "Do you mind if we do this later? I have something in my bag I forgot to take. Please." Timothy acted politely. "Wha'? But, Tim, I'd like to make some progress regarding soul-linking. I need to-" She got interrupted, "I-I know, but this is important, Chiaki. Please, I'll come back as soon as I can."

Chiaki sighed, becoming composed, "Okay... I'll wait." She added, watching Timothy thank her and observing him running toward the cabin. "What's gotten into him all of a sudden?" Cassidy wished to know.

When he arrived at the cabin, he waited for Aurora to pass and started secretly following her into the woods.

On their way there, Timothy spotted and heard Aurora cough multiple times and watched her lose balance.

She came across some logs and stepped toward them, "That was close... Thankfully I managed to leave before they became suspicious. I can't show any symptoms of my sickness. If I'm busted, they'll think I need a doctor..." She coughed in the middle of her sentence.

She crouched in front of the snow-covered logs and prepared to pick them, but a splash of blood landed on her hand before she could.

She froze and continued seeing blood dropping onto her hand, some tinting the white snow.

"I..." She slowly reached for her nose, learning she was bleeding. "Not again... I-I can't go back to them all red..." She dropped the log, covered her nose, and ran in the opposite direction, hoping to find an iced river.

As she ran, she left blood stains on the snow behind her as her trace.

Timothy followed her from behind the trees until coming to a frozen river.

Aurora crouched, trying to find a hole in the ice, but there was none. She picked up the nearest rock and started hitting the ice with as strength as she could.

However, her unstable condition didn't help. And all she could do was make smaller cracks. "C-Come on... break already... I need to..." Her physique became weaker, and her body started giving out.

Her vision deteriorated, becoming disoriented and blurry. The blue water slowly started becoming foggy, and she could barely feel her arms and legs.

She coughed again and again.

She couldn't even make up the colors in front of her, and the more she coughed, the more blood splashed on the ice and snow.

"Almost there..." She didn't just want the water to wash her nose, but also to drink as that would keep her conscious. "P-Please..."

Her voice became more silent, softer, weaker, and gentler.

The next moment, she started seeing grey. She was starting to lose her consciousness and even her grasp on the rock.

"Aurora!" Timothy instantly leaped from behind the bushes. She heard his clothes ripple.

He sprinted toward her.

His sudden uproar scared her, making her turn around. "T-Tim?!"

And despite her surprise, her voice remained as silent as the wind.

After that, her body fell backward, but Timothy's arms rounded beneath her back, allowing her to land on a soft body like a pillow.

With her right hand leaning on her abdomen, with her eyes slightly opened, she saw Timothy's face in front of her.

She could see his anxiousness, sweat trickling down his face, seeing his lips opening for her to read them, but she couldn't hear.

She lost consciousness and became shrouded in darkness, lost in the mist.

Timothy perceived her weakened body, seeing her bleed from the nose and her motionless condition. "Aurora... Just what is your infection?"

It took some time, but Aurora felt fresh water flowing through her throat. Her vision slowly cleared. She noticed she was inside a tree trunk with a gentle and warm fire warming her up.

Then she noticed Timothy's body standing in front of the fire, seeing him dressed in his white t-shirt. His jacket covered her top, keeping her as warm as possible.

Her nose stopped bleeding.

She spotted a water bowl next to her and learned it was nighttime. She quickly tapped herself out and squeaked in surprise. "H-Hey! What are you doing here?!" She looked better but not perfectly stable.

Timothy looked into her eyes. "Y-You're up..." He increased the fire's temperature and walked to her front. He crouched and looked at her. "How are you feeling?" He inquired, making Aurora speechless.

"I... I'm better now. D-Did you bring me here? I-I mean! Why are you here?!" She speedily backed away, astonished. "Calm down..." He stood up, "I found you in the forest in a comma. I brought you to the nearest roof I could find. What happened?"

Aurora's eyes were shaking in terror, "I... I just felt exhausted! T-Thanks for taking care of me. But I should get back." She sprung to her feet, removed the jacket, and prepared to pass Timothy.

He stopped her, clutching her shoulders while she was looking down in fear. "Aurora... Stop lying to me. I know about your illness. I know you're trying to hide it from others. And I know... I know your mother detested you because of it. That your parents passed away."

Aurora froze in silence.

"What? W-Who told you that? I don't know what you're talking about." She tried to push her way through him, but Timothy blocked her from proceeding.

He lowered his arms next to his hips, "Nobody told me. I found out myself in your notebook." Aurora became astonished and scared, "Y-You were snooping around my room? What were you thinking?! Why would you snoop around someone's room without their permission? It's not right!" She seemed frustrated, irritated, and disappointed.

"If I didn't... If I didn't know about your illness, I wouldn't follow you into the woods, and you wouldn't have anyone to help you. Stop pretending like you're not thankful. Besides, you left the notebook on the end table. I didn't snoop for it. It was there on its own."

She angrily responded, "That doesn't mean you can-!" Timothy interfered, "Aurora, calm down, please. I haven't read anything else. And I didn't tell anyone either. Could you please just explain what the hell's going on? I brought you here on purpose. I did it so no one else could listen to our conversation. I'm the only person around here. So, please, Aurora. Tell me everything."

Aurora questioned herself on what to do, showing her fear and anxiety.

To be continued...