The sky was falling.

At this rate, the thunders were loud and frequent enough to adjust to Tolia's ears. A stable parade of claps, and rolling clouds. Fancy the roof that Tolia had was still there, or he--and she--would be wet dogs. Riz wasn't all happy with Tolia's current state, either his illness or being a burden. Nevertheless, the woman stayed by him, a different aura emitting from her sides, different from Collin's. What was she thinking..? Tolia thought.

Tolia scanned the room again, despite already accomplishing the action minutes ago, countless times. Three rickety beds--a family's bedroom, or an orphanage. The beds were big enough, though. Maybe a hospital? He hadn't seen much of the building besides the current room he was in, and a glimpse behind the door. He was thankful enough to have something breathing beside him, at least. The windows are even boarded up, and the tables flipped, chairs broken. A small window was there, but then again, it was there. What's left was just a frame, and a painting. Lynn must've placed that.

"Woken up? You gave my husband a good headache with your state, Anatoly." Riz tutted, her legs slightly crossed beneath the chair she salvaged. "But I guess, it's good for the long run." "I.. am sorry for that. --where are the others, anyway?" Tolia pressed. He hasn't heard any chattering from outside, not even a ring from Vatoshka--which is very unbelievable for him--and not even any sound, once Tolia stopped. Only Riz's voice. 

"Supplies, before Markus Centre." Riz informed, her hair dropping slightly to the front of her head, shielding his eyes. "That's why I'm here. With you." she added, once her hand stopped cutting through her hairlines. She didn't have any smile, just the blank expression that Tolia knew very well. Tolia blinked twice, though it had no point other than to clear his mind, once he halted his train of thoughts. 

Another thunderclap. Riz didn't flinch, but Tolia surely did, his ears ringing slightly as an aftermath. "..that sounded very close." he muttered, fixing his bearings and adjusting his ears. "Not unless you get used to it. The last wave surely did wipe out the 4th sea. It seems our time really is running out." Tolia nodded, agreeing to that speculation--or fact, told by Riz. "Looks like the serum was useful after all, huh? And are we the lucky ones here?" he asked, the rage built in his soul burning back into existence. The hate for the nation he was in, the one he had pleged his own life to--only to see chaos.

"Yes." Riz said, simply. "It's better than being an actual corpse wall. Or being exposed to radiation. If we're lucky, we have 3 more hours to stand by to." she predicted, in which Tolia had no choice other than to believe her. "..why did they do this, though?" he said. "Who, the guys?" "No, the gov. This seemed pointless enough at first--why did they make the serum?" he reiterated. "Because they have fear."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Tolia did it! He finished  counting the tiles on the ceiling. He wondered, who had the original idea of counting them? Then again, why was he thinking about this? He shook his head, before regaining his rightful mind back. He looked to his side, to see Riz, fast asleep on the chair, her head bent slightly forward by it's own weight. He pushed himself up again, just like before, when Collin was there replacing Riz. He reached over to his bandaged belly, feeling the minor pain--but it was only that.

Tolia skidded back slightly, sitting upstraight on the bed, his back against the soft cushion. He tried to remember what he did, but the last dream was the only memory he could remember--or could think of. "..fire." he said to himself, with a voice weaker than anyone's. He abandoned his mission to remember the corpse wall--instead, he went further back. Some place--some time, before it. 

But his past was hidden like a needle in a haystack. He, again, accepted his defeat and abandoned his will. But before the drowsiness catched up, he looked at the open door, behind Riz's back. Melodic sounds and a tune came behind it, and soon, it filled his ears. I've heard this before. He assured himself. He placed his hands near his face, and concentrated. The rain outside turned into chattering, and his shirtless body was greeted by the feel of cloth. "Dear! You're going to be late, it's 8AM already!" 

He opened his eyes. The woman on the chair was gone, replaced by a horse toy that kids used to ride on. The beds beside him was not broken anymore, they were like before, before anything. And the music, it gave him strength. The painting hiding the window frame was reduced to being a window of it's own, letting a golden ray shine through his legs like a scanning machine. "..where am I? Hello?" he said, with a stronger voice. It was as if he acquired a body of his own in this dimension. 

He tried moving his legs, and they obeyed. He felt the cool wooden floors touch his feet, and his nose caught the smell of bread. Where is this place? He thought. But his weariness wasn't gone, it came back, and ordered him to follow the scent. He closed his eyes, and reached out to the door. "Yes please.." he said, without any sense of place, whatsoever.

"I think you gave him a little too much of the dose, Riz." Jasper said. "It's for his own good. He's awake, at least." she mumbled, her gloomy hair swaying behind the figures that stood before him, in a room that he knew so well. He eyed all the faces, before acknowledging the time. "Oh, right." he said, before jumbling himself forward and out of the bed. "Whoa, Tolia, are you okay? Are you sure that drug isn't still affecting you..? You might collapse, we can wait until the wound finishes up." Lynn asked, her round glasses paired with a fancy ponytail appearing back to his vision. "I feel great, at least I won't be hallucinating when the pain gets back. I'm sure we can catch up a few more kilometers. Probably even reach Fluya." he said, with glee. Vatoshka chuckled, which was unusual for him when Tolia was like this. "Good. We'll go when you're ready. Meet us outside." Jasper said.

Tolia nodded, as the group march their way out. Collin was last out, being overwhelmed by herself. Tolia reached down to his bandaged abdomen again, and sighed, not feeling it. He'd brace for it when the pain comes, but he was still haunted by the lack of memories. He took one more deep breath, before lifting himself up, with his clothes.

"You're right, dear. I am late." Then the doctor left.

~ end of chapter 3; pond of memories ~