"Lem..." Her voice called out to me, "Lem, you have to wake up... It says so in the Book..."
"Eh, the fuck? We listening to fairy tales now?" I retorted, "Eh? I'm not internally thinking this? Wait, am I talking? Huh, I'm awake!?"
Damn, I really am! Haha, suck it, old man! It's gonna take a lot more than that to kill this ex-bandit! Heh, and to think it was all thanks to Nel's words of encouragement. I have to thank her immediately.
"But where is she...?" I looked around the place, "Not just her, where even am I?"
This room, it's totally unfamiliar. Dimly lit, with a hint of the setting Sun's illumination peeking through onto the back walls. Judging from these wires and apparati I'm strapped to, I think this is a hospital of some kind, but I'm not too sure. Geez, nothing's making any sense.
"Right, the old man took Nelly and me away!" I recalled, yanking all the needles off of me, "Urk! Tch, whatever! I can't stay here, gotta go find Nelly and get the fuck out of here...!"
Putting my feet on the cold unforgiving floor almost immediately sent me crashing down. I don't know for how long I was out, but it was certainly long enough for my legs to fall asleep, that's for sure. No, this is a different feeling than just having your legs fall asleep. Rather, it's like I completely forgot how to walk at all.
"Huff, puff... One, two, one, two!" I wobbled over from one corner of the room to the other as a way to retrain the muscles down there, "Okay, it's nothing to gawk at, but it'll be enough for me to escape."
As it were, I couldn't find my clothes anywhere near here. I was currently wearing one of those hospital gowns, the ones where your butts peeking through from the back. Obviously, I assume this was a necessary precaution, but I really dislike the idea of people having such easy access to my cheeks. The breeze is also pretty annoying.
"It's still daytime, technically." I looked out of my window to see the jungle scenery in front of me, "I don't know if this is a blessing or a curse, but it sure looks sick. Ah, shit!"
S-Someone was there! Did he see me!? Crap, what if he's running up here now? If he's the one that dragged me in here, then it's very possible! Wait, was he wearing a loincloth? What a pervert! Geez, what the hell is going on? Where's the old man, and more importantly—Where's Nelly?
"I need to run." I resolved myself before opening the door and peeking out, "Okay, the coast is clear. No one seems to be around."
It was around this time, while I was walking through this hospital's long corridors and hallways, that I found myself staring down at the ground more than in front of me. Each and every turn felt like a jumpscare in the making, and I'll admit I wanted to find a way to at least avoid getting jolted. That's when I noticed a particular device strapped to my ankle.
"The hell is this? Blades!?" I immediately tried prying it off, "Eugh, I'll cut my foot if I tinker with it any more. I guess this must be the work of whoever put me in here as a precaution. Is it meant to make it so I can't run with it on? In that case, I have just enough room to stuff something in between as protection."
A steel boot would do just fine to keep my ankle safe from the sharp blades, but the chances of me finding such a thing just out and about in this jungle is probably pretty small. Hell, I don't even know what continent I'm at right now, if I am in one for that matter. For now, I'll just wedge some of these wooden doorstops in there I found lying around. That ought to do it, a bit chafy, but I can at least run without worry.
"Hey, you're finally awake-" A tanned muscular man spotted me at the front door of this place.
"Ahhh!"
"No need to shout, I'm friendly."
"AHHH!"
"Y-You must be surprised, I understand that." The guy slowly and carefully approached me, "Look, I'm the head doctor that treated you. You saw me walking around outside from your window just now, remember?"
"..."
"Lem, was it?"
"AAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
He knows my name! Fuck this nightmare situation, I'm not dying here!
"I Command you to stay in place!" I said as I ran past him, my vision blurring Yellow as I did.
"Khk! Hey, wait, please!" The fraud called out to me, "You can't leave, that ankle monitor will slice your foot off!"
Wait, so that's what it's used for? Shit, that bastard's sick in the head in that case. Why'd he place this on me if he really was my doctor? Goddammit, for now I need to run away as fast as possible. There's a chance I can still escape and find Nelly. Right, he knew my name though... Nelly is the only one who he could have heard it from, unless the old man somehow knows, which I highly doubt. Right, if he's not here right now, then chances are Nelly and I got sold off to some slave traders. That's the most logical assumption I can make with this. In other words, human traffickers.
"Well, beats waking up early every day just to attend classes." I shrugged as I pressed on, "Ouch, I stepped on a rock! Shit, that guy was barefoot, how the hell can he walk without shoes on?"
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Progress update: I still have no idea where I am, what's going on, nor how that guy could walk around barefoot outside. I did however spot some more people clad in similar wear to him while I was sneaking behind all these bushes, which only further served to confuse and scare me. The girls wore leaf bikinis, and the guys all wore leaf loincloths. It felt like I went back to the unga bunga times, but hey, I'm not complaining about getting to look at these girls' barely covered honkers. Hey, if Nelly's on this island, you think she's wearing one too? Nah, she'd never resort to that, but then what else could she wear? What the hell, I need to turn my dick off and start thinking with my head—They probably gave her spare normal clothes. There's no way these are the only garments these guys wear.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
"Mn!" I quickly ducked down as soon as I felt even the smallest gaze wander over to my direction, "...Phew, can't be staying in one bush for too long. For now, I should find a safe spot to hide in."
Shifting from one hiding spot to the next, I had eventually landed myself right behind a house of sorts. It looked pretty luxurious, which was odd given its close proximity to the hospital. Maybe it's that crazed doctor's abode? If so, it might be empty inside.
"Okay, no one's on the bottom floor... Hey!" I suddenly shouted, "...Yeah, they're not in the upper floor either. Someone would've come out by now to see who yelled if they were."
Hopping in through the window, I found myself in the spacious yet cosy house just like that. I felt no remorse for breaking and entering, because this was enemy territory. That being the case, I'll admire another man's grind. Dude just casually has the coolest house setup I've ever seen in my life.
"Oh, the bedroom... Bunk beds? Is it a shared house? Or is he seriously sleeping like this with his wife? Does this person even have a wife?" I then felt a familiar scent hit me in the face, "Nelly?"
There's not a doubt in my mind, this is Nelly's scent! She's in here somewhere, maybe there's a hidden basement nearby in the room!? Or wait, it's coming from the bottom bunk. Don't tell me... N-No, calm down Lem, you're overreacting. For now, just be glad you caught this trace of her on this jungle wasteland. Wait, did I just hear a door click open?
"You sure it's alright to be in here?" A boyish voice nervously asked.
"Yeah, it's no fair if sis is the only one who gets to live here!" Another more steadfast boy replied, "Shou, you gotta live life on the edge more, you're way too scared!"
"Haha, scaredy cat~!" A third, rowdy boy jeered, "Seriously, miss Fairy and sis are out on their walk, so you've got nothing to worry about."
Fairy? Sis? Tch, no time to think about it. I gotta find a place to hide until they leave! That being said, there's not many places to hide in. The bed is too tall to hide under without being seen, the floor is made out of wood, so I can't even sneak around without the creaks giving me away, and to top it all off—I'm still wearing this revealing hospital gown! It sounds like the three that entered this place are young boys, so maybe I could scare them off?
"Who dares enter my abode!?" I cleared my throat before donning the most frightening, deep voice I could muster.
"Eek!" They all yelped in fear.
"Speak! Who are you!" I ordered, still hiding behind the closed door of the bedroom.
"Shell Schnell, sir!" One boy replied immediately.
"Sharp Schnell!" Another one followed.
"S-Shou Schnell!" The third topped it off, "Our sister is friends with the Fairy, so don't mess with us!"
"Leave now, children, for I will not repeat myself again."
"Huh?"
"Leave!"
"Haha, made you repeat yourself, mister Ghost!" The kids mocked me.
"What the-? That's it!" I tightly grabbed ahold of the door knob before hesitating, "Tsk, I can't Command them, they'll see my face if I do."
If I Commanded them to leave, they'll tell on me to the other locals. Stirring up any sort of rumor would be bad for me, since at the end of the day it would always attract attention. There's still the matter of Nelly's scent being in this room...
"Do you perhaps know of a Nelly Grimheart?" I once again addressed them with my scary voice impression.
"Nope."
"Hey wait, hold on. Wasn't that miss Fairy's name?"
"Yeah, I think I remember that too. Sis called her that a few times."
Nelly! They know Nelly! And wait, why is she suddenly a Fairy? Granted, she is beautiful and fair... Wait, don't tell me they meant fairy as in "of a fair complexion" and not the actual mythical caricature? Now that I think about it, everyone thus far was pretty tanned, so if they really did meet Nelly, they'd obviously be surprised to see her so lightskinned. And who is this "sis" character, then?
"Why do you refer to her as a Fairy?" I asked, trying to stifle my excitement regarding the new information.
"Because she grants the people of the island wishes if we behave!" They happily cheered, "Miss Fairy is awesome!"
"Grants wishes...? Uhhh, okay, and what is her affiliation with your sister?" I raised an Eyebrow at that.
"They're friends." One kid answered.
"Ah, but they slept together." Another added.
"What!?" I jolted.
"Yeah, in this house actually." They could be heard approaching the bedroom by way of the creaking floorboards, "So mister Ghost, if you would be so kind as to let us sleep here too, we'd be very happy."
Slept together... R-Right, bunk beds! Keep it together, Lem! Sigh, in the end though, they didn't seem all too terrified of my little disguise. What the hell is even wrong with these kids? They don't sound any older than Cene, if maybe a bit over that age, but they have no sense of self-preservation. Hell, even if they knew I wasn't a ghost, the fact of the matter is that a stranger is telling them to get the hell out. That alone should be a valid enough reason to haul ass.
"Fuck this." I just opened the window and jumped out, "I'll keep looking for a safe space to hide at. These tykes can keep this damned luxury house to themselves."
Thankfully, the bedroom of this particular house was on the first floor, letting me jump out without sustaining any damage at all. That being the case, I was surprised to see a beach laid out in front of me. Surprisingly, it seems I'm not in a jungle, but on an island of some kind.