Beep. Beep. Beep.
That sound was the first thing Ivan heard. It was slow, steady, and annoyingly loud in the quiet room. Ivan's eyelids felt heavy, but he still somehow forced them to open.
White ceiling covered the view above his head while white walls covered everything else around him.
A strong smell of something acrid filled the air.
It wasn't like the sterile smell of medicines of the modern world the boy was used to but instead smelled something more...bitter.
For a moment, he thought that he was dreaming, but then just as sudden his body started screaming with pain, reminding him that this was real.
He turned his head slowly.
The place seemed to be too clean...too expensive.
Ivan wasn't stupid, families like his didn't belong here.
He had never been to such an expensive looking place before.
Even if they sold everything they owned, they could never afford a place like this.
"Where…am I?" His voice came out cracked and before he could even think further, the door creaked open.
"Ivan!"
It was his mother, Luna. Her eyes were swollen, hands trembling as she rushed to his bedside.
The moment the 40 year old woman saw him awake, she broke down, tears spilling all over again.
"My boy…what happened to you?" her voice shook as she cupped his face. "Your sister… she just wanted to surprise you, but instead she found you like that. Almost half-dead… lying there behind your school…"
Her words struck harder than any punch to the boy. His sister had been the one to find him? Ivan's hands clenched weakly.
He knew how mentally weak she was and couldn't even imagine what she must be going through after everything she must have seen, making him regret not being able to control his anger back then and lashing out at Stanley and his group.
For a while, he just stared at his mother. Her black hair was messy, her face pale from crying too much.
His chest tightened.
"Are you okay, Mom?" he asked quietly.
She blinked at him, confused. "Me? You're the one lying here after almost dying, and you're asking if I'm fine?"
He nodded faintly. "Because…I survived. Somehow, I'm still here. But you…ever since you brought me here, something feels wrong. You're…too quiet."
She didn't answer. Instead, she looked away, biting her lips. Her silence said enough.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Only the sound of the ancient looking machine filled the room again.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Ivan couldn't help but stare outside the door as he found a bench in front of his room, where a pale skinned girl sat, her body constantly twitching as tearing stained her t-shirt.
Family, Ivan thought.
That was all he had left.
No riches, no power, no big house. Just the three of them...his mother, his sister, and him.
And now, even that fragile bond seemed to be shaken.
The boy closed his eyes briefly, remembering all those days his mother worked herself to the bone, and the times his sister joked around just to cheer him up. He hated being weak.
He hated being useless.
But as he looked at them now, he realized something, if he had died today, his whole family would have broken apart.
His mom would only spiral deeper into her depression while his sister's mental condition would only worsen.
Feeling grateful for coming out of that situation alive, Ivan promised to think twice before doing anything reckless again.
After all, his life wasn't just his.
Just then, the door opened again.
A man walked in.
Ivan had never seen him before. He was tall, dressed in white clothes, his face unreadable.
The moment his mother noticed him, her body stiffened. She stood, quickly wiping her tears.
She whispered something to the man while greeting him softly. Almost naturally, Luna stepped aside, making space for him.
The man walked closer, but not all the way. He stopped a few feet away, eyes scanning Ivan with unnerving focus. Then, without a word, the man raised his hand.
The boy could almost feel the air around him away as a faint green glow appeared, shocking the shit out of him.
At first, the glow seemed to be soft, then brighter.
The light floated outwards, wrapping around Ivan like a thin mist.
"What the hell…?"
The warmth spread through his chest, his arms, and even his wounds. For a second, the pain dulled, replaced by a strange tingling.
Ivan's eyes darted to the man in panic. "What are you doing, doctor?!"
The man's brows furrowed.
"Doctor?" he repeated, as if the word offended him. His lips curved into something between a grimace and a frown.
"No, boy." His voice was low, steady, and heavy with something unfamiliar.
"I'm not a doctor."
The man's eyes locked onto Ivan's, and the green glow pulsed harder.
"I'm a priest."
***