Raven

Chapter 11

Raven's POV

I bolted up and gasped for air.

"Raven!"

I heard a yell. I was caught off guard when somebody suddenly hugged me, obstructing the view with their hair.

It was Lilibeth. "I'm glad that you're okay." She whispered, voice laced with relief.

"Miss, please, the patient just woke up. Restrain yourself." A bald man wearing a white coat interrupted Lily from hugging me. The nurse pulled her away before he started checking my vital signs.

Seeing my surroundings, I then realized that I'm in a hospital room. There were wires connected to my body, probably monitoring me.

Lilibeth looked agitated. She couldn't wait for the doctor to finish doing some tests on me.

"Are you alright? Amy discomfort?" Lily asked the moment the doctor left. She looked like a mother worried sick of her child's health.

"I'm fine. What happened?" I smiled at her weakly.

"I tried waking you up for dinner but you did not respond. Everyone decided that you should be taken to the hospital. It's been two days. The others visited you today and left a little while ago since they still have works to finish." She said.

"Are you really sure you're okay? We're worried sick when we saw you struggling earlier." Meisha asked.

My eyes widened as I remembered my dream again.

Mika!

"Where's your brother‽"

Meisha was stupefied. "How did you know that I have a brother?"

"That doesn't matter. Where is he‽"

Meisha was reluctant to answer me however, seeing my panicked expression, she gave in.

"He's in G City right now. He's the representative of Equinox University's Art Department in an oil painting exhibit. I heard they'll be back by tomorrow." She said.

G City?

No wonder I had a dream about the lantern festival. G City was known for its biggest lantern festival celebration. Whenever they lit floating lanterns in the sky, we, from the neighboring cities, could see it from afar.

"Please, save him." I pleaded.

"Why? What happened?"

"Please save him before it's too late." I started crying, feeling helpless. As much as I wanted to tell her, I couldn't. I couldn't disclose such a thing to her. How I wish I had the power to tell her without misfortune befalling to her brother.

Lilibeth was calming me down when suddenly, Meisha's phone rang.

"Hello? Yes, this is Meisha speaking. Who is this?"

Meisha's brow creased. "What do you mean missing?"

Lilibeth stopped caressing my back and also looked at Meisha. We waited for the phone call to finish before Lily asked her what's wrong.

"It's about Mika." Meisha looked at us with fear in her eyes. "He's missing."

"What do you mean missing?" Lily asked.

"It was G City's police. Apparently, his co-worker who went there with my brother became hysterical when Mika did not attend the exhibit." Meisha said, relaying what the police told her over the phone. "I suspect that maybe he just went somewhere. We usually do that and it's a normal thing to the both of us."

"Going missing is a normal thing?" I asked.

"Yes. It happens all the time." Meisha answered. She said she wasn't agitated, but she kept pacing back and forth, making me and Lily dizzy.

She decided to go to G City to confirm Mika's disappearance.

"Let me go with you." Lilibeth stopped her. She took her phone and called someone. "I knew the curator who organized this exhibit and the head professor who accompanied everyone."

She first called Mika's co-worker. When the call was connected, Lilibeth's face scrunched. There was a long silence before Lily talked. "Meisha and I will head there, ma'am. Please, calm down. No one is blaming you."

When the call ended, Lily looked at me straight in the eyes and asked. "What did you see?"

She must have seen the hesitation in my eyes the way she gripped my hands. Her eyes where screaming with certainty that nothing's going bad to happen.

"Tell us. Nothing's going to happen. I promise."

"But—"

Meisha gently squeezed my arm to comfort me. "She's right. Don't worry too much."

Tears welled my eyes as I started narrating to her my dream. Meisha also listened. Her pale face became even paler as she listened to me recounting my dream.

I didn't tell them the person who killed Mika. I don't want to cause a misunderstanding. What if my dream was wrong? If I told them that a girl named Shirley was the one who killed him, will they accuse her immediately? What if we got the wrong person?

Under my blurry eye, I could make out Meisha's weakening stature. She sat by the window, dazed. "Lily? Mika's gonna be fine, right?"

Lilibeth went to Meisha's side and hugged her. "Mika's going to be alright. Trust me."

"I want to go, too!" I said as I got out of the hospital bed.

This is my chance to save someone. Things would go well if I'll be extra careful. And also, I hate hospitals.

Lilibeth didn't want me to be discharged yet but I stubbornly insisted.

She agreed. Under one condition. "Do a full body physical exam when we get back."

We used Meisha's car in going to G City. It's just an hour's drive if there's no traffic. Lily volunteered to drive since Meisha was not in a good state.

Before we even arrived there, the police called Meisha again, giving her a news that made her more anxious.

They found an unidentified body at an alley near the outskirts of G City. Aside from the bracelet, school ID, and hotel key card, nothing else could be used to confirm the identity of the dead body.

We went straight to the morgue where a lady in her late thirties greeted us. She must be the mortician.

Seeing three girls coming towards her, the mortician looked anxious. She then handed us Vicks. "Put some on your nose. It won't get rid of the smell completely but it still helps."

Then she took a ziplock bag from her table and gave it to Meisha. Meisha almost collapsed at the sight of the bracelet and school ID.

"T-This was the bracelet I gave him on our birthday." Meisha's voice cracked as she held the bracelet. The school ID was indeed Mika's. Lily kept on consoling Meisha, who was now on the verge of a breakdown.

Gripping Meisha's shoulder, she glanced at the mortician and asked, "Can we see it now?"

In the mortician's eyes were hesitation and pity as she just stood there not knowing whether to show us the body or not.

"Please, can we see the body now?" It was my turn to plead.

The woman sighed. She went to the corner and opened the cold locker where they store and preserve the dead bodies.

Maybe because of the adrenaline rush earlier, I didn't think of the fact that we were inside a morgue. But seeing the body covered in white cloth, my feet went cold.

There was a blast of cold air, sending chills to my spine. It's my first time inside a morgue, and we are surrounded by dead bodies inside the cold lockers.

Meisha slowly approached the dead body. Her shaking hand was a few inches away from the cloth when she paused and started sobbing. "I c-can't."

I took Meisha away from the body and signaled Lily to be the one to take a look. Lily nodded and asked the mortician, "May I?"

Lily pulled the cloth and paused. I couldn't see what her reaction was since I could only see her back. I slowly peeked from her shoulder. Just like in my dream, the face was badly mutilated to the point that it is unrecognizable anymore, except it was clean.

"This isn't Mika," Lily whispered.

Meisha stopped sobbing. "What?"

Lily looked at us and said confidently. "This is not Mika."

Meisha wiped her tears. "If, if what you're saying is true, then there shouldn't be a barcode tattoo on his wrist."

The mortician immediately inspected the dead body's hands. There was no barcode tattoo on both sides, making Meisha wail in relief.

"He's still alive somewhere?" I whispered. A surge of relief washed my body as I slumped on the floor. "Thank goodness."

"We should go to the police station and meet with the instructor. Maybe we'll find some clues on what truly happened." Lilibeth said, assisting Meisha. The mortician lady helped me up and led us outside the morgue.

Meisha turned to the lady. "Can I take the stuff with me? The bracelet and employee ID belonged to my brother and the school we worked at." She said while also showing her ID.

The mortician lady saw Meisha's devastating state and cautiously looked around. "Take it. I know it's against the law to take the evidence, but I do hope you'll find your brother soon. That body there probably belonged to a mugger or thief that took your brother's stuff." She whispered to her.

"But, what about your job? You'll get punished for neglecting of duty." I asked the lady.

The lady looked at me and smiled. "Don't worry. This happens all the time. Now run along to the station. Good luck, girls. I hope you'll find your brother soon."