Someone I'm Not

23 [pt.2]| Almost out

[Continuation of flashback]

"Where the f**k are we right now!?" Vianne quickly stands up on her feet when she opens her eyes to see an unfamiliar setting. Still feeling dizzy, her quickly getting up made her think her stomach was turning, and she was vomiting water a few seconds later.

"How about you breathe first, Vianne?" Vianne didn't hurry herself to stand back up, mainly focusing on her body's reaction to whether she was going to vomit once more or not.

"You know what?" Vianne asks as she wipes her lips using the hem of her shirt, leaving a wet stain of vomit. She extended her pointer finger as her brows furrowed in anger. "f**k YOU!"

"Just calm down for a second—"

"What did you do to my sister!? Where is she?"

"Maybe you want to relax for a bit? Clear your head first and—" Eduardus couldn't continue his sentence when Vianne had already got into him and slapped him across the face.

"Who the f**k do you think you are, huh? You tell me to relax when you know that I can't because, clearly, there's A LOT to process!" Vianne frustratingly shouts at him. She walks back and forth while her fingers run into her messed-up hair with sand and leaves.

"I've seen so many weird things that were clearly normal, Eduardus, and clearly, this is NOT one of them!" she continued shouting. "The next thing I know is that I-i-I see my sister and she's floating and-and colors were surrounding her and angered, and a voice shouting. She's even in the middle of a f*****g tornado!"

"Vianne—"

"What—" before Vianne could continue her rant, her eyes widened when she saw completely different surroundings. Looking down at her boots, she quickly flinches away when she sees a body lying on the floor. The critical being is spitting blood out of his mouth while his shirt is soaked with growing blood.

"Phoenix?" Vianne asked as she slowly bent down to look at the body. Until she's sure of the guy, she hears a gasp not from afar, to see a figure running away- there were two.

"Phoenix is dead."

"What!?" Vianne turned her head upward to see Eduardus standing not from afar. The alley's darkness almost hugged his complete figure, leaving only a part of his hair and voice that made Vianne familiarize the person.

"I know this is hard to explain, but you're back in time. . ." Eduardus steps out of the dark to reveal himself. There's no hint of wanting to joke around because he already wears a straight face. "Vianne, you're currently living at a pace where you already lived before. And now that you see something you shouldn't have." Eduardus takes another step, not breaking eye contact. "I need your help."

[End of flashback]

"So, you're already aware of what's happening here, right?" Soroya asks as she gestures her hand to support her question. And without any hesitation, she nodded.

"And what else has he told you?" There's no point in feeling so measured now because the person in front of her already knew.

"Aside from knowing that you're Phoenix from the present and dead? And now you're possessing my sister's body to figure out your killer? And why is my sister's soul missing? That we are living in the past? No. That's all that he told me. So, let me ask you something, Phoenix." Vianne pauses as she looks around and moves closer. "Someone has told me that you're running out of time. Have you had any leads yet that could lead to your killer?"

Soroya shakes her head.

"Then, what happens if you run out of time and don't have any lead? What will happen to you?" Once again, Vianne received the same answer. And things are starting to get frustrating for her once again. "And how about my sister?"

"Look. All I know is that I probably had seven days to find out my killer and if I didn't? I might not cross over and be just the other souls— a ghost with resentment because justice wasn't served, okay?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"I talked to the goddess of justice, okay? She's the reason why I am here. But clearly, she was the type of goddess who would give enough time. I mean, I can't blame her, she wanted justice as fast as possible, but we humans failed to deliver it. And clearly, she's right, because look at me! Am I doing a great job? No. So, if I fail to find my killer, I won't attain peace, and I'll probably live the rest of my existence as a ghost, still trying to figure out who my killer is. . . And now, I'm here at the hospital, and the nurse told me that I'll probably be staying here for less than a week."

"And you need my help to escape?"

"Well, do you have any other options for where this conversation is going?"

Vianne smirks. "Then, let's get started!"

•••

[9:00 pm, Curfew]

Visiting hours were already over, which meant visitors were already not allowed within the premises until the following day. Soroya, after having dinner, sat in her bunker bed for the next few minutes, hoping for the miracle to happen. It wasn't a grand plan, but from their calculations, it was enough to pull her out of the misery of being quarantined in the hospital for what felt like forever. Soroya should be staying, and in fact, she wanted to stay there as long as she wanted food because it was her gateway to escape the cruel world, even just for a short time- nurses giving her healthy food, bright surroundings because of the painted walls that were cool to the eyes. She doesn't even have to deal with dirty surroundings! But, she only had one reason, enough to convince her to get back out there and claim what she deserved- what Phoenix deserved. And when she gets what he deserves, then maybe, Soroya's soul will find her way back to her body.

"Can't sleep?" Soroya flinches and turns to the door to see the nurse present earlier when she woke up. She's pushing a steel pushcart with medicines she can't even recognize. She then looks back up and wears a small smile before shaking her head. "There's a lot to process, huh?"

"Well. . . I honestly had a lot in mind other than thinking of why I'm here, but they just don't make sense." The nurse stops and grabs her information book. "It is as if I was thinking of scribbled thoughts and crumbling it the next second I got bored. You know what I mean."

"I don't know if I am in the position to comment on that remark, though."

"And why is that?" Soroya furrowed her brows in question, not sure how to approach the reply the nurse just gave. She then watches as the nurse continues to do what she's told to do, and a second later, the nurse hands her two unknown medicines.

"Because maybe, being in this job kind of forced you to think straight. Because patients depend on us, and we depend on ourselves being focused in the field."

"So, you've never had a single thought about no pressure?"

"Drink," she commands while handing her a glass of water. Soroya gets the glass and drinks it, almost emptying the glass of water. When done, she returns the glass of water and continues speaking.

"I mean, it sounded like your mind is already a robot. Don't you have at least one day to give yourself just to think about nothingness?"

"Does it bother you?"

"Yes. . . Because it feels kind of exhausting just hearing you say it—"

"I think it's time for you to sleep." when the nurse spoke these words, Soroya stopped. She was well aware that she wanted to say more, but she felt like her tongue had been tied up. And so does her world start to spin. Soroya gets dizzy, her body getting heavy as she feels hands supporting her weight.

"What the—" she managed to mouth, but as she felt her body lying down and the covers covering her petite body, the nurse's face appeared. With the concerned smile she wore, the nurse managed to speak a few words that she understood.

"Don't worry. Everything will be alright when you wake up."

--

"No, no, no! No!" Soroya pushes her body up, both hands extended forward as if she's ready to make someone move away. But when she quickly noticed that she was not inside the hospital anymore, she looked ahead to see a road. "What the fu—"

"I thought you'd not wake up until later? But anyhow, I'm happy that you're already out." It was Soroya's sister who spoke up. While Houdini silently sat in the passenger seat, she was driving the car, somewhat bothering Soroya. She already knew that something was up.

She feels nostalgic about the situation that made her clear her throat and pulls the neckline of what she's wearing, making her aware that she's not inside a hospital gown anymore.

"Can you stop the car for a minute, miss Vianne?" both Vianne and Soroya looked in his direction with a questioning gaze. The only difference was that Vianne had to turn her eye back to the road quickly so that they could prevent any unwanted collisions.

"Why? Do you want to take a pee somewhere? Don't worry. We are employing-"

"Just stop the car, or I'll make you pull over by employing force." It was deep, not loud, but authoritative, almost an unsettling threat like Vianne's life was on the line. The one's cold surroundings became colder and scary.

"Wow. . . Okay, creep." Vianne responded with a half chuckle before spotting a space by the road. Soroya, on the other hand, watches Houdini from behind. She couldn't see Houdini's expression, making her more and more curious about what was happening to the man.

"Houdini, is there something wrong?" When Vianne finally stepped on the break, Houdini didn't waste any seconds. He steps out of the vehicle and pulls the door open to the back seat.

"Get out," he commands, looking straight over Soroya. Instead, Soroya looks over Vianne, and she just shrugs her shoulders. They were both confused now about what was going on with Houdini.

"Houdini, no matter what you're thinking ahead, this is some kind of a prank. I'm going to tell Eduardus-'

"I DON'T CARE WHAT EDUARDUS SAYS BECAUSE HE GOT SOME s**t GOING ON HIS PLATE. NOW, GET OUT OF HERE. WE NEED TO TALK!" Houdini wasn't able to keep up the anger anymore. With such empty patience, he pulled Soroya out, making her almost fall to the ground. Luckily, her long legs helped her with her balance. When she's out, whether standing unsteadily, Houdini keeps dragging her. That's when Vianne decided to get out of the car.

"Hey, what the f**k!?" Soroya asks in anger, not knowing what was happening. "Hey, Houdini, what the hell is wrong with you-" Soroya was cut off when Houdini let go of her wrist by pushing her backward to create space between them. Houdini scoffs with class.

"How did you get out of the hospital?"

"What?"

" Don't pretend you misheard what I asked." Houdini kept his intention straight: to corner her with strangling questions she didn't even know how to respond to. "How!?"

"Okay, alright, this is becoming tenser and tenser. Houdini, is that the reason why you seem so bothered? Can't you just be grateful that we didn't have to make the effort to get her out?"

"Seriously, miss Vianne? Weren't you even curious why she got out without even a SINGLE? Not even the janitor reported her getting out!?"

"Well, maybe she used her charms so they could let her step out."

"HOW INAPPROPRIATE OF YOU TO EVEN MAKE EVERYTHING SEEM LIKE A JOKE!"

"AND HOW DARE YOU SHOUT AT ME THIS WAY? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?"

"I AM SOMEONE WHO WAS TRYING TO SAVE YOUR SISTER! WHAT ABOUT YOU? WHERE WERE YOU WHEN SHE WENT MISSING!?"

The situation got worse, and Soroya still hasn't given her answer as to why she got out of the hospital unnoticed. The question bugged her, along with the loud noise created by Vianne and Houdini in the background.

"I don't know. . ." Soroya mumbled, and it wasn't enough to grab both of their attention. She lifts her gaze and turns to them, inhaling deeply before shouting. "I DON'T f*****g KNOW!"