《System Savior》Chapter 7: A Harmless Deception
Advertisement
“Dexter?”
Dexter, still in the waiting room, looked up at the sound of his name, his heart rate accelerating.
A nurse was looking at him. How did she know his name?
It must have been Leah, he told himself. As paranoid as he felt, it was the only thing that made sense.
“I’m Dexter,” he called out, raising his hand.
The nurse nodded. She had dark circles under her reddened eyes, her hair was sticking up in places, matted in others, and her blue scrubs were spotted with blood. She held a coffee in one shaky hand, a clipboard in the other, dangling at her side like driftwood. “Your sister would like to see you.” She smiled, but it just made her look sadder.
He frowned. He didn’t have a sister.
Unless…
“Is she awake?”
The nurse sighed and shook her head. “In and out.”
“Will she be okay?”
The nurse chugged her coffee before answering. “She has it a lot better than many I’ve seen.” She crushed the cup and tossed it into a nearby trashcan. “Come on. You can cheer her up. I know I’d love to have my big brother with me right now.” Her eyes glistened and she quickly turned away.
Dexter leaped up and followed.
She led him through halls filled with impromptu medical beds, past emergency rooms stuffed beyond capacity, and finally to a dead-end hall with a window overlooking the parking lot.
There, lying on a pile of bedding on the floor, was Leah, eyes closed, covers up to her waist, IV coming from her arm, neck and torso covered in bandages.
He rushed over to her and collapsed to his knees at her side. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’ll give you two some time,” the nurse said. “But only a few minutes.”
Leah’s eyes fluttered and she squinted at him. “Dex?” Her voice was raspy and weak.
“Hey. I’m here.” He took her hand. It was warm now, and the emotions this fact filled him with were hard to work out.
Advertisement
She smiled.
He did too. But his vision was blurring. He wiped his eyes with his free hand, checked behind him. The nurse was already gone. “So I’m your brother now?”
She chuckled weakly, then grimaced. Her neck and chest had been stitched up, her torn shirt and bloody bra gone. But instead of a hospital gown, she only had gauze taped across her chest. He wondered if they’d run out of gowns.
“I tried to find you, but no one would tell me where you were or if you were okay.” He took a breath, tried to rein in his emotions.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I’m surprised she found me. She wasn’t the one I grilled for your location.”
“I asked her to look for someone in a stupid duck shirt,” she said lightly.
He was wearing a Howard the Duck t-shirt, the antihero’s duck face large and prominent on its front, visible even through the bloodstains.
“Lucky I put it back on then.” He wanted to hug her, hold her. Instead, he said, “I’m so sorry I let this happen.”
She frowned. “I’m pretty sure I’m on a morphine drip, but the way I remember it, you weren’t the one who did this.” She looked down at the wound on her chest. “Hey, where’s my shirt?”
“It was… torn.”
She smiled. “I liked that shirt. But I’m sure you like me better like this.”
“I— What?”
She laughed at the horrified expression on his face. “I mean wearing nothing but bandages.”
His horrified expression didn’t diminish. “I hate that you’re hurt.”
“No, I mean because I’m not wearing a—” She sighed. “Never mind. And it’s not your fault.”
“But if I had gotten up, if I had run with you—”
“Hey.” She squeezed his hand. “I chose to stay. You didn’t make me. And besides, it looks like I saved you. You don’t have a scratch on you.”
He laughed; a choked, strangled thing. “Yeah. Not a scratch. Except for a cut from a cracked phone.”
Advertisement
“Good. I like being a hero.”
“Are you going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. I feel great.”
“That’s because you’re high on morphine.”
“I am not high. This is a hospital. They wouldn’t give me that much.”
“Those say otherwise.” He nodded at her wounds.
She looked down. She couldn’t see the one on her neck obviously, but the one on her chest was bad enough. With the bandages covering it, the wound itself wasn’t visible, but from the bloodstain and area covered, it was clear it hadn’t been just a scrape. “That does look big. Was it bad?”
He shrugged.
“That blood…” she motioned with her free hand at his shirt, “it mine?”
“Some of it.”
She seemed to sober a bit. “Did… did anyone die?”
He swallowed, clenching his jaw.
“Oh my god. Dexter I’m—” She took a breath. “Anyone we know? I know that sounds horrible but—”
“It’s not. And no, I don’t think so. I don’t know. I didn’t see anyone I knew.” He remembered the boy with the banana-yellow horns. Had he made it? It wasn’t as though it was easy to identify the remains. “Matt’s fine. I saw Zoe in the back of an ambulance, but she seemed okay enough.” He didn’t mention that Matt had been gathered by police and was who-knew-where now. He didn’t need to worry her. And he wasn’t going to risk being overheard.
“This is—” Leah began, but was interrupted.
“I’m sorry,” a voice said from behind Dexter, “I can’t give you any more time. She should rest anyway.”
Dexter turned to find the same nurse who had led him here. He nodded absently. “You have your phone?” he asked Leah quietly.
She let go of his hand and reached under the covers, then looked surprised.
“What?”
She pulled the covers down to show him. She was still wearing her shorts. That’s when he noticed the outline of her sneakers under the covers. They hadn’t even taken those off.
“Triage,” the nurse said. “Treat the obvious injuries. Do you have any we missed? Most have been… quite obvious. If clothing was intact, that meant no injury other than mild abrasions, a sprain, or the like. And that’s not life-threatening.”
Leah shrugged. “I think I’m okay. Not sure I’d feel it.” She looked at Dexter and patted her pocket. “Right here.”
He nodded. “I’ll check on you in a few hours then.” He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, lingering there for long seconds.
He pulled away, and they looked into each other’s eyes. She took his hand in hers, intertwined her fingers among his. “Dex, I…” She licked her lips, and without realizing what he was doing, he leaned down again.
Their lips pressed together and his heart raced. Her grip on his hand tightened and he squeezed back. He never wanted to stop kissing her.
But when he realized she was crying, he did.
He pulled away, staring at the tears streaming down her cheeks.
“What?” he asked, confused.
She shook her head. “You jerk. I’ve been waiting for you to ask me out since freshman year. I’m not complaining, that was nice. But it would have been nicer if it hadn’t taken an alien invasion.”
He laughed. “Yeah, well…” He trailed off, rubbing his neck awkwardly.
“Uh-oh,” Leah said, looking past him.
Grateful for the distraction, he turned to see what she was looking at. And was immediately no longer grateful.
The nurse was staring at them. Her mouth was open, one hand held in front of her like she’d frozen in the act of raising her finger in protest. She looked somewhere between confusion and horror, as though a barista had just spit in her coffee right in front of her while making it.
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry,” Leah assured the woman, “we’re step-siblings.”
Advertisement
The King of Hell’s Genius Pampered Wife
At the feast of the Gluttonous House’s auction, there was a little girl with an exceptional furnace constitution for offer at a sky-high price. Everyone wanted to lay their hands on her. Suddenly, the little girl in the golden cage opened her eyes, radiating a cold gaze. She was no longer cowardly. She was the gold medal assassin of the 21st century, transmigrating to become the good-for-nothing humiliation that everyone bullied, third miss Nalan Hexi of the genius doctor’s manor. Meridians completely crippled, no innate skill to cultivate? What is she afraid of? She is the exceptional miracle doctor, and these injuries were nothing in her eyes. Father doesn’t dote on her, mother doesn’t love her, everyone schemes against her? Humph, an alternate dimension in hand and an invincible spirit pet as well, she can destroy the small Nalan Manor with a flip of her hand! Ugly complexion, malnourished and sickly in appearance, no one wants her? She recovered her unparalleled looks with the blink of an eye and gained a dozen good looking men as bodyguards! That overbearing man who’d been sticking to her since the auction. Who said I was destined to be yours? I am my own, no one can decide my future! A certain man: Then I am yours, will that do?
8 1421Lost in Love
My name is Alexander Halesworth, sole heir to a prestigious ducal house. Or rather, that’s what my identity is supposed to be now. I still haven’t gotten used to this whole situation yet. Not long ago I was just a humble store clerk. But shortly after getting into an unfortunate road accident, I woke up in the setting of an infamous Otome Game called “Lost in Love: A Heart Throbbing Romance in a Fantasy World~!” Yeah. It’s even trashier than it sounds. Don’t judge me, it was a gift from a friend. *cough* Anyway, this situation wouldn’t be too bad, except I ended up in the body of the worst possible person: the villainess’ older brother. Alexander has great looks, near limitless wealth, and a thoroughly rotten personality. In most of the game’s endings I end up dead or exiled. My family also falls to ruin, and don’t even get me started on what happens to my evil little sister. Well, whatever. If that’s the hand fate dealt me, then I just have to prevent the bad ends, right? And if I have no choice but to deal with this family’s baggage, I may as well enjoy myself while I’m at it. Being filthy rich and powerful has its benefits. For example, this cute maid who I get to tease whenever I want. (Male lead otome reincarnation, inspired by Akuyaku Reijo Ni Koi Wo Shite and similar works)
8 149The Genius Manipulator
A high schooler, Kastille, who deems himself as a genius manipulator, is planning on creating his own kingdom. By manipulating the students to his will, he has nearly taken control of the entire school. Through his own skills and talents, he blackmails, coerces, extorts, and uses anyone and anything in order to get his goal in life: to be able to live without hardship after he graduates by receiving the fruit of the labor from the people under his control. Will he triumph and live a life of luxury or will he see his empire burn to ashes?
8 210Chaotic Oceans World
The new online game ‘War of Worldships’ became popular 2 years after its release. Based on the World War Era, it gives the player complete control over numerous ships from every nation involved in the world war. Along with realistic gameplay, it's no wonder how it manage to entice everyone. However, one day an unknown storm sweeps an average player's ship alongside his friends and the other players. Opening their eyes, they arrive at the unknown oceans world. With the help of a girl with a ship's name, they have to lead their ships with the game system to survive. They are just normal people playing the game for fun but now that they are thrown in this place, they have to survive dangerous creatures and magic, in a land where everyone's minds are filled with betrayal and tricks! How will they survive without any knowledge of their circumstances? Is there a way home? _______________________________________________________________________ Note : The mature content just for gore and foul language, and maybe mild sex and rape attempt. And this is a story with 'World of Warships', 'Kancolle' and 'Haifuri' mix with an original story. lol Note(1) : I'm not the native of English language, so I may have a problem. it's good if you can help me point where is my fault. Note(2) : This is my second story. And I didn't drop my first one, I just need a change of pace. lol. Its story I make after Playing that certain game and 'I want to make my story!' and it's ended like that...
8 160It's Hard Being A Background Character
Just after being transmigrated into a world of immortal cultivation, Zhang Wei naively believed he'd struck gold! But who could blame him? All those web novels he read depicted that after an average Joe with no attachments to his previous world transmigrated into a body with the same name, he'd become the greatest legendary being after countless thrilling adventures alongside the assistance of a mighty System! And... he fulfilled all those criteria! Unfortunately, those wishful thoughts vanished after seeing his reflection in the water. No...it wasn't because his looks remained impressively unimpressive. It was due to the two words in block capitals that hovered just above his head: [BACKGROUND CHARACTER]
8 268Dancing with the Devil
To move on from her past, an extraordinary girl must tear down the walls she has built to protect herself.Mackenzie Douglas seems to have it all: good looks, a great boyfriend, a passion for biking, and a little sister who worships her. But under the veneer of perfection lie the emotional scars of her childhood, inflicted by her father. Though her memories have faded with time, the wounds on Mac’s subconscious remain.Having vowed to never be a victim again, Mac focuses on a journey she’s always wanted to take: a summer bike trip on her amazing new RoadCap bike. But as the excursion finally gets underway, memories Mac long ago buried start to claw their way back to the surface, forcing her to confront a past she has done everything she can to forget.To prevent her sister from enduring the same trauma, Mac must let go of everything in which she’s found refuge. To break a cycle that needs to be broken, Mackenzie summons her strength and risks shattering the world she has so carefully built, exposing hidden secrets, long-told lies, and a horrific crime.Hello, Readers!It took me nine years (seriously!) to finish this YA, Dancing With the Devil, and Diversion Books has published it both digitally and in paperback versions. But guess what? I'm also putting it up here on Wattpad, free. Serialized, so it might make you crazy, but still, cool, right? And the whole thing will be here. I'm serializing twice a week every Sunday and Wednesday and the completed story will be one of the Wattpad Featured Stories starting on June 6th. You'll just have to wait to read the whole thing. After it's all up, I get to answer questions in a LIVE Q&A book club! Talking to readers will be a dream come true. Sign up here to make sure you don't miss the event: http://katiedavis.com/devilbookclub
8 80