Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Chapter 795: Cold [2]

I sat back down.

The doctor watched me for a moment before glancing towards the thermometer on his desk.

“It was two sneezes. To be honest, you don’t need to be so concerned.”

“I’ll try.”

I wasn’t making any promises.

My nose had stopped bothering me again, but that didn’t make me feel much better. I looked down at my hands before eventually reaching for my sunglasses.

There wasn’t much point in staying here. He had already told me everything he could.

“Thank you. I’ll—”

Trrr!

My phone rang.

I paused and took it out, looking at the name on the screen before answering.

“Guild Master Maren?”

⎯Seth. Are you available?

Her voice sounded a little different from usual. There was something happening in the background, and I heard her say something to someone else before returning her attention to me.

⎯Can you come to the Guild?

“What happened?”

⎯He woke up.

My hand stopped against the sunglasses.

“Who?”

No, there was no point in asking. I already knew.

⎯Our member. The one we’ve asked you to rescue.

“…..”

I slowly stood up.

“Since when?”

⎯A little while ago.

“Has he said anything?”

There was a brief pause.

⎯…You should come and see for yourself.

I looked towards the doctor, who was waiting for me to finish the call.

“I’m on my way.”

I bid farewell to the doctor and left, my heart pounding against my chest harder than I expected it to.

He woke up…?

But that’s impossible. Wasn’t he affected by VILE – 1048 as well?

*

The Guild Master of Silver Lanters was waiting near the entrance to the medical ward when I arrived.

She stepped towards me almost immediately, her grey hair a little loose around the sides of her face.

“This way.”

I followed her down the corridor.

“How is he?”

“They’ve examined him. Physically, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong.”

“That’s good.”

“Yes, but…”

Her steps slowed as we approached a door.

“He’s frightened.”

“Of what?”

“We don’t know. He won’t tell us.”

I looked through the doorway.

The man was sitting on the bed with his back against the raised pillow. Both hands were gripping the sheets, pulling them tightly over his legs.

At first glance, he looked considerably better than before.

There was some colour in his face, and he turned his head when someone moved outside the room. He was clearly aware of what was happening around him.

His eyes, however…

I stopped near the door.

They were wide open.

Even as he rubbed one with the back of his hand, the other remained fixed on the room. He lowered his hand almost immediately and looked towards the corner beside the bed.

Then the window.

Then the door.

“Ever since he’s woken up, he’s been like that. He won’t close his eyes for some reason.”

The Guild Master said quietly as she looked in his direction.

I turned to her.

“Not even for a moment?”

“Not once.”

I watched him press his back more firmly against the pillow.

“Has he recognised anyone?”

“Yes. He knows who we are. He even asked how long he’d been here.”

“And when you asked what happened?”

“He stopped answering.”

Maren pushed the door to the room open, prompting the doctors to look our way.

“It’s alright.”

The Guild Master spoke in the softest voice I’d ever heard her speak.

“I’ve brought someone who might be able to help.”

The Guild Member’s attention settled on her almost immediately.

His fingers loosened slightly, although he kept hold of the sheets as I entered behind her.

I had only taken a few steps when he noticed me.

His expression changed.

The little colour in his face seemed to disappear as his gaze settled on mine. His mouth opened, and the sheets began trembling between his fingers.

I stopped.

“…Are you alright?”

He didn’t answer.

His eyes moved a little higher.

Then to the side.

I felt my shoulders stiffen.

“Why…?”

His voice was barely audible.

Maren moved closer to the bed.

“What is it?”

The man swallowed, his throat shifting as he continued to stare past me.

“…Why did you bring it here?”

“…..”

I looked behind me.

There was the doorway, part of the corridor, and a nurse passing with a folder held against her chest.

Nothing else.

My gaze moved towards the space beside the door before returning to the man.

“What did you say?”

His hands pulled harder against the sheets.

“Why did you bring it here?”

I reached for my sunglasses and put them on.

Then I looked again.

The doorway was still there. So was the corridor.

I couldn’t see anything that explained the look on his face.

‘…What is he looking at?’

A small sound came from the bed.

When I turned back, the man had started shaking his head.

“No.”

Maren reached towards him.

“Listen to me. You’re at the Guild. You’re safe.”

“No, no, no…”

He suddenly pulled the sheets up, dragging them over his head before Maren could stop him.

I could still see his hands beneath the fabric.

They were pressed against the sides of his face.

“Please.”

The word came out so quietly that I almost missed it.

Then he said it again.

“Please. I didn’t tell him anything.”

I remained where I was.

“I swear. I didn’t tell him anything!”

His voice grew louder, and Maren looked towards me.

I didn’t know what to tell her.

I hadn’t even asked him anything yet.

“Look at me.”

I took a careful step towards the bed.

“I’m not here to hurt you. I just need you to—”

“Don’t!”

His body jerked beneath the sheets.

I stopped immediately.

For several seconds, the only sound in the room was his breathing. It came in short, uneven bursts, with the sheet pulling against his mouth every time he tried to take another breath.

“I didn’t say anything…”

He was still speaking.

But I no longer thought he was speaking to me.

My hand slowly moved towards my pocket.

“Alright, you don’t have to tell me anything. Just look here for a moment.”

My fingers closed around the foam ball.

But before I could take it out—

“Haaaaaaaa—!”

The scream made my hand stop.

Maren caught his shoulder as his back arched away from the pillow. The sheet slipped from his head, revealing his face.

His mouth was open.

His eyes were fixed on something beside me.

Then the scream stopped.

His body fell sideways against Maren’s arm.

“Hey!”

She caught him before his head struck the side of the bed.

His hands had gone slack.

The sheets slipped from his fingers, and for the first time since I had entered, his eyes were closed.

“Get someone!”

Maren’s voice snapped me out of it.

I turned towards the doorway, but a nurse was already rushing inside. Another member of staff followed, and I moved aside as they approached the bed.

“What happened?”

“He was speaking, and then…”

Maren stopped, looking down at the man.

I stood near the wall with my hand still inside my pocket.

The foam ball was pressed tightly between my fingers.

I didn’t even get to take it out fully.

‘What sort of…?’