Demons Beside You

Chen Zhao hurried over to Chantilly Hospital. Robio was there waiting for him.

He went in as soon as he arrived. When he reached Fali’s room, he realized Faur was there.

“Chen?” Faur was surprised to see him. “You’re here for me?”

“Uh...I’m the patient’s friend,” Chen Zhao said.

“Chen, she’s Fali’s younger sister,” Robio said.

“You know my sister?” Faur looked at him in surprise.

“Uh, can I check on Fali?”

Faur nodded. She was obviously happy if Chen Zhao was willing to help.

Chen Zhao checked Fali. “There’s no water in her lungs, her heartbeat is normal, pulse normal, but her pupils are dilated and no light reaction... Faur, did you tranquilize Fali?”

“No, she’s been unconscious since she was taken to the hospital. Can it be a pseudo-coma?” Faur suggested.

Chen Zhao and Robio both understood what that meant. Chen Zhao was a doctor, while Robio worked on the Coastal Rescue Team. He’d seen many drowning victims.

In pseudo-comas, the brain was still active, but the subconscious mind was still in the drowning state, so the brain would close itself off. This was a way to protect the brain.

When drowning, one would lack oxygen for a long period, causing brain hypoxia and brain damage. But pseudo-comas were short-term comas. It usually lasted one to three days. Sometimes, it could last for longer.

“Chen, do you have a solution?”

“I still need to look.” As of now, Chen Zhao hadn’t found any useful information. He suspected since the beginning that the drowning wasn’t normal.

Walking out with Robio, Chen Zhao asked, “Robio, can you tell me what happened when Fali drowned?”

“I got the call at two in the morning. I only heard Walter’s panting through the phone. To be honest, I can’t really believe that a dog can do that.”

“If Walter really can call someone, he should call me. Why did he call you?”

“My contact info is taped onto the office’s wall.”

Robio sensed some jealousy in Chen Zhao’s voice, but this proved that the man really loved Walter like a parent. Chen Zhao wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t care. Robio was also happy that Walter could have Chen Zhao’s companionship.

“Then I hurried to the office and saw Fali lying on the beach. She had her buoy and life vest. She couldn’t have gone swimming at midnight unless someone was drowning. But there were no other victims beside her. It’s possible she couldn’t save the person and was also in danger, so she was either washed ashore or Walter dragged her onto land.”

Chen Zhao leaned more toward Walter saving Fali, but then he remembered that Fali had said she’d run into paranormal activity.

He suspected that Fali had been attacked by an evil spirit. Otherwise, with her swimming abilities, she wouldn’t have an accident even at night. At least, there wasn’t a high possibility.

After all, Fali had all the equipment and Walter by her side. Unless something unusual happened, there were very slight chances of an accident happening.

“Is Walter still had the office?”

“Yeah, I left him there.”

“I’ll go get Walter. I’m worried if he’s there alone.”

“Okay,” Robio said. “I won’t go with you. I need to stay and take care of Fali.”

Chen Zhao hurried to the headquarters and called for Walter. The dog rushed out of the darkness. He was very excited, clearly shocked by something. He jumped and barked in front of Chen Zhao.

“Walter, quiet. Quiet down,” Chen Zhao comforted him. “Was Fali attacked by evil spirits?”

Woof—

“Can you find the evil spirit?”

Walter turned toward the sea with a confused expression. He couldn’t provide any information. This made Chen Zhao feel helpless. Walter wasn’t like Beelzebub and the others. He couldn’t talk directly to Chen Zhao.

Just then, Walter ran into the office and carried a rotten piece of wood out. Chen Zhao took it.

It was a piece of wood from a fir tree and very wet. Walter must have taken it out of the water. It should be from some aged ship. No matter how good the quality, it would rot after being in the water for decades or even centuries.

The wood was very fragile. Chen Zhao applied some pressure and cracked it open. There was a clear word carved into the opening: Mary.

Mary?

Chen Zhao studied the wood. He wasn’t sure if this was related to Fali’s attack. His phone rang at that moment.

“Chen, Fali woke up, but she looks unsettled. She wants you to take her home.”

“Okay, I’m coming,” Chen Zhao said immediately.

He was relieved that Fali was okay. Chen Zhao was worried that she really was attacked by something unknown. If Fali was hurt by some magic spell or supernatural force, Chen Zhao would need Sienna’s help.

Now that Fali was awake, he could stop worrying so much.

When he reached the hospital, Fali was sitting up in bed. Faur sat beside her while Robio stood before the bed.

Robio could tell that Fali had been terrified. He just didn’t understand what could have happened that caused such a strong reaction.

“Chen, you’re here.” Fali’s eyes brightened when she saw Chen Zhao.

Faur and Robio could both tell that Fali trusted Chen Zhao. She relaxed as soon as he arrived.

Faur stood up and Chen Zhao took her spot. Fali hugged him immediately. “Chen, you’re finally here. I want to go home.”

“Uh...okay, let’s go.” Chen Zhao glanced at Faur who was looking at him quizzically. She didn’t expect that Chen Zhao would be dating her sister.

Judging from the current situation, they couldn’t be regular friends.

“Faur, I’ll take Fali home now.”

“I’ll go visit tomorrow,” Faur said to her sister.

“I’ll drive,” Robio said.

Fali didn’t speak on the way back. She sat in the backseat with Chen Zhao, resting her head on his shoulder. She was leaning into him even after they got out the car.

“Robio’s gone. Stop acting,” Chen Zhao pushed her aside.

“I’m not acting. I really was scared.”