Ashly lays on the bed awake, her stomach hurts. She tried to touch her side but the doctor stops her "Don't do that, you'll just cause unnecessary pain to yourself." Dr. Zkwysh said as he is writing some documents.
"So… how long was I gone for?" Ashly asked trying to stand up but her arms feel very heavy "Where is Lucas?" She asked the doctor who is still writing some documents.
"Well, he is fine that Lucas guy. He sure is an emotional bunch, he was crying to me to help you" Dr. Zkwysh said as he kept on working "He'll be here soon, I wrote him a letter that says you woke up and the expenses. I hope he has a lot of money because I'm charging him a lot"
A man can be seen entering the hospital, he is tall, clean shaved and has short hair. He is wearing a dark suit, with a bright red tie, he is wearing brown gloves and is carrying a suitcase. The man walks up to the receptionist "Oh it's you, been long time hasn't?" The receptionist says and the man pulls out a note "You want to see Doctor Zkwysh? He is on the second floor" she said
The man continues his way to Ashly's room and he walks up the stairs. He walks pass some patients, some are healthier than others, some are more hopeful, some are with family. He walks and knocks on the door. Dr. Zkwysh opens it "Harald? Why are you here?" Zkwysh said as the man enters the room. The man sees Ashly who is pretending to be asleep
"Dr. Zkwysh! It's nice seeing you out of all doctors, come here" Harald says and Zkwysh walks to him a bit nervous "That young lady right there, she isn't a registered citizen am I correct?" Harald said as they both sit down "Don't be nervous at all, I like you, and I like you a lot. You're probably the best doctor in this hospital, was what I mean to say" Harald says in a more serious tone
"Sir, I know how bad this seems and I get it but" Dr. Zkwysh says "This is just a policy, I didn't break any law, this shouldn't be something serious for you to be send here." He said but Harald just scoffs and opens the suitcase
"You see Zkwysh, in here are the expenses for the surgery. The bullet removal, something serious I know" Harald said as he hands him the papers "We have rules, that allow for medical expenses to be mostly covered with taxes. But the problem here is that she isn't a citizen so in the eyes of the government." Harald continues "We just wasted tax dollars on someone who isn't a citizen, this isn't good for us."
"But sir, the person who is in charge is paying everything, I made sure that he will pay for everything." Zkwysh said "He is in my judgement a trustworthy person"
"Let me tell you something, the money isn't the only problem. Thank goodness that the money will be paid up front as you said. But this policy although dumb sounding has its purpose. There are a total of seven districts in our government, and sadly this is the poorest out of them all. The only reason why it doesn't seem poor is because it's one of the [Twin Districts]. On average the economy of this place is terrible, we have the highest unregistered towns and villages than the rest by a large margin." Harald then pulls out a map and points at Ethneal which is the nearest to Irage. "It's called the Twin District due to how close these two districts are, no other district is as close as these two."
"Yes I know that, I get it all. I at first didn't want to go through with the surgery as well. I swear I was going to turn them away knowing the consequences bu-" Dr. Zkwysh is then cut off and told to be quiet by Harold
"Let me finish Doctor, like I said this policy has a purpose. Its purpose is to make sure unknown towns in our area can be seen. By having the poor and injured from these places, we can ask them questions. Where do you live? Do you have family? Is this place unregistered? Can you tell us where it's located? You see Doctor, this in the long run will incentivize people to register as citizens. To help us find out where these missing towns are and claim them if we either missed them or didn't know about them. This will help us not only gain citizens, but also expand our control of land. Do you understand know Mr. Zkwysh?" Harald said
"Yes I can understand the policy sir, but it's just one person." Dr. Zkwysh said "I can ask her later, it's not like she is going to disappear instantly after she wakes up" Harald stands up and packs up his suitcase
"Listen it's not just about how useful this policy is, but it's also to see if our people can follow them. To see how obedient they are when it comes to following them, don't worry this is just a warning. Trust me when I say that I was being lenient on you, there are worst men than me that could of came here. You're my friend so I took on this visit, be grateful for being so darn good at your job Zkwysh" Harald opens the door and is about to leave the room but then says "Your parents are fine, they are healthy and being cared for. You were going to ask me that weren't you, Zkwysh" then without waiting for an answer shuts the door and walks away
"You can stop pretending to be asleep, why did you pretend at all?" Dr. Zkwysh said as Ashly opens her eyes but she shrugs "As he said we got lucky this time, Harald is very strict but he has a soft heart. It might not have looked like it but he saved my life, I could of gotten into a lot of trouble that could of ended with my death at worst" he said
"Your death? Why are these people like that serious with this stuff?" Ashly asked "Now I thought it was about keeping the people safe and all of that other mumbles" she said as she tries once's again to stand up but she can't
"Yes they want to protect the people, but they also have to keep the status quo. I'm known to never tell a lie at all, that might be a reason as to why Harald was able to get on this visit. Listen Ashly, this is also a safety measure. We can't just save random people without knowing their background. We could of for all I know saved a killer or much worse" Dr. Zkwysh said
"I get it, there's so many bad people out there. There's a reason as to why I got shot" Ashly said "So how much will all of this cost exactly? I don't have any money and I'm not paying part of it."
Dr. Zkwysh clears his throat "Glad you asked, In the letter I send to your Friend contains the bill. And the amount you both own is 27 silver coins, 38 metal coins and 6 copper coins" he then hands the paper to Ashly "Check for yourself, I counted everything and it's expenses to be precise"
Ashly looks at the paper with disbelief, she has never seen that much money in her life. She doesn't even think she could make that amount in her lifetime "Well I'm glad that Lucas is paying for all of this" she says as she gives the paper back. In that moment Lucas runs into the room, he can be seen gasping for air and sweating.
"I'm-I'm here" he said trying to catch his breath "I came as soon as I saw the letter" Lucas looks at Ashly, smiles, and walks to her "Oh I'm so glad you're awake Ashly" he then hugs her
"Oww that hurts, I'm still injured" Ashly said as she pushes him away, Lucas apologizes and the doctor informs Lucas as to when he will pay back the money. The doctor then leaves the room to leave them for a moment "This is the first time I slept in a bed in a long time. Feels weird but comfortable, if only I wasn't shot"
——-
On the outskirts of Greenside a figure's shadow grows larger as it approaches. It leaves behind big and long footprints behind. They make little to no noise for a big person, the person walks by and enters the brothle. Marie is on her break and she hears the door open "Hey there young lady, may I ask you some questions?" the person said
"What is it that would require someone like me to answer your questions?" Marie then turns to look at who is talking to her. She sees a very tall man, he is wearing a large leather coat made from a bear. He has long black hair that's greasy, he has stubbles for a beard and is wearing pants that's made from wolf fur. His eyes are grey and he has a nasty scar on his left cheek. "Whoa what is a big guy like you doing in a place like this?" She asked
"I didn't give you permission to ask me any questions. I'm here for answers, no unnecessary small talk." He said as he sits next to Marie, he reeks of gun powder and iron. "Now lady, do you know who this woman is?" he shows her a sketch of what looks like Ashly "Sorry the person who sketched this isn't that good at drawing nor is the man who was describing her appearance" the man said
"I don't know who she is, maybe you should ask someone else" Marie said nervously, he looks very dangerous and why is he after Ashly she thinks to herself. As much as she hates her, Marie can't help but have a bad feeling that he isn't just asking for her "Listen, there's a lot of women out here. What are the chances that out of all these towns this is where she lives in?"
The man begins to laugh "You're such a funny one, I was told not so long ago that here is where she lives. Don't lie to me because I'm not one that takes kindly to liars" the man said
Marie stands up and is about to leave but the man tells her that if she moves, he will kill her "You can't force me to talk, I don't know who that woman is. You can't touch me like this because it's against the rules of this place" Marie said
The man laughs "Yeah? Whose going to enforce it?" He then hears a chair move and he turns to see William pulling his gun out. Marie smirks but it's short lived as in an instant William falls as a singular gun shot is heard. She is shocked as William was the first to pull out his gun yet the man was the first to shoot "You see lady, I have fast fingers. Nobody has ever shot me, not even by surprised before I kill them." He stands up and blows the smoke from his revolver "You better hope that for your safety I never come back here because If I ever do" he gets close to Marie's face "You'll be the first I'd kill. Oh and I forgot, my name is Robert and I'm a hunter" Robert then leaves the place spitting at Williams dead body