Fast opened his eyes under a seamless, flat white ceiling. There was a meaningless hum in his ears, and the sharp hospital smell—the scent of sterile halls—stung his nostrils. For a few seconds, he couldn't grasp where he was or why he was lying there. "Where am I?" he muttered, his voice as raspy as dried paper. He slowly scanned the room; an IV stand, the monotonous beep of the monitor, and the dull morning light filtering through the window...
His mind tried to pick out images as if through a veil of mist. The pieces clicked into place with jarring speed.
Portal. Red light. That massive, one-eyed creature...
"Troll," he whispered. At that moment, the darkest frame in his mind flashed like lightning: Lena being thrown against the wall, covered in blood. Fast's eyes widened in horror. His heart rate reached a frantic pace on the monitor. "Lena!"
Pushing aside all the aches in his body and the IV tubes, he tried to spring from the bed like a coiled wire. However, as soon as his feet hit the floor, his knees buckled, and he slammed hard onto the ground. Pain radiated through his body, but he didn't stop. Gritting his teeth, he gripped the cold floor and dragged himself toward the door; struggling to straighten up while crawling low to the ground. Finally, he managed to stand on trembling legs and burst into the hallway, pushing the door so hard it nearly tore off its hinges.
Out of breath, he looked into the empty hallway and saw her right there.
Lena... She was in a hospital gown with a white bandage around her head. But she was on her feet. Fast froze where he stood; his previous wild urgency was replaced by a deep tremor. Leaving his arms hanging by his sides, he just stared, and only one word escaped his lips: "Lena..."
Seeing Fast's disheveled state, Lena didn't hesitate for a second and rushed forward, hugging him tightly so that her head rested against his chest. For a moment, Fast didn't know what to do and just stared blankly ahead. His gaze slowly shifted downward, and when he felt that familiar warmth of friendship, a faint smile appeared on his face, and he slowly closed his eyes. As his eyelids met, a single tear trickled down his cheek.
"I'm so glad you're okay, troublemaker," Lena whispered with gratitude. Creating some space and glancing over Fast, she said, "The first thing I did when I woke up was come find you."
Fast smiled and asked, "But how did you find me?"
Lena smiled and said in a cheerful voice, "Sard pointed me to your room!"
"Sard?" Fast asked in surprise. Looking up, he saw Sard waiting a few steps away. Sard stood there with his usual expressionless face, just staring, and simply said, "Hi."
Seeing the zero cola bottles in Sard's hand, a pure, childlike joy appeared on Fast's face. "Aww! Did you bring us our favorite drink?"
Sard remained silent and handed them the drinks. As Fast took the bottle with innocent delight, Sard fixed his gaze on the drinks in his hands and thought to himself:
(Actually... I bought one for myself.)