The Midnight Ward

In the darkness, I heard a flurry of footsteps coming downstairs. The killer had fallen for it.

He thought I had gone downstairs, so he went after me. However, I knew that I did not have much time. He would soon find out that he had been played.

Sure enough, not long later, heavy footsteps rang out in the corridor.

The killer was back!

I waited with bated breath as the footsteps approached me.

[My God! I shouldn't watch this in the middle of the night. I hope she survives.]

[Look for the villain! He wants to protect her so eagerly!]

[I don't dare to watch this at all! The killing is too cruel! Even if he had a grudge against the side character, he didn't need to make it so creepy, right?]

[Haha! We're in beta testing. Surely there'd be bugs.]

[The villain is at his home, which is close to the hospital. If only she could go and ask him for help.]

[If only she could send him a message. He would surely be able to save her!]

Beta testing? What kind of test?

My attention was soon focused on a certain comment. I quickly scanned them all to get the gist of it.

So, the villain stayed near the hospital? I had a good friend, too?

Right at that moment, the footsteps stopped right outside the counseling room door. I was hidden in the vent with a huge shelf blocking me, but my heart was still pounding hard.

Luckily, he only entered and scanned around before leaving again.

[The side character is smart. If she's not killed in this story, perhaps she can join forces with the villain to get rid of the main character.]

[Dude, come on. Where are your morals? The side character and the villain are evil people!]

[Besides that, the story's focus is on the greatness of the hero! Don't compare the villain to the hero.]

I disregarded the comments and quickly looked at my phone, going through who I thought could fit the description of the villain.

I did not have many contacts. In a short while, I managed to shortlist two candidates.

One was a blind date that my aunt had set me up with, and the man's name was Jason Lou. The other was Quince Chant, my colleague in the second ward as well as my college mate.

I was stunned for a while. I was not familiar with them, but I soon sent them a message.

According to the comments, the villain liked me. If he knew I was in danger, he would be the only one who could help me solve the problem the quickest.

Soon, my phone vibrated.

Jason had sent me a message.

[Stay where you are. I'll come find you right away.]

Quince also sent a message.

[Leave that place at once! The killer is checking every room! Not every room on the left side has a vent. Once he finds out the existence of the vents, you'll be in danger. Run!]

They replied to me at the same time, but their messages were completely different.

Who was the villain I could trust?

I looked up, wanting to see the comments floating in front of me, but there was nothing.

Just when I was hesitating, another scurry of footsteps rang out.

Was that Quince?

No. No way. Quince was on shift at the second ward. He would not be able to get here so soon after seeing the message.

It must be the killer! He must have returned!

The footsteps stopped right outside the counseling room once more. My heart was pounding wildly.

I did not know Jason or Quince very well. I could not decide who the villain was.

Right at that moment, words floated in front of me again.

[Wow! She actually asked the villain for help! I really ship them!]

[She asked two people for help at the same time. Who is the other guy?]

[There's hope for her after all! Our villain won't be alone!]

[I really want to see the villain's handsome face again! They're truly a match made in heaven! I ship them both!]

Handsome?

I thought about it. In my memories, Jason and Quince were both good-looking. Well, since one of them was the villain, their characters would probably reflect that.

At the thought of how Jason once ran a red light to help an old woman, I was determined that he was the villain.

I chose to believe him and stayed in the same spot.

My heart hung in suspense as the footsteps stopped right in front of me.

"Sarah, are you in there?"

It was Jason!

I showed myself and looked at that handsome face.

Jason was catching his breath with a baseball bat in his hand, scanning around in caution.

"On my way here, I noticed that there was no one in the third ward. This is really creepy, but don't be afraid. I'll take you away right now."

Before Jason could finish his sentence, I suddenly realized something was off. The comments said that the villain was at home.

The hospital was in the suburbs, but the nearest neighborhood was at least 15 minutes away by car.

Jason arrived in less than 10 minutes from the moment I sent him the message. I did not care how he could arrive so quickly. All I noticed was one thing: he was not the one I needed. He could not save me.

A cold chill ran down my back.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps rang out behind Jason.