Two days passed after the violent nightmare.
The medical facility was quieter now, but the silence felt fragile — like glass that could shatter at any second.
Leah sat upright in her bed, still pale, still weak, though the bleeding had stopped. Dante remained beside her, sling secure around his injured arm. Elias stood near the window this time, watching the faint light shift across the tiled floor.
No one had slept properly.
Leah broke the silence first.
"Has he… woken up at all?"
Elias hesitated.
"Briefly. But not fully coherent."
Dante glanced toward the corridor. "He's fighting the sedation. That's normal after something like that."
Leah's fingers tightened around the bedsheet. "Is he in pain?"
Elias answered carefully. "Physically? Bruising on his wrists. Muscle strain. Nothing permanent."
She swallowed.
"And mentally?"
Elias didn't answer immediately.
Before he could, a sharp crash echoed from the far end of the corridor.
Metal clattered against tile.
Leah's head snapped toward the door.
Another sound followed — labored breathing, then a hoarse voice.
"…Where…?"
Dante stood instantly.
Elias was already moving toward the door.
Izana was awake.
Inside his room, the lights felt too bright.
Izana's eyes opened slowly, vision unfocused. His wrists burned. His body ached. The scent of antiseptic filled his lungs.
He tried to move.
The restraints were still there.
His breathing changed immediately.
"No…" he whispered.
A nurse stepped forward gently. "Sir, you're safe. Please remain calm—."
Izana's head snapped toward her.
Safe?
The word echoed wrong.
The last thing he remembered clearly was the warehouse — Leah tied to a chair — blood.
His blood ran cold.
He jerked against the restraints.
"Where is she?"
The nurse froze slightly. "Sir, please—."
"Where is Leah?" His voice sharpened.
A doctor stepped forward. "She's being treated. She is safe."
Izana's breathing quickened.
Safe?
Memory flickered — his hand raised — anger — red — shouting —
His expression changed.
"What did I do?"
The doctor glanced toward the door. "You were sedated after losing control."
Izana went still.
"Losing control…" he repeated.
His voice lowered, trembling.
"…Did I hurt her?"
Silence.
The hesitation was enough.
Izana's chest tightened violently.
"DID I HURT HER?!"
His body strained against the restraints, metal creaking.
"You restrained me," he growled. "So I must have."
"Sir, you were a danger to yourself—."
"And her," Izana finished, voice breaking.
He squeezed his eyes shut, jaw trembling.
"I told you… I told you this would happen…"
A nurse tried to approach to check his vitals.
Izana recoiled violently.
"Don't touch me!"
His eyes were wide — but not focused. Fear. Not rage.
"we're not them," the nurse said softly.
Izana stared at her.
"Don't lie to me," he whispered. "I remember the straps."
His breathing grew erratic again.
"You inject me. You held me down. You said it's for my own good."
"That's not happening now," the doctor said calmly.
Izana shook his head, panic rising.
"It's always happening."
Down the corridor, Leah heard the raised voices.
Her heart pounded.
"He's awake," she whispered.
Dante nodded once. "Yeah."
Then they heard it.
"DID I HURT HER?!"
Leah's face went white.
Elias exhaled slowly. "He remembers fragments."
Leah swung her legs toward the side of the bed.
"I need to go to him."
"No," Elias said immediately.
"He thinks he hurt me!" she argued. "He'll spiral if no one tells him otherwise!"
"And if you walk in there," Elias replied evenly, "and he's still unstable, what happens then?"
Leah faltered.
"He wouldn't hurt me."
"You don't know that right now," Elias said. "Not in this state."
Dante stepped between them slightly, voice firm but gentler.
"Leah… he just woke up restrained. He thinks the staff are his past tormentors. His mind isn't stable yet."
"He's asking about me," she insisted, tears forming. "He thinks he hurt me."
Another crash echoed from down the hall.
"ANSWER ME!" Izana's voice roared.
Leah flinched.
Elias looked toward the corridor, calculating.
"If we tell him from here, he won't believe it," he muttered.
Dante looked at Leah. "If you go in, it has to be controlled."
Elias turned sharply. "Absolutely not."
"He needs an anchor," Dante countered.
"And she is not risking herself."
Leah's voice shook but remained firm.
"I'm not made of glass."
Elias looked at her.
"You're recovering. You're vulnerable. And he is unstable."
Inside the room, Izana's voice cracked again.
"…Leah…"
It was softer this time.
Not anger.
Fear.
"…Please…"
Leah's resolve broke.
"He sounds terrified."
Dante's jaw tightened.
"He is."
Inside Izana's room, he had gone still again, breathing uneven.
"What did I do?" he whispered to no one.
The doctor answered carefully.
"You experienced an episode. You were restrained to prevent harm."
Izana stared at the ceiling.
"That means I hurt someone."
"No," the doctor said firmly. "You did not harm her."
Izana's head snapped toward him.
"…She's alive?"
"Yes."
Silence.
Then his voice cracked in a way none of them expected.
"…Is she afraid of me?"
The question hung in the air.
No one answered fast enough.
Izana laughed once — hollow.
"Of course she is."
His wrists flexed weakly against the straps.
"You should leave," he muttered to the staff. "Before I lose control again."
"You are not losing control," the nurse said softly.
Izana looked at her with something close to despair.
"You don't understand."
Down the corridor, a nurse stepped out briefly and approached Elias.
"He's conscious. Disoriented. Believes he harmed her. He's afraid of us."
Leah stood.
"I'm going."
Elias stepped in front of her.
"No."
"He needs to see I'm alive."
"He needs stability first."
"He won't stabilize without me!"
Silence.
Dante looked between them.
"He asked if she's afraid of him," the nurse added quietly.
Leah's breath caught.
Elias closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them, they were sharp.
"If you go in, you do not approach the bed immediately. You stay near the door. If he reacts violently, you leave. Understood?"
Leah nodded instantly.
Dante moved beside her. "I'm coming."
Elias sighed.
"…Fine. But we control this."
As they stepped into the corridor, Izana's voice echoed again — strained and trembling.
"Leah…?"
Leah's heart shattered.
And for the first time since the warehouse, fear was no longer the strongest emotion in the hallway.
It was guilt.