Chapter 4
The system was silent for a moment. [No. You have to take your own life in this world.]
Maybe worried I'd regret it, the system showed me one last glimpse of the hospital room in my old world.
Only a small lamp was on in the room.
Will was asleep at my bedside, still holding my test results. His phone screen was still lit up, packed with notes and reminders he'd written for me.
[Take her home after she's discharged.]
The last line was only a few words. [Don't let her be scared alone.]
I stared at it for a long time, tears streaming down my face, but I couldn't help but smile.
Will didn't want anything from me. He wanted me to wake up.
I pulled out the IV, washed my face, fixed my hair that the seawater had messed up, and changed into clean clothes.
I couldn't let Will see me all messy when I went back to him.
That night, the storm caused several accidents. The hospital kept getting new patients.
I waited until everyone was busy saving those who truly wanted to live and then quietly slipped out.
This time, I avoided all the cameras.
I turned off my phone, left the emergency beacon Frank had given me on my pillow, and went alone to the abandoned navigation tower in Eastville.
It was about to be torn down after the storm.
It was also the place Frank flew past on his first flight after returning to the skies.
Back then, when he flew out of the clouds and saw the beacon lights, he laughed over the radio and told me, "When I see it, I know it's time to head home."
I stood beneath the dark beacon light.
The sea breeze whipped my clothes, making them snap and flutter around me.
There was no Eric, no Leila, no cameras, and no audience.
All I wanted was to go home.
Last time, Frank stopped me halfway on my way home.
But that didn't matter.
This time, I dodged every active search-and-rescue route and gave back everything that could track me.
I stood at the edge of the navigation tower, the sea breeze brushing my cheeks, and felt a strange joy, like I was catching the last flight out.
When I woke up, I'd call Will first and tell him not to cry. If I were up to it, I'd sit with him and finish that chicken soup.
One more step, and all of this would be real.
I couldn't help but smile.
Suddenly, a row of emergency searchlights lit up beneath the tower.
My smile faded bit by bit.
The cameras in the Eastville navigation tower had all stopped working three years ago.
I didn't have any way to communicate.
The two iron gates at the abandoned entrance slammed shut together, and several rescue vehicles sped in along the old road.
Frank stepped out of the lead command vehicle.
His left leg buckled when he landed, but he didn't pause. He rushed up the navigation tower through the fierce wind and grabbed me, pulling me back before I could step off the edge.
His grip was so tight that my ribs hurt.
"You knew I'd find you here," Frank whispered.
His voice was right next to my ear, shaking badly.
He held me so tight that I couldn't move, so I could only whisper back, "I turned off my phone.
"I left the emergency beacon for you.
"I didn't think you'd come."
I glanced up at the rusted camera at the top of the tower.
"The cameras here have been broken for ages," I said.
Frank didn't deny it.
"Got them working again last night," he replied.
I froze for a moment.
After he dragged me out of the sea, he claimed it was for storm safety, but spent the whole night getting every old camera along the coast up and running again.
"Why?" I asked.
Frank looked away from me.
"Storm season's here. These old cameras were due for repairs anyway," he said.
His answer was calm and logical, as if he were patching up some rescue system for everyone.
Frank swallowed hard.
After a moment, he asked in a low voice, "Are you really that disappointed to see me?"
"Yeah," I whispered.
His arms clamped around me, almost crushing me.
"Did you think Eric would come?" he asked.
I shook my head.
I said, "It doesn't matter who shows up, I'll still be disappointed.
"Frank, you always show up at the worst possible time."
Frank slowly let go of me.
When he spoke again, his voice was back to its usual calm. "I've seen way too many people standing on rooftops, claiming they want to end it all.
"But when a lifeline shows up, they always reach for it."
He looked at me like he was quoting a rescue rule that never let anyone down.
He added, "It's human nature to want to survive.
"The first time, you tried to make Eric come back to you.
"This time, you're showing us that if we don't go along with you, you'll pull this again whenever you feel like it."
I looked at him.
His eyes were bloodshot, his uniform was soaked through from the rain, and his left leg was shaking from that old injury.
He'd spent the whole night repairing every camera along the coast so he could track me down, then hauled himself, injured leg and all, to the abandoned navigation tower.
"You're not trying to leave," Frank said, his voice low and steady. "You're making everyone obey you."
He'd rescued so many people, but he couldn't handle the fact that the ones he saved never wanted help.