Aurora Over a Dead World

"..." We arrive at the location and the students take in just how huge the facility is. From outside, we can already see some veterans coming and going. We press on ahead while Ashlyn asks me something.

"T-Teacher, th-this place is so big... W-Why is it so far away from everything?"

"Because there are a lot of traumatized veterans here. It can’t be close to civilians, so it was moved out of the way. After all, if one of them has an episode, it won’t affect any civilians," I explain to her as I open the door.

No one looks at us, already used to people coming and going. The six of them step inside and look around, seeing how crowded it is. People with permanent injuries, people in wheelchairs, and other people who seem "fine" but have problems you can’t see.

"They seem pretty busy..." Charlotte murmurs as some nurses hurry back and forth at a fast pace.

"Yeah, they are. This place is complicated. There’s always someone needing help, so the nurses have their work cut out for them... but they’re not normal people, they’re Kairas too. Most of them have powers that aren’t very useful, and for personal or safety reasons they chose to take care of veterans." Unsurprisingly, there are more women than men here, since most Kairas are women.

But there are quite a few men here too. I glance around to see if I recognize anyone, but I don’t know a soul.

"Before anyone asks what they’re supposed to do, just go talk to people. Find someone you think is interesting and ask them what they think about life here, what led them to have to come to this place, that kind of thing." A nurse comes quickly in my direction.

"Hello, I don’t recognize you as one of our patients. Are you new here, or do you want to register?" She has a tired smile on her face. The students seem more interested in watching the exchange.

"...I’m just visiting. I’m trying to teach those six over there a little about the reality of fighting monsters and other missions, among some other things. Could you give them a hand?"

"Of course! I’ll take them to an appropriate room to get registered, since the reception center is only for veterans!" She immediately looks relieved to be helping normal girls. After all, there are a lot of risks in helping people with powers. If they have a panic attack, getting killed by them is a very real possibility.

’...’ I notice a bloodstain on the hallway floor. From the trail on the wall, it looks like something burst.

"Nurse or Patient?" I ask the nurse, who looks in the direction I’m looking. I see understanding in her eyes.

"I see you know how things work... It was a nurse." She walks past me heading toward the students. The death of a coworker is a common thing here, so she doesn’t even beat around the bush, she just tells the truth.

"Could you six come with me? I’ll give you an ID, since otherwise you might be mistaken for rookie nurses." The nurse tries to keep a positive tone while I approach the counter, distancing myself from the students, who are being guided down another hallway.

It’s not good for me to show them or explain these things. They’re things they should see with their own eyes and judge for themselves, I think.

"Good morning, do you need something?" The nurse at the check-in station asks with a smile. They’re all always very positive, but not because they like it, but because positivity is mandatory.

They undoubtedly don’t want to stress out someone who could lose their cool and kill them, so forced smiles are something all of them show.

"The shift was rough yesterday, from what I can see. Don’t worry, I’m not a patient. I’m just visiting because I’m giving a lesson to some students." When I say this, seeing the dark circles under her eyes, she relaxes a bit.

"Yeah... a new Kaira arrived yesterday. She’s having some problems... nothing out of the ordinary. I see you know the place well. Have you been here before?"

"Not as a patient, but I’ve come here a few times to visit some teammates." She looks at my prosthetics.

"You must have some great comrades."

"...Indeed..."

"Zenith?" Someone calls out to me and I look down the hallway to see a girl in a wheelchair. She’s completely wrapped in bandages to the point I can’t even see anything of her. I have no idea who she is.

"..." I look at her thighs. There’s nothing below them.

"Who are you?"

"H-Hahaha... Th-That hurt a little... B-But it makes sense you wouldn’t recognize me. W-We never really met," her voice comes out in pauses. It seems difficult for her to talk.

"I-I’m someone you saved... I-I’ll never forget the w-woman who lifted up that rubble and pulled me out of it..."

"W-Well, I wouldn’t be able to forget anyway... It crushed my legs... B-But I’m recovering." When she says that, I get confused.

"How long ago?"

"Ah... It’s been almost a year. I ended up having... some extra complications... and... I got sick... Had to go through some treatments, that’s why I’m all wrapped in bandages..."

’Oh... That was one of my last missions... before Nadir took me off duty.’

"Well, at least you’re alive, right?"

"H-Hahaha, yeah... I survived thanks to you... What are you doing here?... D-Do you need help?"

’So she got sick...’ That’s another problem with suffering this kind of accident. Infections, diseases, contamination. Extra problems always crop up over time.

"No, I just came to show this kind of thing to a bunch of misfits who need to learn about life."

"...Y-You’re still so harsh... Commander Zenith, I... would love to bow to you and thank you... but... well, as you can see, I can’t bow... I-In fact, even moving my arms hurts a lot." I give her a smile.

"You don’t need to bow. It’s good that you at least remember me..." I don’t look at her with pity, because I know that receiving looks of pity hurts as much as the pain of the wounds themselves, but it’s still lamentable.

Losing a leg to rubble is a type of damage that can be regenerated with the right equipment and help from Kairas who have powers that assist in medicine. Unlike the kind of damage I received to my limbs, which was impossible to recover from.

The damage to this girl that came from crushing was something where they could have saved her legs, even if they came back weaker. But of course, she seems to be just a common soldier. No one would care to spend that much on her.

"What’s your power?" I ask, just to confirm her rank.

"I’m a foot soldier... I have the power to generate s-small concentrations of light..." She closes her eyes tightly and a few small, luminous golden spheres appear in front of us.

’A useful power in extremely dark places, but that’s it...’ Just as I imagined. I think even she knows they could have recovered her legs if she were someone of a higher rank.

"You’re going to need a lot of help. Do you have a place to stay?" I ask her out of politeness, as I take a pamphlet from the nurse manning the reception desk.

"No... I-I think only this place here... I-I have no family, so all that’s left for me is to wait..."

"W-Well, they said I can stay for 1 year and a h-half... living in the facility, but a-after that I’ll have to leave, and I’ll only be able to make periodic visits for guidance and support."

’One and a half years... enough time for her legs to recover and for her illness to be cured or at least greatly reduce her overall condition...’

"It sounds complicated. Well, I wish you luck with it."

"O-Of course!! Th-Thank you, I-I am very grateful..." She seems sad about something.

"Do you have something to say?"

"..." When I ask that, I see the bandages on her face getting damp. It looks like she’s crying.

"N-No... S-Sorry..." She starts to leave. Her legs are clearly not her only problem.

"Who is she, and what’s her mental state?" I ask the nurse.

"I couldn’t tell that to a stranger... but considering the conversation I just overheard, I’ll assume you two have enough of a bond and that you know what this place is like, so I’ll tell you the general situation as an exception... Her name is Margarida. She arrived here very sick, but she’s improving."

’Margarida... like the flower...’ A very simple name.

"However, her mind wasn’t well even before the accident that took her legs. We are treating her, but she appears to be suffering from depression. We don’t have the doctors to diagnose that properly at the moment, we’re short on personnel because... well..."

"They died."

"...Yes. The last month was hard. Because of an incident in the ruins, many new injured people decided to come here for follow-up and help. However, some of them had their minds very... damaged."

"So they ended up hurting or killing some people on the medical staff... We know it’s not their fault. They’re broken people with powers, but still, it crushes the morale of the team that works hard for the cause." She vents. Normally I would complain that she didn’t give me the concrete information I asked for and is just venting, but I understand her, so I don’t say anything out of respect.

I know I couldn’t work here. I don’t have the patience, kindness, or care needed to look after people like this.

"Some new staff members will arrive soon. In the meantime, that girl is being treated with medication and antidepressants. We’ll take her bandages off in 1 month, and she’ll be better."

"What’s her illness? It’s unusual for someone to be bandaged up like a mummy even when they’re sick."

"..."

"She has Lauretella obscura." When she says that, I immediately know she’s in a really screwed-up situation. That disease is caused by a troublesome bacteria.

It makes your blood start aggressively coagulating in your veins. It requires some complex surgeries and an extensive, controlled course of periodic medication, otherwise it causes death.

’Never caught it and hardly ever saw anyone who did, but I heard it hurts a lot all over your body...’

One of the signs of it is that black blotches appear on the skin above the veins. It’s literally the blood coagulating until it forms bubbles that rupture the veins and appear beneath the flesh. Honestly, it’s a terrible disease, and not very common. She must have ended up catching it from the rubble, and it lay dormant inside her body until it manifested.

Because of the state of the world, many new diseases have appeared, especially in the ruins, since a lot of things were abandoned, becoming home to diseases and bacteria that have changed a lot while new ones have emerged.

’I hope she gets better.’

"But it’s alright. She’s recovering quickly. She’s a strong girl." The nurse smiles, handing me a badge. It has my name on it, showing her professionalism by hearing my name just once and already writing it down.

’Visitor...’

"I hope she can get her life back on track soon. She seems to have a good future." She immediately showed gratitude when she had the chance, which shows she knows how to be thankful. A good trait in someone.

"Yes. Now, please understand that you must not enter restricted areas. The badge only allows you to wander the general hallways. Do not enter the patients’ rooms either," she says with a warning tone.

"Alright. Thank you for your hard work." I pin the badge to my clothes, thinking about what to do for now, since I’m going to let my students wander around on their own.

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