Mist of Doom

18. Father

Whenever Mika settled a foot on Metaslica Faculty of Science, her heart would thump faster and harder than usual. Why not? In addition to the sparkling marble floor, desks, and pillars, such a lab technician - a Metaslica staffer - just had to exist. The bespectacled fatso in a lab coat hadn't even bothered to introduce himself, let alone smile.

He had spoken to them, but the topic wasn't more than Brandon's condition. After that, the poker-faced fatso had simply walked past the set of escalators across them and towards the room behind the moving staircases. Mika guessed that he had gone to the office to call the dean.

Sitting beside Mika on the steel bench, Katrina sighed. "Such insolence stems from the 'Three M' concept."

"Three M?"

"Money, Man, Mind. Metaslica University is notorious for accepting only rich people who are related to the important figures in the state. They only accept the smart ones, but some say that they accept fools once in a while."

Mika looked down at her lap, her gaze slowly traveling towards the bench beside her. Brandon lay there, his burned chest rising and falling as light snores escaped from his gaping mouth. Her heart thumped as she wondered if the faculty would take care of Brandon. As for entering the university, well, Mika had better forget about it.

She should've listened to Brandon and Orion. Without Jyuji's head in her hands, she felt like a sick, starving beggar asking for sympathy from some snobby moneybags. However, could she really kill him?

"What's wrong, girl?" Katrina asked.

Mika didn't answer.

"As someone from the misty capital, I have a lot of valuable info that can help humanity triumph." Katrina placed a hand on Mika's shoulder. "I won't tell these people anything if they refuse to take care of Brandon."

A thud resounded in the distance, prompting Mika to look up. The bespectacled fatso had finally come out of the room, with two orgmen in suits and shades in tow. The ogres were carrying a stretcher, which made her smile.

As the orgmen moved Brandon to the stretcher, the fatso said, "We'll take him to the underground lab and replace his blood. Hopefully, it'll remove the scorpion's poison from his body and enable his regeneration."

"Thank you."

Mika stood up and followed the orgmen towards the office, only to feel a tight grip at her hand. Pulling her back, the fatso glowered at her. "Only Metaslica staffers may enter the lab."

"Why? I just want to keep him accompanied."

"Rules are rules." The fatso released Mika's hand, at which Mika immediately ran towards the orgmen. "Missy, stop it or I won't take care of him."

Mika stopped in her tracks and turned. Head bowed in defeat, she limped past the fatso and towards the steel bench. A few moments after she sat down beside Katrina, the fatso headed to the office. An unwelcoming bang echoed when he slammed the mahogany door shut.

"Jerk." Mika shifted her gaze to Katrina, who sat still with her arms crossed and an emotionless face. "What's wrong with staying by his side? In my trailer, I've always been watching over him whenever he's badly injured and struggling to recover."

"A lab is filled with precious tools for research. An outsider might break a thing or two by accident."

"But-"

"Quit it, girl. While I don't like the inhospitable nature of this university, at least the lab technician and the dean have agreed to take care of Brandon."