The Night Rose

Chapter 17

The next morning arrived as the sun touches Timothy’s face. He woke up; he immediately ate breakfast before heading towards the doctor's clinic

His wife was still cooking some food; Rosa tried to stop him and shouts, “Are you leaving already? I cooked you your favorite!”

“Thanks! I’ll be having them later! Save me some, okay?” Timothy shouts back as he left.

He was more than eager to meet Arwin, but as he stepped inside, he saw Mark cleaning the office like usual. He thought of Mark as some clean freak kind of guy.

Timothy’s eyes immediately searches for her clinic bed, and there he saw Arwin was still peacefully sleeping. It was a relief for him.

"Hello, Mark, is the old man awake yet?" Timothy asked.

Before the other man could answer, the doctor shouted out. "Yes, I'm in the kitchen. Come and join me for a cup of tea."

“Well, you heard him,” Mark replied with such a straight face, he rarely shows emotions, and when he does- it’s when a kill is clean enough to satisfy him.

Timothy went to the kitchen, and he saw the doctor eating a simple porridge with some fruits beside him. There was a steaming cup of tea in front of him and a vacant quest chair.

"I was expecting you, my friend. Now that Arwin is here, a skilled mechanic, and a ship captain at that, I can finally say yes to you!" The doctor immediately blurted out happily after seeing him.

"Finally, what?" Timothy was confused by the doctor's actions.

"Don't you think that I don't know what you have planned out?" The doctor asked from Timothy.

"Planned out what?" Timothy got more confused. He completely forgot what his wife had suggested last night. It was too early in the morning to actually start remembering things, Timothy thought.

"Your master plan. I have already packed up most of my things, and Mark is almost ready to leave. Well, I guess we aren't in a hurry yet as Arwin hasn't woken up. Also, the airship isn't fixed yet, after all." The doctor let out a cheeky smile at Timothy.

Timothy had to sit down, and he sipped the tea before asking, "How did you know? I don't remember saying anything to you before. So how did you possibly know before me even telling you?"

Timothy was suspicious. If the doctor already knows, what stopping him from telling Silas instead? Who else did the doctor tell?

The doctor felt Timothy’s intense and piercing gaze; it was too intimidating that the doctor stammered, "Oh, don't worry, I haven't spied on you or anything. You know how fed up I am with Silas since he is good at making promises of paying me without doing so until now. I also remember you talking about your friend from the natives a couple of times. I know how you would want to go and live there with Rosa."

“Okay…” Timothy says, waiting for the doctor to reveal their true intention. It was a skill he picked up from Silas himself; somehow, Silas always knows how to get what he wants.

The doctor gulped and sighed, “ Okay, okay. We also know that the outside world is like a scene from the best horror book that someone could have invented in their spare time. So it isn't that safe to move there if not in a larger group of experienced people."

The doctor reasons out, “Technically, the safest place from that horror-filled world is within this city that has a guardian totem that we managed to stol… I mean, we borrowed from the natives before. Another option of safe haven is the native villages with their protection totems. So last night I remembered you mentioning that Silas has an old airship that works with steam and surprise surprise we are part of the largest company that provides steam to the city. " The doctor got Timothy’s full attention now as he continued to explain, “With that being said, Silas must have a lot of trees as well at his warehouse that he can burn anytime. We both know that even when you cut a tree out from the outside world, immediately in another place, a new tree will grow. Because of this, we cannot cut the forest down here and try to drive those nightmare creatures away to expand the city.

“I’m listening.” Timothy tried to appear calm and not excited by this, but he wasn’t as good at lying as he is in fighting.

"Considering all this, I can easily put together that if Arwin repairs the ship, it would be your best way to travel to your friend's native village. I want to come with you as only you have been kind to Mark and me here, and you actually pay us." The doctor said while smiling more at Timothy, who had the most puzzled face on now.

“So you’re saying… you’re risking your lives for me?”

“Don’t be silly! We’re risking our lives for ourselves.” The doctor just drank his tea and then asked, "Are we not invited at all? You know I was planning to leave Silas anyways to get better payment. I was wondering if I can join you; I may discover new forms of medication in the forest or from the natives.

I don't even know anything else, and my thirst for medical knowledge is far more than compared with money." The doctor added.

"No, of course, you are welcomed. I just didn't know that you wanted this and knew my plans all along to this extent. Of course, I will happily accept you and Mark among the small group; my wife wanted you to come. However, don't expect my plan will work if Arwin doesn't want to work with us." Timothy said while smiling at the doctor knowingly.

The doctor, however shows no sign of doubt or disbelief.

"My friend, why won't she accept? If we tell her about Silas or the profits and we are honest with her, it should be easy for her to agree. You even saved her life, so she owes you greatly. I think she will be happy because I feel she's previously been a pirate as you saw the tattoo on her arm. She wouldn't like her freedom being restricted like Silas does to his employees." The doctor said.

Timothy knows the doctor was right, but he didn’t agree. It wouldn’t be that easy. There was something about Arwin that he couldn’t quite point out. Arwin feels like a predator- like a cheetah when hunting- subtle but lethal.

Suddenly they heard Mark speak, "The patient who you did bring here is awake now. She fell on the floor from the bed, but luckily, it was a small drop." Before he went out of the kitchen to go back to cleaning.

Timothy was not sure when Mark got in the kitchen, but he had already left just like that.

"Okay, Timothy, now it looks like a good time to talk with her. Let me do the checkup first, and then tell her about our plans or about this place." The doctor said before finishing his food and tea, then get up to go to the infirmary.

“How do I know you won’t betray me?”

“You won’t.” The doctor says, smirking, “That’s what makes life interesting, isn’t it?”