Anxiety gnawed at him.

This was the end of the world. There was no way to take Noah to a hospital. Was he supposed to just stand by and watch—

No. Absolutely not.

"I’m going out for a bit," Liam suddenly said.

He had intended to step out, to find somewhere quiet and steady his thoughts, to come up with a plan.

But just as he rose to leave, Noah let out a soft hiss.

Liam froze mid-step and turned back. "What’s wrong?"

Noah shook his head, but that fleeting flicker of pain on his face didn’t escape Liam’s notice.

Liam sat down again, his gaze sweeping over him before settling on the left arm Noah had kept hidden beneath the blanket.

"Let me see your arm," Liam said. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Noah pressed his lips together and didn’t move.

A chill crept up Liam’s spine. He reached out, gently lifting the blanket, taking hold of Noah’s arm and carefully pushing the sleeve upward.

Then he went still.

Noah’s forearm was a horrifying sight.

The skin was swollen and darkened, patches of it already broken open, oozing yellow-white pus. The edges of the wound had turned an unnatural bluish-purple, grotesque and inflamed.

Liam’s pupils contracted sharply.

"What happened?!" His voice rose uncontrollably, his hands beginning to tremble.

Startled by his reaction, Noah stammered, "Liam..."

"When did this happen? How did it happen?" Liam drew in a deep breath, forcing his voice to steady. "Noah, tell me."

Noah bit his lip, his voice barely above a whisper. "It... it was the day before yesterday..."

Liam’s heart sank.

The day before yesterday.

The acid rain was still falling.

"You went outside?" His voice tightened. "Didn’t I tell you to stay inside and not go out?"

"I... I didn’t go outside. I was just by the window... I wanted to see if you were coming back. The window was slightly open, and the rain blew in..."

His voice grew smaller and smaller, unease creeping in under Liam’s intense stare.

"I blocked it with my hand... and then it turned into this. I didn’t dare tell you. I didn’t want you to worry..."

Liam closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath.

Silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating.

Noah’s heart was full of unease. He was young, but even he could tell something was very wrong with his body.

Since that day, strange waves of sharp pain had begun pulsing through his arm. At first, the skin looked normal, nothing out of the ordinary.

Then the itching started.

It grew worse and worse until he couldn’t resist scratching it a few times. The skin broke.

By yesterday, it had begun to rot.

He had been too afraid to tell Liam, worried he would be angry.

"Liam..." Noah’s voice was small and hesitant. "Are you mad at me?"

Liam let out a quiet sigh. Yes, there was anger, but far more than that, there was guilt.

He should never have left his brother alone. He was only ten.

Liam reached out and pulled him gently into his arms, careful to avoid the injured limb.

"I’m not mad," he said softly, his voice hoarse. "It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have left you here alone."

Noah leaned into him, murmuring, "It’s not your fault... I wasn’t careful."

Liam said nothing, only holding him a little tighter.

After a long moment, he loosened his grip and spoke gently, "I’ll get the medicine and clean your wound. It might hurt a bit. Try to bear with it."

Noah nodded obediently.

Liam had brought back a small supply of disinfectants from his last trip. He retrieved iodine and a pack of clean cotton swabs.

"We need to clean out the pus first," he said.

He began carefully dabbing at the infected areas with a clean swab.

Noah flinched from the pain, his body shrinking in on itself, but he bit down on his lip and made no sound.

"Hang on," Liam murmured, dipping another swab into iodine and gently touching the inflamed skin.

The moment it brushed the edge of the wound, Noah sucked in a sharp breath, his entire body going rigid.

"Are you okay?" Liam paused, looking at him.

Noah nodded with difficulty.

Liam quickened his movements.

But as he worked, his hand suddenly stilled.

A strange sense of familiarity crept over him.

This feeling... Then it hit him.

That night, Suzy had treated his wound in exactly the same way.

Her focused expression flashed through his mind, and something in his chest stirred.

Liam forced himself to stop drifting and continued disinfecting the injury.

He lowered his gaze to Noah’s arm, studying the wound more closely. The swollen, darkened skin. The oozing pus. The unnatural purplish discoloration around the edges.

The longer he looked, the more familiar it seemed.

Wasn’t this exactly how his own injury had looked that night?

Different location, yes, but the texture of the swelling, the color of the discharge, the way the wound had worsened... it was almost identical.

So it really was the acid rain.

"Liam?" Noah called softly when he noticed him freeze.

Liam snapped back to himself and gave a small shake of his head. "It’s nothing."

He resumed cleaning Noah’s wound, his movements just as gentle as before, but his thoughts were anything but calm.

Noah couldn’t eat. He felt weak and sick. It might all be because of the acid rain.

Liam remembered how his own wound had worsened at an abnormal speed that night.

If Suzy hadn’t treated it with that bottle of medicine, he might have ended up just like Noah.

The medicine...

Suzy’s medicine might be able to help him.

"Liam?" his brother called softly when he noticed him go still again. "What’s wrong?"

Liam came back to himself, setting the iodine aside.

"Stay here," he said quietly. "I’m going out for a bit. I’ll be back soon."

Noah froze, then pushed himself upright in alarm. "Liam, where are you going? It’s still raining outside..."

"It’s okay. I’m not leaving the building," Liam reassured him, gently ruffling his hair. "I’m going to find someone. She has medicine that can help you."

"Really...?"

"Really. Lie down and rest. I’ll be back soon."