READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 10: Sweet Dreams
After talking to Indie, Candy walked over to the barracks at the northern-west section of the base, passing by all the new guests being assigned their rooms. The entire building was crowded as the villagers tried to settle in, blocking the path for Candy and forcing her to wait for a while. She began squeezing her way through the main hallway that connected all wings of the barracks, reaching an intersection that led to staircases on each side, with the one forward being particularly wide. The building seemed big enough to accommodate everyone, especially because it consisted of four floors of tiny rooms for each person. But since the rooms for the villagers were found on the upper floors, all the staircases were overflowing with people, mainly the one in front of Candy, since that’s where most were headed.
Struggling to get past the mass of villagers at the main staircase, the hallway was pretty much completely clear afterward, with only a couple of soldiers going in and out of what seemed like utility rooms on each side of the remaining length of the hallway. But as Candy kept walking forward, reaching the end with a large, closed door, she opened it to step into a much shorter and narrow hallway, horizontal to the one she came from. With a total of eight rooms, this isolated hallway was exclusive to Crisis, as indicated by their names being written on all doors.
In front of her was her own room, with the one on the left being Tricky’s and the one on her right for Panda. Next to the entrance, on Candy’s right, Kiwy’s room appeared to be the smallest, with an unlabeled door next to it, while Nitro’s room was found on the left, which was before Indie’s at the very end. However, Candy turned her attention to the right side of the hallway, where she began walking slightly nervously. Her steps were slow as she tried to gain the courage to head into Frost’s room. Once she reached the door, she stayed silent for a second, taking another big breath before knocking twice. Her knocks seemed to be too gentle, as there was no response from inside. But as she hesitated to knock again, she tried opening the door, only to realize it was already unlocked.
Slowly turning the round handle to open the door, she carefully made her entrance to Frost’s room, immediately noticing the darkness found inside. She could barely see much from peeking in, so she stepped further inside, silently entering before closing the door behind her. At first glance, it looked empty, but after searching for Frost’s presence, she noticed a light around the corner of the wall in front of the door. Now leaving the fear behind, she walked into the main room, a single bedroom with just two nightstands on each side of a large bed, where she found Frost sitting silently. From the small but bright light of a lamp on the nightstand to his right, Candy could see that he was wearing only shorts, seemingly fresh out of the shower from the drops of water still on his broad, toned shoulders.
–Hey, how are you…– Candy greeted with a cordial smile instinctively as she stepped into his bedroom, but quickly interrupted herself when she realized Frost wasn’t sitting on the bed for no reason. With his back slightly turned to her, he was sitting down to stitch his own wounds on his left shoulder, using the light to get a better view of his injury. Seeing this, Candy immediately panicked and rushed to him in a hurry, though it looked like he didn’t even seem to notice or react to her presence.
–Oh no, I told you not to do that by yourself… Why didn’t you tell me about these?– Candy exclaimed in concerned shock and a bit of frustration as she sat next to him on the bed to inspect his arm. Trying to be gentle with her grip on his wet arm, she grew even more worried when she noticed that he had poorly stitched up a deep cut on his shoulder.
After seeing this, she stood up and hurried to the bathroom next to the entrance to get some medical supplies, all while he stayed still in total silence. He clicked his tongue as he turned to face Candy, dropping the needle he was using on the bed to let her treat his injuries after coming back with a medic kit. She was upset, yet she shut up and got to work immediately, flicking on the lights in the room before stitching his shoulder while standing. She wasn’t even insisting on her question; she was just focused on aiding him, all while he sat there, staring at the floor with the same expression he had after his brief and hostile interaction with Indie.
–You were too busy with the others… I didn’t want to bother and… It’s fine, I can do it by myself– Frost finally replied with a half-drowsy, half-dismissive tone while Candy cleaned his shoulder wound. He gave up on trying to excuse himself and began getting dressed right after Candy was done with the stitches. But as she didn’t treat the situation lightly, her distress increased after seeing more concerning wounds on his back.
–No, you can’t. Look at these, they are pretty big cuts. Here, let me help you– Candy said adamantly, beating Frost’s stubbornness after getting a bit worked up by his response. She couldn’t help but retain her caring and kind self, especially after seeing the two large gashes on his back. After turning him to his side, she got up on the bed to calmly treat his wounds, most likely caused by Reaper’s scythe.
Frost gave up arguing with a sigh, choosing to stay silent while Candy did her job. Thanks to her gentle rubs on his robust back, Frost began to relax a bit, seemingly enjoying it for a while, but not as much as Candy. She particularly found the process pleasuring, distracting herself a little by Frost’s frame. She couldn’t help herself, so while finishing up the stitches on his back with one hand, she began massaging his brawny arm. While not as big as Panda, Frost still possessed some ripped muscles, with Candy taking advantage of the moment to caress and squeeze as she pleased, always being soft with her touch, but making sure to get a good feel. Unfortunately for her, that moment lasted shortly, as Frost turned around once again to get Candy’s hands off his body.
–I guess you didn’t come here to treat my wounds…– Frost suspected in a more lighthearted tone, which was a sudden change that prompted Candy to become quite nervous. She immediately distanced her hands from his body, and now having his full attention, she struggled to respond as he began staring directly into her eyes.
–Well, not really. Ind-... I mean, I was worried about you…– Candy responded slightly embarrassed, losing her calm nature all of a sudden as she tried to avoid eye contact. She went back to check his shoulder, trying to finish the stitches, and although Frost let her continue, his skepticism seemed to grow more as the enjoyment of her company decreased.
–Nothing new at this point…– Frost murmured in a sarcastic voice, being indifferent to Candy’s care, who didn’t seem to hear him as she was behind him and kept stitching him up without seeing his expression turn more despondent.
–You just seemed very upset after the battle…– Candy added, showing more concern and warmth in her voice, only for Frost to dismiss it with a chuckle.
–I don’t need you to tell me that…– Frost responded scornfully, but this time, Candy didn’t seem pleased with his behavior, and to his surprise, she turned him around with a more serious look on her face.
–Come on, Finn, stop acting like that. I know something is troubling you, I just want to help…– Candy begged Frost as he gave him a close, caring look while caressing his stitched shoulder. Despite reprimanding him, she remained understanding and listened closely for Frost to talk to her. And while he still had that cold stare, her approach got him to reflect, shifting his attention somewhere else for a few seconds before letting out a sigh and opening up.
–Yea, I’m upset, of course I am… I was this close to slitting his throat, I just needed more time…– Frost responded more sincerely, though showing his annoyance and disappointment in a disheartened look to Candy. He gestured the distance of his mistake with his hand, growing frustrated by how close he was to killing Reaper. But as he sulked in his failure, Candy seemed relieved to see him venting his frustrations and grabbed his hand to stop him from doing the gesture, pulling it closer, and holding it to her chest with both hands.
–I know you want to see him dead, but I don’t want to see you dead. Chasing after him like that was too dangerous. You could have died if they hadn’t chosen to tease you instead. But what if it happens again? Taking such a big risk and for what?– Candy said with an understanding and thoughtful smile, getting Frost to stare into her eyes and listen for once, yet he seemed to be offended by her pointing out his errors.
–I would have preferred that, to be honest. Death would be much better than always living an inch away from killing him…– Frost replied in a joking manner, almost sounding delusional in his pessimism and regret, which Candy tried to turn around by questioning him with her eyes to make him listen to what he was saying.
–What are you talking about? How would you rather die like that when you could be still fighting and helping all of us? – Candy asked in a critical manner but was uplifting to get rid of his negative thoughts and make him see his usefulness on the bright side. However, Frost didn’t seem to be fully listening to her, even though something inside him was clearly triggered at that moment.
–Oh, you are right. Could you imagine how pathetic it would be to die in that coward’s hands… If he is going to kill me, I’ll make sure to take him down with me…– Frost talked to himself in a maniacal tone, followed by a laugh that made Candy uncomfortable. She looked at him awkwardly before using one hand to grab his arm and draw his attention, putting a temporary end to his ramble.
–You know I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t want you to obsess over this anymore, just let it go. I mean, seriously, it’s not healthy to obsess over someone, even if you have every reason to…– Candy reasoned reflectively, sounding apologetic as well, even getting a bit embarrassed, but overall showing more hope than remorse in her smile as he stared closely into her eyes. He stared back and his expression began changing, relating to her words to some extent as he thought about them more. Candy began smiling more as he looked less disturbed, holding both of his hands with affection, but wasn’t able to retain his attention for long. He suddenly looked down, and before Candy could comprehend the reason for his guilty frown, Frost went right back to his overly negative self.
–I’m not… In fact, I was the only one actually doing something… Where were you and the rest when we were about to kill them for good? You all defeated them and let them escape? How could you? You’re throwing away our whole mission like it’s nothing for the sake of good faith or bullcrap like that!– Frost snapped with unreasonable rage, shifting the blame on Candy and the rest of the squad while doing the same thing he did with Indie, grabbing her arms tightly to closely look at her with a troubling stare.
However, just like Indie, Candy wasn’t scared by this tactic; it was only at first, after being caught off guard by his sudden outburst. Instead of cowering and not arguing, Candy held on to his arms and allowed him to vent out his anger, slowly turning it around until he began calming down by himself. She was clearly disturbed by his comments, seemingly sticking with her, causing her to think for a long time before she could say anything. But despite the shock and hurt his words caused her, she still managed to regain her composure and take her opportunity to talk some sense into him.
–No, we were doing our job, that’s all. I get that you wanted to fight them and maybe get a chance to kill them, but you know that wasn’t our mission. Our top priority is always protecting others. We were just looking to rescue those villagers, not kill the Omens– Candy explained in a composed manner, trying to draw his attention to her compassionate eyes and warmhearted smile as she caressed his forearms tenderly with her soft hands. But even all of this affection and love wasn’t able to soothe Frost, and it seemed like he found something wrong in everything she said, no matter how sweet she was saying it.
–You’re wrong… Our top priority should always be killing the enemy! We should be focusing on taking them out before they kill more, that’s it. We go into battle and risk our lives to kill those who pose a threat to us, not to try to save some weak, useless nobodies!– Frost argued with increasing aggressiveness, breathing heavier and clenching his hands, culminating in a yell that startled Candy and shook her to her core.
Even though it seemed like not all of his rage was directed at her, his loud and harsh words still affected her deeply, causing her to let go of his hands for a second to let him wind down by himself, but also so she could try her hardest to contain tears and retain her composure. He took some time to tone down his voice, and once he stopped yelling, he cowered a little bit after realizing how his fit of anger scared Candy. In response, Candy saw his genuine reaction as the only apology she needed, and without saying anything, she wrapped her arms around his naked torso to give him a snug, loving hug that he actually wasn’t bothered by. Instead of pushing her away, Frost let Candy embrace him, which seemed to have a significant positive effect on him, getting him to regret his words as he shook his head in remorse.
–You are not capable of actually meaning that, I know it. You are just frustrated, and I get it. I know what you really want to say, you don’t have to explain yourself… – Candy whispered in Frost’s ear with a soothing voice as she held him tightly, pressing her chest against his and nuzzling his face. She made her comforting embrace last even longer as he felt the stress in his body linger, only letting go once he relaxed and began breathing normally again.
–I don’t even know what I’m capable of anymore…– Frost mumbled in a defeated and exhausted voice, not even daring to look Candy in the eye as she tried to stare closely at his face. She noticed that his broken voice didn’t come with any tears, though she could hear him sniffing to prevent any from coming out. And although it looked like he needed more comfort, Candy smiled in satisfaction and backed away from the hug before standing up.
–Okay, just remember we are all here for you, especially me. If you need anything, you know where to find me, I’ll see what I can do to help…– Candy said in a more melancholic tone, though she still sounded hopeful and supportive. Her once bright smile faded away and turned into a worried frown as she realized that whatever she said could ever get Frost out of this state, though it was still worth trying. But as she continued to stare with great fondness, Frost acknowledged her genuine care, but only for a brief moment as he turned away, not looking comfortable talking anymore.
–Just leave me alone, let me rest…– Frost responded resentfully, but mainly sounding drained and emotionless. Candy hesitated to leave, but after seeing him close his eyes and lie down on the bed, she could only respect his request.
–Ok…– Candy muttered under her breath, looking disappointed but understanding of Frost’s decision. She turned off the lamp next to him and began walking away. On her way, she turned off the other lights, but before leaving the room, she looked back and smiled once again at the sight of Frost resting peacefully, despite the outcome of their conversation.
–Sweet dreams…– Candy whispered with a caring smile, being genuinely happy even if she wasn’t heard by Frost. And with nothing else for her to do there, she walked out to the hallway and closed the door, placing her hand on it and closing her eyes to reflect for a brief second. After wishing Frost a good night’s sleep, she turned around with tears forming in her eyes, which she tried to wipe despite no one being around to see her. And just as she walked over to Frost’s room, she silently returned to the middle of the hallway. She entered her room and went to sleep, preparing for what might be another cycle of the tradition they had been living for years, waiting to see if tomorrow would be any different…