After a beat of contemplative silence, Kant murmured with an oblivious smile, "How dangerous."
Hunter grimaced, but decided not to voice his kind thoughts about Kant's delirious state for now, instead filling him in on his conclusions.
"They've been drugging the members by mixing something into juices and serving them at dinner before the weekly Main Prayer. I'm guessing it's something like scopolamine. Not too expensive, which allows them to pull this shit consistently."
"Scopo-what?" Gabriel didn't catch the name of the drug—not that he would have known what it was anyway.
All information went over Kant's head, who was too busy marveling at the ghost in his rose-tinted glasses to think about anything else.
Hunter stared at him for a while, then snapped his fingers in front of Kant's face. "Hey, I'm talking to you."
Kant lazily directed his gaze to Hunter's face, blinking owlishly. "Now?"
Dumbfounded, Hunter stared at him as if he'd grown a second head. "You don't even realize that you almost died tonight, do you?"
"When?"
Hunter closed his eyes and took a deep breath, rubbing his temples. "Don't yell at the patients... don't yell..." he muttered to himself, but when he opened them, Kant was still grinning stupidly.
He groaned and walked back to his own bed. "Whatever, I'm not talking to you until you sober up."
Kant turned to Gabriel, who was watching the exchange with raised eyebrows.
"He's still mad?" Kant murmured.
"Furious," Gabriel corrected. "Not only did you scare me, but you also managed to scare the hell out of Hunter. But at least he seems to... tolerate you better than before."
Kant pushed himself to sit up. The world around him spun, and for a moment, he thought he might have been lying down on the ceiling this whole time. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind.
"I feel weird," he drawled, stretching out the collar of his shirt to loosen it around his throat.
"No shit. No one made you drink that juice," Hunter grumbled from the other side of the room.
Gabriel scratched his head and crossed his legs, then he held up a peace sign. "Hey, Kant, how many fingers am I holding up?"
Kant squinted at his hand like it was an optical illusion, then responded, "Two."
Gabriel raised a third finger, and Kant's eyes widened, surprised that the number had somehow increased. The ghost burst out laughing, but quickly quieted down to keep messing with him.
"How many are there now?" Gabriel asked, putting up another finger.
Kant's brow furrowed in intense concentration, his hand reaching for Gabriel's to count his fingers manually. But trying to touch the ghost was like poking around smoke. He tried grabbing Gabriel, but his hand went right through.
Seeing his attempts, the ghost almost rolled over. Gabriel felt like a sinner while laughing at Kant now, but the way he took the finger counting so seriously... it was just too funny.
"Haha! Oh, man, I can't—" the ghost chortled, slapping the mattress.
Gabriel was going to keep going, but his joy was abruptly interrupted by Hunter's harsh voice. "Will you stop flailing around and just rest?"
Kant paused, then slumped back onto the bed, pulling the covers over himself with a huff.
"Pff..." The ghost watched, amused as Hunter cursed under his breath before switching off the lights.
Gabriel inched closer to Kant to see his face better. "Tired? I bet you are," he whispered, then used the corner of the blanket to poke Kant's arm that was draped over his eyes. "Move your arm, I can't see you."
Kant removed his arm, listening to everything he was told. His eyes appeared glossy even in the dark.
Satisfied, the ghost giggled, his eyes scanning the scene for more ways to entertain himself. What else could he tell Kant to do? Something stupid? Something embarrassing?
"Your smile," Kant murmured out of the blue, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's annoying. But..." he let out a short sigh. "It'd be a shame if it disappeared."
Gabriel's mouth opened in awe and his heart flipped over in his chest.
However, the moment was ruined by Hunter, who thought Kant was talking to him. "I couldn't agree more. These days I smile just for you," his voice echoed in the darkness, soaked in sarcasm.
Hunter's remark was apparently very funny to Kant, and for a few minutes, there was only the sound of him chuckling breathlessly. "You—you don't smile," he choked out.
"My point exactly," Hunter deadpanned.
Kant's laughter gradually faded. "It's almost like... the old days..."
Hunter groaned, burying his face in the pillows. "Bloody hell, I'm trying to sleep and this drugged-up idiot keeps yapping." Yet the annoyance in his tone was undercut by the fact that he was probably trying not to laugh too.
Kant huffed another chuckle to get on his nerves, but he must've laughed too hard earlier, because he was all out of breath.
"Okay, that's it, you asked for this," Hunter sat up, sounding like he was about to strangle Kant. But before he could do anything to make him shut up, the room fell silent.
"What, scared I'm gonna beat you up?" Hunter stared into the dark with a sarcastic expression.
The ghost frowned, tugging at the blanket. "Hey, something wrong?"
Kant instinctively clutched his chest, his fingers pressing against his shirt as if trying to ease an uncomfortable tightness. That wasn't a good feeling.
Each inhale felt shorter than the last, the air not reaching his lungs fully.
"Does your heart hurt?" Gabriel tried to guess. He scrambled up from the bed, searching for clues. "Can't breathe?"
The ghost swiftly flicked the light switch, then pulled the blanket off Kant to draw Hunter's attention. "Emergency! Look here! Do something!"
"What the—" Hunter squinted at the sudden brightness, trying to understand who turned on the light. But once his gaze landed on Kant clutching his chest with shallow breaths, he forgot all about it.
Hunter rushed over with such force that Gabriel would've been knocked over if not for his ghostly state. He quickly scanned the scene for a possible cause, then his eyes landed on the IV drip.
"Shit. What did they put in this IV, a sedative?" He pulled out the catheter from Kant's arm.
Gabriel paced in circles, looking outside the door for any nearby help. "Why isn't he calling a nurse? This is freaking me out!"
Hunter loosened Kant's collar, trying to give him more room to breathe while giving instructions. "Hey, take a slow breath, just one at a time. You hear me?"
But as Hunter tried to steady him, Kant's eyes rolled back slightly, and his body went limp.
Hunter froze for a stunned second, panic flashing across his face. Then he sprang into action. "Damn it—NURSE!" he yelled, bolting out the door.