He quietly followed behind Doctor Gayle, watching as she lifted the unconscious Paul onto a gurney and pushed him toward the hospital's basement level.
She eventually stopped in front of a heavy door sealed shut with wooden planks and iron chains.
A look of deep internal struggle and pain appeared on Doctor Gayle's face, but she ultimately unfastened the chains and pushed the gurney into that bottomless darkness.
Inside the door, the spine-chilling roars of Walkers immediately rang out!
So that's how it is... Louis understood.
Due to limited medical supplies, she couldn't save everyone.
In her view, when a patient's injuries were terminal, sending them into this cafeteria occupied by Walkers to let them turn on their own was a 'choice' to end their suffering.
It was a form of cruelty, yet also a helpless choice in the apocalypse.
However, just as Doctor Gayle was preparing to reseal the door, Louis noticed something slightly off.
He didn't know if it was because he had been practicing the Healing Spell lately, but his perception of life force seemed to have become exceptionally keen.
In his eyes, although that blonde man Paul who had been pushed inside looked like he was at death's door, like a candle flickering in the wind, a stubborn flame of life still burned deep within his body!
He hadn't reached the point of certain death yet!
He couldn't wait any longer!
Louis quickly stowed away his invisibility cloak at the corner of the hallway, then dashed out and shouted loudly:
"Wait! He can still be saved!"
This crisp, youthful voice rang out in the deathly silent corridor; though not loud, it was exceptionally clear.
Doctor Gayle whipped her head around, her face written with shock.
She looked toward the sound and saw a little blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy standing at the corner of the hallway, appearing out of nowhere!
A Child? All alone?
Doctor Gayle's brain stalled for a moment.
Since the disaster broke out, although she had seen some survivors coming for help in desperation, this was the first time she had seen a Child all by himself.
But immediately after, she reacted to the meaning of Louis's words.
He said that the injured man could still be saved.
Was it possible?
She was an experienced professional doctor.
She was certain that this man named Paul was too heavily injured; in the absence of sufficient antibiotics and a clean environment, death was only a matter of time.
Her judgment hadn't been wrong so far.
Perhaps... this was just a Child's naive kindness, unable to accept a life passing away before his eyes.
Countless thoughts flashed through Doctor Gayle's mind, but only a few seconds had passed.
She looked at the boy's clear, determined eyes, which contained not a hint of impurity, and thought of the sobbing Karina from before; the defensive line in her heart, long since hardened by the apocalypse, loosened for no apparent reason.
After a moment of hesitation, she lowered the hand that had been ready to reseal the door.
She didn't ask anything more, but instead pulled that blood-stained gurney back out from that darkness.
Seeing this, the boy immediately rushed over and worked with her to close and lock that door leading to hell once again.
Doctor Gayle thought she might be crazy, actually listening to a Child.
But looking at this Child who had suddenly appeared, she was willing to indulge this bit of naivety once.
Even if this man eventually died, at least for now, a Child's wish could be satisfied.
Soon, when she and Louis pushed the gurney back to the storage room, Karina, who had been slumped on the floor crying, suddenly looked up.
When she saw her boyfriend being pushed back, an unbelievable light instantly erupted in her eyes.
"Doctor Gayle! This... this is..." She crawled over incoherently. "Could it be... could it be that Paul can still be saved?!"
Doctor Gayle opened her mouth, then hesitated.
She didn't know how to explain to this poor woman that she had only delayed this destined death for a moment because of a Child's request.
Just then, Louis poked his head out from behind her and said in a very certain tone:
"Yes! I just saw his hand move, and his eyes were moving too! I'm sure he'll wake up soon!"
"Really?!" Karina's face was immediately overtaken by wild joy.
She lunged forward excitedly, pulling Louis into a tight hug, her hot tears soaking his shoulder.
"Thank you! Thank you, Child! I believe you! We're all going to be okay...!"
Watching this scene, Doctor Gayle's heart was filled with mixed emotions.
She actually really wanted to say that it was likely just neurological twitching before death.
But seeing Karina's joy at having regained what was lost, and seeing Louis's certain gaze, she ultimately couldn't bear to speak the cruel truth.
She could only sigh silently in her heart, planning to wait until the man drew his last breath before handling the aftermath.
However, the subsequent developments completely exceeded her expectations.
A few hours later, just as Doctor Gayle was preparing to check Paul's vital signs again and considering how to comfort Karina, the man who had been unconscious all along really did have his eyelids flicker a few times, and then... slowly opened his eyes!
"Paul!"
Karina let out a scream of joy through her tears and threw herself to the bedside.
"Cough... Karina?" Paul's voice was raspy and weak, but he was really awake! Moreover, his high fever was miraculously beginning to subside!
How... was this possible?
Doctor Gayle checked several times; aside from shock, she couldn't find any logical explanation.
Perhaps this man's life force was far more stubborn than she had judged.
Inside the storage room, Karina, who had long since become a tearful mess, hugged the returned Paul tightly, as if she wanted to meld him into her own body.
"I heard it, Karina."
Paul stroked his lover's blonde hair, his voice full of lingering fear. "When I was being pushed into that hellhole, I thought everything was over."
"But I heard that Child's voice; he said I could still be saved... it was that voice that kept me going."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze toward Louis standing to the side, his eyes filled with gratitude.
"Thank you, Child. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would have... been torn apart by those monsters by now."
Doctor Gayle also walked over; she knelt down and gave Louis a warm, firm hug.
"I don't know how you saw it, but you... you were right." Her voice carried a hint of trembling and wonder.
Then she looked at the couple: "I'm so sorry... my judgment was wrong, I almost killed you both!"
She lowered her head in sorrow, her heart full of lingering fear and relief: "I was already prepared. If Paul died and Karina couldn't accept that fact, I would have... helped her find release."
She pointed to a syringe in her medical kit.
"If in the end Paul hadn't died, but Karina had chosen euthanasia out of despair... that would have been truly tragic."
"What?! Euthanasia?!"
Paul was greatly shocked upon hearing this; he completely disagreed with such a practice and couldn't help but complain: "Hey, Doctor, you don't have the right to do that, that's just too..."
But seeing Doctor Gayle's exhausted yet firm eyes, and remembering that she had saved him and Karina after all, he ultimately swallowed the rest of his words.
Karina, however, took Doctor Gayle's hand, a hint of understanding showing in her eyes.
"I can understand, Doctor."
She said softly, "I've already lost too many family members. If Paul were really gone and I were the only one left in this world... I might have really made that choice."
Fortunately, none of that happened. Everyone present got the outcome they wanted, and all was well.
Although Paul still needed to rest for a while, he and Karina decided to stay at this hospital for the time being.
And Louis also used this accident to win the trust and goodwill of everyone present.
He naturally asked Doctor Gayle for a relatively safe and comfortable VIP ward as his living quarters and decided to stay there temporarily.
On one hand, he could legitimately follow this experienced doctor to learn some medical first-aid knowledge crucial in the apocalypse.
On the other hand, he could also continue practicing the spell he hadn't yet mastered here—
"Episkey."