Hesta hurriedly hung up the phone and turned to hold down Eucali's arms and legs. Her calves were stretched rigidly straight, looking exactly like Hesta herself when she cramped from overtraining.
Several nurses hurried over at the sound. Working together, they pinned Eucali to the bed.
"Is this what you call a minor injury?" Hesta demanded. "Doesn't she need to stay for observation?"
"Don't shout in here!" a nurse said sternly. She turned back to Eucali, and the group examined her again.
A few breaths later, one of them suddenly turned around. "It might be a symptom of Pulse Sound Phobia... Don't worry."
"Pulse Sound Phobia..." Hesta repeated the name softly. It sounded so familiar, yet she could not remember where she had heard it before.
"Sometimes patients become afraid of continuous gunfire, phone ringtones, alarms... even their own heartbeat. It won't last long. Usually it goes away in a few days, though in severe cases it may last several months. It's not a serious problem. With proper rest, it'll get better on its own!"
On the folding bed, Eucali's spasms had already stopped. She buried her head in her pillow and sobbed quietly.
After the nurses left, Hesta sat silently beside Eucali's bed. She bent over, propping her forehead up with her left hand.
Near eleven o'clock, District 12's assembly hall was packed with people.
Kovishik sat in a wheelchair, naturally half a head shorter than everyone else. He especially hated that feeling, so whenever he spoke to someone, he held his chin even higher than before, making him look even more arrogant.
"Kovishik! Have you heard what happened tonight? It's horrifying!" Trion kept wiping his face with a handkerchief. "I heard tens of thousands died tonight! The enemy's robot troops were flying everywhere, shooting and dropping bombs—"