Wilhelm pauses to catch his breath. "Could it be?"

"What do you mean?" It seems like it's this doctor's schtick to be vague. As you confront him about it, he skirts you away from Bella. You sit on one of the available benches.

"Calm down, we just met today. I don't even know that much about you!" Wilhelm looks visibly irritated.

"Look, you wouldn't understand even if I told you everything. The situation is very complicated and it's stressing for both Bella and I to recount it. Aren't you similarly taxed whenever you have to recount your entire medical history to a doctor?" He's acting very evasively, and at this rate, anything other than brushing you off will suffice as adequate exposition.

"I can at least try to understand."

Wilhelm calls Bella over and asks her if she's okay with him talking more about their situation to you. She hesitates for a while, but later nods with caution.

"Upon bringing Bella here to Centropolis last week, we had company. It was a doctor named Grace Vaya. He's very close to Bella, and she sees him more like a brother these days. We were invited to assist in a community clinic where we can provide medical and surgical services, free of charge."

"Oh, so that's why she has his book!"

"Indeed. We needed to personally inspect the place where it will be held, so that we can tell what provisions and equipment we need to provide. While I was touring both of them around Centropolis, I was introducing them to some urban legends about this city. There's a rumour about a hidden bridge in the Lower West Side that leads to a lush grove. With how sparse greenery is around these parts, it's no wonder people make a big deal out of it."

That's where you first saw her, a bridge leading to a clearing.

"Incidentally, in that grove is an abandoned, run-down mansion which we will convert into a temporary hospital for the duration of our services. When we made our way there, we found a group of delinquent youth who turned the house into a 'base' of sorts.

They tried to pick a fight with us for apparently trespassing on their turf. What seemed to be their leader took an interest to Bella, and started to disrespect her with misogynistic slurs. Grace reacted by getting into a fistfight with him, when the delinquent pulled a gun. He warned Grace that he loathed 'Saherimos scum' and that tourists should not mess with them. We backed away and left the grove before any of us could get hurt. We tended to Grace's injuries, and told him not to accompany us the next time we hold an ocular inspection in the vicinity."

"What happened? Did you manage to inspect the place?"

"We left Grace to rest and asked for police back-up when Bella and I returned the next day, just in case the gang really used the mansion as their quarters. They successfully drove the gang out, and we were able to identify which parts of the mansion can be used as makeshift operating rooms and wards. When we returned to the apartment we were renting after eating lunch somewhere, Grace was no longer there. We looked for him everywhere we could think of, ran around distributing 'missing person' posters, contacting the police…"

Bella signals Wilhelm to stop. She signs to him, and Wilhelm nods in agreement. Each time she completes a few thoughts, he translates them for you. You wonder how much of this is his own interpretation.

"Bella took matters in her own hands and left me in the apartment 3 days ago." "She had a hunch that the gang had something to do with his disappearance." "She returned to the grove each day to see if she could find any clues there." "That's where she found the book and his white coat. Both of them had fresh blood stains on them." "She suspects that the gang killed Grace, and she feels powerless that she couldn't prevent that from happening."

Bella stops signing, and she sits next to you.

Wilhelm heaves a deep sigh. "If things were the way they used to be, she and I could have averted this crisis easily."

Bella then tapped Wilhelm's shoulder and signed a few gestures to him.

"Oh, Bella's saying she wants to meet you again sometime during Survival, if you're not too busy by then. If Grace is still alive, I am hoping we've found him by then."

You'll think about it, you say to yourself. You say your goodbyes to the two, and go on your own way.

Almost two weeks have passed since your small adventure, if you could call it that - who would have known it would only feel like you last saw Bella two days ago?

A package arrives at your doorstep. There is a note attached to it: