After their brief conversation, they all immediately returned to their respective posts. The chilly air made it impossible for Nindy to stay outside for long.
"Ugh, it's freezing here," Vero said.
"Yeah, seriously, I can't take it," Ratih chimed in.
"All right, let's go to sleep now. Don't forget to pray!" Nindy said.
They quickly drifted off to dreamland. For anyone who was easily frightened, the nighttime atmosphere in Papua was terrifying. It was completely silent! The only sounds were crickets and frogs calling back and forth.
Meanwhile, at the soldiers' post, they were all still standing watch and patrolling to make sure everything was safe. Being near a conflict zone meant they all had to stay alert. Besides watching out for the disease outbreak affecting the residents, they also had to be wary of KKB forces.
"Ugh, I have to pee again," Nindy complained after waking up, unable to hold it any longer.
"Damn, Vero's sleeping so soundly. And I'm actually scared," Nindy said as she looked at Vero sleeping peacefully.
"Whatever. I can't hold it anymore," Nindy said, then walked toward the restroom that had been provided.
Silent! Dark! That was what Nindy was experiencing now. For some reason, she felt chills running through her. She pushed away her fear. All she could think about was relieving herself.
SCRITCH... SCRITCH!
Nindy heard what sounded like someone stepping on branches. She went deathly pale, her body trembling with fear. She imagined that KKB forces were lurking around her.
Nindy took a deep breath, trying to drive away the fear attacking her. Slowly but surely, she opened the restroom door. At that very moment, she saw a tall shadow—what on earth was it?
"Aaaaaah!" Nindy screamed loudly.
Even Nindy's scream reached the ears of the soldiers on guard duty.
Thud!
Nindy fainted! She could no longer withstand the fear she'd been holding back.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Footsteps sounded as someone approached Nindy.
"Hey, hey, Nin, wake up," Vito called.
Yes! The person who had been near the restroom was Vito. He had been on guard duty too, but he could no longer hold in his need to urinate. So he'd gone to the restroom, only to see someone else entering it when he arrived.
"Commander," one of his men called as he arrived.
"Bring me a flashlight. Miss Nindy has fainted," Vito said.
Vito immediately picked Nindy up. He would take her to the medical post. As it happened, Rafael was the one on duty there.
"Hey, what's wrong with Nindy?" Rafael asked anxiously.
"She fainted," Vito replied.
Vito laid Nindy down on a stretcher. He quickly rubbed eucalyptus oil beneath her nose.
"Ugh..." Nindy groaned.
Slowly, her round eyes opened fully. She saw several TNI members and Rafael standing around her.
"Are you all right, Nin?" Rafael asked gently.
For some reason, Vito seemed displeased at the sight of that.
"Here, drink this first," Vito ordered.
Nindy turned and was startled to see Vito. Vito smiled gently when he saw her expression.
"Commander, you're here too?" Nindy asked.
"Yep. I'm sorry if I scared you earlier," Vito said apologetically.
"So you were the one near the restroom? Ah! I thought it was KKB forces," Nindy said irritably, pursing her lips.
Damn it! Every member of the unit gazed at Nindy adoringly. Vito suddenly grew annoyed when he saw that. He cleared his throat to snap his men out of it.
"Ahem!" Vito's throat-clearing was quite loud.
His men came to their senses and could only smile awkwardly.
"I'm sorry. I needed to pee, but when I got there, I saw someone else entering, so I walked around for a while first," Vito explained.
"Nindyyyyyyyy!" Vero shouted, startling everyone.
"Where have you been, huh! What if you'd disappeared, huh! And why are you sleeping on a stretcher? What happened to you? Don't scare me like that! If you're going somewhere, wake me up, got it? What if KKB kidnapped you?" Vero rattled off.
The TNI members there could only gape at Vero as she scolded Nindy like a mother chewing out her child.
"I was going to the restroom. I wanted to wake you, but you were sleeping so soundly, so I decided not to," Nindy replied.
"Tsk! Starting tomorrow, if you're hungry or need to pee, wake me up!" Vero said emphatically.
"Yeah, yeah, enough. Aren't you embarrassed with everyone staring at you?" Nindy said.
Vero suddenly realized that she and Nindy weren't the only ones there. She looked to the right and left, then smiled awkwardly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of approaching footsteps reached everyone's ears.
"Reporting, Commander. The number of disease victims has increased, and they're on their way here now," one of Vito's men reported.
Everyone who heard that was shocked. Nindy immediately jumped off the stretcher, startling them all.
"Quick, we need to prepare a place and first aid!" Nindy said, then ran out of the medical post.
"Good grief, her wild streak still hasn't gone away," Vero complained.
They all chuckled. They hadn't expected Nindy, the girl they considered gentle and soft-spoken, to have such a crazy side.
They all left the medical post and headed straight for the area the TNI members had just prepared. Nindy began preparing various medicines and injections, assisted by the other volunteers.
Not long after, the vehicle carrying the residents arrived. The volunteers immediately helped the residents and children get out.
The children's cries sounded heartbreaking to everyone listening. Nindy couldn't bear to see it. She would find out what virus had attacked the residents.
"Hey, look at me! Don't cry, okay? I'll treat you," Nindy said gently to a boy around five years old.
"Now, tell me where it hurts," Nindy asked.
"My throat, and my whole body hurts," the boy said.
"All right, come here. I'll treat you, okay?" Nindy said.
"No! That hurts!" the boy replied.
"Don't worry, it won't hurt. How about I give you some candy afterward?" Nindy said, tempting him with candy.
"Promise?" the boy asked.
"Promise," Nindy replied with a smile.
The boy suddenly burst into laughter, as if he couldn't feel the pain in his body.
"Hey, what's so funny?" Nindy asked in surprise.
"Hahaha! Why do your eyes disappear when you laugh? It's really funny," the boy said, still giggling.
"Hey! Are you making fun of me? Hm?" Nindy said, pretending to pout.
"Hey, hey, Dito was only joking. Don't make that face, okay? How about Dito gives you some candy?" the boy said, making Nindy burst out laughing.
Nindy's loud laughter drew everyone's attention. They even chuckled when they saw her laughing. And it was true—her narrow eyes practically disappeared whenever she laughed.
"Do you have candy too?" Nindy asked with a giggle.
"No! But you're going to give me candy, right? So I'll give it back to you so you won't pout," the boy replied.
"You're not lying?" Nindy asked.
"No! I promise," Dito said with a smile.
"Good grief! Nindy, you've only been here one day, so why do you always make my heart race like this?" Vito thought to himself.