Lay's tired eyes ached from days with barely any rest. There was no time to rest with such an epidemic plaguing their tribe. All but two of the twenty cots in the hospital were filled with the ill. That left only five people excluding himself and Toshiro in the tribe that had not contracted this new disease. While his assistant spent day and night tending to those afflicted, Lay spent that time going over thousands of notes along with at least a dozen thick medical text books scavenged from an old medical school ruin. The disease presented a few different symptoms in each person, but some symptoms did stand out and did seem to be prevalent in all of the patients, which lead him to believe they all were stricken by the same illness. However, with his limited knowledge and supplies, plus the fact that diseases may have been mutated with post-war radiation, it was very hard for him to find a course of action. He tried finding a similar disease in the texts, but large rashes, fevers, and chest pains could be any number of things known or unknown. They tried everything they could to the best of their ability with what little supplies they had, but no one was getting any better. Luckily, no one had died as of yet, but conditions were worsening, and he could tell already that some would not make it even if he managed to find the cure. Some were just that far gone. "I-I c-can't.... do it... T-Toshi....", his soft cracked voice was drowned out to most by all the moans of pain and coughing that filled the night air of the hospital. It was probably for the best that none of the patients had heard him. Toshiro had been standing beside him though, so he heard Lay's words of defeat clearly.

The young boy placed a hand on Lay's shoulder as a comforting gesture. "If it can be done, then you can do it. If you can't, then it can't be done. What is it that we can do?", he asks, provoking Lay into a little more thought on the matter. The older male closes the book he had been skimming for answers, and shuts his eyes for a quick rest in hopes that his tired eyes would be a little less tired. When he closed his eyes he saw the face of the soldier who had stayed with them a week ago, whom many of the people in the tribe blamed for having intentionally brought this plague upon them. He just couldn't imagine that Kris had could have had anything to do with such a thing. If that were true, then wouldn't they be sick as well? Toshiro and him had been the most exposed to the stranger, while the rest of the town had made an effort to stray from him. How would they have fallen ill if they had purposely made sure to stay away from him? It just wasn't possible, but it wasn't like an angered town full of sick people to see reason.

An answer came to him minutes later. It was not the answer he had been looking for, nor the answer that would answer all their questions, and solve all their problems, but it was the only answer they had. "Kris.....", Lay said softly without a stutter this time or a quiver in his voice. It was the clearest and most confident he had ever sounded since the war. Then he signed the rest to his assistant, because that much speaking had already started to hurt his throat again. "I must go to him. He can help", he signed.

Toshiro looked a little confused when he saw what Lay had signed, but he assumed Lay knew something that he didn't, so he wouldn't question him much. "But I've never tended to people all on my own before.... Sure, technically I have, but you were always just a holler away if I needed your help. With this many people I don't know if I can really do it. What if a new symptom shows up? What if they all go into cardiac arrest at the same time??", the boy whispered to Lay so that the other patients wouldn't overhear and panic.

Lay put his hand on Toshi's shoulder now. "I-It's oh....O-kay", he said with a smile, figuring his words would be more encouraging if he toughened up and spoke them rather than signed them. Then he patted the boy on the head. "I'll be gone for three days at the most", he signed to him, then started to pack a bag with a little food, a little water, and his journal along with some writing utensils. He had to travel light if he was going to sneak into the city, because he didn't want to attract attention to himself by taking a lot of baggage. Not that he had very much else besides books and medical supplies anyway. After that, he simply left without another word, nor sign. He headed off to Seoul with his bag, thinking only of how he had no time to waste. Every second counted for these people. He wanted to save as many of them as he possibly could. Kris was really his last and only hope that they'd be okay again one day.