#wcopen

Should he go to the hospital? Call Rika? ...Will Rika be angry at him for getting sick? She is so busy already, it seems, and Shinji thinking on his own is difficult with an overcooked brain...

He looks at his phone. It’s a weird idea, but he isn’t in a position to argue with himself in this state, and he sends a message to a random number within Solitude’s directory. 

He must have hit his head really hard. 

But before that, he remembers that there was something that had to do with Rika. He remembers the explosion before he got knocked out. He has no idea how he ended up in the hospital, and he now has rehabilitation therapy to look forward to before they will let him go home. 

His better judgement told him to get to shelter, but there really was nothing like that here to shield against such a blast. At least, not that he was aware of. The rumbling felt like it came from a certain direction, and a look out the window confirmed his fears. 

Smoke is billowing from the horizon near Rika’s house. Perhaps an experiment gone wrong, but that doesn’t matter now.  He couldn’t stay here. If he’s being totally honest with himself, he shouldn’t go to Rika, either, but his legs begin carrying towards her house. He reaches for his phone first, and sets it to call her. When she doesn’t pick up, Shinji sets out at a run. She could be hurt, and he’s certain that he is the closest one to her right now--he knows basic first aid, and he could call for a ride to the hospital-- 

His thoughts continue to buzz around the worst case scenario, but Shinji suddenly comes to a stop about a block away from Rika’s house. It’s only when he gets close enough that he realizes that the smoke cloud looms closer overhead--almost deliberately. 

“Rika?!” he calls out in a panic, but it’s likely she can’t even hear him from this distance.