Chapter 35- The Estate (Part 2)
The other two were an older, good-looking man with a calm yet strong look on his face and a little girl, who was barely 8 years of age. Both had worried looks on their faces as they rushed to Violet.
"My sweet girl!" The man said as he wrapped his arm around her. Violet smiled as she hugged him back.
"I'm truly happy all of you are alive and well. I was so worried. I thought I might lose you." She said.
"It's fine. We are all going to be ok." The man said as he touched her face. Then, his eyes naturally wandered to the other two with Violet, especially the injured man she was carrying. His expression darkened.
"Who is this?"
"Oh right, Dad. Help me put Rein in a bed; he's extremely injured, and he can't move. He has bled a lot." She said as she pulled Rein closer to her.
"Rein? Wait, is this that young man?" Violet's father said with a shocked expression as he took a closer look at him. "What happened to him?"
"It's a long story. Please, Mom, I need you to help me. He might really die." She said.
Her mom looked a bit apprehensive and concerned, but then she nodded her head. "Come with me, we have an empty room where he can lie down."
Violet and Alex then brought Rein up the stairs to a room on the second floor. It was located in a corner of the house and seemed to be assigned for guests who wanted to stay at the house.
Putting Rein down on the bed gently, she looked at her mother. "Can you please check up on him?"
"I will bring my kit." She said.
Her father and sister came up to the room.
"And who is this gentleman with you?" He asked as he looked at Alex.
The latter looked really tense and nervous as he looked at Violet's father. "Good evening there, Sir… I'm Alex. Nice to meet you. I'm a colleague of Violet."
"Oh…" The man looked at Alex for a second before he nodded his head. "What happened to Rein, Violet? I couldn't even recognize him."
"I… I told him about how I lost contact with you two, and he said that he wanted to help me go look for you. We ended up coming across a Mutated Grizzly Bear, and Rein fought it on his own."
"A Mutated Grizzly Bear?" The man looked so confused.
"He saved me, Dad. Multiple times. He even risked his life to do that. I owe him my life, and I can't let him die." She said with a determined tone.
"..."
Emily, her younger sister, listened silently to the entire conversation as her eyes looked at the injured Rein on the bed. Nobody knew what was going through her head.
"Rein is a very good man and someone who helped our family a lot. This is only another favor we have to give back. I'm even more grateful for him that he protected you."
At that moment, Violet's mother walked in with her tools in her hand as she sat next to the bed. Just one single look at Rein's body and she frowned deeply.
"What are these injuries? They don't look like bear claws at all…" She said.
"That bear could turn its fur into sharp spikes that it can throw like darts. It almost killed all of us had he not lured it away."
"What is even happening outside, Violet? What are these mutated creatures you're talking about? And why are people outside turning into these things?"
Violet looked at Rein, sighed, and then finally turned to her dad. "It's a really long story… And it might sound really ridiculous… But you need to listen to me, ok?"
***
After falling down, Rein remained in a semi-delirious state. He could hear and think, but his mind was so foggy, and his senses were so obstructed that he couldn't even understand what was happening.
He heard Violet's voice, and then he heard other voices, but he didn't know where he was or what happened after that.
The time that passed for him felt like an eternity. But, eventually, he felt clarity coming back to him as the pain decreased gradually.
"Hnnng…" Opening his eyes slowly, he frowned at the light above him. Slowly, he moved his hand up. 'What happened…? Hm? Bandages?'
Looking at his hand, he realized that it was completely wrapped in white bandages. Then, he rose from the bed and looked down; the rest of his body was also wrapped like a mummy. His bleeding has stopped, even though the pain was still there.
"... Where did Violet even bring me?" He muttered as he looked left and right. "Hmm? This place looks familiar."
As he was trying to understand what had happened, the door to the room started opening slowly. Then, a small head peeked through the gap.
Rein looked there and squinted his eyes. That was when he recognized who it was. "Emily? Is that you?"
"..." The girl flinched when she heard his voice, but then she opened the door completely and walked in.
"Umm… Can I come in?"
'You already walked in…' Rein could only smile inwardly. Emily had always been a rather quiet and awkward girl, but he always felt like she reminded him of his younger self. He was also a calm and withdrawn person.
"Yeah, you can of course." He said. "Hmm, so Violet found you and your parents?" He asked. 'And I was wondering why this place looked familiar, it's their house.'
"Mmm…" She said. "Are you fine?"
"... Well, I'm alive. That's good enough for me." Rein replied. "What about you? Are you good?"
"I am. I didn't get hurt. I didn't go outside."
"That's good."
"Umm, Uncle Rein?" Emily said as she looked down. "Thank you… For helping big sis."
Rein was a bit surprised before he nodded his head. "It's my pleasure."
'This girl is really like her sister.' He thought to himself. "Where is Violet?"
"She's downstairs, talking with mom and dad," Emily replied.
"I see."
Rein then pulled the covers away and tried to stand on his feet. Naturally, he felt sharp pain assault him all over. He stumbled left and right as Emily panicked.
"Ah!"
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Replied. "Just a bit weak for the moment."
The girl didn't seem convinced but she still nodded her head. "Please be careful…"
With that, Rein started walking toward the door. "I'm way stronger than you might imagine." He smiled at her.
"Ummm… Then why are you covered in bandages, Uncle Rein?"
"..."
'This girl.'
Shaking his head, he turned around and walked out with Emily in tow. Rein had visited this place a few times before, so he was familiar with it. He could also hear the sound of people speaking downstairs.
Walking down the stairs, he followed the source of the voice until he walked into living area. There, he found everyone talking at the table.
He stared at them, and they stared back at him, surprised to see him. The first to react was Violet as she stood up, her eyes lit up with excitement.
"Rein!" She said as she rushed toward him before jumping into his arms.
"Hey, wait, I'm still… Ouch…" He squinted in pain as she wrapped her arms around him.