The Resident Eviloves : Connections (Lady Dimitrescu - Resident Evil)

Chapter 16 - The Dawn of Truth

The Duke's imposing carriage had been rolling for several hours now through the woods and hills of the deep Romanian countryside, cleverly avoiding approaching the main roads, which were far too busy and surely watched by hidden agents of the Connections. According to the obese merchant's estimates, they should reach the valley and the village shortly now.

While the Duke was busy holding the reins and directing his horse, Emily and Karl were in the back of the carriage, in the middle of a mess of all kinds of objects intended for purchase. The place wasn't very comfortable, but at least they didn't have to finish the trip on foot, and they were sheltered from the wind and the rain just in case. However, the bullet wound Heisenberg had received in the shoulder during the struggle had Emily worried, and she had insisted heavily, despite Karl's stubbornness, to tend to the wound. The Duke allowed them to help themselves to the medical supplies in the stock, telling them they could pay for it later. Emily opened a cardboard box and found a bottle of medicinal alcohol inside, along with some new bandages. Items in hand, she turned to Karl.

_"Come on, take off your shirt." she asked.

Heisenberg rolled his eyes, huffing in annoyance but obeyed knowing she would insist and took off his jacket, then his shirt, now shirtless as he sat down on a crate. Emily, seeing him shirtless like this, blushed very slightly but didn't show it. He was quite a handsome man, she thought, but focused on healing. She came up behind him, leaning down to first examine the wound which had stopped bleeding but wasn't very pretty.

_"Hmm, we first have extract the bullet, but... I have no way to do it effectively." said Emily.

_"For that, I take care of it." replied Heisenberg.

Under the young woman's puzzled gaze, Karl used his metal control power to draw the bullet out of the wound, which inflicted a deep pain that made him groan and clench his teeth, and drop a little blood once the projectile was extracted, which Karl dropped to the ground.

_"But... you are completely crazy!" said Emily.

_"And it's only now that you notice it, princess?" Karl told her, looking at her with a mocking smile.

Upset, but having also worried internally for him, Emily did not hesitate to reply and to punish him for this attitude gave a small pat on the wound.

_"Ouch! What the fuck are you doing?!" Heisenberg growled at her. "You're supposed to heal me, not hurt me more!"

_"Then stop acting like a brat, or I'll put a bandage around your mouth too." Emily replied, scolding him like a nurse would a recalcitrant patient.

Initially, Heisenberg had reacted impulsively, even being ready to hit her, but it was restrained. Growling, frustrated, he sat down on the wooden crate and let Emily do it, and she could finally begin to heal the wound. She soaked a clean cloth in the medicinal alcohol and began to apply it to the wound to clean and disinfect it. Karl felt the pain inflicted by the alcohol acting on the wound but didn't growl, only grimacing a little. While cleaning the wound, Emily got a better view of Heisenberg's body, and noticed all those scars on his skin, especially on his back and on his arms. Some looked like stab wounds, some looked like gunshot wounds... Then she remembered his army dog tag which he wore hidden under his shirt and dangling around his neck.

_"I was a soldier before..." Karl then said darkly without turning around, as if he had guessed Emily's gaze on his old wounds. "To be honest, I barely remember this life, who I was before...before I became who I am now, against my will. You can't imagine what it can feel like when you're deprived of your freedom, of your identity... You feel alone, a prisoner, and there's nothing you can do about it, except let your rage consume you."