I Will Hold Your Hand Gently

Chapter 23: Throw The Note!

Amid the darkness, Hunter could faintly hear someone calling out to him, like a distant gunshot echoing through his consciousness. His eyelids were so heavy that he couldn't open them. His body wouldn't even move as well. The last thing he recalled was crushing the man who had harmed his little sister.

"Ter... unter... Hunter!" The voice rang louder in his ears with each passing minute.

Straining against the weight of his eyelids, he managed to force them open. A woman's tear-streaked face filled his view, filled with both concern and sorrow. She held tightly onto his bloody bandages, applying pressure to his wound.

"You idiot...! After everything I said! You went and broke your promise and aggravated your wounds!" she screamed out in tears.

"...Tanya," his voice was weak with shallow breathing, "What..."

"What happened?" Tanya restrained her tearful voice, "You suddenly disappeared, so I went to go find you. I found the wheelchair left outside the alley and then I saw you lying on the ground all bloody next to this corpse."

Tanya wipes away her tears with her right hand that was covered in his blood. Some of his blood smeared onto her cheek, "If I had come any later, you would have died...!"

"...I'm sorry," He spoke with an apologetic tone.

"Apologize to me after I treat you," said Tanya.

Tanya rummaged through her bag by her side, retrieving a leaf from a small container. Opening it, she presses the leaf against Hunter's lip, urging him to eat it, "Chew on this. It's a Kava leaf. It'll numb your pain for a bit."

Hunter followed Tanya's instructions and chewed on the leaf. Meanwhile, Tanya continued with her treatment. She retrieved a pair of scissors, a needle, and thread, along with a small stone mortar and pestle. Adding some Yarrow plants and a bottle of water to her supplies, Tanya swiftly ground the Yarrow into a paste by pouring water directly into the mortar. After creating a fine paste, Tanya carefully unwrapped the bloody bandages and cut the stained thread previously used to close his wound.

"...Here," Tanya offered Hunter a folded cloth, "Bite on this. The Kava leaf can help with the pain, but it has its limits."

Hunter clenched the cloth between his teeth while Tanya began to stitch his wound. She took a deep breath before delicately piercing his bloody flesh with the needle, carefully pulling the thread through to close the wound. Hunter's body twitches from the feeling of being pierced by the needle. Just like Tanya said, the pain was still there. It was manageable but still painful. As soon as she finished sewing up all of his wounds, she quickly applied the paste to his wounds and used clean bandages to wrap up his wounds.

"Thank you for holding on, Hunter," Tanya said, wiping sweat from her forehead. "You're stable for now, but we must get you to a Guide, immediately. I understand your desire to find your sister, but you're not fit to continue in this condition. I know a friend who can..."

Hunter grips onto Tanya's sleeves with his weary eyes. Though shallow, he spoke, "Please..."

"What?"

Hunter didn't get a good glance at the person who was directing the police towards his little sister, but he could tell even from far away. He recognizes them as one of the people who was sent on that mission to murder the Noble. Those people had found his little sister, and they were going to harm her. 

Hunter begged with a rasped voice, "...She's in danger..."

"That's not possible," said Tanya, firmly, "I don't even know where you're sister is in the first place."