To Survive A Harem System - Lucas Owens' Edition

46 - Pride of a Nameless Hunter

"You're her older brother. You have to make sure she's safe." His words echoed through the deepest parts of my mind. The voice of my dad.

It was dark, like pacing through a cave without a light. It was quiet yet so saturated with my bodily sounds. My breathing and heartbeat were amplified as no other greater sound remained. As I blinked in this darkness, I could hear my eyelid move.

Walking aimlessly in the darkness, a small thread was the only thing I could see. It glows with an odd sheen. Warm yet so faint as it was tied to my finger. You could mistake it for one of the hallucinations the brain makes when nothing's there.

Despite that, I follow it all the same. The power coming from the thread is strong, getting stronger as I follow it.

Suddenly, I lost my footing. The ground below me had disappeared.

Pulled by gravity, I am dragged downwards. I fell a great length. Disorienting, I didn't even know where up and down was. The thread that was tied to me stretched to its limit. It snapped.

Headfirst, I felt an impact. Enveloped head to toe, I felt weightless and submerged. I felt pressure all around me as I sunk deeper into the depths. I couldn't move; I couldn't breathe.

To shut my eyes was all I could do. In darkness, I was pulled deeper.

And yet within the dark, I felt something bright getting ever so closer. This silhouette, the shape of a familiar yet indistinguishable person, reached out their hand.

A familiar feeling dragged me upwards. Towards the light. As my eyes crept open, the cold darkness was impaled by warm rays of light. The rippling of the water's surface was near, within my reach. It was bright, so blinding that I dared not to even open my eyes.

When I had breached through the surface, my eyes shot open.

"Now that's not a ceiling I recognize." I murmured.

As I sat up from the bed, I looked down at my hand. It was being held by El. She had fallen asleep while I was passed out.

My eyes gazed around the room. It was a hospital or some kind of clinic. I was stationed next to the window where it was night. It was undeniably Spotsville since the little saloon we were at before was right there a little down the street.  It looked a little better without all the windows being boarded up. Looks like they haven't repaired all the damage yet.

A splitting headache hit me, bringing me to let go of her hand. I thought too much right after waking up after that. Clutching my skull from the pain, I then realize my head was bandaged up.

That hit I received was brutal. I don't even know how long I've been out. How many days? Weeks even? The school trip should've been over for a while.

The next thing I realized was that my arm was in a cast and yet I moved it without any issue.

Slowly getting out of bed, I lose balance and reflexively catch myself with my left hand.

There wasn't any pain. There was none at all.

Prying myself up, I stumbled towards the door. My headache is making me lose my footing.

"Kffff... I... need some... water..."

I look down the hallway and spot the washroom sign. Reaching it, I stumble to the sink and wash my face.

Slowly, my headache would fade. That's when I heard footsteps stop by the door of the washroom.

Looking up towards the entrance, he leaned against the doorframe.

Raising his eyebrows, he smiled.

"Well, aren't you up and early!" John remarked.