A Haunting Melody: The Golden Lyre

05 | Zeta

The symbol Zeta (ζ), gives the hunter the ability to heal at an accelerated rate. This mark is received after the hunter survives a potentially mortal injury.

***

Astrid felt strained as she drove Daniel to her house. The disturbing sounds of Daniel's heavy breathing and small groans of pain were all that Astrid could hear above the steady revving of the car.

Although she was already breaching the speed limit, she sped up a little more, as she became more and more concerned about his condition. Daniel was unconscious by the time she pulled into the driveway.

She jumped out of the pickup as soon as she had pulled the handbrake up and immediately ran to the front door and banged on it with more panic than she usually cared to show.

It only took a minute before Neil opened the door and groggily rubbed at his eyes. He blinked at Astrid in confusion but soon realised that she was distressed.

"What the hell happened?" he asked in alarm as he stared at Astrid's bloody shirt in horror.

"Daniel's hurt and you need to help me get him inside," Astrid responded quickly.

"What?" he asked in shock, marching over to the car.

Astrid ran ahead of him and opened the back door to reveal Daniel, who was lying motionless on the back seat.

"What were you doing with Daniel in the first place?" Neil asked, stupefied, "Buddy, are you okay?" he asked worriedly, lightly slapping Daniel's cheek a few times.

Daniel let out a groan and slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times before Neil's face came into focus.

"Why didn't you take him to the hospital?" Neil held his hand to his forehead and took a step back.

"I tried but he refused!" Astrid replied defensively, crossing her arms.

"So you brought him here?" he asked frantically.

"What choice did I have?" Astrid asked irritably.

"Both of you shut up and get me inside!" Daniel said angrily, trying to slowly sit upright.

Astrid watched as fresh blood leaked from his wound, probably a result of the sudden movement.

"Arrgghh!" Daniel grunted in pain, clutching his side.

Neil and Astrid got on either side of him and lifted him to his unsteady feet, leading him into the house. Once they were inside, they carefully lowered him down onto the couch. Neil rushed away to look for their first-aid kit.

Astrid took a seat beside Daniel on the couch and took a look at him.

"Daniel, I'm going to have to remove your shirt," she said uncomfortably.

This was going to hurt him.

He tightened his eyes and scrunched up his face, "Just do it, then," he muttered.

She tentatively peeled his blood-soaked shirt up his torso, but when she reached his wound, he jerked his body and cursed under his breath. The wound looked worse than she had expected. His skin had been cut quite deeply, leaving a flap, under which Astrid could see exposed, bloody tissue.

"I don't know how bad it is so I just brought the whole first aid kit," Neil said as he walked into the lounge.

He stopped dead in his tracks as he laid eyes on Daniel's wound.

"Holy shit," Neil said in horror, putting a hand over his mouth.

Astrid let out a frustrated sigh as she remembered how squeamish Neil was around blood. She could see how pale he already looked and considered sending him out of the room.