Calm Wanderer
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(AKJ) Chapter 22 - The fate of the weak?
🕑 Added 2023-11-30 15:30:48 +0000 UTCDamovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V.
“It's okay, sweetie. It was him or us. You did the right thing. You don't need to cry over him.” She kept comforting him, while her fingers moved toward his cheeks, catching the few tears rolling down his face, something that his mind did not even register previously. His mind finally failed to suppress the guilt of killing three people, as whether they were guilty or not had little impact on his subconscious.
“It's okay, Dem. All of us are-are fine. That-that's what's important.” His petite cousin also did her best to make him feel better, her own inner turmoil apparent from her slight stuttering and her body shivering. After a few seconds of basking in the loving hug of those two wonderful women, his strained mind seemed to calm down, along with his heartbeat.
Feeling a lot better, the young man tapped softly on the two women's arms surrounding his body, his voice a lot firmer. “Thank you. I feel much better now. Although I'd love to stay in your embrace, we need to deal with the current situation quickly, or it'll be too late for us.”
The first few words brought a smile to the two women's faces, however, they let him go quickly as the latter words reached their ears. The three of them then stood up, before Adeliya instructed. “Demian, you should check that man's pockets. He's definitely got their car keys. In the meantime, I'll clean the front entrance and bring another plastic sheet. Sera dear, you should wait here while we're taking care of everything.”
“Got it!” Demian nodded while noting the slight disappointment on the younger woman's face, quickly hidden before she responded with a grunt of approval. As she was about to go retrieve what she needed, the older woman turned her face back briefly toward the brown-haired young man, her eyes examining his injured and naked upper torso before saying with a cocked eyebrow. “And put on a shirt, while you're at it.”
She then left to get the cleaning supplies and plastic sheet. Chuckling at her last instruction, the young man turned his gaze toward Seraphine's slightly frowning face, before lifting his right hand to caress her tender cheek and teasing her. “Don't frown, Sis, or you'll get wrinkles on your pretty face.”
His gesture and words made her blush, while a small snort of fake displeasure escaped her. But he did not care since a discreet but happy smile replaced the previous frown. Snickering at her not-so-honest reaction, he then switched his focus back to the task at hand.
Walking a few steps to reach the blood-oozing corpse, Demian bent down to check the man's pants pockets. Fortunately, the search area was quite small, making it easy for him to find what he was looking for, alongside a smartphone and a wallet. When he spotted the device, a sudden idea came to him, prompting him to take the smartphone and turn it off, before doing the same thing with the other two men's ones.
Once done, he warned Sera and swiftly left for his room to get a non-descript black shirt before coming back to help his Aunt with wrapping the third body into the sheet, and cleaning the whole corridor and part of the entrance. As everything was ready, Demian went to turn off the TV. However, before pushing the power button on the remote, a smile appeared on his face at the words of the TV host.
[AND THE FRENCH SHE-WOLF GOT TKOED AFTER FOUR BREATHTAKING ROUNDS OF THE BEST FIGHT I'VE SEEN IN YEARS!! THE BLAZING VALKYRIE THUS WINS THE MATCH AND BECOMES THE STRONGEST HEAVYWEIGHT FEMALE FIGHTER OF THE FIGHTING WORLD LEAGUE!!!] He then switched it off and left for the entrance, while a few discreet words left his mouth.
“We both won tonight, Big Sis...” Reaching the entrance, he locked the door behind him since the other two were already in the corridor, ready to leave. Facing them, he then asked his surprisingly knowledgeable Aunt. “Aunty, are we using the elevator?”
His question elicited a small nod from her. “Yes. It'd be too troublesome to lift those three all the way down. Especially with your current injuries.” Frowning slightly, the young man added. “Isn't there a camera inside though?” A low sigh escaped her at his words. “I know...” Shaking her head, she then added. “But again, those guys may have taken care of it for us.”
Pondering for a few seconds, the brown-haired man suddenly felt that he understood her meaning. “You think they've done the same thing as with the cops?” Nodding her head once, before shaking it, she responded. “I can't say for sure, but there's a high chance. After all, there are cameras in the lobby downstairs, and the footage could be used against them if we were found missing.”
Scratching his chin in frustration, Demian retorted. “I'm growing quickly tired of relying on 'maybes' and 'ifs'.” Patting his shoulder, the mature woman directed a grin at him. “It's because we're weak. If we were Supes, they would never dare touch us. In any case, we need to move now.” She finished her words while opening the elevator's door by pushing the button on the wall.
“The fate of the weak, uh...?” He muttered before shaking his head to remove extraneous thoughts and grabbed one of the plastic-wrapped bodies and started dragging it toward the empty cabin, while his Aunt and his cousin did the same with another. With the three people, the three plastic 'rugs' were quickly put into the cabin, with one over the other two, avoiding the awkward situation of having to step on them.
As the mature redhead pushed the 'ground floor' button, the doors closed swiftly before they felt the cabin dropping toward the bottom of their building. The descent was quick but silent since the three felt weary after experiencing such a stressful situation, not to mention the fact that they were not out of the woods yet.
Once they arrived downstairs, Adeliya instructed. “The two of you stay here while I go get the car and park it in front of the entrance. We'll then put the 'rugs' inside the trunk. and we'll leave then.” Hesitating for a second, Demian proposed. “Aunty, I thought of something.”
Cocking her eyebrow in surprise, she asked looking intrigued. “What is it?” “Since we need to get rid of the 'rugs' car then we'll need a ride back, right?” Looking slightly frustrated, the woman retorted. “I know, but Sera can't exactly drive and you've got neither a license nor know how to drive. So we'll need to find another way back.”
“Actually...” He paused for a few seconds, due to the doubts plaguing his mind. However, the older woman's next words gave him the push needed to say it. “Come on, dear. If you've got an idea, say it. We can't waste time here.” “Right, sorry. I wanted to say that I know how to drive, so I can get the Rav4 if you want. That way, it'll be less troublesome.”
The silence following his words felt excruciating to the young man, especially since he could see the doubts in the woman's eyes as she looked into his eyes. The obvious questions in her gaze greatly exacerbated his inner insecurities, making him feel very uncomfortable. Thankfully, the awkward situation ended as a coughing sound resounded in the cabin.
“Mom, you just said that we can't waste time, and since Dem offered to get the car, why don't you let him do it?” Sera said in a clear bid to save him from the trouble of explaining himself further. Shifting her gaze to look briefly at her blind daughter, the mature woman then turned back to look at her nephew and retorted in a tired voice.
“Fine. Here.” She held the keys to her car toward him and added as he grabbed them. “I'll go park the car while you take Sera to get the car from the garage to the building's front. We'll then transport the 'rugs'. We can leave them inside the elevator in the meantime since there's a digital lock.”
As the two cousins nodded, she left the elevator. Pushing the 'garage' button, the doors swiftly closed and the cabin started moving down. A few moments later they reached the 'public' garage before moving toward their own, unlocking it and closing it behind them.
While walking toward the SUV, the brown-haired teenager kept his cousin's delicate hand in his, his thoughts a bit chaotic as the previous scene kept replaying in his mind. Opening the front passenger's door, the young man guided the young woman to sit in the front seat before closing the door and dashing toward the driver's side.
Once seated in the driver's seat, Demian looked around the dashboard, taking a few moments to remember how to operate the vehicle. 'Two decades without driving a car will do that to you. Though it’s a lucky thing that Mom not only forced me to learn how to drive a manual but also forced me to drive her old car when I went to visit her!'
Turning the ignition on, he directed the car toward the exit, before crossing it as the gate opened automatically in front of him. While driving the car toward the front of the building, he could not help but tell Sera. “Thanks for earlier, Sis.” Shaking her head at his words, she responded with a warm smile.
“Don't worry about it! I know that you've got secrets. Actually, Mom and Bryn also do. But we'll wait till you're ready to share.” Her kind intention made his heart feel warm, causing him to realize how stupid he was acting by not telling his loved ones of his previous memories.
'Aren't they just memories of my past life? I'm still me and I still love them, so why should I care if my name is Demian or Damian? In the end, both are me.' He thought, finally making up his mind as to what he wanted to do. Following his decision, he declared while grabbing the woman's hand and squeezing it softly. “When we're done with the current mess, I'll tell you everything.”
Squeezing his hand back, Seraphine replied. “I'd like that.” His heart started to beat faster at the implication of their agreement, while his gaze could not help but be attracted to her adorable smile and the captivating red hue painting her delicate cheeks.
Her beauty plunged him into a light daze which almost resulted in a collision with the car parked in front of them. Fortunately, he hurriedly stomped on the brakes, forcing the heavy vehicle to a standstill, right behind the parked Toyota.
Letting out a breath of relief, he exclaimed. “We're here.” His eyes briefly examined the building's entrance on his right, with his Aunt waiting for him. Despite the distance, he could see the relief on her face, which most likely resulted from the fact that he avoided having an accident. As the young man inwardly scolded himself for not focusing on the road, his train of thought was interrupted by a silky voice coming from beside him.
“It's better if I stay inside since I'd just slow you guys down.” Turning his face toward her, he gently replied after a small sigh escaped him. “Alright. I won't be long, then.” He then left the car and moved toward Adeliya who narrowed her eyes at him and was about to say something to him. However, he preempted her reproach by lifting his hand in the air and saying with an amused smile on his face. “Sorry, Aunty. I was a bit distracted for a moment.”
Shaking her head at his words, she decided not to comment and instead replied. “Come help me.” The two then went to transfer the bodies from the elevator to the goons' SUV, taking only a few minutes to finish their task. Looking at the three white plastic 'rugs' hiding the corpses, Demian had a sudden thought. 'We're lucky they had an SUV with retractable backseats, or we'd never have been able to fit them inside.'
He then moved his focus toward his gorgeous and mysterious Aunt and asked. “What now?” She looked back and with a knowing smile on her face, she responded. “Now, I'll call someone to help deal with this... situation.”
