Chapter 4

It was supposedly a relaxing post-match night, where both sides enjoy their free times without them having to see each other, but the thing that happened was the other way around.

The survivors' side of Oletus Manor had broke into chaos.

No one, even a single soul, could figure out what happened to Aesop and why his physical condition had gone to the point of utmost vulnerability.

"Aesop! What happened?!" The doctor said, her hands on the embalmer's forehead.

To her surprise, Aesop slapped her hand away, despite his current state.

Emily could feel the heat coming from him the moment his hand came into contact with that of hers.

It was intense.

"Before you blame anything on us, guys, we on behalf of Eli Clark and Naib Subedar, swear that we did nothing to him, okay? Absolutely nothing!" Both men said as everyone eyed them.

"Just because we live in the same floor as him doesn't mean we're the ones behind this, okay?! We're innocent!" Naib added, hands in the air.

"Bro, first of all, none of us are putting the blame on you two. We just think that you guys are the ones who know about this the most." William said, patting the mercenary's shoulder.

"Hands down, guys. You two are overreacting."

"Okay, thank you for understanding! I seriously don't want to get another knuckle sandwich from Emily, especially if its based on stuff I don't do!"

The two men were still defending themselves when Aesop finally opened his mouth.

"Guys, shush it! Aesop's talking!" Martha said before placing a finger on her lips.

"Aesop, hey, can you hear me? Hey. Talk to us."

The embalmer broke into tears, his shaky hands holding on Emily's.

"Please help me... it hurts..."

It was nothing but pure silence for a few minutes before Emily's psychological instincts chimed in.

"You guys leave. I'll handle him."

Martha stood still as everyone headed back to their activities.

"But Em--"

"Leave. This needs to be done in private."

***

"I swear we did absolutely nothing!"

Aesop's cries and Emily's stern look are the only things the survivors need to know that something is happening right between them. A bad one.

"Really? Then why won't he make any eye contact with you guys right when he said he's hurting?! He was avoiding you guys as he said that!"

"Vera."

"You guys act like babies and I really mean it! Causing chaos over the survivors' side, crashing and running into them, and now making someone cry and sick in pain. Wonder why you guys are one of the champions in this manor."

"Vera, please--" Kurt interrupted, pulling her away from the still shaken two men.

"I should've let the goddamn hunter beat you to death in that last match!"

That's when she realized she had went over the line way too much.

Her words had wounded them more than the ones they get from the hunters.

Eli's hands are now fists.

Biting his lips, he let out a huge sigh and dragged Naib with him.

"We'll excuse ourselves out. Let Emily and Aesop know once he feels better."

As the two left in anger and tears, the whole crowd cannot help but give Vera some piece of their minds.

Even William. He has been the one who has always been good at managing his anger. The one who keeps everyone's burdens in his shoulders. The one who offers the most help.

He was about to let Vera have it when Emily barged out of Aesop's room with sobs coming out of her.

He meant to let her have time to herself by heading back to the dining room where everyone is, but their eyes met in the process.

No words came out of their mouths, but it took less than a minute for the forward to figure out that the kind-hearted doctor has something to tell them.

Giving everyone the gesture to huddle up right where they are, William sighed.

"Huddle up, guys. Right now."

It was when Emily finally sat herself among the crowd.

Taking a huge breath and wiping her tears with her hands, she looked into the forward's eyes.

"It's okay, Em. Talk it out." Kurt said, placing his thumb on her palm, running small circles on it.

"What should I do now, Kurt? It's more than just a high fever. He is in pain. A lot of pain. I'm supposed to help him yet I'm here asking help. I feel so useless against him. I don't even know what to do anymore....."

The emotions she has been holding then broke loose.

"Shhh. You did great, okay? None of us here earns his trust but you. Besides, he only feels safe whenever he's around you. Isn't that just amazing, considering his personality?"

"I know." Emily sobbed. "But I really want to help him. I can't let him be like this all the time, Kurt. I can't!"

"Em. Did he say something other than being in pain?" William asked.

"It seems like his uneasy past is haunting him again....."

"So this has nothing to do with Eli and Naib, right?" The forward said, eyeing Vera even more within every word.

"No. Now please let me have some time to myself, guys. I will also be alerting the hunters that the upcoming night match will be cancelled, since Aesop was supposed to play in it yet he can't. Kurt, can you come with me? And the rest, please head back."

The crowd then left, with small sobs still coming out of Emily, leaving William and Vera to their own.

"You happy now, you fucking brainless human being?" The forward said, banging the table with his fist.

Nothing.

"You're no better than trash. Now get the fuck outta here and never ever show up before you apologize to my bros. Mess with them and I won't mind killing you. Twice."

Hunters' Side

JOSEPH

"By the way, new man, what's this skill about cameras you have? Tell me more!"

Here it goes again. Every of the hunters, or whatever they call it here, is huddling around me, just for the sake of skills. My skills.

"Guys, please stop calling me new man. I have a name. It's Joseph! Do I need to spell it out?!"

Seriously.

Yeah I gotta admit that they really know how to make a newcomer feel like home, especially if it's Michiko the Geisha and Jack the Ripper in the scene, but at the same time I just wanna kick the rest out.

"Awww the newcomer's mad!" Fan Wu Jiu said, ruffling my hair, much to my dismay.

Why tho? Why?

"I replicate worlds in this." I said, adjusting the camera in my hands.

Joker was about to ask me more when the alarm on our side went lose.

"What? The upcoming match has been cancelled?!"

Damn. Joker's voice is so loud that I can literally feel all the utensils shaking.

"Yeah. An emergency signal from the survivors. It seems like one of them got terribly sick that he's pretty much ineligible to play." Jack said, fixing his hat.

"Aw man! I wanted to show the new man who's the best of it all!" Joker whined.

"By the way, camera man, you still owe me an explanation!"

Jeez.

"Wait, matches can actually be cancelled?" I asked, putting back the camera I've been holding.

"Yeah, as long as it is a really emergency situation." Michiko explained.

"Well.... just as I thought. The survivor that got sick is that young man again!" Leo said, putting down his bat.

"The embalmer?"

"Yes, Jack."

"That guy gets sick a lot despite his height. Wonder what's wrong with him." Jack said before strutting back to his room.

"Joseph, let's head back. We have nothing to do now that the match is cancelled. Too bad. I wanted to show you what it's like."

I nodded, gesturing him to go ahead.

As everyone left, I can't help but think about what Jack and Leo had talked about earlier.

The embalmer. I don't know why, but I really like how that name sounds.