Allies? (2)

"Zaen WAKE UP!!!" Aeron yelled in despair, "PLEASE WAKE UP!!!"

He had always seen his brother as someone stronger than the rest of the world. Zaen was the perfect brother who always remained strong no matter what. It was thanks to Zaen's control over his emotions that they were able to do accept the fact that their parents might be dead and hence move forward even in their absence. Zaen always had Aeron's back. A fact that helped Aeron to focus on the things he was good at and excel in academics.

But after seeing Zaen in such a vulnerable state threw all of Aeron's knowledge and confidence right out of the window. In the end, he was just a fifteen-year-old kid. He knew he needed to focus if he wanted to save his brother. However, in his shocked state, nothing came into his mind.

SLAP!

Aeron slapped himself. He did it to knock some sense into himself. His brother was bleeding to death in front of him. This was not the time to be crying. He had to save his brother first and foremost. And for that, he had to get rid of useless thoughts that were occupying his mind. Thinking about what happened to Zaen won't do him any good. But thinking about the ways to save him would. He quickly got up and switched on the lights in Zaen's room to get a clear view of his wounds.

'The first step should be to clean the wound, but I don't have the time for that. It's more important to stop the bleeding first, then clean the wound later.' Aeron went into full analytical mode. He took the bedsheet off of the bed and tightly wrapped it around Zaen's wound. It wasn't much but it was enough to temporarily stop the bleeding.

Even though Zaen wasn't losing any more blood, or at least not as fast as before. Aeron was afraid that Zaen had already lost too much blood. However, he had to do what was necessary. Once the bleeding had more or less stabilised he took some of the antibacterial foam solution and carefully cleaned the wound but there wasn't much he could do after that. He was intelligent, but he was no doctor.

"I-I have to call Uncle Mack! Right! He could help Zaen!" Aeron reached out for his phone but before he could even dial Uncle Mack's number, he heard a voice behind him.

"Your brother will be dead before someone would arrive to help him." A feminine voice rang through the seemingly empty room, "It'll be better for you and your brother if you keep your phone down for now."

Aeron froze at that moment. He was sure no one else had been inside the room when he entered to check up on Zaen. Then how was the woman there?

'I lead them here!'

Aeron thought he saw a silhouette on the upper floor but had brushed it off thinking he was imagining things. But he was wrong. This woman was there. But who the hell was she? Was she the one responsible for harming Zaen? If that was the case, then both he and Zaen were in danger. He was Zaen's only hope for survival and now, Aeron didn't know what he was supposed to do.

'I can't let this woman do what she wants with Zaen...' Aeron thought before keeping his phone down just like he was told.

He then grabbed his baseball bat in a flash and swung it at her like a mad man. However, the woman wasn't alone. There was another man standing right behind him who caught the bat mid-swing.

"Whoa, Kiddo! Easy with that thing. You could blow a ghoul's head with it." The man laughed before taking the bat away from Aeron's grasp by force, "If you keep pulling this crap, your brother will be more or less a goner."

Aeron didn't know how he suddenly got so much courage in front of the strangers. But he rushed in front of Zaen and clenched his fists. Weak or not, he wasn't going to let these people harm his brother, not as long as he was alive. It was then he got a clear view of the two strangers.

Both of them were wearing a strange black rugged hoodie that covered most of their face. Aeron had a feeling that he had seen the hoodie before.

'Zaen was wearing the same hoodie before he went hunting the ghouls!'

Not only the hoodie, but he had seen Zaen wearing the same attire when he told Aeron about the ghouls and the Artifact. It couldn't be a coincidence that they were wearing the same clothes that Zaen was given by the Artifact.

"Who are you people? And what did you do to Zaen?" Aeron asked the two people, his fists were still drawn.

However, the instant Aeron asked them about their identities, they lifted their hoodies to reveal their faces without any hesitation.

Standing in front of him, the 6' 2" tall woman and frail with pale skin and had an earnest feel about her. She wore mascara around her beady dark green eyes while freckles ruled over her puffy cheeks. She wore her long, fine, dark brown hair in a tight bun. While her shorts tight shorts showed off her beautiful long legs.

The shirtless man, on the other hand, looked more like a thug. Despite his short height of 5'6", he had a body of an Olympian heavy weightlifter. Aeron could say that, unlike his partner, the brown-skinned man, was a bit of a fool. He didn't know why, but Aeron just knew about it. The man had closely shaven jet black hair which suited his physique and also had a deep scar, right below his left ear.

"Believe it or not, Aeron. We are here to help Zaen. And we did not do anything to him. I know you have your doubts, but now is not the time to answer them. We have to save your brother first." The woman mumbled after squatting down on Aeron's level, "You can have your phone with you and if you think we're going to harm Zaen in any way, then you can call whoever you like. But for now, keep your faith in us."