The Moon's soft light illuminated the path Ethan needed to cross to reach Serrano's family car.
Being able to see the cobblestone road clearly allowed him to move with brisk steps despite the precious and fragile cargo he was carrying in his arms, and for that Ethan was grateful to Earth's eternal satellite.
Time was of the essence, after all.
That is also why Ethan couldn't help but scowl once he spotted Laura, just standing outside her car. The teenager had her arms folded in a way that made her petite frame appear even smaller, indicating clear fright. It was not an unexpected reaction, as her wide eyes were locked on the shattered glass wall of Daniela's kitchen… and what looked like a dead body at its base.
On the one hand, Ethan couldn't truly blame her for just gawking outside - she was not his loyal driver that just mindlessly followed his orders with unquestioning obedience, after all. On the other hand, he could not entirely suppress his boiling frustration at the delay he now had to deal with, so a barking order to indicate his displeasure and to hurry the girl along was let loose.
"Get back in the car, Laura!"
At the sound of his voice, she snapped out of her stupor. Blinking her large eyes at him, the girl appeared frenetic as her gaze leapt from Ethan's face to the precious cargo in his arms. For a second, she looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, but thankfully she regained her capacity for speech quickly enough…at least partially.
"Is ttthat Dani!? Wwwhat happened?!"
Ethan remembered that Laura had some stuttering issues when his family had just arrived in Valencia, but with some speech therapy she had managed to mostly overcome it. The fact that it showed up now after all that time was a clear indication that the girl was under notable distress.
Through the haze of his own worry, Ethan's ability to empathize with others was somewhat diminished, but not enough that he'd fail to comprehend that Laura was far outside her own comfort zone, perhaps even close to panicking outright. His aggressive tone was not helping keeping her calm.
More than that, Ethan had to mentally admit that he had no right to be that forceful in the first place, as Laura hardly owed him this enormous favor she was doing him right now by promptly showing up in her father's car in the middle of the night.
Somewhat humbled by that train of thought, Ethan did his best to adopt a composed expression as he tried to reiterate his point in a calmer voice, "Everything is going to be alright, but we should hurry back to my house, Laura."
Much has been left unsaid, but not only they had no time for a proper explanation, Ethan also figured that Laura had no need to learn the grisly details in the first place. He had already dragged this innocent teenager into something she has no business being in - the less she knew, the better she'd sleep. He was certain that ignorance was bliss in their particular case.
Regardless, his focused but calm gaze, combined with his direct yet composed tone did the trick in alleviating some of the crippling fear from Laura's frame. Though it was obvious that a thousand questions still danced behind her wide-open brown eyes, Laura gave a curt nod and, without being asked to, moved to assist Ethan by opening the front passenger door.
Nodding in gratitude in turn, Ethan proceeded to gently place Daniela down on the seating before affixing her unconscious body in place with a seat belt. The redhead was not a small woman, so it was not an effortless process. Still, Ethan found himself mentally thanking himself for sticking with his gym routine during his two years in Spain, allowing him to handle Daniela's body with delicacy it needed right now.
"Wwwould you like to drive?" Laura inquired in a shaky tone once Ethan closed the passenger door and turned to face her.
Giving just one glance at her shaky hands, Ethan provided a brisk reply, "Sure." Not wasting any more time, the man then got into the driver's seat, with Laura mirroring him from the other side of the vehicle, taking the seat right behind Daniela. Before they drove off, she gave another look towards the forlorn house they were about to leave behind - a gesture that was not lost on Ethan as he carefully inspected her face through the rear view mirror.
The car purred to life under Ethan's experienced guidance. Driving off, he couldn't help but sneak a couple of peaks at both Daniela and Laura - the latter of which looked to be on the verge of panic.
Though he tried to focus on the road, he couldn't help but vividly picture Marcus Serrano - Laura's father and a stoic man of few words - punching him in the mouth for dragging his only daughter into this horrible mess. Good thing he happened to be in Madrid for his own work trip at the moment.
"Oh, god…" Laura's whimper reaffirmed Ethan's grim musings. "Is ttthat blood…? Dani's blood?" He glanced behind his shoulder, only to see the teenager staring at their unconscious front seat passenger, whose head had drooped limply to the right. Daniela's red hair was indeed painted with ominous streaks of crimson tonight.
In a private moment of macabre humor, Ethan briefly wondered, what would be more disturbing for Laura to hear - the lie that it was indeed Daniela's blood, or the truth that it was the blood of the men slain by Daniela.
"Ssshouldn't we go to the hospital, Mr. Winters?" she continued, fright plain in her voice and body language alike.
Ethan bit into his lip.
"No."
While Laura considered Daniela to be a peculiar and eccentric foreigner, she had no idea about her true nature. Ethan had no intention to change that state of things. But even more importantly, he had to reiterate his previous subtle hints about the importance of keeping Daniela's identity a secret.
"No hospitals."
Laura was a bright girl and she understood the meaning behind these words clearly, even if she had no idea about the true reason behind the need for subtlety. She did not demand immediate clarification, but the frightened expression on her face slowly gave way to a pensive one. She started breathing deep to calm herself down.
Focusing on the road, Ethan executed a couple of simple turns after reaching the crossroad of their neighborhood. The police car from earlier was nowhere to be seen, making Ethan sigh with relief. Likewise, the streets were as deserted as when he had walked here by foot. The man could only pray that there would be no witnesses that could clearly tie him or Daniela to the massacre that took place under the Duke's roof.
Less than a minute later, Ethan parked Serrano's car next to his own. The short drive proved blessedly uneventful, doing wonders in regards to Ethan's composure, but it also had a peculiar side-effect of emboldening Laura.
As they got out of the vehicle, the teenager once again reminded Ethan that she possessed a fiery temper that would not tolerate being used and kept in the dark.
Folding her arms, this time in a clear demonstration of a challenge, Laura spoke in a voice that was not entirely free of fright-induced stuttering, yet was still mostly dominated by a surprising amount of determination.
"Look, Mr. Wwinters - Ethan," she corrected herself, suddenly remembering how he himself had asked her to refer to him by his first name, "I did as you asked, but if you expect me to keep quiet about all thhis," she waved her arms in a frustrated manner, "I thhink you should come clean about just wwhat the hell is going on."
Ethan couldn't help but respect her boldness - Laura's sense of self-worth would not be denied that easily. Nevertheless, his expression soured into one of frustration, as Daniela still required his immediate attention and he could not waste time on the pouty girl opposite of him.
"Daniela comes first," Ethan grunted before leaning into the car once again to disengage Daniela's seat belt. Again, it was not that easy to safely pick the tall redhead from the confines of the car, but Ethan was up to the task and soon she was safely held in his arms once more.
Laura's lips narrowed into a thin line, but she did not complain. Instead, she hurriedly followed the man along, matching and then surpassing his pace as she correctly assumed that the door to his house was locked and that, burdened as he was, he would require assistance in opening it. Without being told to, she fished in her jeans pocket for the spare key that had been entrusted to her and unlocked the door before holding it open for Ethan and the redhead held in his arms.
"Thanks," Ethan expressed his gratitude as he marched inside, with Laura doing likewise. She then went on to provide further assistance by flicking the lights in the foyer on.
As it became painfully obvious that Laura was not going to go away, Ethan let out a small sigh, though he also felt a measure of relief. Truthfully, he felt somewhat encouraged that he was not in it all by himself, though he was still understandably tentative about involving the teenager in this whole mess for even an iota more than she already was.
"Daniela needs a warm bath," Ethan stated bluntly, quite aware of how ridiculous it may have sounded.
Laura appeared dumbstruck for a moment, so Ethan elaborated even as he made his way upstairs where the bathtub was located, grunting in effort all the while, "She is suffering from hypothermia."
It had to be an outlandish condition for a warm and sunny Valencia, but Laura did not question him further, even though her eyes widened to a notable degree. Instead, she darted past him, "I'll fill the tube!"
"Thank you, Laura," Ethan replied gratefully after her.
As Laura hurried into the bathroom, Ethan moved towards his bedroom first, where he carefully placed Daniela on the bed. He spared her a longing glance that conveyed the full breadth of his remorse for the part he played in inducing that unenviable state in her, before kneeling next to the bed.
The image of her sorrowful face did not fade from his mind as he swiftly rummaged through the box - a large med-kit that he had dragged from under the bed.
There was some frustration in his motion as he discarded unrelated bottles of pills and a pack of band-aids. "Damn this mess… where was it?"
"Ah…" his fingers finally grabbed the object his eyes were looking for - a pack of small injector syringes. Manufactured by a Chinese giant Shén Yà Pharmaceutical, these were marketed as universal stimulants that were intended to help a body to mobilize all of its resources during a time of a crisis. He knew that it was hardly a panacea, but Ethan was hopeful that it would provide at least some help to the redhead's body.
For good measure, he also grabbed a bottle of powdered green herb. It was considered to be a potent disinfectant with a mildly curative effect to boot for most ordinary humans, but Ethan remembered that it had a far more pronounced healing potency for those with mold in their veins - from his own painful experience. Maybe it could help Daniela too?
Kicking the med-kit back, Ethan stood up before leaning over Daniela's still frame. Because she had no visible injuries, applying green herb powder directly was not a feasible course of action, but Ethan imagined that it could still bring some benefit if employed in a different capacity, so he pocketed the bottle for now and focused his attention on locating a suitable vein for the syringe he held in his other hand.
Considering how pronounced her veins were right now, it was not hard to find one, so all Ethan had to do was to prepare the syringe and inject the unconscious woman with the stimulant straight into the median cubital vein in her left elbow area. He did just that with a surprisingly steady hand.
As he tossed the empty syringe aside, he hoped that she would soon be awake enough to forgive him for the common side effects of that particular medicine: nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
"Just a second, Dani…" the man muttered as he hurriedly moved to check on the bath next.
True to her word, Laura was filling the tube with steamy-hot water - a fact that caused Ethan to frown. He quickly intervened by taking over and nudging the hot tap down a notch. "I said warm bath, not a hot one, Laura," Ethan commented patiently, understanding that not everyone knew about the ways to treat hypothermia, especially around these parts. A hot bath could do more harm than good to Daniela's fragile body right now. "You can't expose a hypothermia victim to a sudden and significant temperature change."
"Sorry…" Laura sheepishly looked down, appearing ashamed of her understandable ignorance. Ethan just shook his head in a never mind gesture, more interested in adjusting the water temperature than further discussion.
Now, Ethan wasn't exactly sure that this piece of conventional wisdom applied to Daniela's peculiar physiology, but he had found her surprisingly human-like in most physical interactions so far - there was no reason to risk it by exposing her to overly hot water.
Once the level of water was sufficiently high to submerge most of a person, as well as warm enough for his purpose, Ethan went back to his bedroom.
Daniela hadn't moved an inch from where he laid her. Reverently, Ethan leaned over her a bit.
"You're gonna be alright, Dani," the man whispered before taking off the blankets that had hopefully been providing a measure of warmth to her frame all throughout this time. He did not stop at that - next, he pulled her bloodied jeans down, revealing a pair of ashen legs. It was not the first time he had performed this exact act, but this time there was no room for arousal of any kind in his mind or body alike. All that drove him forward was concern and the desire to heal Daniela.
Still, he did not touch her black underwear, seeing no reason to intrude upon her modesty any more than he had to. He did remove her precious silver locket, however, placing it on the nightstand for now.
Lifting Daniela up with tenderness of a lover, Ethan proceeded to carry her towards the bathtub. The moment he stepped inside, Laura's eyes immediately locked upon the horrific scar that marked the left part of Daniela's temple - now fully exposed to her gaze. It was the first time the teenager saw it. The horror in her eyes spoke volumes about what she thought about it, but Ethan's considerations lied elsewhere at the moment, so he pretended to ignore the gasp of fright that escaped Laura's lips.
Carefully, with every movement filled with consideration and affection alike, Ethan submerged Daniela's body up to her neck in the bathtub, his keen eyes observing her body for any signs of resistance meanwhile. There was none, as if she was a lifeless doll.
With Daniela lying quietly in the full bathtub, Ethan's fingers reached into his pocket for the powdered green herb, which he then generously sprayed over the water; the tiny particles eagerly coalesced with the liquid, giving it a slight greenish hue. Unless one was an eccentric millionaire, it was hardly cheap enough to justify squandering a whole bottle like that in an ordinary situation, but Ethan wasn't in the mood to count pennies right now. All he cared about was making Daniela feel better.
All the while, Laura observed quietly, taking the time to gather her wits and regain her composure. "What now?" Finally the babysitter inquired, though her gaze kept roaming across Daniela's body, only to inevitably return to her temple every once in a while.
More for his own benefit rather than Laura's, Ethan wished that he could respond to that question with some solid, reliable answer. "Now we wait…" was the only one he found himself able to provide, while omitting a certain part of it. And pray…
"Okay…" Laura mumbled somberly. There was not a wink of sleep in her eyes now and it was clear that she was not planning to go back home even though her services were no longer needed. Ethan couldn't help but smile a little at that - despite how little Daniela and Laura had actually interacted, it was plain to see that the petite babysitter had already grown fond of the redhead. He wasn't sure whether to attribute that to Laura's caring nature or Daniela's charming exterior - perhaps both factors were at play here. Regardless, he wasn't going to shoo the girl away, especially in the middle of the night and after everything she had seen.
They brought a couple of chairs from downstairs and sat next to the tube and simply proceeded to wait…
It was not the best of plans, and Ethan found himself gnawing on his lip as he chastised himself for not eliciting the Duke's phone from Daniela when he had the chance to do so. That obese merchant would surely know some enigmatic remedy that could've helped the redhead recover.
Having nothing better to do, Ethan tenderly scrubbed the dried blood off her body before settling into his chair once he was satisfied with his work.
An hour passed in almost utter silence as the two of them reverently observed Daniela, with Ethan occasionally warming the tube's contents by draining the colder water and adding some hot one to replace it. The air was tense with uncertainty, so they spoke little.
A part of him pondered on the possibility of him returning to her residence in a likely futile bid to scour it clean from the elusive evidence of his presence there. Perhaps if he went right now, he could beat cops to the scene of crime; Laura would watch over Daniela in the meantime…
…but then what? Ethan scratched at the back of his neck as he considered all the things he had carelessly touched in that house over the last two weeks; all the furniture he had sat or laid on. Given the limited timeframe at his disposal, other than setting fire to the whole damn place, he could not find a scenario in which he would successfully eliminate all the traces of his DNA there…
A sound of a passing siren, coming from outside his house, interrupted his musings in a single, painful heartbeat. The noise died down soon enough as the police vehicle made its way past his house and presumably down towards Daniela's part of the neighborhood, but its effect lingered with the man for several minutes as the implications sunk in.
Ethan shared a glance with Laura, who had also tensed up from the sound. Letting out a sigh, he made his peace with the fact that it was simply too late to meddle with the investigation that now appeared inevitable.
Nevertheless, he was able to find some comfort in the assumption that there would still be quite some time before cops would come knocking on his door; and while his DNA inside that house would raise some red flags, there was likely no way they could tie him to actual murders - he still had plenty of time to invent some story and deny all knowledge of the grisly deed.
As long as there were no witnesses and Daniela herself was not found, Ethan presumed that there would be insufficient evidence to charge him for anything illegal.
It was nothing but his own conjecture, but for now it was good enough to soothe his frayed nerves and Ethan focused his attention on Daniela once again.
Failing to suppress a yawn, Laura inquired whether Ethan wanted coffee, as she was about to head down to make some. At Ethan's offer to just go and sleep she merely scoffed, seemingly disappointed that he would attempt to dismiss her like that.
While the teenager was gone, Ethan became emboldened enough to inspect Daniela's body more carefully.
Visually, she had not changed all that much since he had found her lying next to the freezer, but a more tactile approach made that spark of wishful thinking ignite into a full blown bonfire of hope.
Daniela's skin lost some of these crystal-like qualities it possessed an hour ago, no longer feeling as brittle or hard to Ethan's touch. Instead, as he gently glided his fingers across her shoulder, her body felt alive to the overjoyed man - softer and warmer - almost like it was supposed to be.
Even more importantly, once Ethan's fingers reached Daniela's graceful wrist, he was able to sense a very faint but reassuringly steady pulse.
It seemed that his homemade therapy, while simple, was starting to bear fruit and Ethan was unable to prevent his lips from forming a smile. The signs of happiness at her apparent improvement infected his posture and expression alike, and that is when Laura walked back in, a delicious smell of coffee accompanying her.
"Is she getting better?" Laura inquired in a hopeful tone as she offered him a cup of coffee. There was no hint of a stutter in her voice now. Shockingly, her expression and tone alike differed little from her ordinary self-assured ways. It seemed like the petite babysitter had mostly recovered from the shock of the violent night…
Ethan accepted the coffee after straightening up next to the bathtub. "I think so…" he mumbled noncommittally in return, somehow feeling superstitious enough that he wanted to avoid potentially hexing Daniela with anything that could sound overly optimistic.
"She will get better," disregarding Ethan's unspoken worries, Laura declared with absolute certainty in her tone, one that was only possible for youthful teenagers like her to possess, as they had yet to experience the bitter cruelty of the world. "Dani is strong," she added as she noticed Ethan's unconvinced expression at her previous bold statement.
In turn, Ethan allowed himself to smirk a little at the enthusiastic girl at his side, before taking a sip from his coffee. It brought instant relief to his senses with its rich and strong flavor, making the man's whole body feel a tiny bit better. "That she is," he finally acknowledged Laura's conviction, in concord with her brief appraisal of the redhead.
Daniela was strong, enduring in body and resilient in spirit. She lived through so much horror, yet remained a lively and cheerful woman - until tonight.
Once again taken by the sudden onset of remorse for the part he played in pushing Daniela towards the edge, Ethan leaned over to lovingly caress her red locks of hair. Though a part of him felt like he deserved to have his insides gnawed on by the guilt, the man found himself determined to focus his entire being into a positive force that could see Daniela restored to health, not descend into a destructive and unproductive spiral of self-loathing.
"She will get better," he unintentionally parroted Laura's earlier statement, despite his earlier wavering approach - channeling his own innermost desires more than anything else as he did so
The atmosphere of tense uncertainty did not vanish entirely, but it dissipated just enough for the two of them to not continue their vigil in grim silence.
Nevertheless, the small talk that followed was conducted in reverent tones and did not stray into irrelevant topics: Ethan inquired about when Laura's father was returning to Valencia, while Laura herself kept pestering him about uncomfortable questions related to Daniela's past; with his own coming into question once it became clear to her that he was deliberately vague about the details of the redhead's life.
It was obvious that Laura had bounced back from whatever shock and fright that kept her lips sealed before, once again becoming that talkative and inquisitive girl that he knew so well. He almost wished for that not to be the case.
The next thirty minutes passed uneventfully, though Ethan couldn't help but get tingles of frustration from creeping into his tone as he contended with the unrelenting babysitter.
Before, she had understood not to pry too much into Ethan's past or Daniela's life; truthfully, Ethan was quite sure that Laura was even afraid of the redhead - justifiably so. But now, as the teenager beheld the older woman in her most vulnerable state, that fear had seemingly evaporated. Moreover, to Ethan it felt as if Laura thought herself officially initiated into their little circle just because she answered his call to arms in the middle of the night. She no longer saw herself as a stranger to their plight, but a direct accomplice.
Perhaps such thinking was not entirely unwarranted, but Ethan was still quite reluctant to discuss anything about the darker aspects of their lives with this innocent girl.
Beyond his obvious concerns about trust, he cared about Laura's own well-being. He thought that it was still not too late for her to turn back; to not get sucked into this world of bioterror and monsters of theirs.
With that in mind, Ethan purposefully ignored three of Laura's seemingly unrelated next questions: the one about how he and Daniela met, about what had truly occurred in her residence tonight and whether she was hiding from someone in a position of authority.
He thought that his silence would cause her to lose interest, but it did nothing except to swell the frustration of being left in the dark within her chest.
Laura glanced angrily at Ethan, before settling her scrutinizing gaze on Daniela's frame once again.
In turn, Ethan started to have a bad feeling creep back into his stomach once he gazed at Laura's pensive expression that was only partially concealed from him by her ebony locks. The gears in her mind were working on overdrive and he was afraid that she would use her vivid imagination to fill the blanks left by his vague answers and silent treatment alike.
Still, he never saw her next question coming. He should have.
"Daniela isn't entirely human, is she?"
The shock Ethan experienced in this moment as Laura asked this question was short-lived, but intense, making his eyes rapidly jump to and fro Daniela's body and Laura's own face
"Wha…?" He couldn't respond with anything but that incoherent mumble as his brain struggled to process just how to handle this new revelation that Laura managed to unearth.
In hindsight, it wasn't that unexpected that she would come to this conclusion after beholding Daniela's body as it appeared right now: ashen complexion, partially translucent and cracked skin, clearly visible black-purplish veins, amber-colored eyes, a monstrous scar - all of these things were peculiar on their own, but together…
There was little wonder in how a bright girl like Laura could put two and two together, and Ethan realized that he had nobody to blame but himself because it was he who allowed her to stay for this procedure which unveiled Daniela's body in all of its inhuman glory.
As if to confirm his thoughts, Laura turned her head to glare at him, her ebony locks swerving with the suddenness of her motion. "I am not stupid, you know?"
She really wasn't, yet her tender age and lithe figure made it all too easy to underestimate her.
Confronted with her accusing gaze, Ethan still found himself unable to simply admit to the truth, yet he refused to outright lie, so he merely hardened his own expression and said nothing. A part of his mind groaned in annoyance, wondering just when he was going to learn that staying silent was never going to fix anything.
As that enlightened aspect expected, Laura took the silence as a challenge. One that she eagerly accepted as she glanced over her shoulder.
"That scar she has - I saw something similar in one of the articles on bioweapons I was reading recently."
Ethan's expression shifted into one of bewilderment and shock once again at the casual tone with which Laura spoke about such a dire subject. In turn, Laura did not even blink as she calmly continued.
"It spoke about lab-grown parasites being implanted into human hosts to create obedient supersoldiers and stuff."
Ethan was completely lost for words. Sure, he was familiar with Laura's fervent interest in pharmaceutical corporations and her desire to eventually start a career in that sector, but he had no idea the things she spoke about now were a part of the public domain. Superpower-granting parasites? That sounded like science fiction… but it was also the harsh truth, though it was far uglier in reality than in the comics he had read as a kid.
Miranda had opened the Pandora box, and to Chris' many woes, her research had outlived its creator - the gruff captain himself had recently complained to Ethan about how her cadou-derived monstrosities were popping up all over the world during the last three years. But to think that even an ordinary teenager like Laura could know enough about it to recognize it… that baffled Ethan's mind.
Apparently, Laura took his shocked expression as all the confirmation she needed. Her brown eyes widened in misplaced revelation.
"That's what Dani is? An unwitting victim of these mad scientists who kidnap innocent girls so they can run their insane experiments on them?!"
Horrified by her own theory, Laura covered her mouth with both of her hands. Her eyes grew comically wide.
In turn, Ethan tried to hush the frenetic girl down, as her volume risked waking Rose up, but to no avail. Gazing at him with wonder in her expressive eyes, she continued her baseless conjecture in an even wilder direction.
"And you - what is your connection to her? Ah!" No sooner than she asked the question, Laura apparently had the answer to it cooked up all by herself. An accusing finger pointed his way. "You must have rescued her from them! That is why the two of you are so close!"
Ethan wanted to protest - in a way it was Daniela who had rescued him, but Laura allowed no words to leave his lips as her own blabbering mouth continued in its rapid-fire mode.
"And now these mad scientists are here for her and Dani got hurt while driving them off!"
The man stood slack-jawed for a moment, stunned into silence by her vivid imagination and quick thinking alike. Naturally, many aspects of her swiftly-concocted theory were plainly wrong, but Ethan couldn't help but marvel at how close to the truth her conjecture was.
Laura glared at him with victorious anticipation, presumably eager for him to admit how correct she was.
Faced with the potential of involving an innocent teenager into something so dark; something that could bring her no shortage of legal troubles and even mortal peril, Ethan swallowed in fright as he considered his next course of action.
He could not refute it all; Ethan knew that he was a shitty liar and that Laura was just too damn smart for her own good. But could he truly come clean about his and Daniela's past - without redhead's consent to disclose her secrets, to boot?
That was a conundrum he did not want to face, and that awoke a darker side of Ethan. The one that wanted to forcefully remind Laura about her place, to tell her to shut the hell up and remember who the goddamn adult in the room was. That her services were no longer needed and that she should just go to fucking bed, where all good girls should be at 6:00 a.m. anyway.
Of course, as he was confronted with her bright eyes, indignant yet hopeful, Ethan understood that such a course of action would achieve nothing but alienate and aggravate this fiery teenager.
Then, for a second he wondered what would've Mia done in his situation right now. Strangely, for whatever dark reason, he couldn't help but vividly imagine his tender and caring wife putting her surprisingly strong hands around Laura's thin neck. With how slight the teenager's build was, it was not inconceivable to consider that even a small woman like Mia would have no trouble overpowering the girl. The unconsciousness would come in mere ten seconds of constant pressure on either carotid arteries or the jugular. Death would follow within five minutes.
Mia would then calmly straighten up, knowing that this nosy teenager would never bother her again, nor would she threaten to reveal her secrets. A small smirk would play on her lips. For just a second, Ethan could all but see Mia standing over Laura's corpse.
Horrified, Ethan shook the intrusive vision off. He had absolutely no idea just why in the hell would he think about something awful like that. The very notion made him want to puke. Even if murdering Laura would have solved some of his problems, he would never consider doing something inhuman like that.
Except he just did consider it, didn't he? Even if he, for some unfathomable reason, used Mia as an avatar for the ghastly deed. As if his harmless wife would ever do something terrible like that!
A dark giggle that seemingly came from the depth of his psyche made him doubt that last assumption, though he could not rationally explain it.
His face must have visibly paled from his horrible train of thought, as now Laura was looking at him curiously.
As disturbed as he was by this sudden onset of uncharacteristic viciousness, Ethan focused on the reality of his situation right now, though it took some effort. He knew that he had to deal with Laura, one way or another. The crushing guilt that emerged in the wake of the vicious hallucination caused him to soften his expression.
The man let out a tired sigh that demonstrated just how utterly exhausted he was, in body and mind. He rubbed his temple with repeating, slow motion, as if willing the words to form.
"Look, Laura…"
A new presence interrupted whatever he wanted to say next.
"Daddy? Laura?"
The perplexed voice of his blameless baby girl broke through the gloom of mistrust that settled in the bathroom in an instant.
Frowning lightly as she stepped into the bathroom barefoot, little Rose tried to rub the sleep from her eyes with her left hand, while her right hand kept her beloved teddy bear close to her chest.
Rose was the very picture of innocence. Her presence immediately calmed everyone present, causing them both to feel ashamed at the fact that they apparently disturbed her rest.
Making for a peculiar sight, both Ethan and Laura simultaneously reached an arm towards the girl; the ingrained instincts of a caring babysitter all but matching that of a loving father in their aim to soothe their mutual charge.
"Why are you not sleeping?" Rosie inquired in a meek tone, completely unaware just what she was stumbling into right now, though naturally curious at such a peculiar gathering in their bathroom at such an ungodly hour. Her unexpected intrusion put their uneasy conversation on hold, but it added yet another variable to an already complex problem.
Ethan wasn't keen on worrying his precious child, but he also knew better than to withhold Daniela's condition from her, so he did not move to place himself between the child and the bathtub despite an instinctual desire to do that.
As a result, once Rose blinked her dozy eyes a couple of times and adjusted to the brightness of the room, she was able to spot Daniela's red head poking out of the bathtub.
"Dani is here too..?"
She started her question chirpily, as if very eager to meet her redheaded friend even in the middle of the night, but the tense atmosphere must have been enough indication for her to understand that this was not a happy gathering.
"Dani-", "We're-", Ethan and Laura started simultaneously - interrupting each other before growing quiet and trading glances.
For a split-second, Laura's pointed glare conveyed a certain something very clearly to Ethan's keen eyes. We are not done talking about Daniela!
Before Ethan could explode in indignity at such an unspoken challenge, however, Laura's eyes softened, as she herself had likely understood that she was crossing the line with such provocative behavior.
It was Rose's presence that must have finally reminded Laura that they were not exactly equals, after all, as she lightly bowed her head in a subtle display of deference; her parted lips closed, indicating that she understood that Ethan was Rose's parent and the head of this house - and it was up to him how much - or how little - his child needed to know.
A bit reassured by the fact that apparently he did not need to reassert his authority under his own roof after all - at least for the time being, Ethan allowed his lips to form a gentle smile as he gazed upon his precious child.
In turn, Rose found reassurance in her father's loving expression and her own tiny body lost the tension of worry it held a moment prior. She eagerly hopped into his outstretched arms.
Of course, the short-lived smile on her lips died down quickly enough once she was able to properly see Daniela's body, as Ethan helped the girl to perch on his lap.
The tiny girl noted the redhead's unenviable state right away. "Dani is feeling ill..?" Rose mouthed in compassion, while reaching her tiny arm towards the woman.
"I think that she will be okay, sweetheart," Ethan tried to console the girl with his words and soft caresses alike, but Rose apparently ignored those in her fixation to touch Daniela - who was quite out of reach from her current position, causing the child to energetically fidget around in his lap.
Not blind to his daughter's desires, Ethan gingerly picked her up. Holding her next to the bathtub, Ethan observed with growing interest as his daughter brushed her tiny fingers across Daniela's bare scalp, just over her scar. The small child showed no discomfort at discovering that hideous deformity, which was more than a little surprising for the father, especially considering the strongly negative reaction it managed to elicit from Laura earlier.
"Dani is hurting…" the girl mumbled to herself, as if she was able to discern Daniela's inner state just by touch alone. Though Ethan did not put much stock in that particular notion, he wasn't overly eager to immediately dismiss it outright either. Rose was a bright girl for her age, but even disregarding the above-average speed of her mental development, Ethan could see that she possessed an exceptional capacity for empathy. Some would even say extraordinary.
Rose's ability to perceive the true feelings of others was almost paranormal, but could it truly reach even beyond the realm of conscious thought? Ethan had no clue, though he still held his breath as Rose persisted with her touch. Not letting go of Daniela, the girl glanced behind her shoulder before speaking in a hushed voice, as if the subject of the conversation pained her greatly.
"Dani is very sad, Daddy…"
That was the heartbreaking truth. With a downcast expression, Ethan acknowledged it, "That she is, Rosie…"
Surprising Ethan yet again, Rose did not let the gloomy mood linger, as she suddenly chirped in a tone that seemed utterly at odds with the current atmosphere,
"Then we should make her very happy when she wakes up!"
Against all odds, Ethan found himself smiling eagerly at the carefree suggestion of his daughter. Somehow, the certainty with which Rose declared that Daniela will awaken was infectious, and the last remnants of doubt faded from Ethan's mind.
"I think that's an excellent idea, Rosie!" Ethan all but shouted, feeling invigorated. He then gently placed Rose back on the floor and proceeded to check on Daniela's current conditions. As he did so, without looking at her, Ethan addressed the babysitter, "Laura, can you please grab some towels?"
"Sure!" she responded eagerly before breaking into a brisk walk towards the linen closet that was located inside Ethan and Mia's bedroom. The man's gaze followed her out.
Ethan wasn't sure whether it was raw curiosity or the genuine desire to help a person in need that caused Laura to linger in their house. One could assume that after she had learnt about Daniela's nature - or at least that incomplete version that she had conjectured in her own head - she would rush back to her house and lock every door and window. Instead, the girl demonstrated a fiery determination to provide assistance, ignoring every potential peril that course of action could incur.
The man felt a little uneasy about permitting her to expose herself to further hazards but he also felt like forcefully shooing her away would be akin to spitting on all her previous efforts to help them - and he had no desire to do that whatsoever.
Still, Ethan found himself intent to limit the danger to the ebony-haired girl by having a serious and private talk with her a bit later. Hopefully in the morning he will be able to relay to her that she would be better off distancing herself from them for the time being, until the things could settle.
Satisfied with that simple and straightforward resolution, Ethan decided to allow Laura to stick around for now if she so wished.
Therefore, for now Ethan merely hummed in contentment at Laura's continued helpfulness before focusing his senses on Daniela's body.
Causing him no shortage of joy, her skin became almost as soft as it once used to be; more importantly, it actually felt healthily warm to Ethan's prodding touch, even in the spots that remained above water, such as her beautiful cheek. Two of Ethan's fingers lingered for a moment too long at that particular part of her delicate face, even as he considered what it meant.
It had to be indicative of Daniela's body recovering from her trauma and regaining the capacity to generate its own warmth, Ethan figured. Perhaps she had siphoned all the benefit she could from the warm bath and now it was time to get her out of it and into the comfortable bed in which she could rest properly.
A further indication of that was the healthier hue of her lips, or the slow but steady return of opacity to her skin.
"Let's get you out of here…" Ethan murmured softly, before reaching into the water to pull the plug so the liquid - which was a little murky from medicinal powder, washed off blood and miscellaneous dirt alike - could drain.
Seconds later Laura returned, a large stack of towels - including the one that made Ethan raise an eyebrow, though he refrained from commenting - securely held in her arms. Instead, he couldn't help but smirk as he mused on that silly little thing for a moment, even as he quickly went to grab a large white towel from the top of the stack, only to spread it across the floor. Then, not wasting any time, but with delicacy normally reserved for handling priceless china or newborn babies, he leaned over the bathtub so it would be easier for him to wrap his hands around Daniela.
With water soaking every inch of her body, Daniela felt somewhat heavier, but Ethan was still up to the task of gently placing her on the laid-out towel.
Carried by his momentum, the man reached for yet another large white towel, with which he tenderly began to rub the woman dry.
Another issue arose as he did so, causing Ethan to gulp in slight awkwardness, however.
Daniela's black undergarments were soaked through and were understandably less impressed by his efforts to dry her than her receptive skin.
Leaving them on would result in lingering moisture, leading to moderate discomfort for her, but taking them off would mean depriving the redhead of her decency - without her consent.
That was not an act Ethan was willing to do. Even disregarding his enduring commitment to his marriage, he was not willing to behold Daniela's most intimate parts in all of their glory, especially without her explicit consent.
As things stood, Ethan found himself unworthy to see it even beyond the common decency, but he was also determined to ensure that the redhead would be in as much comfort as was humanly possible, so he settled on a swiftly-concocted alternative.
The white towel he used to dry Daniela was wet by now, so Ethan carelessly tossed it aside, just to grab the last dry towel - the one he normally avoided using himself. It was a pink, extra-fluffy towel - Mia's favorite and normally reserved just for her, but now Ethan wrapped it around Daniela's frame in a clear disregard of his wife's wishes.
I am sure she'll understand…
With that thought, he turned his head to glance at Laura. The teenager, no longer burdened by the towels, just sat on a small stool, merely observing Ethan's actions, but as she caught his gaze, her own body tensed up in anticipation. She appeared eager to help some more, so Ethan did not feel too bad about asking yet another small favor from her. To him, it made more sense that a fellow woman would do what he was about to ask.
"Do you mind reaching under that towel and taking her underwear off?"
It was a peculiar compromise aimed at preserving as much of Daniela's modesty as was possible while also granting her the benefit of comfort, and Laura immediately understood it as such. Still, her brown eyes widened a little and a tiny blush could be seen coloring her cheeks. It was unlikely that she had ever groped an adult person - whether man or woman before.
"Oo-okay…" she mumbled, uncertain, before kneeling next to the redhead's lower body and reaching her slightly shaky hands under the pink towel that was loosely wrapped around Daniela's legs and torso. For whatever reason, before she started to blindly feel for Daniela's underwear, Laura connected her gaze with that of Ethan, silently asking for permission - he granted it with a nod after a moment of hesitation.
It was slow and it was painfully awkward, but two minutes later Laura managed to remove both pieces of Daniela's underwear without revealing anything too intimate to their gazes.
Satisfied that his silly little plan worked and hopeful that Daniela won't be mad at him once she awoke stark naked, Ethan made sure that the pink towel would not come loose before once again lifting Daniela up.
Wrapped up in that extra-large pink towel, nothing was seen down her neck other than the pair of pale feet that were poking from the other side. Still, the alluring swell of her bosom caused Ethan to stubbornly glare at anything but the unconscious person he was carrying to his own bedroom.
Both Laura and Rose eagerly followed the man along, and even Roxy the beagle soon joined their little procession - the beloved family pet finally deciding to investigate what all the commotion was about, apparently.
The little beagle warily glanced at the wrapped person in Ethan's arms, sniffing the air and whining in fright. Dogs' senses were keen, so Ethan wasn't too surprised to see Roxy exhibit fear when in Daniela's presence - especially after tonight, but for whatever reason, the beagle appeared more eager to close the distance now.
As Ethan laid Daniela on his own bed before wrapping the blanket around her already towel-wrapped frame, he felt a peculiar warmness pricking at his own heart. To know that he was not alone in these difficult times was a heartening experience for sure. He certainly had enough of being a lone wolf survivor…
Of course, regardless of how he felt, Daniela herself was still in a dark place; perhaps she thought that she had nobody at her side or maybe she was beyond any and all thoughts altogether.
Ethan looked at her vulnerable frame, hopeful for any sign of consciousness.
Unfortunately, her expression had hardly changed from that sorrowful look of resignation she possessed when he had found her next to the freezer; something about the slight - barely perceptible, really - movements of her lips gave him comfort, however. The knowledge that Daniela was safe, stable and seemingly on the way to recovery was all he needed for his body and mind alike to relax. After hours of dreadful worry, crushing uncertainty and body horror, Ethan found himself at peace.
Moreover, though that was likely wishful thinking, Ethan hoped to share that inner warmth he felt through gaze alone as his eyes lingered upon Daniela's pale face. He desperately wanted her to know that she was not alone; that there were people that cared deeply about her fate.
A part of him still believed that her family - her callous mother and cruel sisters alike - loved their youngest, regardless of the conflict that led to their parting. But even if that was not the case, this room was full of souls for whom Daniela Dimitrescu was more than a mere stranger whose passing would be promptly forgotten.
Glancing behind his shoulders, he was heartened to see those few who stood with him during this time of crisis.
It was his precious daughter, standing right next to the bed, even though her tiny frame precluded her from seeing Daniela properly right now. Her expression was one of concern and affection, but hope danced plainly in her expressive green eyes - as did the stalwart resolution to see her newfound friend get better.
The fearful beagle, mingling nearby, casting ambiguous glances towards the redhead, somehow made Ethan believe that Roxy was also concerned for Daniela's well-being in her own way.
Last, but not least, was Laura - a simple babysitter turned stalwart ally. The teenager leaned against the door frame, apparently unwilling to cross the boundary just yet, but the concern in her expression was all too easy for Ethan to read. Just like the rest of them, Laura wanted for Daniela to recover.
All in all, it was a motley bunch that would hardly inspire confidence in most scenarios… yet for this vital task of making Daniela believe that she was loved he could think of nobody more suited than them. The four of them, together, would not fail to reignite Daniela's passion for life, of that, Ethan was sure.
After all, they all cared.
The thought made Ethan smile.
Daniela thought that there was not a soul in this world that cared about her - this had to be the reason why she decided to ultimately part with life.
Now, they would prove her wrong.
His own moldy heart beating with newfound cheer, Ethan made a motion to pick Rose up - with the tiny girl eagerly moving into his waiting arms - before settling on the side of the bed.
Mirroring her owner, Roxy went to lie down at the foot of the bed, apparently intent on catching up to her sleep now that the crisis was over.
Only Laura remained where she stood, an unreadable expression on her face. To Ethan it seemed like she was not sure if she truly belonged there in this room of intimate comfort with them.
Not satisfied with that mindset of hers, Ethan motioned with his head for Laura to come closer - the girl deserved to properly share this moment of genuine care with them, not to stand there like an outsider. After everything she had done for them tonight, it was only fair to consider her as one of their own.
The girl smiled and did so, carefully sitting on the other side of the bed in the next moment.
It must have been a peculiar sight to see them now, but Ethan didn't mind it at all. These unusual circumstances brought them here together in their mutual desire to help their redheaded friend.
Rose let out a cute yawn and her eyes closed. As befitting a growing child like her, her tiny body took protest at being woken up in the middle of the night and was now intent on clawing its way back to sleep. She cuddled her teddy bear close to her own chest.
All too aware of his daughter's understandable fatigue, Ethan patted her head lovingly, before adjusting their position in a way that saw him leaning against the side of the bed, while holding his child in a manner that would be more comfortable to Rose herself. Seemingly in a mere minute after that, the tiny girl was already peacefully asleep, with cute little snores giving that away. He leaned down to place a tender kiss on her blond head.
Though a part of him was appropriately horrified at the thought of his baby girl sharing the room with someone who had slaughtered three humans earlier tonight, with a stark surprise Ethan realized that he was utterly unafraid of Daniela ever harming little Rose. He was not even exactly sure just what was giving him such reassurance, yet his whole body felt at peace, safe and secure in that atmosphere of solace that had seemingly fallen over his bedroom.
For the next ten minutes, all was quiet and peaceful. Not even the recent intake of caffeine apparently was enough to keep Ethan's exhausted eyelids from blinking close and open.
Lazily glancing behind his shoulders at some minor scratching noise, he was content to see Roxy making her way up the bed, only to cuddle against Daniela's blanket-covered legs.
On the other side of the bed, Laura finally allowed her own sleep-deprived brain some rest, as her head nestled against the soft covers, her tired eyelids drooping for a couple of seconds before closing entirely.
Though neither her nor his position was truly comfortable - as they both were more or less sitting on the floor while leaning against their respective sides of the bed- Ethan found himself not minding the physical discomfort all that much. His general weariness, combined with his genuine care for another living soul allowed his body to finally relax - and he was sure that Laura felt the same.
This was one hell of day - followed by an even more hectic night, but Ethan found himself drifting off to sleep with a small smile gracing his face. There was no doubt in his mind that tomorrow would bring its own challenges, but something in his heart just felt good about their chances to weather the incoming storm.
Author's Note:
I am not sure I am fully happy with how this chapter came out, but after proofreading it twice I realized that I didn't really want to change all that much, which made me feel a little ambiguous.
I've been dealing with some mildly stressful IRL stuff lately, so that may also affect the quality of the chapter, or maybe just my perception of it. Anyway, I'll let you be the judges of that, my dear readers! You're always welcome to express your opinion freely about my work in general and this story in particular and remember that I value all kind of feedback, whether positive or negative.
Thank you all for reading and I wish you a wonderful week! :)