Chapter 4 The Hero

Despite the darkness, the woman's pale face was visible in his eyes. He could still smell her tears, born of fear and helplessness. The woman struggled to breathe, her gasps sounding strained. She was sweating profusely and almost choking. Matt had to make a decision. Should he save this woman's life or not? Matt shook his head and smirked, unable to believe what he was about to do. Either way, whether he helped her or not, he would be putting her in danger.

Matt was freaking out. He couldn't control himself, his emotions were a raging inferno. He stood, ready to go to Ella, when—boom! A huge crash, then screams, then chaos. The lights went out, plunging the place into darkness. He smelled gunpowder and heard heavy breathing—guys closing in. Toffee grabbed him.

 

"Dude, let's get out of here!"

But Matt was frozen. He saw shadows, felt the stink of sweat, but Ella's fear—that was the strongest scent. He could practically hear her heartbeat, a frantic drum against the sudden silence. She was terrified. He had to decide: help her or let her die. Either way, she'd be in danger.

 

He went with his gut, but it was too late. She fainted. He groaned, scooped her up, and rage exploded. He was carrying her, but his fists were flying, his kicks slamming into thin air. He held her close, whispering,

 

So, Matt decided to follow his instincts, but it was too late. The woman fainted before his eyes. He groaned loudly in despair and carried her in his arms. Rage flashed in Matt's eyes and clenched fists. He could barely contain his anger. Even though he was holding the unconscious woman in his arms, those around him could feel Matt's fury. Every kick he threw flew through the air, and every fist he clenched slammed into the void, while the small, soft body of the woman was held tightly in his arms. He embraced her tightly, almost as if he was whispering.

"Sorry, I will be forever sorry to you from now on," Matt whispered to himself. "But I can't bear to see you suffer," the young man whispered again. Then Matt called Toffee and let him carry the unconscious woman.

"Just take care of her like you always do, she needs medical attention, hurry," Matt said now in a normal, low, but sad voice.

"Oh, f*ck bro, what did you do? I told you to just stay away. How are we going to handle this now?"

Toffee burst out in despair. Toffee couldn't accept that after all this time Matt had managed to lay low. He couldn't accept the reality that, once again, Matt would have to suffer and sacrifice himself for this woman.

"She has that scent bro, you knew that very well, and you're aware that I can't avoid it. It's part of this curse on me. Just get her out of here, please," Matt patted Toffee's shoulder and turned away.

"Can I see you again or will you disappear again?"

Toffee's voice cracked after that. Would the past repeat itself? How many months or years would it be before everything was okay again? Would there be no end?

"Don't worry, I'll be around, I need to, bro, I need to protect her no matter what. We have to, right?"

Matt asked Toffee, but he had more questions for himself. Even Matt seemed lost in himself.

Ella felt someone carrying her, but she was heavily induced by fear. She heard the sirens of the fire engine and the arrival of the police. She regained consciousness as they walked out the door and finally saw the light from the streetlight outside the bar. She saw a huge man walking away on their side. She could only see his back. He was wearing a black jacket. She didn't know what came over her, but she followed the man who passed by them with her eyes. There was something about him she couldn't explain. The man carrying her lowered her to the medic, who greeted them.

"Sir, she needs medical attention. She fainted inside, probably because of fear."

said the man who was carrying her. His voice was crisp and clear. Ella smelled the strong scent of medicine from the hospital. She frowned and slowly opened her eyes. She looked around and saw no one.

"Where is the man who carried me?" Ella asked the man in the scrub suit.

"He left, ma'am, he said he had to go somewhere," the languid male nurse replied. Ella was disappointed. First, she didn't even get to thank him. Second, she didn't even get to see his face for a moment. Third, she felt empty knowing he just left her like that.

"You're being dramatic, Ella."

"Be grateful that man carried you, or you might have died from suffocation inside. Second, you might have bothered the man too much, you're too demanding," Ella said to herself. Ella looked around. There was still chaos and thick smoke coming from inside the resto bar. The woman's eyes searched for her office mates. But she couldn't see any of them.

Maybe when the chaos started, they all ran away in fear and didn't even think about leaving her behind. After all, no one knew that she was afraid of the dark and panicked when she experienced something like that. Ella realized one thing that day. She had no one to rely on but herself and that stranger. And true friends are known in times of need. And today was a very clear fact.

She had no one. She had been alone all this time. Ella knew that the man who carried her was not the man who protected her. First, even in the dark, she felt that the man in the darkness was big. Second, his voice had a distinctive tone. Deep and low. And he had this strong scent that she could smell even from a distance. And above all, he had an aura that Ella couldn't explain but had a huge impact on her.

The man carrying her a while ago was of normal height, maybe about 5'9 if she wasn't mistaken. Well, his body was okay. But his voice was different, not deep or what she called a baritone. Ella stayed at the hospital where they took her for a few more hours. She was the only customer left inside and three men were found inside, lying down with broken bones.

According to what reached the woman, the three men were suspected robbers who had entered the establishment and caused chaos. She hated the smell of alcohol and all the hospital stuff, so she just finished her IV dose and was discharged immediately.