OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 17: Limbo

Giving them privacy, the nurse, Emma, and Jake left the room.

His family, or at least his body's family, came in looking like they had cried for days, their eyes red and swollen.

After the door closed, Laura rushed to Emir's side, taking his hand in hers.

"Oh, thank God you're okay." She said, tears streaming down her face.

"I'll be fine, nothing to worry about," Emir replied weakly, feeling a lump form in his throat.

Lily stood by the bed, her arms crossed and a serious expression on her face.

"You scared us so much." Her voice trembled slightly as if she was holding back tears.

He wanted to comfort her, but restrained himself, feeling conflicted for causing them such distress.

It wasn't his place to do so, he reminded himself.

Instead, he replied with a simple:

"I know."

In an attempt to regain her composure, Laura wiped away her tears.

"Before we arrived, HQ briefed us on the attack," she choked out, her voice faltering.

"They explained what happened and showed us what you did. Can you please tell me why you pushed yourself so hard?"

With a feeble smile, Emir responded, "I had to ensure that you and Lily were safe. It was my responsibility."

Lily gazed at him, her eyes still trembling with fear.

"You promised us, you said you wouldn't do anything reckless," she gasped, struggling to catch her breath.

And then, her voice rising to a scream, she cried out:

"DOES RUNNING OUT OF COVER LIKE THAT SOUND SAFE TO YOU?!"

"Why do you not value your own life? Do you realize how we felt when we read the report? While we were hiding, you were out there risking your life for us. We watched the camera footage and saw you get shot in the shoulder, and another bullet almost hit you in the head. Do you know what we felt when we saw that? Just what is the reason for you to act so recklessly? Please, tell me."

Closing the distance between them, Lily delicately intertwined her fingers with Emir's free hand, while his other hand remained firmly held by their mother.

With a squeeze of reassurance, she whispered:

"Emir, we love you. Please allow us to be here for you, whatever you're facing. You don't have to carry it all on your own."

He nodded to her affirmation, but when she asked him why he acted the way he did, he simply couldn't bring himself to answer. It was a burden he couldn't bear to share, as it would only damage their relationship.

"I'm sorry, and thank you," Emir murmured, his voice barely audible.

"I didn't mean to scare you or endanger myself unnecessarily. I just... I just wanted to keep my promise and make sure that you'd both be safe."

Laura squeezed his hand and said, "We know that, Emir. But you have to understand that we care about you too. We're not just a group of people you're tasked with protecting; we're a family, and we're here for each other."

Lily nodded in agreement and added:

"We'll always be there for you, Emir."

Emir looked at them, as he realized that his promise to keep his family safe had consumed him so much that he had overlooked how much they cared about him.

"I know. I can't promise anything. But I'll try not to be so reckless again. That is if I do have a choice not to be so." He stated calmly, patting Lily's head in reassurance.

Laura's lips curled into a small smile.

"That's all we ask of you, Emir. We just want you to be safe and return to us."

Lily's voice trembled as she spoke, but she found the courage to say:

"I don't know what you are going through, but we are still a family, and we will face this challenge together."

Laura held Emir's hand ever so tightly, afraid of him disappearing as his father did, as she added:

"We love you, Emir."

Feeling a rush of emotions, he replied, "I love you both as well."

"Thank you for being here to support me."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, just holding onto each other's hands.

After a little while, a nurse came in to check on Emir, and they started asking her questions about his recovery.

Emir felt a sense of peace wash over him as he watched them interact with the nurse, asking about the tiniest of details about his recovery process.

Interrupting them, he asked, "Excuse me, Nurse Clara, do you know of the situation with the hunters? How many of them have died?"

Taking a moment to think, she replied, "Out of the total of eight hunters, two died, one was killed manning the control station, and the other died during the ambush."

"As for the many hunter trainees, ten were killed, all due to the outside attack, we threw their bodies off the trucks, if that is what you're wondering."

"The princess, Ava, is in her living compartment, Jake, Emma, and several other trusted hunters will be watching over her."

"That is all I need to know, thank you." He told her with a nod.

Lying back down, he began to lose himself in his thoughts again as sleep slowly claimed him.

….

Over the next few days, Emir gradually recovered from his injuries, with Laura and Lily staying by his side most of the time.

They talked about everything and nothing, and he felt like they were getting closer than ever before.

He healed back up in no time and was soon fully recovered, so he was discharged and allowed back into his room.

….

Waking up, Emir bid Lyra good morning while he used the bathroom as if it was routine. He brushed his teeth and took a long shower, and after clothing himself, he went to get his terminal to check his messages.

He got incoming texts from both Jake and Emma telling him to rest, and that they would take care of the watch.

He thanked them both with a quick reply.

{And also, don't worry, love, I'll be sure to get you paid for the work you did. ??} Emma

Chuckling at her text, Emir started preparing himself for his daily training.

'I've gone through a lot in the past few days, and I still can't fully digest the fact that I killed people, many of them, but strangely, I don't feel much after the fact, rather, I was more disgusted at the grotesque scene of that day than me killing someone. It can be that I still didn't fully comprehend what happened, but I beg to differ, I just probably don't give a shit, they wanted me dead, and I killed them instead, and that is that.'

'Anyways....I might have become a bit rusty since I didn't train for a while.'

Putting those thoughts away, he activated his TDS ability and began practicing CQC combat like usual.

The physical exertion helped him clear his mind and focus on the task at hand.

Hours passed as he trained, honing his skills, and pushing his body to its limits.

By the time he finished, his muscles were sore, and his body was drenched in sweat, but he felt alive.

Not bothering to take a bath, he collapsed onto the bed and thought about what had happened in the past few days.

His face disfigured slightly as he was reminded of how his family caught on to his strange behavior, but that didn't matter to him, he had to keep moving forward, to continue living his life in this new world that he had been given, not get stuck in limbo.

So his routine became predictable: meeting up with Jake and Emma at night, returning to his room, sleeping, waking up, eating breakfast with his mother and sister, training until evening, eating again, and so on.

It was a monotonous cycle, but it was the only way for him to stay focused and grounded, as he knew that something big was coming next.

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