Chapter 36:

Chapter 36:

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[David Lance POV]

The night had already fallen on the mountain, where I had come to have some alone time, leaving Dinah and Oliver to enjoy the weekend alone, leaving me with no one else but my thoughts, in a small room in a cozy-looking inn. Outside the old inn, the wind howled ferociously, making the old walls of the inn creak worryingly, as the inn was mostly made out of wood.

Currently, I was at the inn's restaurant, sitting at a table waiting for my meal with a book in hand reading, a book Rachel had recommended for that matter, an empty plate of garlic bread a few inches away from my hand.

When I had come down to eat, the restaurant had been empty, but over the few minutes I had been waiting for my steak, some men and women had arrived, spreading out around the tables lit by antique chandeliers.

"Here you go, sir," The waiter said, arriving at my table with my food on a small silver tray. Steak with mash potatoes and a salad on the side, the mash potatoes with extra cheese and bacon, and the salad with the dressings on the side.

I smiled at him, giving him a slight nod as he put the food in front of me. His service so far was promising a big tip; what can I say? The garlic bread had been to die for.

"If you need anything, just raise your hand, and I'll be here in a flash," The waiter smiled, giving me a quick nod.

I nodded in appreciation before getting ready to dig into my food, grabbing the silverware on the plate. Wondering if his last bit had been a Flash pun.

I was enjoying this, having time alone. It was refreshing. And the best part was that my therapists had recommended it, meaning Dinah and Oliver had no reasons to complain; heck, Oliver had given me a credit card with no limit to use for that very reason, for my alone time.

"Help," However, before I can bite into my delicious dinner, someone opens the restaurant doors, croaking faintly, their voice barely audible over the sound of the howling wind. "Please... someone.... help!"

With a tired sigh, I rose from my chair, walking towards the exit of the restaurant, before my eyes caught sight of the silhouette of a man standing in the doorway, bleeding into the floor.

Seeing the waiter didn't know sign language, I pointed at an empty table and then at the cleaning bottle dangling on his belt.

"You want me to clean that table?" The waiter asked.

I nodded, turning back to the man to continue treating his wounds. After I stabilized his condition, I would go out for a walk in the woods to see what I was dealing with.

"Hi... I-I'm a n-nursing student. Do you need help?"

I turned around to see a woman in her late twenties, as well as many others behind her, coming to help.

So that's why no one had rushed to help but me. They had been under the psychological phenomenon known as the bystander effect, which states that sometimes the presence of others discourages individuals on a subconscious level from intervening in an emergency situation.

I smiled, giving her a slight nod. Showing her my first aid kit, the one I could carry around without telling the world I was a superhero, which had more than enough things to treat wounds like this.

"The ambulance will be here in five minutes," Someone in the back said.

"O-okay, I can do this," The nursing student stammered, applying pressure on the wounds as I finished cleaning them. "Do... do you have antibiotics?"

I nodded; I had some amoxicillin and trimethoprim in my personal first aid kit.

"Then we need to administer him with some to avoid any possible infection he might have acquired from spreading," The nursing student added, doing a wonderful job keeping her stammering in control.

I nodded once again, pointing at my first aid kit.

"Good, you have amoxicillin... that works for animal-related wounds," The nursing student muttered, grabbing the antibiotic from my bag.

I wonder what kind of monster attacked this man...

Or why the thought of going out to find the culprit made me feel somewhat anxious. It wasn't fear, far from it, frankly, but it was enough to tell every fiber in my body I had to keep my guard up.