As Nelson noticed how frantically the hare tried to escape the trap only to worsen the situation and increase it's bleeding, he switched his motive.
At first he wanted to claim it as a bounty and bring it back to the manor and have it for lunch but the more he looked at the pitiful beast, the more remorseful he felt not to mention he didn't want to paint a negative light onto Andrew.
Soothing the hare which seemed to calm down a bit before he slowly stretched apart the metallic jaws making sure that he remained unharmed.
"Do you want to take it back and nurse it?" He mused as he coddled the creature which had now settled. "Sure, also are there any bears around given how many bear traps there are all over the place? Or is it for game?"
"It's for the bears but as of late, there has been less and less of them but that doesn't mean that they aren't there." Nelson mused as he brought out some bandages that he had in his bag. His face slightly contorted as he realized something.
"We'll have to first..." Andrew however cut him off. "Given how much blood is lost, I'm assuming it'll take it about three minutes till it dies. You also don't have any water on you which makes this all the more troublesome. It would be better to kill it."
"Ahh..." Nelson was at a loss for words as he hadn't thought that Andrew would be this callous. "But that doesn't mean that we can leave it out here. We have to try." Andrew looked around as his attention shifted elsewhere.
"Very well, there should be some willow bark tree not that far from here. I'll go get it." Nelson however wasn't with the idea. "I can't have you wandering in the forest like that Andrew."
"It's not that far from where we are. I should be gone for about five minutes. Didn't you want me to undergo exposure therapy?" Nelson was left speechless as he gave a defeated sigh. "Juts don't stray off far."
And with that, the young lad made his way through the forest. As he made his way through, he couldn't help but see his target and in a matter of minutes, he was able to remove the bark off the tree and placed it in his bag.
*Ahh*
A small and cute-ish squeal could be heard not far from where he was and looking at the source, he saw a small brown furry bear. It was a small cub however he remained unfazed with it's glamour as he glanced at it.
'The mother isn't that far off...' He knew that staying here would be a threat to him thus he decided to head back however his unwanted guest chose to follow him. "Ugh!" He gave a light sigh as he bent down to address the creature.
As he stretched out his hand to comfort the little creature, the creature revelled in his arm before it started to lick his palm. Slightly brushing against it's little head, he admired the beast as a strange thought crept into his head.
Standing up, he took his leave but his guest was persistent to which his eyes glanced at the cub as it kept following him.
As he looked around, he noted a small rock to which he bent down and picked it up, as the cub played around his arm. Picking it up, he raised the rock up in the air before crashing it down hard onto the skull of the cub.
"Ahh!!" The cub gave off a shrill cry as it tried to fight back, digging it's teeth deep into his left arm which failed to faze him as he struck a mighty blow to the skull once more. The pitiful cries emitted from the creature was enough to make one reconsider however he went on regardless.
He kept on bashing the rock till he finally came back to his senses about his situation. His hands were covered in blood as his left arm was bleeding substantially. And despite the marks of teeth and claws on his skin, it didn't bother him.
Reaching deep into his wounds, he was able to retract some of the teeth embedded in and applied the willow bark. Squeezing it hard as a white saline seeped in but still, no form of sensation crossed through his body.
His clothes were drenched in blood and he lacked a proper reason. 'I've already taken more time than I should. That hare should be dead by now.' It wasn't malice or an unbridled sense of bloodlust that drive him to enact the actions that he did but the restraint of lacking an emotion to stop him.
Nelson gave a defeated sigh as he started to bag the game before looking at the figure that was approaching him. Andrew, a kid he had sent of a couple of minutes prior was now bathed in blood.
His clothes dyed in red with his left arm present with all kinds of markings and a teeth imprint. "Andrew! Are you okay?!" Nelson posed as he approached him, examining the extent of his damages.
"I'm fine, a little bleeding but nothing too substantial. I've already applied the willow bark fluid to the injury." His dead calm voice shot back as he saw his arm being probed. Multiple beads of sweat could be seen on Nelson as he tried to hasten their advances back to the house.
A couple of days ago, Andrew was already engaged in a life scarring event and now this, he was certain that he would never recover from this. 'I didn't think that such an outcome would be the result. Sheryl and Lucy will never have me hear the end of it.'
As all kinds of worries plagued Nelson, Andrew followed along and shortly after, the news wasn't taken all that lightly. Andrew could see the look of fear in her mother while Sheryl was bothered out of her mind.
Nelson was at the very least composed however Andrew didn't look like he fit the picture at all. Despite his state, he was the most calm one there. But even trying to wave it off,his mother tried to nurse the wound which after getting the blood to stop and bandaged, had him taken to the nearest clinic for a check up.
*Eight Years Later*
The figure of a boy could be seen walk out of a scrawny bed as he made his way to the bathroom. He took a refreshing shower which was shortly followed with him brushing his teeth before taking a glance at the mirror in front of him.
His hair was short and a rich obsidian color, similar to his eyes as he uses the sink as support to take a glance at the mirror. He didn't admire what he was looking at as he ran his fingers across his face. His demeanor calm and cold.
'Still trapped in this husk of a body.' He mused as he took in closer features of his face. Beyond his flat and banal facias lay a mystery and horror that even he couldn't describe himself.
He was about to go for a summer break after the excruciating pain of learning for the semester. He didn't find it boring nor thrilling but came off as mundane, a feeling that had plagued him for eight years.
He had tried to distract himself with all kinds of activities and hobbies. Music, gaming, academics and even sport but nothing ever interested him despite how good he was in all of them.
'My life, a sliding motion of pictures. Like a stage where I'm the audience and the director. Aware of what is to come and taking a back seat, never fully invested within it.'
Given that his emotions had taken a dive and considered null, he had a hard time finding something that he was interested in. He glanced at his physique which was considerable, his packs showing but barely before drying his hair.
'It's empty.' A random thought crossed his mind. Opening a cabinet, he took a small canister only to realize that it was empty just as he had predicted. Such thoughts had been stemmed which would peer into the future and inform him.
And yet with such a mind boggling ability, he treated it like nothing nor did he expose it to anyone around him. He felt that he had the intelligence and physique of a robot and yet he had the outline of human flesh.
*Crack*
He broke his own nose before cracking it back into place as if nothing ever happened. 'Nothing.' He mused as he put on his clothes and was ready to leave only to be met with his roommate.
"Hey, Andy." Hector chuckled as he took a glance at his figure. The two didn't have a solid relationship but they well understood each other's boundaries and that was enough for Andrew.
"Hello and goodbye Hector. I'll see you after summer break." He mused blandly with his arm already at the door and the other with his case. "Speaking of which, do you plan on doing anything for it?" Hector's voice had an uncaring and free tone to it.
Similar to that of a freeloader not to mention he had almost absolutely nothing outstanding about him. "Here, take it. You live a little bland. Don't you think that you should change that?" In his hand was a piece of paper.
"Your phone number, right?" Pulling out his phone, he called Hector's to which his phone began to ring. "Oh, I didn't know that you had my number. Any way, just get ready to get crazy and spice up your bland life."
'I didn't even know his number. I just so happen to guess it. As for his plans...' He already knew what shenanigans Hector was proposing. "I'll be eagerly waiting for it." And with that, he made his way out.
The scene of multiple students making their way out of school grounds could be seen all over the place however he didn't place any form of attention whatsoever. Hopping on a bus, he headed back home with a slight stop along the way.