{ CHAPTER - 18 } THE STRUGGLE TO PROTECT - 2

He collapsed onto his knees from fatigue. With his feeble knees, he slammed into the firm earth, which hurt.

"Kar...ma"

What's up? Is the person calling Aryan? Karma was perplexed but regained his composure upon hearing it.

He noticed his father reaching out to him when he turned to the side.

Karma made an effort to move, but he was unable to stand or even maintain consciousness.

"D–DAD?"

His body was so worn out that it was a marvel he was still standing; by this point, he ought to have given up.

He made an effort to flex his muscles because he knew his father was still alive.

"Arghh!!!

He realized how much pain his body was in as he tried to move. The instant he attempted to stand up, his body instantly gave out and he dropped back to his knees as if he had received an electric shock.

This didn't deter him; he once more willed himself to stand up despite his discomfort, and after several attempts of never giving up, he eventually managed to stand up.

He was feeling heavy, and breathing was becoming more difficult for him. The muscles and tissues in his body were being ripped apart as he took step after step.

The likelihood of him falling rose with each step he moved forward.

"God please, move!"

!Thud!

He fell to the ground with his face slamming on the pavement after tripping.

"MHMM, MHMM"

He did not cry out, although it looks that the fall smashed his nose. He refrained from screaming in agony and once more pushed himself to stand up.

"Just, a little bit more"

He was so in pain that he was on the verge of sobbing, yet he continued to move. Why would he move if it was so painful? Why doesn't he just give up now?

Because the anguish of losing someone you love is much worse than the physical suffering one experiences. Karma is the only one who truly understands it, and he is even experiencing it now.

He eventually succeeded after a few stumbles here and there.

"Dad? You.."

Aryan's open wound was causing him to bleed profusely, and his blood was getting washed away in the rain and mingled with the water.

Karma went into a panic.

"Dad this– you're bleeding– here ill carry you let's get you somewhere"

He was soothed by Aryan.

"Listen...there is nothing you could have done..."

!Sniffle-Sniffle!

"Don't talk, I– will call for help just wait here– NO I'll carry you–"

"It's pointless now..... you know it... better than I do.... right?"

He lost all awareness of the anguish in his body as tears streamed from his eyes, and he also lost all awareness of the sorrow in his heart.

"Dad.. what- what should I do?... I don't understand what's happening"

Aryan lifted his head after gradually gaining strength. He calmed him down by giving it a gentle brush.

"Karma, where's she at?"

Slowly, he turned to look at Ava's corpse to his right.

"Mom, she"

He struggled to find the right words to express it.

"Can you bring her to me?"

How on earth could he possibly stand in his state? not to mention carry out his father's request? It was illogical. All of it didn't matter, though, because he just wanted to grant that one request. After all, he knew it would be the last.

Karma forced himself to get up once again. Fortunately, his mother was only a little way away.

He went rigid while moving. He noticed his mother's smile as he looked over at her. How she could make such a grimace baffled him.

As he attempted to go closer to the head, his hands began to shake erratically.

He felt weird electricity go down his spine as he knelt to pick it up. That almost made him throw up, but he managed to restrain himself.

He mustered the guts to lift his mother's head.

How can one ever consider a situation like this? People usually fear losing anything dear to them. Because of this, it is impossible to comprehend the suffering he was experiencing at the moment.

Karma moved slowly toward his father, who was also slowly perishing while holding her head.

He handed the head while stooping.

As he kept his love's head near to his chest, Aryan shed a few tears.

Karma was unable to avoid feeling responsible.

"I- I'm sorry dad, !sniffle! I- sorry for being this way... I'm sorry... so sorry"

As Aryan saw Karma apologize repeatedly, Chief realized what was going through his thoughts. Aryan sensed what Karma was experiencing.

'Ah, that's the type of child he is, I suppose he's blaming himself. He always felt out of place with people his age, and even today, he feels responsible for what happened.' Chief had that notion in his head.

While patting Karma on the head with his other hand, Aryan held Ava's head in the other.

"It's not your fault son... This...Was meant to happen... Don't feel too burdened about it"

"Dad... but you–"

"Karma... I'm not gone; I'll always be in your heart; the same goes for your mother; as long as you keep us in your memory, we'll be there with you... Always,".

He tried his best to keep his tears from falling to the ground after hearing this since it made him weep even more. However, he was overcome with despair and some tears did fall. Several did.

People claim that when death is imminent, you experience a complete flashback of your whole life and can see things that are invisible to human sight. Aryan may have noticed something unusual at that time as a result of that.

The Aryan had another terror in addition to death as his eyes shifted to the back of Karma's right shoulder.

Aryan met a demon for the first time when he realized what was hiding behind Karma.

The dark, shadow-like creature, standing 6 to 7 feet tall and just behind Karma, crossed his eyes at the dying guy.

When Aryan peered into his very crimson eyes, he was at a loss for words, but when he realized this, he grinned and raised his hand above his head while looking skyward.

"I see... So that's what it is"

CHAPTER - 18 - TO BE CONTINUED