Malachi's reaction to suddenly bleeding from his nose was far from panic. He saw no need to alarm his son, who was still fixated on the crystal heart in his hands.
Malachi calmly pondered the cause of the nosebleed.
He couldn't help but wonder if his unique ability was somehow responsible.
Malachi's reasoning wasn't without merit. Just moments earlier, his eyes had been itching, causing discomfort. After deactivating his ability, the itching sensation had significantly diminished.
While he wasn't entirely sure and may have been jumping to conclusions, Malachi considered the possibility that he had overexerted himself by using his unique ability for an extended period without rest. The fact that his ability deactivated on its own, without his control, further supported this theory.
This situation was different from the last time his ability deactivated because he was distracted.
Malachi felt that he could still activate his ability, but the mere thought of doing so gave him a slight headache, and he wasn't inclined to push his luck.
Thankfully, the bleeding had ceased, and nothing else appeared to have occurred as a result.
"Give me the heart back," Malachi stated as he stretched his hand out toward David and added, "Let's get moving as well. Your mom and Mia must be terribly worried about us by now."
Upon hearing his mother and sister mentioned, a slightly more serious expression crossed David's face as he placed the monster dog's crystal heart into his father's outstretched hand. David immediately felt a sense of loss after breaking contact with the crystal heart, as the warm, pleasurable sensation he had been feeling disappeared.
Although it made him feel uncomfortable, David didn't dwell on it and responded to Malachi, "Okay, Dad." He watched his father tear a large piece of his grey T-shirt to wrap the monster dog's heart, avoiding direct skin contact with it.
Because Malachi had thoroughly wiped the blood that had come from his nose off his face with his arm, David didn't notice his father's bleeding. Even if he had, David might not have linked the blood to his father, since Malachi was already covered in blood. Not his blood, but the blood of the monster dog that had splattered on him when he tried to knock down the creature with the tree trunk.
David also had blood on his clothes, which had come from the upper body of the monster dog that had exploded. Though he had not been affected by the blast that killed the monster dog, a part of the creature's blood had splashed onto him.
In addition to the monster dog's blood on them, both Malachi and David were marked by their dishevelled appearance. All the tossing about in the forest due to the monster dog's sonic scream had left its mark on them.
After wrapping the monster's heart, which was almost as big as a newborn baby's head, and holding it in his hands, Malachi spoke again.
"Let's move."
With that, both he and David, though exhausted, hurried through the forest to regroup with their family.
******
It's getting darker.
Gazing out of the window, Anna continued to worry about Malachi and David, who were in the forest, their current situation unknown to her.
Anna couldn't help but fear the worst, but she held onto the words her husband had said when he assured her they would return.
However, as time passed, Anna's hope began to wane, and anxiety consumed her.
With slightly swollen eyes that revealed she must have cried a lot, Anna couldn't help but shed a few more tears as she stared at the forest, desperately hoping to catch a glimpse of her husband and son.
Anna's hope was fading with each passing moment, but she clung to her husband's promise that they would return. She longed to see the familiar figures of her son and husband emerge from the woods.
Anna's daughter, Mia, also shared in her anxiety. She needed her mother to stay with her, and Anna couldn't bear to leave her alone in their current situation.
Responsibility bound Anna to the car, even as her heart yearned to rush back into the forest.
Leaving her daughter alone during these uncertain times felt cruel,
Despite being together, neither the mother nor her daughter spoke to each other as they both drowned themselves in self-guilt. They remained in the car, each lost in their own thoughts and fears.
As minutes turned into an agonising wait, Anna's worries intensified. She was on the verge of another emotional outburst when she finally spotted two figures emerging from the forest as the sun's light faded.
Those two people were her family: Malachi and David.
With tears in her eyes, Anna hurriedly got down from the car, which startled Mia, who wasn't expecting the sudden action.
Mia turned her head to look in the direction her mother was running to and saw her father and brother, tears welled up in Mia's eyes as she ran out of the car too.
The family was once again reunited.