Investing in My Crippled Wife: Every Return Makes Me Stronger-Chapter 35: Race Against Time

"He... he’s not breathing!"

Moro’s voice was barely a whisper now, the life seemingly draining from his eyes as he stared at Nick’s still chest.

"M-my son, wake up, wake up..."

He began to mutter incoherently, his hands hovering uselessly over his son.

Rea reached them first. She skidded to a halt, but as her eyes swept over the scene, they didn’t land on Nick. They widened in horror as they fixed on Moro’s side.

"M-Mister! Y-You’re bleeding!"

Soren and Nami arrived a second later, their breath hitching as they saw it. It wasn’t just a scratch. A deep, dark crimson was rapidly soaking through Moro’s heavy armor, far more than what a simple blunt impact should have caused. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Moro didn’t even look up. He shoved Rea’s hand away, his focus entirely on the boy. "Ignore me... save my son! Just save him!"

"Mr. Moro, listen—" Soren started, reaching out to grab the man’s shoulder.

"I said save him! He’s just a kid, he—" Moro’s voice cracked. And suddenly, his head lurched forward, his eyes rolling back as his body finally gave in to the massive internal pressure. With a heavy thud, the veteran hunter collapsed sideways into the dust.

"Sir! Uncle!" Nami and Rea cried out in shock, their voices echoing off the jagged walls.

’Damn it!’ Soren cursed inwardly, his mind racing as he dropped to one knee beside Moro. Without hesitation, he yanked open his pack and pulled out all four health restoration potions he’d bought as a precaution before the raid.

"Nami, hold his head steady. Rea, tilt it back."

They obeyed immediately, their hands shaking as they positioned Moro’s head.

Soren uncorked the first potion and poured it carefully into Moro’s mouth, tilting the bottle to let the liquid flow slowly. Then he did the same with the second.

He turned to Nick next, repeating the process with the remaining two potions.

The potions would stabilize them. But they wouldn’t be enough.

Soren tore strips from his own shirt and began wrapping Moro’s side, pressing down hard to slow the bleeding. The injury was bad. Worse than he’d initially thought. The wound was deep, jagged, and old.

’This wasn’t from the Golem.’

His only guess was that Moro had sustained this injury before the raid, perhaps recently, and that it reopened after that collision.

Soren’s jaw tightened as he tied off the bandage.

"Rea, Nami. Carry Nick. I’ll take Mr. Moro."

"But—"

"Now!"

Soren’s cold, commanding voice left no room for argument.

Nami and Rea moved immediately, each taking one of Nick’s arms and hoisting him up between them. His head lolled forward, unconscious but breathing faintly.

Soren crouched down, hooked his arms under Moro’s shoulders, and lifted the man onto his back. The weight was immense. Moro was easily twice his size, all muscle and bulk.

But Soren gritted his teeth and stood.

"Let’s go!"

They started running.

The narrow gorge stretched endlessly ahead, the jagged rock walls blurring past as their boots pounded against the cracked stone. Every breath burned in Soren’s lungs. Every step sent jolts of pain through his legs, already strained from the earlier battle.

But he didn’t slow down. Because he couldn’t!

Moro’s weight pressed down on his shoulders like a mountain. The man’s blood seeped through the makeshift bandages, warm and wet against Soren’s back. His breathing was shallow, rattling faintly with each labored exhale.

’He’s losing too much blood. If we don’t get out soon...’

Soren pushed the thought away and forced his legs to move faster.

Behind him, Rea and Nami struggled to keep pace, supporting Nick between them. Their faces were pale, their breaths coming in short, desperate gasps. Nick’s head lolled limply, his feet dragging across the ground.

"Keep moving!" Soren barked, his voice hoarse.

They stumbled forward, the Gate portal still distant, shimmering faintly in the red-gray light.

Soren’s vision blurred. Sweat poured down his forehead, stinging his eyes. His arms trembled violently under Moro’s weight, muscles screaming in protest.

But he didn’t stop.

’Just a little more. Just a little more.’

The gorge seemed to stretch on forever. Every meter felt like a kilometer. Every second felt like an eternity.

Finally, the portal came into view, closer now, just ahead.

"Almost there!" Soren shouted, more to himself than anyone else.

His legs nearly gave out, but he forced himself forward, step after agonizing step.

They burst through the shimmering barrier and emerged on the other side.

_____ ___ _

The transition from the Gate’s suffocating atmosphere to the outside was jarring. Soren stumbled as his boots hit the dirt, the weight of Moro nearly pulling him backward.

"Help! Over here!" Rea’s voice was high and strained.

The two guards on duty bolted upright, dropping their clipboards. One scrambled for the wall-mounted emergency kit while the other grabbed a crate of stabilization potions. They didn’t waste time with talk; one guard knelt by Nick, shoving a glass vial into Nami’s shaking hands.

"Get him to drink this! It’ll keep his heart steady!"

Soren lowered Moro to the ground. The second guard tore open a professional-grade trauma pack, pressing thick, alchemical gauze against the dark crimson soaking Moro’s side. The man’s face was gray, his breathing a shallow, wet rattle.

"This isn’t stopping," the guard muttered, his hands quickly becoming slick with blood. "You need to get him to a Healer in the city. Fast!"

"The car," Soren managed to grunt, his muscles twitching with exhaustion. "Help me get them in!"

He didn’t waste another second.

"Rea, Nami, get Nick in the back!"

They moved immediately, half-carrying, half-dragging Nick to the truck and lifting him into the cargo bed. Guards put Moro beside him as gently as they could while Soren climbed into the driver’s seat.

"Stay with them! Monitor their breathing! If either one stops, shout immediately!"

Rea and Nami nodded, their faces pale but focused, hands already pressed against Moro’s bandaging to keep the pressure steady.

Soren grabbed the wheel and floored the accelerator.

The truck lurched forward, tires biting into the dirt road as they tore away from the checkpoint.

The city was twenty minutes away.

Soren made it in eleven.

The truck tore down the rough dirt road, kicking up clouds of dust as it flew over bumps and potholes. Soren’s hands gripped the wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. His eyes never left the road.

In the back, Rea and Nami held on for dear life, bracing themselves against the violent jolts as they kept watch over Moro and Nick.

"How are they?!" Soren shouted over the roar of the engine.

"Still breathing!" Rea called back, her voice shaking. "But barely!"

Soren’s jaw clenched. He pressed the accelerator harder.

Time blurred. The landscape outside became a smear of browns and grays. The truck shuddered and groaned under the strain, but it held.

Finally, the city came into view on the horizon.

Soren didn’t slow down. He barreled straight toward the gates, honking the horn frantically.

"Move! Move! Emergency!"