Feeling extremely nervous and excited, Florence walked to the vault.
Standing outside, she saw the man bathing in the hot spring, so she shouted with a smile, “Ernest, I have something important to tell you.”
She walked in happily with the lunch boxes. Then she placed them on the table and opened it one by one.
But Ernest didn’t respond to her after a while.
This shouldn’t be.
Ernest would respond to her immediately every time she said something, not to mention that she had just said something important.
Florence was puzzled, and leaving the food aside, she turned around and looked at Ernest., She saw that his eyes were shut tight and brows furrowed as if in pain.
His face looked pale and frightening amidst the thin veil of steam in the hot spring.
Florence was shocked. She ran to the pool and squatted down by side, “Ernest, are you ok?”
She reached out her hand to touch his shoulder, only to find that his body was stiff, which was very abnormal.
Florence became even more alarmed, “Ernest, don’t scare me. How do you feel now? Tell me! Open your eyes and look at me.”
Her voice quivered. She was terrified.
Her delicate hand shook uncontrollably. It seemed as though she was shaking Ernest with all her might.
But Ernest’s tall and sturdy body did not budge an inch.
He was as unmoving as a stone.
Florence was fear-stricken. Her heart plunged into an abyss of darkness and despair.
Her eyes were red, and she sobbed,
“Ernest, what is going on? Please wake up and look at me.”
“Don’t do this to me! I’m scared…”
Florence’s mind was blank for a while, and she didn’t dare to imagine any consequences. Only the endless storm of terror was overwhelming her, threatening to engulf her.
She was at a loss and panic-stricken.
“I… I’m okay…”
Ernest murmured hoarsely through gritted teeth.
Ernest’s eyelashes tremored violently and then he slowly opened his eyes.
Florence regained her senses at these feeble words.
Her eyes flickered. She looked at Ernest nervously and asked anxiously,
“What is going on? Are you ok? How do you feel now?”
“Maybe… after sitting here for too long, my body… is stiff…”
Ernest said every word very slowly and with difficulty, “Can… you help me… up…”
Even speaking was difficult for him. Obviously, that was not due to the stiffness from sitting for a long time.
Florence knew that Ernest said this to comfort her, and his current physical condition might be worse than she thought.
She tightly gritted her teeth and convulsed with heartache. She fought back her tears and stepped into the hot spring with one foot, held him with both arms and pulled him up.
Ernest was six feet tall and his weight was almost twice that of Florence. Florence did not feel how heavy Ernest was in the past, but now that all his weight was on her, she felt as though she had been drained of all her energy. Ernest weighed a whopping 220 pounds.
He was like an unshakable mountain.
Florence mustered all her strength and her cheeks were flushed red but Ernest only inched slightly.
Florence tried to lift Ernest’s body up a bit but the weight pressing on her body like a whale. Because Ernest could not support his own weight at all, the load was heavier for Florence.
Soon, Florence was sweating profusely and her legs quivered.
She could barely sustain it.
However, she didn’t dare to rest. She gritted her teeth so hard that they might crack and soldiered on.
Ernest was fine before she left, but within half an hour, he was in this state.
Though Florence didn’t know the reason, she knew he had to get out of the hot spring.
“Florence, stop… You cannot lift me up. Leave me here and you go get help outside…”
Ernest’s brows were furrowed in pain. He spoke slowly.
Every word he said seemed to have exhausted his energy, making his face paler.
Florence’s eyes were red, and she shook her head resolutely.
“I can do that. I can get you out of the water.”
Now, she dared not let him stay in the hot spring pool nor to stay here alone.
She was afraid that the worse things would happen if she left.
“I… am ok. Don’t… worry…”
Ernest looked at Florence, flushed and sweating profusely.
Ernest didn’t expect his body to lose control suddenly and get so and weak. The stiffness caused his body to sink completely, doubling the weight on Florence’s body.
He knew that Florence could not bear his weight at all.
Florence’s back felt like it was to be crushed at any time. It was painful.
Perspiration poured down on her forehead, but she ground her teeth and tried to prop Ernest’s body up, a little by little.
Slowly, she edged him out of the pool.
Ernest frowned deeper and looked at Florence with pain in his eyes.
She carried his large frame with her delicate physique. It should had been arduous.
He wished he could stand up immediately.
Ernest forcibly endured the convulsing pain coursing through his body, trying his best to regain control.
He failed. He couldn’t feel himself at all, as if his whole body had been injected with dozens of tons of anesthetic.
Thump.
Florence dragged Ernest’s body to a standing position in the pool, but she could not support both their weight, so they both fell by the edge pool together when she lost balance.
Ernest’s legs were still in the water.
Florence was dizzy but she spared no thoughts for herself. She got up hurriedly and hugged Ernest.
“Did you hurt yourself?”
Her voice quavered when she spoke, for she feared that the fall would aggravate Ernest’s existing injury.
Ernest frowned deeply. He tried to speak but could not even make a sound.
Florence looked even more terrified.
She didn’t dare to think what had happened to Ernest, what the situation was, and how he would end up.
With shaking hands and with all her strength, she hurriedly dragged Ernest to the side of the pool and laid him down on a mat.
She said in panic, “Ernest, wait for me here. I’ll get Collin to come here and be back soon. You must wait for me, wait for me!”
She didn’t want to leave for even a minute, but she had to go.
She could not help Ernest with her efforts alone, and even more so, time was money.
She must find Collin right away.
There was no signal in the vault so she had to run outside to contact Collin. She would run as fast as she could, and it would not take long.
Florence did not dare waste any time. She stood up and ran out immediately.
She had just got to her feet when she suddenly felt a big hand grab her ankle.
The grip was weak, but Florence immediately froze and looked back apprehensively at Ernest who was lying on the ground.
His eyes were dark and deep. He opened and closed thin lips as if he was saying something, but his voice was very low and soft.
“Florence, hold me.”