Chapter 367 - Steve: I Think I Can Still Be Saved
The blood was from the man named Steve.
As for the dog blood, it should be from the dog that belonged to the kids from the town down the mountain.
Luke didn’t enter the cabin. Instead, he quickly tracked Steve’s blood into the woods.
Janet and Annie’s scents were mixed in with the smell of Steve’s blood.
Annie had called Luke probably because the couple had asked for her help.
When he spoke with Annie, Luke had mentioned that he was a police officer and the safety instructor for No. 37 Middle School’s campsite.
If she called 911, it would take forever for the police officers to arrive.
This wasn’t a town, but the woods in a mountain, and the police officers had every reason to be wary of accidents.
Luke moved quite fast. He covered several hundred meters quickly and stopped in front of a dilapidated cabin near a pool.
He approached the cabin and whispered, “Annie, don’t make a sound. It’s Luke.”
Annie still let out a small cry of surprise, but forcefully swallowed the sound halfway.
Luke then opened the shabby door and walked in.
The situation inside was quite grim.
Steve’s entire body was bleeding as he lay on the floor, fright and desperation in his eyes.
When Luke entered the cabin, he trembled for one moment, and was clearly afraid.
Janet hurriedly repeated next to his ear, “It’s Luke. He’s a police officer.”
With hope in his eyes, Steve looked at the stranger.
But he already could no longer speak. His trembling lips were pale, suggesting massive blood loss.
Janet and Annie were covered in blood too, but they weren’t hurt. The blood was Steve’s.
Luke hushed them and turned on a small flashlight to examine Steve’s wounds.
A moment later, he gave the flashlight to Annie to hold. He frowned. “Who did this?”
Janet replied, her voice shaking, “It was those kids.”
Luke asked, “Those five boys and one girl with a dog from the town down the mountain?”
Janet nodded. “Yes, them.”
Luke had already taken out medical supplies from his backpack. He put on rubber gloves and began to cut the cloth near Steve’s wounds. He asked again, “Why did they do this?” Steve was badly wounded, but it wasn’t a single, violent stab wound.
Hotheaded kids tended to attack too recklessly without considering the consequences. That was why they often got people killed.
However, Steve had a dozen wounds all over him, some of which were crooked and overlapped each other.
This suggested that he wasn’t stabbed, but cut in a slow way. Whoever did it even paused and cut the same area many times.
To be blunt, it was more like torturing someone to death instead of pure murder.
The wounds were horrifying.
Hope flared in Janet’s heart when she saw Luke start to treat Steve, and she told him what happened earlier. “They… They stole our car. We searched for it. Steve found where they had planted weed, and tried to take our car back. They let the dog go. Steve stabbed the dog, and they grabbed him… Then, they tied him up and took turns cutting him…”
Luke simply listened and didn’t interrupt her.
What Janet said might not necessarily be the truth, or not the whole truth.
But he did detect the scent of a minute amount of fresh weed on Steve and Janet.
Annie added that Janet came over with a wounded Steve for help, and when she was calling Luke, that was when the kids came after them.
At Annie’s reminder, Janet discarded the clothes which she had been using to stop Steve’s bleeding on another trail.
After that, the two of them helped Steve into this old cabin to hide from the kids who were hunting them.
From what they said and what he was seeing, Luke had reached a rough conclusion.
Steve and Janet might’ve clashed fiercely with the kids, but that didn’t justify the way they had tortured Steve.
Normal kids would go to their parents or the police, instead of capturing their enemy and taking turns to cut him with a knife.
No normal kid could be so brutal.
While Luke was thinking this, his movements sped up.
After giving Steve painkillers, he washed out Steve’s wounds and wrapped them with bandages.
This was a temporary measure to stop Steve’s bleeding
The good news was that Steve’s main arteries hadn’t been nicked, so he might still live if he got to the hospital in time.
After Janet told him what happened, Luke asked Annie, “Where’s your uncle, Stephen?”.
It was highly unusual for Stephen to not stop the kids, as the owner of the campsite.
Although Stephen was alone, he had an old shotgun in his cabin, which should’ve been enough to threaten a few kids.
Annie shook his head. “Those kids seem to have destroyed another line. He left in the afternoon to check it out, but hasn’t come back.”
Luke was rendered speechless.
These f*cking kids were real troublemakers.
“Is the pickup at the campsite still there? Do you have the key?” asked Luke.
Annie said, “It’s there. The key is on the wall next to the living room door.”
Luke quickly treated Steve’s wounds and said, “Hang in there. I’ll help you move.”
Steve could only nod his head to show that he understood.
Luke helped him to his feet with his left hand. “Let’s go. We’ll take the car and send Steve to the hospital.”
Janet said, “But those kids…”
Luke drew his Glock out of the holster with his right hand. “If anyone points a knife at me, I would be happy to shoot a few suspects who assault a police officer.”
Only then did Janet get it. “You…”
Annie hurriedly explained, “He’s a police officer.”
Luke couldn’t be bothered to take out his badge at the moment.
If Janet was suspicious of the man who helped save her boyfriend’s life, he would simply leave her behind. Janet, however, quickly said, “Thank you, Luke.”
Luke simply nodded and said to Annie, “I’ll keep watch. Don’t panic, and just follow me.”
“Okay.” Annie nodded.
The four of them left the cabin.
There was a burst of thunder in the gloomy sky, and it started to pour.
Without any hesitation, Luke simply said, “Let’s go.”
