Jack smiled a little as he watched the boy head off on his mission. It'd been years since he'd taken care of children, he only hoped his fatherly instincts were still intact.
Remembering the poor girl he'd brought to the couch, he turned back to the counters and threw open every drawer he could find, looking for something he could use as a seam ripper. His bowie knife was far too large for such delicate work. Sifting hurriedly through the different utensils neatly packed in one of the drawers, he came across a tiny, finely engraved knife, most likely used for cheese or other small treats. "Fuck, yeah." Jack muttered to himself before walking back over to the couches. "What's your name, sweetheart?" He asked Lumi, kneeling down in front of her.
The weak little woman sat up, using her elbows for a push-off. "Lumi..." She whispered to him.
"Alright, Lumi. I'm going to help you get your hands down alright?"
"Mm!" She exclaimed, nodding frantically. Jack slowly stood and sat down on the couch beside her. "I'm right here. I'm going to be touching your face and hands, alright? It may hurt, but it's going to help you feel better in the end." He waited for her to nod in consent before leaning in closely.
The stitches were tight and hard to see between her cheeks and pressed fingers, but with as much stillness and care as possible, Jack began to cut the thread. "Doing great." He told her, snapping each string one by one by one. Slowly, her fingers peeled away. Lumi's face was completely encrusted with blood, her eyes sealed shut by it.
"Zohn sehs you ah new fah?" She asked him, reaching her hands up to feel his face. Staring at her closed, bloody eyes, Jack let her touch him. He pressed his head into her fingers, letting her slide her nails through his hair and run a fingertip down his nose and across his lips.
"Aye, Lumi." He told her, feeling something deep inside his heart clench onto these youths. "I'm going to take all of you away from here, where you'll never be mistreated again." Leaning in, he nuzzled her nose affectionately -to which she smiled and ducked her head- before standing. As she felt him rise, she reached out and grasped onto whatever of his clothing she could. Jack smiled down at her, though she couldn't see it.
"I'm only just getting something to wash your face. I'll be back."
Far below, where the light dare not penetrate to such high amounts of inhuman evil, Zion began his work with the other children. He held the baguettes in all four arms, with the keys and its ring as his bracelet. He hurried to the furthest of rooms first-- but stopped short on sight of Nicodemus' body. He tapped around for the head, pulling out a piece of bread to stuff into his parted skull.
At first, he poked the severed head to confirm its lifelessness, and eventually placed the tiny piece into his broken, cracked jaw. Loose teeth moved and shifted with the new addition, but Zion ignored the popping and crunching, dashing off to begin his mission.
Chains rattled against each other as the few who lived so deep into the passageway rooms called out to Zion. They pleaded and begged, and one by one the spider went to them, offering the holy gift of wheat in his hands, sent down by their new father. Were some of them hydrated, they would've cried for the meal-- the first of which wasn't a rat or some other ill-tasting bug.
Only a handful of birds from every room still lived, however, and by the time his food ran out from the first loaf, he felt as though he still had many more mouths to feed than what was given to him. Greedier and greedier, the babes pleaded for what was no longer in his arms, reaching out into the darkness as if it'd magically appear once again.
He spoke without meaning, filling the space in his brain that longed to remember the words and phrases he knew. How he repeated language and memorized it, despite the lack of true education. Storybooks his old father kept, rhymes he never forgot.
As the young man backtracked and climbed back up the steps, he set the extra baguettes to the side of the basement's door before waddling over to Jack and presenting him the key.
Jack had only just finished wiping Lumi's face clean when Zion came up behind him. Looking over, he gave the young man a warm smile and took the keys. "Thank you, sir." He said, placing them in his jacket with the others. "A job very well done."
Lumi, who's eyes had been freed, was staring around in search of Zion's shape. "Zohn!" She called to his thin, blurry figure, reaching arms out for him.
Zion insisted, hesitating to go to Lumi. He glanced up at Jack, then scampered over to the girl, placing all four hands over her head and face. He leaned in close, allowing the young lady to hold onto him or even feel for his features if she so liked.
Lumi hugged onto Zion tightly, giving his face kisses. "New fah helped meh feel so much bettah!" She agreed, smushing her red, swollen face against him. The girl let him go after a few moments of affection, allowing him to continue with his work. Jack watched the two of them over his shoulder as he dropped the bloody rags he'd used for Lumi in a wooden bucket.
Grabbing a wrap of dried meat, he walked over to them and handed it to Zion after breaking two small pieces off. "You can share this with the children downstairs as well. And you may have this for yourself, all for yourself." He told the young man, giving him one of the pieces and Lumi the other. "Eat it carefully, it may be something your teeth aren't used to." Eagerly taking it into her mouth, Lumi let the food sit on her tongue for a while to soften it. Jack sat next to her on the couch and continued his dutiful watch over the young adults as they waited for help to arrive.
It took well into the afternoon for Jack to hear the sound of a small army approaching. Standing, he walked over to one of the threaded windows and watched as Micah lead his gathering of fifty armored soldiers. Behind them trailed the horses pulling medicine wagons and food carts, with medics scrambling about in the back and preparing for the children. Walking back over to the couches, Jack called, "Zion! Come back up here!" as he secured the blanket he'd wrapped around Lumi hours earlier.
During the hours that passed with Jack and Lumi, Zion felt himself pacing the basement up into the cottage, reveling in his newest freedom. He was so used to the door being constantly sealed that to have it open bewildered him, and every time he went downstairs, he expected the light to diminish completely as the doors shut. When the fear started to settle in, he'd fling himself up the stairwell, back into the home's warmth he'd always longed for, then back down again.
And no later than he reached the bottom, would the order be called to him, sending the spider flying up the stairs as he scurried over to Jack. He came back empty-handed, exhausted of feed for the children. He crept at the edge of the couch, picking up the noisy group of visitors outside. Wide eyes would somehow hide him as he barely blinked, fixated on his world which was bound to grow larger.
"Fₐₜₕₑᵣ, ₙₑw cₕᵢₗdᵣₑₙ? ₙₒᵢₛy, ₛₒ ₘₐₙy, ₛₒ ₗₒᵤd."
Gathering enough courage, he tip-toed over to Jack's side, alert and on-edge.
"ᶻⁱᵒⁿ ᶜᵃⁿ ˢᵗⁱˡˡ ʰᵉˡᵖ, ʸᵉˢ, ʸᵉˢ. ᴵ ᶜᵃⁿ ʰᵉˡᵖ."
He announced as one of the village-folk loudly knocked on the door. A young woman with olive colored skin and dark brown ringlets, wearing an unmistakable determined look. She insisted on arriving first, and was their first real help, anyways.
Taking his blood-encrusted jacket off and wrapping it around Zion to cover his nakedness, Jack knelt down and fastened all the buttons and buckles for him. "These newcomers are our friends, they've come to set the other children free, just like you." He explained, pulling the coat into place before taking Zion's hand in one of his own, and Lumi's in the other.
"Stay close to me, we're going to go say hello." Holding the soft blanket up against her bare skin with her free arm, Lumi stepped off the couch and clung to Jack's side as he lead them to the mangled doorway. "Coming through-" He warned loudly to those outside as he kicked the broken door out of the way. Lumi winced when the sunlight fell on them, and she could hear the mass of warriors murmuring to themselves. Micah signaled for the others to wait, hurrying over to the little group.
"What's...going on?" He asked tentatively, eyeing Zion with distrust. Jack lifted his chin and gave Micah a firm stare. "These two will be joining us at the manor." He declared.
Knowing that Jack's word was law, Micah bowed slightly and stepped out of their way. Lumi's foggy eyes raised at the familiar scent of cinnamon and baked goods, and they fell upon the familiar figure nearby. "Bread angel..?"
Zion waddled out awkwardly from the doorway as Jack carefully led him through. He could feel the rising pressure of many eyes watching the malnourished two emerge, however his eyes drifted to those showing mistrust. Shuffling back behind Jack, he hissed, fixing the coat the boss gave him as he straightened himself up.
Once Micah had stepped out of their way, Zion approached him closer and poked at his head.
"Hello. Hello?"
It was an obviously practiced greeting rather than a natural one, stale with an oddly elongated vowel as he questioned if he were greeting Micah correctly. Without Nicodemus to fix his connotations, he double-guessed himself, yet the faint sniffling coming from the other side of Jack distracted him.
Camellia approached Lumi, tears of joy in her eyes.
"Oh thank Ambrus, you're alive. You recognize me, hun? You're going to be okay."
She'd have thrown her arms around the young woman if she wasn't so scared she'd have hurt her small frame. From appearance alone, she looked so much worse off than when she hid herself in the fluffy dress at the marketplace.
Gradually, her eyes drifted up to Jack, grateful, without a hint of fear for the mafia leader-- regardless of the bloody mess on Zion's coat, or the fallen horse nearby.
"Thank you, sir."
The rest of the crowd waited for reassurance that they could storm the inside, their impatience growing as they readied torches and medical supplies.
Lumi was nodding and reaching out, running her little hands over Camellia's face. "New fah saved us, bread-angel!" She breathed excitedly.
Jack smiled at Lumi's affection towards the girl, and after he'd been thanked by her, he said, "I'd like it if you'd visit the manor in Marrow at least once a week, for Lumi...If you would." He added politely, not intending to order this woman around. He quickly pulled Lumi's blanket back into place as it began to slip off. "She'll need a great deal of love to help her through this."
Meanwhile, Micah was watching Camellia with a little, fond smile before blinking out of it and looking at Zion. "Yes, that's right, hello!" He said, beaming. "What's your name?"
"Zion." The Spider answered, tilting his head as he analyzed the suddenly compliant man in front of him. By imitating Micah's tone of voice, he parroted the question back to him, although his expression hadn't changed. "What's your name?"
On the other hand, Camellia tugged on the fabric, fixing it from the front as Lumi studied her features. She held it in place, her eyes drawn back to the fragile beauty.
"I'm Camellia, love. Or Cam, if that's easier for you. Now that you're safe, we're gonna be the best of friends, alright? Together every week."
She smiled, holding off the sniffles to no avail. Her thoughts swarmed about the lovely soul in front of her, beaten and bruised, but still brave enough to reach out. And yet, with the knowledge that more than one soul emerged from the house, she glanced back up to Jack, gently removing herself from Lumi's hands.
"Too many," He said in a low voice, eyeing the men waiting for orders. "Too many for me to take in. They'll be fixed up and adopted out amongst the people. It's a fucking nightmare in that house."
While they spoke, Lumi took hold of a lock of Camellia's hair and kept it firmly in her fingers, muttering "Cami, Cami, Cami-!" to herself quietly in excitement.
"My name is Micah. It's nice to meet ya, Zion." Micah said brightly, bowing his head just a little to the boy before him. Looking over, he saw Jack holding his hand out and when Micah offered his palm in return, his leader dropped in it his set of keys.
"This opens the cages. Take the men downstairs immediately and get those kids out. I'll send medics with you, wait for them to approve the children before you remove them- they're fragile. But get them all out and into the wagons. Cover them, give them water, give them anything they need." Micah took a heavy breath of dread into his lungs before nodding. "Yes, sir."
Jack then placed a hand gently on Zion's back, saying, "I need you to come with me, alright? We need to go meet the medics and make sure you're well enough for the ride home. You too, Lumi." He put his other hand behind the girl, nodding to Camellia before tenderly urging the two of them forward across the front lawn and towards the wagons in the back. As they approached the company of soldiers, Jack spoke up loudly.
"Follow Micah's command, don't do anything without his permission. For now, only enter the basement, do not open any rooms on the first level. These children are porcelain dolls, and if you touch them in any way but gently, I'll make you eat your fuckin' hands." A few of the men nodded, knowing full well that the boss was not exaggerating, before marching onwards towards the house.
Leading Zion and Lumi forward again, Jack brought them around to the back of one of the wagons pulled by pair of thick white horses. There was a shorter man dressed in a tweed vest and trousers, his shoulder-length brown hair pulled back in a small knot. He was sifting through a crate of supplies in the back of the wagon, squinting at the labels on a few bottles in his hand as Jack approached.
Looking up, he bowed. "Master Calico, what can I do for you?"
"This is Zion, and Lumi." Jack gestured to each of the two beside him. The medic, named Florence, smiled welcomingly to both of the youths, though the corner of his eyes creased with concern. "Tend to Zion- and we'll need a female medic for Lumi."
Florence nodded, "Yes, sir." He said before poking his head through the wagon curtains and beckoning one of the women out to assist him. Turning and stepping closer to Zion, Florence gestured for him to sit on a table the company had set up nearby. "Up here for me, if you would, Zion." He requested kindly.
As golden irises rested on the two horses, Zion couldn't help but lick his lips, lost to the thought of another meal. At the mentioning of his name, however, the Spider's attention was brought back to the mafia boss, then over to the medic he was introduced to.
Squinting, he studied the man he found suspicious, regardless if Jack was the one entrusting him to the other. He practically crawled his way onto the make-shift table, clutching tightly onto his jacket he'd been given earlier. He pulled his knees in towards his chest, displaying even more clearly just how malnourished he truly was. Skin and bones-- with some discoloring from injuries, both old and new.
"Not tender. Most bones."
Glaring at the medic, he looked over the man's build, hardly hidden by the vest he wore. Much more plump than himself; however, not nearly as much meat as the horses seen prior.
The female nurse gently lifted Lumi onto her own table, and the examinations began.
Jack stood in front of the scene protectively as Florence tenderly undressed Zion, and behind them, the woman undressed Lumi. "Ah, strong bones though." Florence told the boy, gently taking his hand and stretching his arms out one by one to inspect and feel them, followed by his legs, then his ribs.
"Take a deep breath in for me," The medic inhaled dramatically for example and waited for the boy to do the same.
"How are they...?" Jack asked, a stern frown darkening his expression.
"Extremely malnourished," Started the female nurse as she ran her fingers through Lumi's hair. "Starved, severely beaten, filthy. It looks like her legs have been broken a few times over the years. Bad head lice and hookworms." Taking one of the girl's tiny legs in her hands, the woman revealed gnarled rashes on the bottom of her foot.
"Very similar case here," Florence added, gesturing to scarring on his patient's sides, under his first set of arms. "And Zion seems to have had some arms removed some time ago, crudely done. Probably torn off, as the second shoulders look a bit jarred."
Stepping between the two tables, Jack eyed the children with worry for a moment before looking away respectfully. "Lumi seems to have trouble seeing."
"Yes, sir. I'm guessing her eyes did not fully develop. She must have been placed in the dark at a very young age. I would say she has about twenty to thirty percent of a healthy person's vision."
"Can it be healed?"
"Rehabilitation is always possible, to a degree. The body likes to get better."
"And Zion, can his arms grow back?"
"I'm no expert in arachnid folk, but it looks to me that they are not regenerative. These kids are tough as hell, Mr. Calico."
"Well they've certainly been through it. Are they well enough to travel to the Manor?"
Both medics gave each other nods of agreement. "In a wagon, where they can sit on blankets." Florence said.
Nodding, Jack looked at Zion. "I'm going to send you home with Lumi and these two medics, alright? They're going to take care of you until I return."
Zion could keep up with most of the conversation, save for a few of the bigger words.
"Rehilation." He mumbled to himself, feeling for something alien to the tongue. As his lost arms were mentioned, he self-consciously wrapped an extra pair around himself to hide the marks from view. His mumble turned to an embarrassed grumble as he began to slide off the table he sat atop. Only when Jack addressed him did he pause and think, glancing between his 'new father' and the doctor which looked over him.
"ᴮᵘᵗ! ᶻⁱᵒⁿ ᶜᵃⁿ ʰᵉˡᵖ ʰᵉʳᵉ, ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵗʰᵉ ᵒᵗʰᵉʳˢ⁻" He protested, crawling off the side of the table and creeping under it. "ₗᵢₜₜₗₑ ₚᵣᵢₙcₑ cₐₙ ₕₑₗₚ₋₋ cₐₙ ₕₑ ₕₑₗₚ ₐₜ ₙₑw ₕₒₘₑ?"
Lumi listened intently as everyone spoke around her, and underneath their voices she could hear Zion's self-conscious muttering. A little frown crossed her face.
"Hansum..." She said quietly, leaning her head towards where she thought he was, "A hansum husband, 'dappah inded'." The girl offered an affectionate little smile, her glassy eyes following the sounds of him moving around.
Meanwhile, Jack was leaning down and holding his hand out to the boy under the table. "You've already helped, lad. Now it's time to rest. I imagine you've taken care of the others for far too long, now it's your turn to be cared for. You can help look after Lumi, if you'd like."
