All Nathan's confidence wore away at the news, grief hitting him square in the chest. His hands slipped down to his sides as his gaze fell away, disbelief washing over him.
"No fuckin' way. Samma?"
He mumbled to himself, a taste of bitterness bubbling up and onto his tongue. A sense of helplessness grappled him as he clenched and unclenched his fists, his mind lost to the whirlwind of despair. He couldn't even process Jack's words which came after, as only her dead stuck in his head.
"How. How'd that motherfucker kill her?" Gritting his teeth as he spoke, he remained facing the doorway, and only slightly turned his head in their direction.
"He cut her throat." Jack replied, folding his hands on the table and rubbing his thumbs against each other. Alessandro covered his mouth with his hand, closing his eyes in deep sorrow as he processed the information.
"Micah found her first, and he was with her when she died." At this, Jack glanced in Nate's direction. "He hasn't left his room or spoken since we've returned. The killer is dead as well. Samma's wake is tomorrow at noon, her funeral following."
"Same piece of shit who did that to your face?" Nate questioned him, turning to the men at the table. His vision blurred as his blood boiled then settled in waves of anger to sadness-- waves which rolled one after another seconds at a time.
"Better 'a tore that fucker's head off." His words had no air to them, likely the quietest he'd ever spoken. He turned fully towards the men and sluggishly sat back down in his signature chair.
"Noon, okay. Yeah, I'll be there." He nodded before pressing his palms against his eyebrows and raising his expression. "What else didja find in that psycho's place, ha? The wagons weren't just for her, right?"
Jack stared at his folded hands for a few solid seconds before suddenly feeling the sting of the scratches running across his face, a wound dealt by Nico that he'd long forgotten and hadn't felt for hours. Nevertheless, they were red and raised and they reached from above his left eye across his nose over his mouth and beneath his jawline.
I did. He thought to himself, as Nate mentioned ripping the man's head off. "There were children in the basement. He kept them in cages."
Alessandro lowered his hand, his brows pressing together as his expression shifted from grief to horror once more. "Children...?"
"In bird cages, hanging from the stone ceiling. We found eighty-seven of them, forty-three of them are still alive. It looks like he collected them. Fed them seed like they were his pets, and kept them completely naked."
"God be with them...the poor creatures..." Aless whispered, Jack continued. "That's what we brought back in the wagons. We'll be finding good, reputable homes for them if their parents can't be found. And we're still working to find the man's identity." His eyes raised and met Alessandro's, and for a moment, Aless could see the same adolescent boy that had begged for help and advice many years ago. But he knew this hardened man before him would no longer ask for it, even if he needed it.
"Your company would be good for your brothers and sisters." Jack added, looking at Nate. "Under the circumstances, you are welcome in the manor should you wish to comfort them."
Nate cursed under his breath as Jack continued to reveal information about the psycho. Although he stared out the window, he couldn't see any of the wagons from earlier, leading him to assume that they'd already made it to their destinations. Hopefully all forty-three of them that still held warmth. Samma would've guided them safely home. Maybe have even latched onto one and really took the time to make sure they were alright on the journey back.
It hit him, then, that he couldn't even remember their last words to each other.
"Aight, I'll pull up for a bit, bossman. If that'll help 'em some." He sighed, dropping his hands into his lap.
Bringing his eyes over to see Jack's expression, he wondered just how long the man could last without rest and without sleep. How many nights did the little ones cry and whine or stay up and annoy him and mom? Even though the giant didn't see Jack as his father like his siblings, Abby was for sure his adoptive mother.
"They awake yet? Or-ah, did they even sleep at all like you?"
Jack met Nate's gaze. "Last I knew they were sleeping in, or, trying to."
It was quiet for a moment as the three men sat together, a ribbon of smoke lacing between them from Jack's cigarette that was slowly burning out.
Alessandro released a breath he'd been holding, speaking quietly. "I'm sorry, Jack. My home is open to anyone you may need to house." There was much more he wanted to say, wanted to ask, but he couldn't bring himself too just yet. The air in here was heavy enough.
Nodding, Jack replied with an even quieter "...Thank you." He paused and opened his mouth to say something more, when a young man's voice could suddenly be heard crying down the street.
"Mister Calico! Mister Calico, sir! 'Scuse me- is he at the Berytius household? Yes, thank you!"
Without turning his head, Jack moved his eyes in the direction of the hall, waiting for whatever news was going to be hitting him next. Surely he could handle it, after all this.
Alessandro stood in alarm as a young footman from the manor came stumbling through the front door shouting, "Mister Calico! Sir, are you here!?"
"Here!" Aless called, stepping down the hall and hurrying to fetch the man. When they reached the kitchen, the footman hurried towards Jack. "Sir! Your son Micah, sir! He's overdosed!"
"He WHAT?!" Exclaimed Jack, jumping from his seat.
"Dollie found him just a few minutes ago and she sent me to find you right away while she called the medic and-"
Without another word, Jack was out of the house, running through crowds towards the manor. Perhaps he couldn't.
Nate was up and on his feet only a second behind Jack. He stumbled into the table as he stood, causing its legs to wobble rapidly, tilting towards the floor below them. For a second the tiramisu seemed to slip, cut short by the giant as he slammed his hand down to hold everything still. In doing so, he missed his opportunity to rush out of the room immediately behind Jack. Regardless, with the massive steps the ogre took, he passed through waves of crowd, his voice booming while he belted demands.
"OUT THE WAY! S'CUSE ME- MOVE IT! CLEAR OUT!"
All spoken variations as Nate desperately searched for Jack among those with more average heights, pushing through those who chose to ignore the walking disaster.
Dumb decisions against someone about to lose his two closest friends in a single day.
His face was red as he pulled up to the manor, eyes wild as he scanned for some clue of where to go. With his mind fogged with worry, he couldn't think to try even the most obvious place of the man's room.
Instead, his eyes locked with Cherry's. She held a hand over her mouth, hiding most of the tears which had already stained and fell off her face. A small gesture in the right direction was all the giant needed to take off again-- but not before resting a hand atop her head as he passed by in thanks.
The crowds were silent on Jack's ears, for all he could hear was his own heavy breathing and soft whispers. "No. No you don't. You're still here." He ducked under a rearing horse and shoved his way through the marketplace, everything a colorless blur. The village people were faceless. Pointless. In the way. Get out of the fucking way.
Running up the stone street and through the iron gates, he crossed the manor's front yard, straight through the gardens and towards the front steps.
"You're still here, Micah. You wouldn't leave." He murmured, rushing through the doors and up the first staircase that was pouring with frantic maids and footmen. "You wouldn't."
"Sir!" "Master Calico, master Micah is-" "Dad! What's going on? What happened to Micah?!" "Father-?" "Sir!"
Ignoring the roar of voices as he bolted across the landing, Jack pushed his way through the gathering medics outside of Micah's room and stepped inside. Dolly was on her knees, speaking urgently with Kazuto and two other healers that kneeled by her. Between them was Micah. The room was filled with others, but Jack didn't pay them any mind.
"What's going on, what has he done?!" He shouted, to himself more than the others as he dropped heavily to his knees beside his boy and took in the situation.
"We think he's-" Dolly's voice garbled into nothingness as Jack zoned out, or rather, zoned in. Hearing nothing of the others, he leaned forward and rapidly gathered the facts. Jack knew an overdose better than anyone else in the room.
Micah was unconscious, his lips blue beneath the blood and vomit smeared on his face. Black blood. And the vomit smelled...burnt. There was blood in his ears too, and one of his forearms had been wrapped, the hidden wound sprouting with dark, spidery veins that crawled up towards his shoulder. His heartbeat was weak and took far longer than it should have to find. Pressing one of the boy's eyelids open, Jack saw his eyes were both vividly bloodshot and glazed. But it was the smell on his mouth that confirmed it.
Dammit. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck.
"It's Excalibur." He growled, turning Micah over and slapping him harshly on the back to clear his airways. The others' replies overlapped each other, and as they helped lift him, Jack noticed a fallen mortar and pestle by Micah's overturned chair. He recognized the crushed leaves spilled into the carpet - the same gritty substance that he rolled in his cigarettes. Excalibur was Jack's drug. No one else was allowed to use it, make it, or deal it. It was a strict and well-known law in the manor.
"We have a bed for him in the house next to-" One of the medics started, quickly interrupted by Jack.
"You don't have time for that, he needs to be treated now." He demanded loudly, carefully moving Micah to his bed. "Kazuto, bring us some pearls, leeches- and the nearest bottle of wine."
"On it." Although Kazuto acknowledged Jack with a reply, he'd already turned away to grab the items as instructed. However, as he attempted to rush out the door, he found himself bumping face-first into the giant who only just found himself entering Micah's space. Sheer chaos.
"MY WIFE!"
Nate gasped, stumbling back. The struggling chemist had forcefully pushed past him, although the oaf himself put up no resistant towards him. Instead, he wandered back in and stared at who he'd just claimed to be his wife-- a memory which began to surface as he saw the raw state the man was in.
Reading lines off parchment, Micah and Nate announced their love for each other. That was the roles given to each of them: husband and wife; a lovely couple. Back when Abby and Jack planned group activities for the kids and had tried to come up with something entertaining. Team-building. Since they were some of the older kids, the roles worked well for the two-- and they never actually dropped them. Nate understood it to be what created their friendship, but Micah never looked displeased to continue playing his part. It became a running gag to those who knew, and somewhat of a shock to those outside the loop. He never would've guessed, however, that he'd be at his wife's bedside, praying for her him to wake before they grew old with wrinkles.
"We haven't even spent our honeymoon together!" He despaired, only to be shoved yet again as Cherry reentered the room.
While the chemist moved with haste, a servant outside the room had already been holding a bottle of wine. Cherry hadn't been far down the hall, trailing after Nathan at a much slower pace. She'd already seen Micah's state, and didn't need to be reminded. Yet, she kept pearls on her, mostly as accessories. Knowing this, Kazuto dashed up to her, thrust the wine bottle in her hands, and hurriedly asked for her to bring them to Jack. She couldn't even object, Kazuto immediately off to his room to grab the leeches he had on hand.
Gritting her teeth, the pinkette handed over what she had to Jack-- even if the bottle was a third gone, and some of the pearls had drilled holes. "If you're not gonna help, then just leave!" She barked back at him, keeping her eyes to the floor as she tried not to stare at Micah. She didn't need that image to be the first thing she thought of if he, well...
"Shit." Taking a breath, he both ignored Cherry's words but also took them to heart. "I can hol' him upright for air while ya treat him." An offer made as he moved closer to the patient, his eyes on Jack. While it took him too long to be serious, he was there, his shock left second to the task that needed to be done.
"I'll tell you if we need you, son." Jack said to Nate, without realizing he used a term rarely given to the man (by request). Quickly, he took the bottle and pearls from Cherry, and proceeded to unwrap the wound on Micah's arm- revealing a wicked, blackened cut that was actually sizzling. Without waiting, Jack popped the wine bottle open and poured it over the wound, the alcohol bubbling on contact.
"Naloxone hydrochloride," Said one of the medics as he leaned past Jack and, with the help of another nearby, administered an anti-opioid into the wound with a syringe.
Drawing close to the boy, Jack gave him a few light smacks. "C'mon, Micah, come on back, come on," While he did so, Dollie elevated his feet with a pillow and one of the medics massaged his arm to help the medicine travel.
"Micah, let's go! Time to wake up now! Get a move on!" Jack's voice grew gravelly as he glared down at him, and smoke began to ribbon out of his mouth.
"MICAH." With another (harder) slap to his face, the young man gasped and his eyes flew open. He hurried to sit up, overtaken quickly by heavy coughing. Dollie held her face in both shock and relief, gasping a weepy "Oh my GOD-MICAH YOU'RE BACK" while the healers hurried her away from the bed before quickly returning. Micah reached out and took hold of Nate's coat as he heaved raggedly, bringing up more blood and vomit that poured onto himself and splattered those nearby. His eyes were red and filled with fear.
"No no no, Micah stop- breathe, alright? You have to calm down-" Jack urged, watching as the boy gasped desperately for air and found none, his skin going paler and bluer.
"Master Calico, we need the room," Said the medic known as Duran, quite firmly as he physically pushed the leader back along with Cherry and Nate. "We'll get the leeches from Master Kazuto, and we'll take the pearls. " Jack glared at the doctor for a moment, looking over the man's shoulder to see his son struggling hard to stay alive before the other healers surrounded him and blocked the view. Did this man just not want him to be present when Micah died? Or were they truly in the way at this point? Was there a chance for him?
"Da-" Said a voice, taking Jack's hand from behind and pulling him out of the room. It was Wrenamine, another of the grudges. She looked down at the blood and mess splattered on Jack's front and shook her head, her large eyes wider then usual. "Stay out here with us, let them save him."
Completely undertaking the role of being both a blood and vomit-bucket, the giant stood still as Micah went through the motions. He brought a hand up to keep a hold on him, just in case the man fainted mid-hurl. He could see the fear and confusion clearly, sending a pang through his core.
"Take it easy; take it slow." He managed to get out before being pushed away by the medics, shoved outside the door.
Covered in black blood and chunks of whatever Micah last consumed, Nathan looked down at himself with a blank expression before gazing around at the family which gathered. If he hadn't been covered in bile, he'd have scooped up each and every soul there for a hug. A group hug, a single hug, anything.
"If he needs any of us, they'll tell us." Cherry added to whatever Wrenamine had said, although the giant had somehow missed the short conversation altogether. He noticed her holding in her arms close, having also stood in the front row with himself and Jack. The black was sure to stain on her rosy dress, but that was the least of either of their worries.
"Here." Agatha, one of the sweeter maids had extended a few hand rags to the giant who received the worst of it. Graciously, he took hold of the rag and patted his neck and chest down, soaking the first cloth in no time at all. She'd gone ahead and offered some to both Jack and Cherry as well, although they were no towels.
With a sigh, the oaf slipped off his coat and let it drop to the floor. Its gold and red patterns might've been beyond saving, but his family wasn't. Once he managed to get the most of it off him, he wandered on over to the small huddle that was his family and swiftly wrapped his arms around them.
"We're gonna be just a'ight." He said soothingly, tightening his hold whether they wanted him to or not. "They're doin' their shit, and we're gonna be together 'til then."
Not a moment later did Kazuto return with leeches in tow, gasping for breath as he slowed. He prepared himself for the worst, inhaling sharply and biting his tongue. Only as he heard the ruckus inside did he realize the healers were at work, and he no longer hesitated to join them.
Before Jack could argue with Wren, he felt Nate take them all into his embrace, crushing their bodies together affectionately. The hug got tighter and more intense as Conri, Takoda, and Soraya (more Grudges) squeezed their way into it, all of them holding onto each other.
The moment was heavy and fragile, like a broken vase being held together by a dozen hands. Jack stared into nothingness, listening as Takoda made some inappropriately timed joke somewhere in the mass of bodies, and the "oUCH!" that followed when Soraya pinched him for it. Hearing Kazuto come up the way, Jack blinked a few times before ducking out of the hug and hurriedly grabbing the boy's sleeve before he could enter the room.
"I'll take those." He said, gently but adamantly taking from him the large jar of leeches. "Thank you, Kaz. Now go downstairs." Looking over to the group hug, he urged them. "All of you, go downstairs now. Nate- make sure they go, won't you? No family is to be on this floor until further notice. I'll stay, in case-..." Jack's voice wavered for only a moment.
While the giant tried to encase every grudge into his arms at once, he appreciated those on the opposite end which continued to hold it together. It was tight and felt close, warm-- and it somewhat smelled, but Nate chose to ignore that, like the rest of them. It was warm. Safe. No one else could be hurt, or be in pain when they stuck together like this. At least, that feeling held true until Jack broke away from their embrace and halted Kazuto's entry.
Gradually Nate released Cherry, Conri, Takoda, Wrenamine, and Soraya.
"But Dad, I can help-" Kazuto insisted, eyeing the healers inside. While he never took Excaliber himself (obviously, for the repercussions at best would be Micah's condition), he held knowledge of it. Watched Jack both make and inhale it. "I know what I'm doing." There was little fight in his words, even if he believed in them. Jack's orders were absolute time and time again.
A hand fell on Kazuto's shoulders, tugging him back slightly. "Kiddo, they got plenty'a staff. We'll be right downstairs if this Jackass needs us, yeah."
Glancing down at the leader, he kept his voice low. "Don't leave us in the dark too long, a'ight?" A simple request before he turned back to the nervous group, clapping his hands together and taking a step towards them.
"Let's wrap it up and move down! Anyone want up on an arm? A shoulder?"
Jack's eyes softened, his gaze staying with Kazuto as he was pulled away. I know you do. He thought to himself, unsure why he didn't say it aloud.
But now was not the time to help. He wouldn't have a single one of them watch their brother die, if that were to happen. And if he lived, he wouldn't have them hear whatever he needed to endure to get that far.
Without looking up at him, Jack nodded in reply to Nate. Takoda excitedly started climbing onto the giant, claiming a seat on his shoulder. Soraya and Wrenamine held eachothers hands and started downstairs, and Conri stood for a moment longer watching Jack. The young man was quiet and calculating as always, and he knew what his father meant to protect them from. He gave Jack a solemn nod before joining the others down the staircase.
After they'd gone, Jack stepped back into the room of chaos. Before he could say anything, Duran had already taken the leeches out of his grasp and was hastily undoing the latch on the top. Anxiously, the master of the house weaved through the healers to catch a glimpse of his boy- who he found to be unconscious again.
"We had him up just a moment ago, sir, we'll have him back again momentarily." Said a female aid reassuringly as she took an already filthy rag and attempted to wipe more blood from the patient's mouth.
"It's that damn cough and his damn fear getting the best of him," Duran said in panicky frustration, pulling leeches out one by one and setting them in the respective areas that had been prepared on Micah. "He wakes, coughs up his organs and gets scared shitless, making him cough harder. He doesn't get any air in and we lose him all over again."
"Can he not pull through while he's unconscious?" Jack asked, already knowing the answer but hoping somehow they knew better than him and would say otherwise.
"Being awake is preferred. Gets his heart going, and we need him to swallow these damn pearls. That Oni has taken as much of the blow as it could, but those could certainly give it a bit more stretch, bit more endurance. That bastard got shot up to high hell."
The medic was referring to the Oni and not Micah, of course, but it still made Jack internally snarl to hear him call anything regarding his son by such a name.
"Can I do anything?" He pressed desperately, despising the lack of control he had in this situation.
"You can trust that we'll do everything we can for him- and so will he. His body wants to survive. Trust us, trust it." The female healer said. She took his arm and gently led him to the door again. "It would help all of us if you'd wait nearby, outside."
Nodding tiredly, the man sat on a chair against the door in defeat. Defeated by what? Everything. Atleast that's what it felt like.
A few hours passed by. Long, extended periods of quietness in the room behind him, followed by outbursts of shouting and crying and coughing, followed again by silence. Jack had his head resting in his hands and he was thinking about that lunch meeting he'd put together for that afternoon, wondering if Dollie had bothered to mention to the company he'd invited that the master was in the middle of a double-crisis and may be considerably late. It was then that the door finally opened. Jack was instantly out of his seat, waiting hungrily for information like it was food in the desert.
"We got the pearls down. He's awake, and the coughing is minimal."
The most glorious fucking words to have graced Jack's ears.
"He's asking for Nate."
"On it." The man replied, sounding like an eager messenger boy as he hurried across the landing, down the stairs and towards the sound of the family.
Nate and the others could've very well been watching snails crawl up and down the stairs twice over with how slowly time seemed to pass between them. Even when the merry man tried to keep at best spirits, there was still an anxious glance of worry directed to the staircase. They'd all wandered a bit down the hall and into one of its many drawing rooms, but hadn't been too far as to miss anything. If one of them listened in well enough, they could still hear the commotion of when the coughing fits started, along with the silence which followed. As far as he saw, no one bothered to try and down any food, and the most anyone could do was chug water after the servants' insisting. Even so, Nathan tried to keep the focus on his goofy antics rather than the severity of the scene above their heads. Kazuto still seemed out of it, and Cherry was only barely joining in to the conversation, mostly needing prompting to do so. However, what was filler conversation halted immediately as the sound of boots met with wooden stairs. Clunky yet swift; nearing their location.
Instantly, the giant was up on his feet after slouching onto a chair. He made way for the staircase, his family assumedly behind him as he rushed to intercept Jack. Whatever news it was, he needed to know. And if he was in this much of a hurry to go down the stairwell, it had to be something good.
Please let it be good.
"Well?" He gasped, unsure how to hide the desperation in his voice.
