Reeva just kept the tablet. "I wonder what the Bradshaw family has done against Pareidolia for him to be like this. It's good Rowan hates that guy now. Oh, Trig and Locket already found him. They just… can't proceed without any preparations."
"Then, deal with it. I have to do a few things first before moving in as well." Duke left the room as well.
Reeva only watched him leave the door open as if not letting the light vanish. Moreover, when he looked to the side, the prisoner was already dead. A menacing smile curled the curator's lips. "Hellhounds really think they can play with us?"
…
Instead of paralyzing coldness, Rowan felt how his body continued to be warm. It might not be the normal temperature, but at least it meant his body didn't lose enough blood to fail. His eyes opened and barely saw anything around him. He just knew there was a person next to him.
The other person burred from the cold of the place. However, with his heavy coat wrapped around him and Rowan, he couldn't complain about anything. Even if Rowan was sharing body heat with him, the other person was barely alive from the gunshot wound they crudely patched up. He just wished Rowan wouldn't suddenly die next to him.
Rowan didn't have to guess who the other person was. With that gold watch that gleamed under the stray glint of light and that familiar feel of his big hands, Rowan could tell Scott was also left alive. Then again, he did hear how the man was also their target.
Thump. There was a dull thud at the side. Rowan eyed the direction it came from, and movements followed as if things were moving away from that thing that fell over. Then, there was a voice.
"Please don't be dead… please don't be dead…" It was a woman's voice, but she almost pleaded with the gods by the way she spoke.
"…she's gone."
"Oh, my God… Winnie…"
Rowan couldn't see them, but he figured there were more than a few people inside the cold room of a cage. He just didn't move to not startle them.
However, Scott's soft voice still flitted to his ears. "Are you awake? They made an effort to keep you alive longer than the others. If they found out, they might turn against you. Don't deliberately make yourself a target."
"Longer than others?" Rowan didn't move and just accepted the fact that he was stuck against Scott for now. "They shot others to keep the people from escaping?"
"Not really. They are taking advantage of the bare minimum they had to do," Scott whispered back. "As long as the daughters are alive, all is good. No one cares whatever happens below their necks."
"Whatever happens below their necks? Are you talking to that other guy now?" Someone else spoke, and Scott decided not to waste his breath on other people. Rowan didn't answer the person, either. After all, they didn't know how long those people had been kept there.
After the man's question, everything fell into silence. The deafening sound had made some people insane, compounded by the darkness they were all in. None of the people there knew everyone's names, but they all knew they were going to suffer the same piece of hell.
Someone decided to speak again. She even sounded like dragging her body across the floor just to get closer to where she thought the two men were. "Hey, new guys… do you have anything sharp on you? Just think of it as a little service. I don't want to kill myself…"
"…it's too early for us to start killing people to release them from the nightmare," Rowan responded this time. Even if he still squirmed closer to the hateful person for body heat. "How long have we been here, though? Sorry, I just woke up…"
"What is time? How long is long enough?" The woman growled at the insensitive answer. "If you can't help me, then shut up."
Rowan didn't respond anymore. The woman had clearly lost her mind in the pitch-black darkness. They could only get an occasional glinting light from the door at the far side. Even if Rowan wanted to crawl toward that place, he had no idea what he might bump into. Also, he didn't know how crude his treatment was. It would be awful if he started bleeding again.
Scott leaned his back on the freezing wall behind him. That was not ideal, but his body was already numb in some places. They had been here far longer than he didn't mind. He was just lucky that he had a person next to him to share body heat with.
He then closed his eyes. If he couldn't physically go anywhere else, then he would just let his mind wander. After all, if he only needed a happy place to go, there were a lot of them peppering his life. He just needed to concentrate and live in them for a while.
"…hey, don't sleep…" Rowan whispered, but Scott didn't listen to him at all. The painter was used to that, but he figured he didn't care as long as Scott would remain warm until Duke and the others could rescue him. Right, he heard how those guys planned to call Duke's attention.
Rowan only squirmed again to warm his body enough to survive a bit longer. That body might not be Duke's, but it used to belong to someone who helped him long ago. Moreover, it was so long that he also saw how this man had become the most vulnerable.
If Rowan only knew that Scott would throw him away for a woman after a few years, he wouldn't have sworn his heart to the man's recovery.
…
Fourteen years ago…
Sink. Rowan could only sit right next to Scott on the bed. It was already four in the morning, but the latter was yet to sleep. His eyes were still blankly staring off into the distance. Rowan only leaned on Scott's body, his arm lightly embracing Scott's waist.
"Hey, you're not sleeping again. Did you wake up from another nightmare?" he softly asked, hoping to get a response from the other. "I brought some milk for you. Maybe it will help?"
"Sorry… it just…" Scott held onto his forehead. "Those bullets were meant to hit me, not Dad. He could have survived if he just…"
Rowan moved his head to look up at the other man. "Scott, don't be like that. Parents will always have the instinct to protect their children. Do you want your father to be the one crying out like this because he didn't move fast enough?"
Scott looked at the person next to him. Rowan could only purse his lips. "I'm… really bad at comforting people with words. I mean… at least, if it's you… you… you have me. Your dad… he will only cry alone and slowly degrade until his mind can't take it anymore…"