Capítulo 5: Life is a battlefield
What seemed to be tattoos crawled along Johns arms, across his wrists, and onto his fingers. The serpents crawling from his skin and onto the fabric of the Abbots clothes. The colors a dizzying combination. Almost enough to make one think they were on a drug trip.
Each creature hissing with malice as their tongues lashed out sensing the air with hunger. Dozens of them flowed from the mans arms and onto the Abbott. Wrapping about his shoulders and neck before they suddenly began to bite him with their needle like fangs as he screamed in agony.
Green and purple veins surfaced across his skin as boils and postules formed like enraged bubbles. John soon set him on the ground where he collapsed foaming at the mouth as the serpents continued their horrifying hostile display.
And during all this where was Cade?
He was in the hallway. Frozen in fear at what he saw. Not knowing whether to run, scream for help, or any other possible thing. He just stared at the scene before him. The Abbott. His tormentor and hated enemy laid dying on the floor from a plague doctor. A title he was taught to revere and treat with extreme respect. And he had not shown respect at the door. He hadn't even offered him true hospitality. So the first real thought in Cades head was this. "Am I next?"
John turned to the fearful boy in the hallway and let it a sigh as he knelt down to lay his hands on the Abbotts chest. The Snakes seemed to sense him and began to slither back onto his arms and into the warmth of his coat once more. After the last pale green snake made its way into his coat did John turn once again to the boy.
Cade couldn't move. He could hardly breathe. The only thing he had going for him was that he hadn't pissed himself in fear yet. And that was still an offer on the table for him at the moment.
John slowly approached the boy and knelt down so they were eye level. "I'm not here to hurt you. You or the girl that's here with you. As a matter of fact I came to save you from this hell. Ok. I know what I did is pretty bad. But that's not gonna happen to you. Either of you. Not if I can help it. So... I will help you get all healed up. And once that's done, I'm taking you guys outta here. Any questions?"
Cade remained quiet and didn't seem to respond.
John waved his hand in front of Cades face but still got no response. "Damnit. He passed out on his feet. Well... At least he didn't piss himself." He said as he picked up the unconscious Cade and went looking for the girl he'd seen while scouting out the place a few days prior.
Emily's room was not as run down as Cades. The door was fairly new and the interior was clean. A small desk sat in the corner with books about the alphabet, writing, theology, and a book of herbs and healing practices.
And sitting on a little three legged stool was Emily. Her eyes focused on her book of herbs and healing. Slowly studying it sentence by sentence. And her alphabet book lay open next to her in case she didn't understand what was written.
She had always been a bit of a bookworm and was always focused on her studies. She finished the page she was reading and leaned back a little to stretch when a loud knock came from her door.
She frowned as she slowly approached the door before cracking it open.
Her eyes turned upward to meet Cade's dead fish eyes and noticed how a large strange man was holding him like a sack of potatoes.
Now most girls would try to run, scream, or simply faint. But Emily wasn't most girls. She was a mentally sturdy 10 year old and despite her pranks on Cade every now and again. She was actually more mature than she looked.
She looked the man in the eyes before looking back at the boy she viewed as her brother. "Did you hurt him?"
The man shook his head. "No. He fainted on his feet. So I decided to look and see if you were here as well. The Abbott is no longer able to care for either of you. So I'll be taking you to a much better place." The mans voice rumbled out.
Emily's eyes narrowed at the man. "And what makes you think I'll believe you?"
He slowly strode through the door and past Emily looking for a bed which he put Cade on before he suddenly started taking off his top. Emily blushed heavily. She already assumed the worst as she had already read the Bible a few times with help. She knew what rape and murder were and that some monsters looked human.
But despite her worries the man before her only took off his top before turning around to show her his back which made her face pale at the sight.
His back was one massive scar. So many scars had marred his body that they intersected and molded together to form a patch of puckered white flesh. Burns, and whip strikes. Even a few bladecuts could be made out as they were the cleaner scars from the rest.
"My name is John Colderoy. I used to be here as a child when I was your age. And just like your friend, the Abbott made me his play thing. Hence why I came back here. To make sure it would never happen again. Except I found out two children were living here. And I knew the Abbott was back to his old games when I saw your friend struggle to move, let alone breathe when I met him." John said as he pulled his shirt back on again. His arms were tattooed with snake patterns crisscrossing his skin all the way from his wrists to his shoulders in a multicolored sleeve.
"I take it you've been the one patching him up?" John said when he noticed the book of herbs and healing practices on the desk.
Emily wrung her hands together nervously as she looked away. "I do what I can. I don't know much and the supplies are limited. But I do what I can for him." She said with a sad quiver to her lips. "He just gets hurt so much. I'm not good at it and I don't think he'll be happy if we leave here. It's the only home we have." She said. "Besides. The Abbott will never let us leave without him escorting us."
Johns eyes flickered for a moment as he looked her over. "Little one. You don't need to worry about that anymore. Uncle John has set things right. And I'm getting you both out of here first thing tomorrow. I even have a friend who can teach you how to heal better if you want." He said as He finished pulling on his coat with the medallion hanging from the front boldly flashing in the small glimmers of sunlight from the window.
Emily bit her bottom lip as she thought about it when a groan suddenly came from the bed. John had forgotten to lay Cade face down. So the sore wounds from the night before really gave Cade a rude wake up call. "If you can get her out of here then I would owe you one." Cade groaned as he sat up.
John glanced him up and down before speaking. "When did you come out of it?"
"When you hit me in the face with your coat when you were undressing. It's just that I wasn't able to move till now for some reason. You did something to me didn't you?" Cade responded as he sat upright so his wounds didn't stretch.
"A little numbing agent to help with the pain. Though I forgot the paralyzing side effect. My bad." John said with his hands up.
Cade looked at Emily. "He's a Plague Doctor. If he says you can learn to heal I think you should try. You've more than earned your right to try after patching me up so many times." Cade growled again as he tried to stand before a firm hand fell on his shoulder making him wince as he was forced to sit down again.
"First we gotta finish patching you up. Cause you're coming along. Whether you like it or not." John said as he moved Cade around to fast for him or Emily to react and lifted the robes off to reveal his patchworked back.
Gauze and herbal poultices were applied everywhere. But it didn't look too haphazard.
John merely nodded. "Looks like the old coot could only use the riding crop on you. And a couple branding marks. But this should heal up nicely with some additional help. You'll feel a pinch and some pressure." John said as a slithering noise came from his right hand as one of his tattoos glowed green.
A snake emerged from the skin seamlessly slithering toward his palm before turning into a syringe full of pale white liquid. "I'll give you the numbing agent in a smaller dose this time. And I'll need a needle and thread to give you a few stitches it seems. You did well girl. You definitely got talent." John said as he gave Emily a wink while she suddenly busied herself to find her sowing materials.
Cade felt the painful prick of the needle into the center of his scars and after was relieved when pain disappeared altogether.
Emily brought over her sowing thread and needle which John took with a nod before he began his work. He pulled out a drinking flask from his waste before dipping the needle in it and threading it. Cade felt pressure off and on as John worked. It seemed like time had sped up as the sun reached its highest peak before John was done.
John leaned back and wiped his hands after he reapplied gauze and salve over the wounds. "You need rest. We leave at first light when my carriage arrives to take us to the training branch."
"Training branch?" Emily and Cade asked in unison.
"Ah... Seems I skipped a bit. Since you two survived all this time with the Abbott I'm nominating you both as plague recruits." He said with a smile. "You can't say no. Them's the rules." His eyes held a glint of humor in them as both Cade and Emily looked at each other suddenly feeling they had been dropped from the frying pan and into the fire.
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