Chapter 91 91:Night Assault
Annoying voices rang around the orphanage.
There were squeaks, cries, and laughter hitting the eardrums one after another making everyone dizzy.
"Hey, hey stop running."
"Mary, don't bully the girls."
"Lego stop hitting him. I will punish you otherwise?"
Lucas felt his head throb as he oversaw dozens of shabby-dressed children moping around.
Turning around, he saw Frederick bribing the children to keep quiet by showering them with coins.
"Stop throwing money, Frederick, "Lucas screamed, making the children shrink in fear.
"Oh! Kid don't fear, I was just scolding Brother Frederick, not you."Lucas gnashed his teeth.
This Frederick thinks of himself as a sugar daddy. Every time someone cried, he would throw candy at the children to coax but now instead of candies, he started bribing them with money.
"Hush!"Taking a deep breath, Lucas turned his gaze.
"Roan, bring me a broom. I will clean the floor."
TACK!
Lucas felt a soft touch on his back. Turning around, he saw a small cute boy extending a stick twice to his side.
"Oh, my cutie."Lucas laughed and patted the boy who in turn made a satisfied expression.
Lucas cleaning the floor wondered about the current situation.
The situation was miserable. Due to the loss of children, the funds sent to orphanages by the local administration seemed to have been cut off and there have been notices to disband the orphanage and transfer kids to another place.
With more than a hundred children, the situation was grim, forcing them to solve the situation as swiftly as possible.
The uneasiness and tension among the children couldn't be concealed forever.
The reality was cruel. If kicked out, the children had nowhere to go. Not all of them were orphans, some of them had been thrown out or disowned when they were kids.
The harsh truth of being abandoned could make one feel guilty about being born. The psychological burden these children go through forces them to mature early.
It was not uncommon for them to eat a meal a day, wear dry shabby clothes, and work in turns at farms in nearby places after the age of 10 and moved out at the age of 15.
Lucas's grip tightened around the broom.
"Frederick it's time," Lucas muttered looking at the watch.
"I will call Parth."Frederick and as he looked for Parth, his eyes twitched.
"Lucas...Frederick..save me.."Parth begged with a pale expression.
Lying on the floor, 10 or more children jumped over him.
"Body Slam!"
"Super Kick!"
The children practiced all the moves on Parth.
"He is playing with the kids. Let him come later."Lucas gives Parth a wink while pulling Frederick and Roan.
"No..don't do this to me....No...."
Parth's angry howl echoed but oblivious to his pleas, the children jumped on him attacking him with a body slam.
...
Coming out of the orphanage, they walked through the locality of houses filled with cracks.
Hubris was a small town situated 700 km to the west of Ivan in the Province of Heinz by Viscount Heinz.
Looking around, Lucas could discern the negligence shown to this place. The roads hadn't been repaired, sewages weren't cleaned, and most of the people here were driven to poverty and neglected.
'Either Viscount doesn't take care of his territory or the funds sent to the town are embezzled by someone. The orphanage fund might also be cut.'Lucas thought inwardly.
"Children in orphanages are pitiful. They have to chew dry bread with a bland chicken soup without any side dishes."Roan muttered pitifully.
Even he found it hard to swallow the food.
"How can someone abandon their children? What sin did these children commit?"
"Children are innocents. It's the parent's fault for not giving them enough love." Frederick shouted.
Seeing their aggression, Lucas sighed.
"Let's open an organization to help orphans when we grow up."
Roan and Frederick halting in their steps, gave Lucas a profound gaze.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"What a great idea Lucas! I am proud of you."Roan exclaimed in joy and patted Lucas.
Lucas narrows his eyes at Roan.
'When did this nerd grow some balls?'
It had been three days since they arrived here.
They would investigate, look for clues, play with children, help the orphanage, and at night, Lucas would pull them towards a bar at the end of the suburbs.
Glancing at Lucas, Frederick stared at Lucas with an odd expression.
They were entirely clueless in this matter and as far as Frederick knew, Lucas might look like a coward and carefree but until now, he had never met someone as meticulous and cautious as Lucas.
You may be fooled by his soft side but once things get heated, you will shed tears of blood and blame yourself for not knowing when you will be killed.
'I feel something is going to happen near the bar or there may be clues regarding the kidnapping there. He knows something but he is not divulging things.'
'I hope you can trust us more in the future.'Frederick muttered looking at Lucas back, which in his eyes looked quite lonely.
Even if Lucas laughs and smiles with them, Frederick could see a small barrier between them.
Lucas, unaware of Frederick's thoughts, walked ahead humming a pleasant song.
Even if Frederick was able to guess this, he would not care after it's the truth.
As they came near the bar, they stopped their track seeing a Priest coming out of the alleyway.
"Hello, Priest Joseph!"They greeted him.
Joining his hands, Joseph cast a gentle smile" Juniors, it's been a while. Have you been at peace with Immanuel?
After seeing his unique greeting similar to the old old monk, Lucas gave a brief smile.
"We have been well Priest Joseph! I sincerely pray for Goddess's guidance to help us free the poor children."
"May the Goddess grace you for your perseverance."
"Thanks!"Frederick replied, giving a blow.
"Ohh! Priest Joseph, what are you doing here in this filthy place? It's the second time I have seen you here."A mocking voice came from behind.
"Please maintain your image instead of ruining it with those skillful words, Immanuel."
Frederick, Roan, and Lucas jumped in panic.
Looking back, they saw Parth spouting bullshit and speaking straight at Priest's face, and reacting instantly, they closed Parth's mouth.
"We apologise on his behalf. He had not been educated well."Lucas forcefully bowed Parth's head.
"It's okay. People suffer as many sins as they commit."
"Amen!" Priest Joseph maintaining a calm face left.
"Disgusting, pathetic hypocrite fuckers."Parth screamed startling Lucas and Frederick.
"Stop behaving like Kid. Even though you don't like Church, can't you mask your hostility?"Frederick asked
"If you behave like this, you may be marked as a heretic, "Roan muttered, flinching back.
"Hehe! I would like to see them try."Parth gave a crooked smile.
"What that kid said was correct?"A wrinkled-faced man appeared.
"Ehh! Uncle Shawn, you are early today."Lucas greeted that man.
"Ehhh! My job finished early."
"By the way, beware of these vicious dogs. They might look like they don't bark but they have sharp fangs so even if you want to curse don't do that before them," Shawn reminded the four.
"Yes, only a brain-dead person would clash against the Church head-on."Lucas glared at Parth.
"Did you come from the orphanage?"Shawn asked.
"Yes, uncle. We are working hard so have mercy on us by giving us a treat."Parth shed crocodile tears with a wronged expression.
Coupled with his swollen face, it seemed he had been beaten quite hard.
"Hahaha!Okay, kids. Today drink on me."Shawn patted Parth.
Seeing everyone heading in, Lucas tapped on Frederick's shoulder.
"Frederick, I need to go somewhere."
"Where?''Frederick asked with a frown.
"Nature's call."
Answering Frederick, he ran away before Frederick could stop him.
"Why the hell, he always feels nature's call here every day?"Frederick shrugged his shoulders as Lucas went back and faded into the darkness of the alley.
.....
The road was extremely dark, illuminated only by several beams of broken street lamps. The beam of light occasionally flickers and dims letting the area drown in darkness.
CREAK!CREAK!
Chains slide off being dragged against the road, emitting a creak. Symbols of feet in red color stamped on the upper layer of the road, as the feet are propelled onto the road.
Huffing and puffing, a boy whose face was painted red and yellow, stooping low attempted to move steadily, hiding himself from the eyes of the people.
SWOOSH!
On being illuminated by a beam of light, his naked upper half riddled with scars, cuts, and scratch marks appeared in one's vision.
His lower half was covered with a ragged tunic wrapped over the torn torso. Blood leaking from the torso had painted the tunic red.
Just as he was about to take a turn, a ray of light shone blinding his vision and narrowed vision.
Sensing the situation being precarious, he immediately turned around to dash but something hurling in the air came straight at him.
"Aaaaah!"
The thing hit the back of his thigh making him stumbled and fell with a groan.
Two figures quickly approached him.
"I found the bastard."A man's voice echoed as he growled.
"Hold him."
The boy biting his lips attempted to get up but stumbled as he felt someone grabbing his ankle and pulling him back.
His heart froze in fear, as he was yanked back.
"No, let me go."The boy shrieking loudly tried to scratch the ground to get a hold of something.
On getting pulled back, his hands searched around madly and got hold of a wooden plank however before he could grab it, a foot appeared stomping over his wrist.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"
Combined with the sound of a scream, a crackling jolting sound of bone dislocating also echoed.
YANK!
The boy's body jolted up in the air, as the man pulled him forcefully grabbing his shoulder.
The other man bending down grabbed the wooden plank.
SPAT!
Spitting on the boy's face, the man smiled sinisterly.
"We were kind enough to look for a new home but this son of a bitch instead of being grateful for our kindness, you dared to run away."
"It seems, I need to straighten you with this plank."
The boy's whole body shivered.
Various scenes of him being tortured and starved played in his mind.
"Please, I will be good and lay low from now."
"Please..."The boy begged.
Tears oozed out from his eyes like a waterfall.
"Shut up ant!"
Feeling disgusted by the act, he swung the plank hitting the side of the boy's face.
BANG!BANG!BANG!
The man pummelled the boy without a shred of mercy.
"Stop it, he will die."The other man intervened, seeing the boy bleeding from the forehead. If this goes on, his skull might be cracked.
"So, what if he is dead?"
"Because of him, that asshole slapped me."
"Fucking hell."
The man raised his hand to strike again. His eye flashed with a murderous gleam.
"You are a madman."The other man, panicking inwardly, stared at the plank.
However, before the plank could come down.
POPP!
Something went past the man's head making it burst out like watermelon seeing which other man's jaw hung wide, unable to respond.