Behind the villa was another structure. It looked like a giant warehouse, if the commodity was the human body. The ground was covered in blood, and limbs were randomly strewn here and there. Clearly, it was a major crime site.
“Take a seat and get some rest. It will be a while before Jack and the others get back. ” Unsurprisingly, without their leader, the other clowns proceeded to slack off and lounge around.
I grabbed the opportunity to observe the general terrain and even entered the villa under the pretext of using the bathroom. I managed to find a room on the second floor where the abducted children were being held. The door was locked, but I could hear their whimpers and cries from the other side.
An iron chain was secured around the knob, so I had no way of breaking them out for the time being. I needed to return to the warehouse first.
“You all heard the crying, right?” One of the clowns nodded at me as soon as I came back, and then chortled with glee. “Those kids probably are starving by now.”
“It’s the first step in training them how to be obedient,” another clown chimed in. “They’ve only gone hungry for a day. They still have two more days to go.”
Before long, the clown called Jack came back, still carrying a shovel. He plopped on one of the benches and gulped down a pot of water. “You lot will have to buy more in the coming days. Should be around five to six years old. No older, or it would be hard to keep them in order.”
I knew then that they still intended to create a two-headed creature out of their poor victims, and my heart sank.
“Twins are hard to find, you know,” a henchman complained, “And younger ones even more so.”
“Well, they don’t have to be twins, exactly. We can just use two random kids. The important thing is that they are in excellent physical condition, or they’re just going to die like the others. ” The clown in the red mask switched his cup and took a swig of wine. Judging by his crude language, I had no doubt that his appearance was just as hideous as his manners.
“It’s not that simple. Kids these days are coddled and spoiled by their parents. There’s no way someone of that age would be able to withstand our little activities here.”
For a moment, everyone grumbled about their situation and the hardships they faced in procuring their goods.
“See, everyone in the last batch is worthless. Sally snatched the best-looking kid, and the rest of them are either stupid or disabled.”
“Why don’t we go and steal that boy from Sally, then?”
“Don’t even think about it. Have you forgotten how fierce that crazy bitch is? If we take the boy away from her, she will give us hell.”
Rufus’ POV
I thought Arron might not be here, because Crystal had left abruptly and I believed that she had come across some lead.
As I listened to the clowns talking now, I wasn’t so confident. Except for the best-looking one, all the kids were there.
Arron’s face was scarred, so these clowns probably wouldn’t find him to be the most striking one.
“Okay, let’s do something productive. We should go outside and check if there are any superior goods.” The red-masked clown interrupted him and asked, “Whose turn is it to cook today?”
The clowns exchanged glances with each other, seemingly unwilling to take on the task. “The temperature is dropping, so let’s just eat looking one, all the kids were there. Arron’s face was scarred, so these clowns probably wouldn’t find him to be the most striking one.
“Okay, let’s do something productive. We should go outside and check if there are any superior goods.” The red-masked clown interrupted him and asked, “Whose turn is it to cook today?”
The clowns exchanged glances with each other, seemingly unwilling to lake on the task. “The temperature is dropping, so let’s just eat something simple.”
“Yeah, yeah, preparing the food will take another hour, but I’m already starving.” The red-masked clown impatiently intervened, saying, “I’m tired after a long day’s work. I don’t want to eat simple fare. You guys play rock-paper-scissors, and the loser will cook.” I considered it and believed that this was a good opportunity, so I volunteered. “I’ll cook. What do you want to eat?”
The clowns were ecstatic to hear this. “Yeah, let him do it. Mike is a good cook. We’re not picky. We’ll eat whatever you cook.”
“Then go ahead. Make some curry maybe. There is no more beef in the refrigerator. Get some from the freezer.” The red-masked clown handed me a bunch of keys, gave me a set of instructions, and sent me on my way.
I had already scouted this area earlier, so I easily found the freezer and brought the meat to the kitchen.
I quickly washed and chopped some vegetables by the sink, put the pasta to simmer on a low flame, and left the frozen meat to thaw. A clown came into the kitchen to get some wine. He cast a casual glance at me and quickly left.
I could hear laughter and cheers from the warehouse. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, I sneaked up to the second floor where the children were locked up. After trying every key from the bunch the red- masked clown had given me, I finally unlocked the door.
The imprisoned children nearly screamed when they saw me.
“Hush. Everyone, be quiet.” I quickly gestured for them to slay silent and turned around to close the door.
The kids were probably terrified of the clowns, so they obediently kept their mouths shut, but still watched me with fearful eyes.
I took out some chocolate and cookies I had scavenged from the kitchen and tried to give them to the children, but they all shook their heads and refused to accept them.
I didn’t force them. I just placed the stash on the ground and softly said, “Don’t be scared. I belong to the royal family and am here to rescue you. I’m going to get you out of here soon.”
Only when I said this did the kids meet my gaze properly, their clear eyes full of questions. I knew they didn’t believe me yet, so I didn’t elaborate. Instead, I asked, “Are all the children here?”
One of them nodded first, but then immediately shook his head, and said, “Only one boy was taken away. Everyone else is here. The clowns said he looks the best, so they took him away.”
I understood. It looked like the clowns had been telling the truth, and the best-looking one was fortunate enough to leave. Although I didn’t know where he was taken, it had to be better than staying here.
I assumed that Arron must still be among these children.
The lights in the room didn’t work, so I took out my lighter and used the faint light of the flame to look at the children s faces, trying to find Arron.
But all of a sudden, it hit me that I had never seen his face before and had no idea what he looked like.
Rufus’ POV
I lit the small torch on the wall with my lighter, and the dim yellow light helped me see further into the room.
It was wider than I had expected it to be. Several iron cages were lined along the walls. I observed them and guessed that the children in those cages must have been caught before, while the ones outside the cages were probably new here. Their clothes looked newer too, supporting my theory.
The iron cages had thick stains, and only a thin layer of straw was scattered on the floor.
Since the children were locked together and huddled in one corner of the cage, I had to crouch down and check them one by one. Compared with the children outside the cages, the ones inside them were much more miserable. Their bodies were mutilated and they were in a dismal state. It looked like they had been locked up for an extended period of time.
The child sitting in one of the corners was even missing a leg. His leg stump was wrapped in a bandage, and blood oozed out.
I stood up straight, wanting to scrutinize it more carefully. The child didn’t say anything, but his innocent eyes tracked my movements warily, which enraged me.
I didn’t have any success in finding Arron in the first row, so I clenched my fists and began looking in the second row of cages. My uncertainty was increasing. At this moment, I suddenly spotted a child with a scar on his face.
There was no bandage on his face. I was not sure, but his figure and build matched Arron’s. I tentatively asked, “Arron? Are you okay?”
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