14 Chapter 14: Welcome Home Kids

Darkness covered everything in Loki's field of view with the exception of a thin slit towards the corner. Whatever Anna and Chris had given him was still working wonders as he could barely maintain his consciousness as he teetered on the edge, often sinking back to sleep before a rough jolt would awake him once again.

"F*ck me, how can a kid be so heavy?" Chris could be heard complaining through rough breaths. Whatever was being used to blindfold Loki had been tied around his head while going over his ears, making the sounds around him sound muffled and unclear. Besides Chris's barely audible grunts, he could pick out a lighter sound of breathing which was much closer to him which he guessed belonged to Anna.

Rather than replying to his complaints, she simply huffed lightly while continuing her uneven steps. It was these that had caused Loki to momentarily sober up as he hit his head against her back. With slight movements, Loki began to shift in an attempt to reach for his blind-fold but, aside from feeling numb all over, a stinging sensation greeted him. From the discomfort in his shoulders, he became aware that his arms had been bound behind his back, leaving all but zero chance of escape or retaliate besides rolling.

The way that they had been captured and the fact they had only been bound and carried away all pointed towards The couple having no intentions of harming him or his brother but Loki had no idea how long that would go on for.

Slowing his breathing and focusing internally, he reached out towards his mental connection with Bolt, the wolf he had tamed, and began to tug on the fine string which linked them. From the time he had connected with the wolf, he had noticed that there were many ways for them to communicate, although being only at a very basic level. Transmitting emotions and intent was entirely possible as he urgently called out to his partner.

Within the withered tree, Bolt had been laying lazily on Loki's bed but was suddenly shook awake as his sleepiness disappeared with him staring into the distance uncomfortably. After just a moment of standing stock still atop the straw bedding, he bolted out of the door, desperately following in tracks the twins had left just hours before.

Time was passing rapidly for Loki. Each time he fell unconscious, he had no way of telling how much time had elapsed before he would wake up again. Loki could feel Bolt's urgency in rushing towards them yet there was no way of telling the distance left either. Whether Bolt would make it to them, or whether they would arrive at wherever the couple were attempting to take them was completely unknown and hung heavily on his heart.

"Get Down!" Loki felt his emotions surge as he heard an unfamiliar voice shout out from a distance away. The voice was brimming with urgency which left Chris and Anna no time to contemplate before they threw themselves to the grass, tossing the twins from their shoulders.

Tumbling across the floor while still blindfolded and bound caused Loki to immediately become disorientated while his shoulders flared up in pain due to the unnatural angle they had been tied in. Taking advantage of the situation, he began to clumsily roll around while trying to free either his legs or his arms from the ropes. Without his vision, he had no hope to escape the situation, yet he found it impossible to do nothing while leaving all hope to, who he expected was, Bolt.

One step at a time. Hands. Eyes. Feet.

Snarls began coming from somewhere close to him. It was definitely Bolt who had finally come to their aid, but he couldn't have been faring well as there were no shouts of pain from their captors. Both joy and worry followed as he renewed his efforts.

After a short pause, Loki began to shake his legs furiously as he felt the ropes slightly give way. Complicate movements may have been a challenge but simply shaking aimlessly produced surprisingly fruitful as his legs came free. While struggling maintain balance, he forced himself to his knees as a sharp yelp split the air shortly after an aggressive shout from Chris.

*SsshhhhFWAP*

A screeching sound followed by two dull thuds. That was the only sound which accompanied the connection between Loki and Bolt crumbling into nothingness. Just like the connection between them, Loki lost all strength in him as he came to the realisation and slid to the ground lifelessly.

"I owe you one man, that damn mutt would have taken my head off" Chris shouted to someone in the distance.

The sound of laughter gradually became louder and louder as the source gradually made his way over. "Don't mention it, next time you get some of the good stuff you better give me a shout! Looks like you made a pretty good haul too, just kids though? Or did you just take the lightest ones and leave a couple more for me to bring in?"

"Heh, you're not that lucky. These two freaks are basically lost kids with messed up skin. Practically been disowned so you could say we brought them back to give them a new home." Cruel words poured from Chris' mouth as the two men stood towering above everyone, yet Loki didn't even raise an eyebrow despite hearing them.

Everything seemed so distant as he lay there reflecting on the short yet intimate relationship which had just been torn apart. The previous darkness which had been caused by the blindfold had now been completely occupied by vibrant memories, from the initial fight, to times that they had teased Rykar together.

"Ah, you might not have noticed but that one was moving around quite a bit after the wolf jumped out. I don't know if the tranquilizer kicked in again or if he's just playing dead but…" The second man's voice trailed off towards the end as he hinted towards something.

"Mhm don't worry, I aint risking it." After Chris replied, Loki could hear him taking heavy steps in his direction before he exerted himself with a grunt before his boots landed heavily. "F*cking hell Anna, can't you at least get out of the way if you aren't even going to help? I'm not even surprised just sat there as I nearly got my ass eaten!"

"Well then… night night kid."

Broken out of his stupor, a sharp pain pierced through him as Loki was struck in the back of his head causing his mind to go blank as he sunk back into unconsciousness.

Rudely awoken, Loki and Rykar spluttered and gasped for breath as they shivered on the ground, soaked in icy water. Wiping rapidly to clear their eyes, they quickly located and moved closer to each other before taking in their surroundings.

"Hello and welcome to my camp. From this day on, you'll know me as 'Sir'. I'm only going to give this induction once so listen closely to every word because if you miss anything or ask anything stupid you'll be whipped. Interrupt me and you'll be whipped. Cry and you'll be whipped."

"As a matter of fact, the only reason I'm here right now is because my assistant stressed how 'special' you were and so I came to have a look. Bare in mind, you've already experienced a stroke of luck. If you hadn't lived up to my expectations, causing me to come all the way here in vain… you would have been whipped.

As the twins looked up at him, the man finally looked into their oddly coloured eyes and paused for a moment as he squinted, reminding the twins of images of serpents they had seen within the books. "Hmmm, much more interesting than I imagined. Very good."

"And for the rules. You will work in a cycle of 4 hours work with two hours of rest. Of course, I don't expect you to tell the time, you'll be notified by your zone managers. If you're late onto or off of the field, you'll be whipped."

"Within your four hours of field work, you will gather and submit one hundred berries. If you fail within this time limit, it will eat into your leisure time. If you cannot even do this by the end of your leisure time, then you are useless to me."

"Within the two hours, you can spend this time either in the dorm or in the eating hall. Food is available at all times and you may eat as much as you want as long as it does not limit your efficiency."

"There is no violence between workers. I repeat none. My top priority is efficiency and if I find out that someone has caused injuries which then inhibit my workers efficiency… you will be whipped and then you will be isolated without food for three days."

"If you commit an offence three times or if you are found to have stolen or eaten any of the produce you are asked to harvest… let's just say you'll wish you were being whipped"

"While working, you are expected to do so in silence unless you have been spoken to by either myself or a manager. Speaking takes up energy, time and concentration. All of those things have effects on your efficiency, which then has an effect on my efficiency."

"You don't need to tell me your names, I think it will be pretty easy for anyone to point you out seeing as you're not exactly… subtle. Do you have any questions? Think carefully before you speak."

"How do we become managers?" After a moment of deliberation, Loki asked. His first question would have been to find a way out, however from the guards, whippings and isolation, it wasn't difficult to realise that it would have been deemed as a 'stupid question'.

"Good, I like this one. To become a manager, you must report another worker of having broken the rules. This must be done with sufficient evidence as a false claim will only earn you time in isolation and maybe a whipping depending on how much time you wasted." Answering the question, 'Sir' looked at them once again with a blank face, his bald head reflecting the dull light.

"Oh I almost forgot. Attempting to escape will get you whipped and three days in isolation without food. Of course, you two can't count as escapees seeing as you were born on the outside, so I'll just write off the whipping." He then gestured to a group of muscular men towards the side, "We have two new brothers, how dare we not bring out a homecoming gift?! Aaahh of course, go give them the three-day un-catered tour of the isolation chambers, on the house"

The twins shrank away from the rough handling of the men which were over twice their size before finally being dragged away while struggling. While staring daggers into the back of the 'Sir', they watched him walk away as he called out in a snickering voice without looking back.

"Welcome home kids"