Day Thirteen: Hiding Injury
Tony wrapped an arm around his stomach to try and ease the bleeding. He needed to find something to wrap up the injury. Preferably before he got to Peter. The last thing he needed after days of separation was the kid worrying about him being hurt. He was too pure for this world. He didn't deserve to be taken.
He stopped and looked at his surroundings. Most of the buildings in this ghost-like town were covered in foliage. No vehicles were in sight. No living person was in sight. There were, however, corpses around here and there. He was told that the place Peter was being kept in was in an empty town like this, but he didn't think it was going to be this empty.
He kept his eyes and ears open as he traversed through the dead town. There was a chance someone other than Peter was here. He had to be ready.
He stepped into a shed. There were broken wrenches and chainsaws scattered everywhere. He kneeled down, hissing, and pulled out a metal box from underneath the table. Before any possible confrontations he needed his stomach wrapped up.
He searched around in the box and found some hand towels. They were dirty and not long enough to wrap around his stomach separately. Tied together on the other hand could probably cover his stomach. It was a poor attempt but an attempt nonetheless. There wasn't a lot of time. He'd worry about proper treatment when he got Peter back.
He stood when he was finished wrapping the makeshift bandage around his stomach. The fabric absorbed the blood almost immediately. Thankfully, Tony's shirt was dark enough to hide the stains.
"Okay, kiddo, where are you?" Tony whispered to himself, exiting the shed.
It was hard not to call out to Peter and see if he'd get a response back. For all he knew, Peter was unconscious or gagged so he wouldn't be able to call back. His kid better not be in a terrible state.
"No...no…Help..."
Tony stilled. It was quiet enough here that he could hear the weak whimper. He looked around, trying to keep his composure. He slowed his steps when he started walking again as a precaution.
"Peter?" he called in a whisper. "Kiddo?"
"No more…"
He sounded so weak and broken, it made Tony's heart clench.
Tony stepped into something that looked like it was once a stable. There was more foliage surrounding this building. There were no lights on in the stable but he didn't need the light to see how long and wide it was. As he walked through, he looked at all the stalls. There were bodies in some, others were empty. They all had chains attached to the walls.
"Damn…"
The fact that it had been two weeks since Peter was taken, Tony felt terrible. He didn't want to know the kind of things Peter saw or what he went through.
"Stop, stop…"
"Peter," Tony called, still keeping his voice lowered.
He picked up his pace to the end of the stable where the last stall was. Peter was curled by himself. There was a chain around his neck, like he was some kind of dog. His clothes were torn and there were dried bloodstains on them. On him. His hair was messy and dirty.
"Oh, Peter...what did they do to you…"
Tony tried to pull open the metal gate keeping his kid locked inside. It didn't budge. He cursed under his breath and looked for anything that looked like a key. Although he found no keys, there was a short pitchfork nearby. He shoved it between the door and started to push repeatedly.
"No! No!" Peter shouted, shooting up. His eyes were wide and wild. "Don't-! Please!"
"Shh, it's me, kiddo," Tony said, urgently. He finally managed to force the door open and he rushed inside. He kneeled.
"No! Stay away!" Peter screamed. He backed up against the wall as much as he could. "Leave me alone!"
"Peter, shh, shh. It's okay-"
"Get away!"
Tony felt his heart shatter the more the poor kid freaked out. He couldn't imagine what terrors he went through. He couldn't stop himself from pulling him into a hug. He gently rubbed his back so as to not harm him further. He continued to whisper soothing words.
Peter's body slowly stopped shaking and his screams turned to sobs as he realized it was Tony with him, not one of the sick freaks who tortured him. It was hard not to tear up for the poor boy. Peter leaned into his embrace.
"Tony...Tony…"
"It's okay," Tony whispered. He kissed the top of his head. "It's over now."
"Tony…"
"Come on. I'm going to get you home." Tony stood and winced, feeling his stomach's injury again. He reached behind Peter's neck and unclamped the chain around his neck.
He helped Peter to his feet, the boy shaking profusely and having a hard time standing straight. Tony wished he could carry him but he knew it would make his own injury worse. He wouldn't be able to do anything to help the kid then. Instead, he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led him out of the stable.
"I-I think I remember coming in here from a van," Peter said as they made their way out. "There should be one parked somewhere."
"We'll find it, Pete," Tony said, rubbing his arm in a soothing manner. "I did have a car but it broke down halfway here. I've been on foot since."
"I'm sorry," Peter mumbled. He hadn't completely stopped crying since they reunited. "It's my fault you're here."
"Don't you dare blame yourself, Spider-baby," Tony said, strictly. "None of this is your fault. I don't want to hear you say that."
Peter shifted. After some silence he said, "You're moving kinda weird...Are you okay?"
"Uh...yeah. Just sore from walking so long."
He hadn't even realized his steps were slower than before and that he was slouched. He really needed to take care of his stomach. He didn't want to stress the kid out by asking if there was anywhere close by to get medically treated, so he kept it to himself.
"Tony, how did you get here without being seen? There were guards around."
"There were. Not anymore."
He didn't kill anyone except one person. The one who admitted to kidnapping Peter after other guards told him who did it. In the beginning, he wasn't planning on killing that man. He was planning on putting him in jail forever or let a judge give him the death sentence. He snapped after how the man gloated about torturing Peter.
With the other guys, he managed to incapacitate them and force them to tell him who took Peter. He was grateful he got them to talk without having to beat them too senseless or torture them. There were other ways to force answers out of them. He felt he got lucky.
It was the man who took Peter that he got into a rougher fight with. He had already been exhausted from the half-fights he had with the others. Dealing with an uninjured man with a gun took a toll on him. It was because of that guy slicing his stomach with a sharp piece of metal that Tony felt like he was dying.
"You didn't-?"
"No, kiddo." He wasn't going to tell Peter about his kidnapper.
"What matters is that you're going to be okay. You're safe. I promise I won't let anyone hurt you."
After an hour or maybe more, they finally found one of the vans Peter told him about. Tony had helped Peter get in. It was when he went to get into his side that he collapsed. He groaned loudly and held his stomach.
"Tony? Tony!"
Peter hopped out of the truck and went to his side. He rolled Tony onto his back and Tony was met with worried brown eyes.
"I'm okay. Just a little sore," Tony lied.
"No, you aren't! Your stomach is…"
Tony looked down. He didn't realize that after he gripped his stomach, blood stained his arms. Damn it. He was doing such a good job at hiding it. Or it felt like he was doing a good job at hiding it.
"It just needs to get wrapped up proper and I'll be good as new," Tony reassured, smiling lightly. It needed more than that but Peter didn't need to know that. "Help me up, huh?"
Peter hesitantly obliged and helped Tony inside the van. His eyes barely left his stomach. Tony had kept mumbling reassurances to Peter the whole time on the way back to civilization.
He had almost passed out multiple times but Peter was quick to wake him up. It was irresponsible to keep driving but Peter couldn't drive. Not just because of no license or lack of experience, but his body was weak. Weaker than Tony's. And it was Tony's job to take care of the kid. His kid.
Author's Note: I had two versions of this day and trust me when I say, this is definitely better than the first one. Way better.
In other news, I'm looking forward to sharing day fourteen~
That's all for now. I'll see ya'll in the next chapter.
Thanks for reading!
~Kurosaki
