"Imogen!" Claire had squeaked, when she realized the pooling blood around the unconscious girl. By then, Millard's pants was soaked through, but the blond male barely noticed as he clutched tightly at Imogen's unmoving body. "Get that medicine to Miss Peregrine, now Emma." Millard snapped, with a tone that was so tight, even Emma got frightened. She stood shocked, only moving when Jacob finally shoved her, and then crouched down next to his friend.
"You have to let go of her, Mill. We need to see her back."
"Where's the nearest clinic or healer? I'll bring her there."
"That'll take too long-"
"Leave off, Millard. You're hurting more then the stupid gunshot." Imogen's weak voice suddenly wavered in between the panic where Millard clutched her, Claire and Olive clutched each other as Bronwyn stood over them, Jacob trying to keep calm and Enoch making sure Horace didn't pass out from the overwhelming sight of blood.
The moment they heard her voice however, all of their attention diverted on her (except for Horace, Enoch's had to help him back to the house. As much as he didn't want to, the sight of blood didn't sit well with Horace at all), Millard's especially. His heart clenched when she saw her wince, but relief mingled with it at the same time as Imogen's eyes fluttered open, albeit weakly. "You're awake."
"Of course I am, you dolt. It's a gunshot to my upperback, so it's not going to kill me yet." Imogen replied dryly, managing to pull a smile from Hugh, yet Millard was far from looking calm. "Can I move you? I'll carry you to the -"
"I'm not going to any healer. I don't want to have to explain why the moment you stop carrying me, you disappear."
"I just won't stop holding on to you then." came Millard's smooth answer, garnering raised looks from everyone yet went unnoticed by the two, even as Millard picked her up in his arms and slowly propped her up so he could examine the wound. His eyes picked up a fairly deep one, with a bullet still embedded much to his discomfort. Deciding to stop the biggest issue of her bleeding however, he motioned at Jacob to hold her, before Millard stepped back to pull off his shirt.
The peculiar children could only stare in surprise as Millard rippled out of corporeal view once all contact with Imogen was lost. Watching the floating shirt get pulled off, he flickered back into view (shirtless this time) as he gripped Imogen's shoulder, and gritted his teeth as he pushed the wad of his shirt against her wound, apologizing quickly as Imogen hissed.
"There, just enough to stop the bleeding. Can we please get to the clinic now?"
"I already said, no doctors."
"You don't like doctors?"
Imogen made a face at Jacob's question, blanching enough to show her discomfort at the idea before she spoke. "I was in the… that loop, when it collapsed. That's why my age resetted itself as well." her admittance came in a whisper, but her words were understood by all easily, for they all knew which loop she referred to. "You… were tested?" Hugh finally ventured to ask, and Imogen bit her lip before nodding.
"I… I was kept restrained against a bed for the longest time. They drained you, like you would juice a lemon. Everyday. It felt like your very soul was being sucked out of you, like your heart would be squeezed dry and-" she paused, as if unsure what other words could be used to describe the immense pain one went through under the hands of Caul's ministrations. But none of them really needed her to continue, for the way her voice broke was proof enough, they too saw first-hand the condition of Caul's prisoners. The peculiar's under Miss Peregrine's care considered themselves lucky they were just captured, and not extracted of their souls yet.
"No doctor's." Millard finally agreed, but even as he said he it took back grip of Imogen, settling her against his chest, worry biting him when he registered the fast paling cheeks of Imogen. "But what can we do? Something must be done."
"Let me try." A voice popped up from behind the crowding peculiar children on the lawn of their house, and they parted to find a stoic, but determined looking Enoch staring at Imogen. "Where's Horace?"
"Weak willy is in his room, sleeping. He's konked out after our journey." Enoch replied Hugh's curious question, stepping past Fiona who stood by his side before heading towards Millard. "I harvest hearts and implant them into homunculi and people. I think I can get that out."
"After that?"
"After that, all we need to do is bind it. I don't think it needs stitches, luckily. It just looks superficial, if it was deeper Imogen wouldn't be sitting up the way she is." Bronwyn put in, for she was the one who mended them all whenever they needed mending. Trusting her word, Millard turned now suspicious eyes on Enoch. Despite the fact that they've all been together for more years than any of them care to remember, Millard was terrified for Imogen. "You sure you know what you're doing?"
Enoch flashed Millard a scowl, and stepped back. "I'm your best bet, take it or leave it. I only came because Horace urged me to."
Millard blinked in surprise, finding it odd that Enoch would listen to what Horace would say, but in the end even he conceded the truth in Enoch's words, that they really had no better choice, and finally nodded. "Bring her to the hall. Someone bring the dining table out there and cover the table and the area around it with cloth. I'll go grab my utensils. Someone get the kettle running."
Enoch's directions were precise and brief, but everyone quickly ran off to do as told. Bronwyn headed to the dining table, whilst Claire and Olive busied themselves at the stove, with Hugh and Fiona running for sheets. Within minutes, Millard and Jacob were arranging Imogen's still body on the table, and Fiona walked in with a bottle of liquid in her palm. "Take this, Imogen. It'll put you to sleep."
By then, Imogen's eyes were half focused, and drifting in and out of consciousness. Millard had to tilt the liquid into her mouth, brushing them close with a whisper of "I'll be here when you awake, before they were all chased out of the hall. Only Millard remained with Emma and Bronwyn. Emma had fed the medication they had garnered, and Miss Peregrine seemed to respond, so the firestarter had convened in the hall, eager to help for she too was worrying over Imogen.
Enoch seemed perfectly capable of handling stuff himself though. With the tools they had scalded in piping hot water, he had arranged them within easy reach. Millard's anxious gaze never left Imogen's sleeping features, but it soothed him to see she didn't even twitch as Enoch eventually pulled out and let a small, silver bullet drop with a 'clink' into the waiting porcelain bowl.
Grabbing the bowl of warm, clean water, he proceeded to wash the wound and dab medication that Fiona had left, before Bronwyn and Emma stepped forward to take over the dressing of the wound. Pulling her gown off from her and redressing her (the boys were helping Enoch clean the utensils and dispose the bullet whilst they dressed her), Emma finally let Millard carry her up to her room. The other's couldn't help but stare as Enoch shimmered into view the moment he picked the sleeping Imogen up, and the twenty-year old peculiar noticed, grinning at their dazed and curious looks. "We'll explain once she's awake."
Letting it pass for now, they watched as Millard headed up the stairs, before Bronwyn moved to place the table where it belonged, and Emma turned to the younger boy who was drying his freshly scrubbed hands. "Thank you, Enoch."
"Don't thank me, Horace insisted."
"Do you simply not care at all, Enoch? Not even after we've been friends for so long?" Emma finally asked, unable to believe just how cold the young boy could be.
"I'm… I'm not worthy of your friendships." The surprising revelation led Emma and Jacob to exchange surprised looks, but kept silent as Enoch continued. "I'm neither as brave, nor as strong as any of you. What I can do, cannot help much in a battle. I will help as I can… but my family did not take pride in me, so taking pride in who I am is difficult."
"So why do you act so cruel?"
"It isn't cruelty, it's his self protection." Horace's voice from the stairwell made them all swivel their gaze there, and almost immediately Enoch scowled. "If you're still unsteady on your feet, stay upstairs Horace Somnusson."
"I couldn't sleep. Bronwyn's shifting of the table woke me up." Horace replied, his tone surprising the other two at how gentle it was when he addressed Enoch. Turning back to Emma and Jacob, he gave a small smile at his friends. "He cares, but he doesn't know how to, so he tries to hide it. Give him some time, he is learning." with that, he turned to his friend again, and motioned at Enoch to come along, before the two boys left for upper stairs, leaving Emma and Jacob to just stare at each other for a long minute. "What was that about?" Emma finally voiced out the question both had on their minds, but it wasn't as if Jacob had an answer. Her partner simply shrugged, clearly as mystified as she was. Both however, were brought out of their mystification when Olive's came prattling down the stairs to summon them.
"Miss Peregrine's up!"