The next day, Ludwig was back in school. He moved through the halls quietly, wide shoulders slumped, utterly defeated. Everywhere he went, the conversations dropped to hushed whispers and furtive glances. Everyone by now knew that Lovino Vargas had been murdered and that Felicia Vargas had been sent away to Austria, back to the orphanage. And everyone knew that Felicia and Ludwig were in love.
The curious stares and whispers of the student body did nothing to pull Ludwig from his haze, but they infuriated Gilbert. The albino had become super protective of his damaged little brother in the days following the incident, prone to lashing out at the other students.
Three days after, a newspaper article came out. On the front page, it told the story. The headline read: Local Boy Murdered By Foster Father
Lovino Vargas, 17, was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital on February 2nd at 3:17 a.m. Police say that they received a call from the victim early in the morning from Vargas, who was reported as sounding scared. Police arrived at his house ten minutes later to find that the boy had been beaten unconscious by his foster father, Mr. Arnold Lancaster. It was said that Lancaster had a BAL of .19 at the time.
When the ambulance had arrived and Lancaster had been detained, Vargas had regained conscious, though the injuries he had suffered were severe. He told paramedics, "Don't call my sister until there's something to say." Vargas proceeded to give a statement to police about the abuse his sister and himself had suffered in silence at the hands of Lancaster, including that Lancaster had raped Felicia Vargas, 15, leading to the girl attempting suicide. Lovino credited fellow students Ludwig Beilschmidt and Kiku Honda for saving the life of his sister. He stated that "I could've handled him [Lancaster] by myself, but I got the **** beat out of me at school." Lovino refused to name his school attacker, who had left him with a minor concussion. Police say that this injury likely hindered Vargas' self-defense.
At the hospital, Lovino was rushed into emergency surgery for multiple contusions and a cerebral hemotoma. Lovino passed away during surgery at 3:17 a.m.
Felicia Vargas has been returned to an orphanage in Vienna, Austria. She bravely spoke out against Lancaster in an emotional court case, accounting the abuse, rape, and suicide attempt. Lancaster was found guilty and sentenced to life without parole.
Ludwig's hands shook as they held the newspaper. Amidst the dread and sadness eating away at him, he felt something new, unfurling wings in his stomach, hot as flames. Rage. Ivan had helped lead to the murder of Felicia's brother. Ivan was part of the reason that his Felicia was countries away in an orphanage. The rage grew, boiling his insides.
"Lud, the bus is here, are you ready to go?" Gilbert came into the room, speaking with the soft tone he had adopted since the incident. Ludwig turned slowly to face his brother, and the albino took a step back, frightened by the look in his baby brother's eyes. "Lud...?"
"Let's go." Ludwig said, standing and shoving the newspaper article into his backpack before Gilbert could see.
Gilbert seemed to keep a closer eye than usual as the two brothers rode the bus and entered the school building. However, he could not watch his brother forever. Soon, the bell rang, and Ludwig watched his older brother reluctantly head to his first class.
Free from his brother's watchful eye, Ludwig turned on his heel, heading in the opposite direction from his first block class. It felt as though a switch inside of him had been flipped, and the rage flowed unchecked though him, as though it had replaced his blood. Ludwig strode purposefully through the halls, head held high, the look in his ice blue eyes warning anyone to get in his way. Finally, he caught sight of Ivan's omnipresent scarf, and Ludwig took off like a charging bull, nothing but fury in his mind.
He reached out, snagging the scarf and yanking it harshly, pulling Ivan backwards and whirling the Russian boy around to meet his fist. Ludwig gave a growl of triumph as blood spurted and he felt the bone crack beneath his fist. Ivan gave a grunt of pain, anger in his eyes. Ivan drove a fist into Ludwig's face, but the German didn't even feel it. He retaliated by digging his fingers into Ivan's silver hair and using it as leverage as he brought his knee up into the Russian's stomach. Ivan groaned and doubled over, but in the next heartbeat he pulled his head back and slammed his forehead into Ludwig's mouth. Both boys' movements gave to a brief halt, both needing a second to blink the stars from their heads. Ludwig recovered first, spitting blood in Ivan's face and trying to sweep Ivan's feet out from under him. It almost worked, but Ivan grabbed Ludwig's arm and twisted it brutally as he fell, and Ludwig was almost brought to his knees as he felt his shoulder get popped right out of its socket. Ivan was on the floor now, and Ludwig felt a burst of savage pleasure. He drove his foot into Ivan's crumpled form repeatedly, mind flashing with hate and the thought that this boy was responsible for everything. Ludwig was going to end his miserable life. His lips twisted into a savage, bloodthirsty smile.
"STOP!" came a scream, and someone leapt between them. It was Natalya, Ivan's little sister.
Without thinking, Ludwig's good arm shot out, grabbing Natalya by the throat, ready to destroy her.
Natalya's pale was pale, her blue eyes wide and so scared. She no longer looked liek the cruelly pretty bitch who had helped torment him. In this moment, she resembled Felicia, ready to die for her big brother. Ludwig hesitated, but did not release his grip on her neck. She was responsible too.
"Ludwig, don't do this!" came a call to the side, and Ludwig looked instinctively. There was a group of horrified students watching, their eyes scared and faces pale. Isabel was watching him with fear and blatant horror in her eyes, chasing the grief that had haunted them. In Ludwig's grip, Natalya began to struggle. She was choking, clawing at Ludwig's hand in vain.
Gilbert was in the crowd, and Ludwig's anger began to fizzle when he saw the look on his brother's face. Gilbert was... afraid of him. All at once, Ludwig could feel the throbbing around his right eye, the agony in his dislocated left shoulder, and the hot blood coursing from his mouth. Now the anger was gone, and Ludwig felt only horror.
He released Natalya, and the girl dropped, hacking and gasping for air. She was on her feet in a moment, eyes livid.
The next thing Ludwig knew, there was a knife in his stomach, buried to the hilt. Natalya yanked her knife free and blood began to pour, staining the white shirt. Ludwig wobbled, and Gilbert hurried out of the horrified crowd, catching Ludwig as he folded like a house of cards. Gilbert guided his brother gently to the floor, holding tight to him.
"Lud! Someone call an ambulance!" Gilbert shouted at the assembled students, but they just stood there, unable to tear their eyes away.
"Bruder..." Ludwig rasped, coughing and sending a fresh wave of blood over his lips. There was definitely internal damage. Gilbert looked back to his baby brother, shaking and scared.
"Y-You'll be okay, Lud..." Gilbert said, voice shaking. He reached over, pressing on the wound, trying to keep his little brother's lifeblood inside him. Ludwig made a choked mewling sound.
"H-Hurts..." he managed, gasping now. His head felt fuzzy, and Gilbert began to cry, tears pouring from eyes as red as Ludwig's blood.
"I know, Bruderlein..." Gilbert sniffled. "It'll be okay... They'll fix you up, you'll see..." He turned back to the frozen students. "SOMEONE CALL FOR HELP! ISABEL!"
The Spaniard nodded, pulling out her cell phone and dialing with shaking hands. She pressed it to her ear and spoke in a trembling voice.
Ludwig gave a choked groan of pain that bubbled with the blood in his throat, and Gilbert looked back to him, panicked. No matter how much pressure he put on the wound, blood still leaked out around his fingers, and Ludwig's face was bone white, eyes closed.
"S-Stay with me, Lud... P-Please... Keep y-your eyes open!" Gilbert sobbed.
Ludwig's eyes opened only a fraction, the smallest sliver of blue showing between blond lashes. "It doesn't hurt anymore..." he breathed weakly.
Gilbert's heart was breaking. "T-That's just b-because you need to r-rest..." he managed. "J-Just go to s-sleep, Lud... Y-You'll be f-fine..."
Somewhere in the back of his fogged mind, Ludwig suspected that something was wrong. But he was so tired now, he couldn't keep his eyes open. Why are you crying? He wanted to ask, but he was not sure who he was even talking to anymore. It's cold. His eyes drifted closed, and he dropped off to sleep, in the middle of the bloodstained hallway, in the arms of the white haired boy who cried as though his heart were broken.