Notes: Content warning for blood and injuries.
Katya froze, her voice stuck in her throat. She wasn't sure how long she stood in the gap of the doorway, staring up at Silco's wide, bright eyes. His face was slack, mouth agape, his breath huffing out in pants. Behind him, Katya could see the silhouettes of Vander and Sevika heaving with equal exertion. Benzo's form shook and trembled with . . . something else . . .
Physical pain.
Recognizing it, Katya's brain surged back online. She shut the door and pulled the chain loose before opening it wide. She stood aside and ushered them in.
"What happened? Were you followed?" Katya asked in a rush, closing the door and locking it back up.
"We wouldn't have come if we were," answered Silco.
"Take him to the living room," directed Katya to Vander and Sevika. Her eyes quickly assessed the man slung between them as they adjusted their hold. "Put the blanket on the floor and lay him on it."
It wasn't hard to miss what was wrong: Benzo's left pant leg was saturated with blood. A belt had been tied high up on his thigh near his groin. A few inches below the tight tourniquet was the source of the injury: a gaping hole, the blood there deeper red and glistening.
"Be careful with him," Katya said.
Silco brushed past her to help Vander and Sevika lower their injured Brother onto the floor. Benzo took advantage of the safety the apartment provided and cried out as he was laid back. From the corner of her eye, Katya saw a small body jump at the sound.
Her brother!
She lurched forward and grabbed Viktor by the arm, leading him back to his room. He made a disgruntled, surprised sound, but otherwise didn't put up much of a fight. She closed the door behind them and knelt to Viktor's eye level.
"I need you to stay in here."
"Who is that? What's wrong?" he asked, amber eyes wide and fearful.
"Someone who is hurt," Katya half-answered, sweeping her hands soothingly down her brother's round cheeks. "He needs help, and I need you to stay in here."
"But – "
"Please Viktor," Katya begged. "Just . . . do as I say. Stay in here."
Viktor frowned in-between his sister's hands, an unsettled feeling creeping under his skin. A cry from the living room muffled its way through the door and his eyes flicked over his sister's shoulder.
"If you stay in here, we will go to the Springs tomorrow," Katya bribed as she tilted her head to one side, forcing herself back into Viktor's eyeline. He pursed his lips in consideration and gave the smallest of nods.
Satisfied and relieved, Katya gave her brother a weak smile before leaving him in his bedroom.
Sevika and Vander were slowly lowering Benzo onto the blanket. Silco held his left ankle steady, and Katya watched as her blanket soaked up the blood from Benzo's pants. She grimaced watching the dark puddle spread through the threads like an unfurling rose, edges wide and soft.
"What happened?" she asked again, dropping to her knees to inspect the injury. It was hard to see in the low-light of the apartment and she waved in the direction of the lamp near the couch. Sevika hurriedly twisted the knob and yellowish light washed over the room.
The area around the wound was messy. Bloody, torn pants, ripped and punctured flesh. It looked like –
"He was shot," Vander said in a hoarse voice.
Katya resisted the incredible urge to ask how or why Benzo got shot. There would be time for that later; for now, she needed to work.
"Am – am I dyin'?" Benzo garbled, his head twisting side to side as he tried to inspect his leg. "It feels like I'm dyin'."
Katya didn't answer. She wasn't sure if he was dying and she wasn't about to give him an empty promise.
Instead, she said, "Hush. Don't talk. Try not to move. You've already lost a lot of blood."
"Oh Gods! I'm dyin'!" Benzo wailed, a sob breaking at the back of his throat.
"Shut up, you idiot!" Silco hissed.
"'Vika, bring that lamp closer," Katya said, ignoring the outburst.
Sevika was quick about her order and hovered the lamp light over Benzo's leg. Katya leaned in toward the bullet hole, not wanting to put her hands on him just yet. Her eyes traveled up to the belt around his thigh and back down.
"Is there an exit wound?"
Katya looked to Sevika, Vander, and Silco. All three stared back. Katya set her jaw.
"We'll have to move him so I can see if there is one," she explained. "Wait here. Keep him quiet."
She got up, tugging and smoothing the hem of her sleep shirt as she padded to her bedroom. There, she collected a small sewing kit, a clean shirt, and a hair tie. Upon returning, she set the kit and shirt on the couch before going to the kitchen. She pulled her long hair back into a tight bun as she went. From the kitchen, she fetched a bowl of water and a wooden spoon before returning to her patient.
"Kat," Sevika hushed in a nervous tone as she came back, "d-do . . . do you want to put on some pants?"
"I don't have time for pants," Katya spat back, entirely disinterested in whether or not she was decent. There was a man bleeding out on her floor for Janna's sake!
She dropped to Benzo's side again, carefully placing the bowl of water down. Opening the sewing kit, Katya withdrew a small pair of shears and began to cut Benzo's pant leg below the tight belt.
"Did you do the tourniquet, 'Vika?" Katya asked as she mindfully cut.
"Yeah."
Katya nodded, her eyes affixed to her task. "You did a good job."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, a gleeful shade of coral blushed Sevika's cheeks.
Once the pant leg was cut, Katya delicately shed the cloth down Benzo's trembling leg. To his credit, Benzo managed to keep his noises of pain and discomfort as timid whimpers and hisses. His boot was unbuckled and shucked off so the whole pant leg could be pulled from his body. Katya handed the soaked fabric to Silco.
"Take this to the kitchen sink and rinse it off. Wring it dry."
She was pleased and grateful that he took the garment without question and disappeared into the kitchen.
"I need to see if there is an exit wound," she repeated. "You'll need to hold his leg up."
The direction was given to Vander, who swallowed and gave his Brother an apologetic look before coming to a crouch. Vander gently cradled Benzo's calf in his hands and lifted the leg up. A sharp cry tore through Benzo's mouth, and both Vander and Sevika jumped.
"Hold steady," Katya instructed, unperturbed by the outburst. She maneuvered around the injured man and ducked low to inspect the underside of his leg. With a wave of her hand, Sevika was silently directed to readjust the lamp's beam.
"You can put his leg back down. Slowly," said Katya, righting herself. She took up the wooden spoon. "There does not appear to be an exit wound."
Vander cautiously lowered Benzo's leg, keeping a reassuring hand on his shin.
"Is that good?"
"It means that the bullet is still in his thigh," Katya answered. She brought the spoon's handle up to Benzo's mouth. "You will want to bite down on this."
His eyes bugged in panic and his teeth chattered.
"I'm sorry. This is the best I can do. I will be quick about this," she said kindly.
As Benzo reluctantly took the wooden handle between his teeth, Silco reappeared with the rinsed and wrung pant leg.
"Lay it out and make sure none of the fabric is missing, especially around the tear," Katya ordered, as she cut and ripped a piece of the shirt she had brought from her bedroom. After dunking and squeezing the cloth into the water bowl, she gently wiped the area around Benzo's wound. The wood squeaked between his teeth.
She set the now red cloth aside and took out a pair of tweezers from the sewing kit.
"You'll need to hold his legs steady," she said to Vander.
Vander set his jaw and his hands firmly on Benzo's ankles. His grey eyes worriedly looked to his Brother's piqued face.
"I am going to make sure the femoral artery isn't injured and then take the bullet out," Katya explained, her brow furrowed. "Do your best not to move. Take a deep breath in."
Benzo's head dropped back onto the floor and he pulled a great breath in through the spoon and his teeth.
"And out."
As he began to exhale, Katya spread the wound open with her fingers and methodically probed the ragged muscle tissue with the tweezers. Benzo lost what little composure he had left. He screamed into the spoon, his spine arched, and he tried to pull his legs out from Vander's grip.
"Hold him still," Katya commanded firmly, her eyes still glued to her work.
Vander grimaced and tightened the hold on Benzo's ankles.
"Tilt the light over here, 'Vika."
Sevika adjusted the beam of light as Katya carefully moved within the wound. Occasionally, she would use a scrap of shirt to dab and gather blood that was pooling around the jagged hole.
"They missed your femoral artery," Katya breathed, her shoulders softening. "That's good."
Deep within his muscle tissue, she finally uncovered the Enforcer's slug.
Pinching the tips of the forceps around the domed metal, she said, "Deep breath in."
Benzo, who was crying and wailing behind the spoon, choked on shallow breaths.
"C'mon 'Zo," Sevika pleaded. "You can do it. Like this – "
Benzo's watery eyes found the teen and he watched her torso inflate with a mighty breath. Katya watched the teen guide the young man and was reminded of how much she missed having her in the clinic.
Finally, Benzo drew a long, shaky inhale through his snotty nose. As he pushed the air out of his body, Katya drew the tweezers from his leg, the shot firmly held between the pincers. She quickly pressed a clean wad of shirt to the wound as a fresh geyser of blood pooled in the opening. She dropped the bullet into the bowl of water and it sank to the bottom, a trail of blood wisping behind it.
"Is any fabric missing from the pant leg?" Katya asked, looking to Silco.
He smoothed his hand over the fabric in front of him and replied, "Yes. It looks like there's a small piece missing near the tear. The cloth won't knit together unless pulled."
He held the pant leg up and pulled it taut, displaying how the hole in it still gaped. Katya grit her teeth and turned her attention back to Benzo's wound.
"I will try to make this as quick as possible," she said, her eyes looking to Benzo's. "I cannot leave a foreign object inside the wound. There's a good chance of infection if left behind."
Benzo squeezed his eyes shut, heavy head thunking onto the floor. A pained groan peeled from his sweating throat.
"Come closer, 'Vika," Katya murmured, gesturing the teen over.
Sevika heeded her order and leaned in further, positioning the lamp light over Katya's bloodied hands.
The young medic was true to her word, and after a minute of prodding around Benzo's muscle, her tweezers fished out a small bit of cloth. Katya dunked it into her water bowl – now colored red – and handed it over to Silco. He took it and puzzled the piece against the hole in the pant leg.
"That's it," he said.
Katya nodded and dabbed the wound again.
"I just need to sew this up and wrap it and then we're done."
With practiced swiftness, Katya threaded a needle and began the suturing process. It was much more difficult with a sewing needle and thread. She made a mental note to get the proper tools for the stash kept at The Drop. Katya was more adept at sewing and wrapping wounds than she wanted to be, and in no time at all, Benzo's thigh was cleaned and dressed. Gingerly, her fingers unhooked the belt from around his thigh and slid it off.
"Sevika, go get some water from the kitchen, please. Cups are in the right cupboard."
Sevika placed the lamp back on its table before striding into the kitchen.
Katya gently reached for the spoon in Benzo's mouth and whispered, "It's all done. Let me have this back."
Benzo's jaw creaked open and Katya pulled the spoon away from his teeth. Deep divots dotted the wood from his bite. A warbly breath huffed out from between his lips, followed by a cry that seemed too small and meek for such a large man. Balling up the last scrap of shirt, Katya dabbed the sweat away from his forehead, temples, and neck.
Sevika returned with the cup of water. Katya reached for it and instructed Vander to lift Benzo's shoulders and head up.
"Just drink this, then you can rest," she said, lifting the cup's rim to the injured man's lips.
Stiltedly, he gulped the water down. Once the cup was drained, Vander lowered his Brother back onto the floor. Benzo's eyes went glassy and their lids drooped.
"'Zo?" Vander gasped, worry etching his features.
"His adrenaline is wearing off," Katya explained, leaning her back against the couch. "His body is too tired to stay awake. Which is fine. He will need rest anyway."
Katya worried her lower lip with her top teeth as her eyes stayed on her patient. He couldn't stay here, but he also couldn't be moved. Not yet, anyway. Hopefully by morning, he could be transferred to his home or The Drop. He would need medicine to temper the fever that was sure to come.
Wearily, Sevika plopped her large body on to the couch. It squeaked and complained against her weight.
Clapping a large hand on Katya's shoulder, she said, "Nice job, Kat. I knew you could – "
The sharp sound of Sevika's hand hitting her shoulder and the weight of it, jolted Katya back to the original question.
"What happened?"
Her gold eyes flicked between Vander and Silco. Vander's eyes fell to the floorboards. Silco held her gaze, but she saw his lower jaw slot further behind his upper one. Sevika's hand slowly slid off of Katya's shoulder, her strong fingers knotting together in-between her knees.
"What. Happened."
"We didn't get the cache," Vander finally grumbled, still not looking at Katya.
"That does not answer my question."
"It's unclear at this point," Silco said, "but we think one or two of the kids that were supposed to be with Annie and Beckett tried to board the freight before we did – "
"Why?"
"They probably thought they were helping," Sevika mumbled.
Katya shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. Too late, she realized that she had never wiped her hands from working on Benzo. An annoyed huff burst through her lips and she used the collar of her sleep shirt to wipe the blood from her face. Resigned to the fact that the shirt was already dirty, she wiped her hands down the front of it.
"Did any of you say something about wanting or wishing for more help?" Katya asked slowly, her eyes closing.
Heavy, bashful, telling silence fell over the living room once again.
"We all met up at The Drop before headin' out," Vander mumbled. "To go over and confirm the plan for tonight. 'Zo . . may have said something about wishin' we had more able bodies to easily overtake the freight. I agreed, jokin' like. We weren't bein' serious."
"It doesn't matter!" Katya shot back. "You've all set yourselves up as the leaders of this . . . revolution, " the word still felt strange on her tongue, the idea buzzed in her mind and sent her heart pattering. "Most of the Brothers and Sisters are younger than you. They look up to you. When people look up to you, you do not get to be selfish. You do not get to speak so candidly. If you say run, they will. If you say swim, they will dive into the River. If you say you want a fire, they will show up with oil."
Vander had the decency to look sheepish, his silver eyes avoiding her gold ones.
"Leading the fight for Zaun's independence is a heavy mantle and should not be taken lightly," Katya said. Silco gave the smallest of nods, a told-you-so smirk tilting the corners of his lips. "Whatever happens, it is on you. This mistake is on all of you."
Katya huffed and leaned back against the couch, having leaned forward during her togue-thrashing. She was tired and annoyed by Vander and Benzo's lack of thought. Annoyed that it brought them to her home in the dead of night. Annoyed that she was now down two shirts and one blanket because of their poor leadership skills.
"Did the children get away? Annie and Beckett?"
"Everyone dispersed as soon as the shit hit the fan," Sevika said comfortingly. "I think it confused the crew and the Enforcers that followed. I think everyone else got away unharmed."
"We are sure to hear tomorrow," Silco murmured.
The four young adults sat quietly. News of the botched robbery was sure to be the only thing talked about for the next several days. No doubt Piltover would increase Enforcer presence in the Lanes. The Council may not know of the Children of Zaun yet, but they would have no doubt that such an attempted crime came from the Undercity.
Katya shuddered. Exhaustion creeping in now that there wasn't a man bleeding out in her home. The apartment was cold, too. And now her blanket was soiled and pinned down by a large, injured man. She crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her fingertips in her sleeves.
"Benzo cannot be moved yet," she said in a quiet voice, her eyes dropping to the supine man at her feet. Benzo had since fallen into an uneasy sleep, the edges of his lips curling in discomfort every now and again. Katya squeezed her eyes shut. She knew what she had to offer. It was for the best.
"No doubt that Enforcers are scouring the Lanes, questioning everyone who is out. You will need to stay here for the night. In the morning, take Benzo back to The Drop."
Not waiting for answers, responses, or scoffs, Katya got up and took the bowl of bloody water and empty cup back to the kitchen. Her teeth chattered behind her lips as she rinsed out the bowl and cup with cold water. Gooseflesh prickled up her naked legs.
"Katya," a soft, low voice whispered from behind her back.
She jumped and the bowl fell from her hands, clanging against the metal sink. She turned to see that Silco had followed her into the kitchen. His eyes drifted down her front, taking in the new crimson stains that had been swiped there.
"Thank you for helping us," he said, eyes lifting back to her own. A feline grin lifted his lips, flashing his slightly crooked teeth. "And thank you for calling Vander and Benzo out on their bullshit. Hopefully, they will start taking this more seriously and will stop joking about how I have a stick up my ass."
Katya's nose wrinkled. "I don't have a stick – "
"No," Silco back-peddled, shaking his head. "No. Sorry. I didn't mean to insinuate that you – No. Of course not. It's just that they sometimes give me a hard time about my . . . passion, let's call it . . . for our cause. 'Zo insists I'm too intense. I just think hearing it from you might finally make them realize that what we are doing – "
"Is intense," Katya finished with a murmur. She eyed the light pink flush on Silco's cheeks with amusement. "Yes, well, I hope so, too."
There was a beat before Silco said, "I'm sorry Benzo ruined your blanket. Do you have another?"
Katya shook her head and sighed. "No, I don't."
"What about shirts? You went through two tonight. Do you have another to change into?"
It was Katya's turn to blush. But for her, it was about shame. She looked down at her ruined shirt, and shook her head.
Silco's eyebrows creased together in consideration.
"Do you have a washroom?" he asked suddenly.
"Y-yes. Down the hall, first door to your left."
Silco left as suddenly as he had crept up behind her. Katya stood for a moment, stupefied, before turning back to the sink. She dried the bowl and mug with a rag and stored them away. Silco strode back into the kitchenette as she closed the cupboard. A small bundle was in his hands, and Katya's eyes curiously dropped to it.
"Here," he said, handing it to her.
Katya's hands automatically reached out for the offering. It was a warm, waffle-weaved fabric. "What? Is this?"
"It's the . . . undershirt I was wearing tonight," Silco explained, trying to sound nonchalant and not entirely succeeding. "Please take it. You have already assisted us to the detriment of your linens," he said with a coy smile. "You're cold, anyhow. Please take it. The Children of Zaun take care of each other."
Katya held the garment away from her bloodied nightshift, her thumbs grazing over the weave's raised texture. Her voice caught in her throat.
"Thank you," she finally managed.
With that, she left the four Children of Zaun in her living room. Sevika sprawled herself over the couch, while Silco and Vander sat next to one another with their backs propped up against the far wall. Vander looked sallow and shamed, his gaze distant and thoughtful. Silco's head rested in a large hand, his elbow supported against his boney knee.
Katya quietly snuck into Viktor's bedroom. She thanked Janna and whoever else over saw the Undercity that he was sleeping. She pulled off her ruined shirt and tucked it behind Viktor's dresser. She made a mental note to retrieve it later and dispose of it. She didn't want her brother seeing such things.
Trying not to think about it too hard, Katya slipped the thermal Silco had given her over her head. It wasn't as long in the waist and hips as her normal sleep attire, but the sleeves covered her hands and the collar hung loosely around her neck.
Gently, Katya slipped into bed behind her brother. Viktor tensed and made a small, muffled noise before settling back into his pillows. Tucking her arm under her head, Katya closed her eyes and willed sleep to come.
She tried not to think about the wounded man on her floor.
She tried not to think about the three soldiers littered about her apartment.
She tried not to think about Zaun.
She tried not to think about how warm her new shirt was.
She tried not to think how it smelled like Silco.
Cheap tobacco, citrus, and soil.
Notes: Thank you for reading! Comments, story follows/favorites are always appreciated!