He wasn't even that threatening.
Much to Lucius' general dismay and current confusion, people rarely found him to be much of a threat until he actually hurt them. So what reasons did the Larkspur member who'd fired a bullet in his direction have?
The ear deafening pang behind him was a relief at least, revealing it had hit the wall instead of its intended target. While he couldn't see if it actually would have hit him, Lucius wasn't very thrilled by the idea in general.
The person who'd fired the shot had made one big mistake however. They'd gone for Lucius instead of Ivan. While Lucius was indeed the one with the weapon there was no way he should be the natural subject of priority when it concerned threats. Not when a seasoned veteran with an apparent affinity for gunpowder explosions was standing on the other side of the room.
Against his better judgement Lucius spared Ivan a look.
He was unarmed, he supposed, unlike Lucius. Not to mention his cane implied some form of inconvenience when moving around.
Yet Lucius had no doubt Ivan could snap his spindly bones like twigs if he wanted to.
"Drop the knife," a young man hissed as he stepped forward from the pillar, turning his head to Ivan right after. "And don't try anything, or I'll shoot for real this time."
He was surprisingly well dressed for the occasion, lanky frame covered with a matching set of clothes from neck to toe. It was hard to see details in the dim light but for some reason he looked proper enough to be walking outside on the streets, which to Lucius seemed odd in a scary research facility.
Fuck's sake, he's even better dressed than Anthony.
"Well, isn't this disappointing," Ivan then said, and at first Lucius couldn't help but wonder if he'd read his mind about the Anthony criticism, but soon snapped back to reality and found 'disappointing' to be quite the understatement. "First we find nothing and once we do, it's a scrawny bookworm with no aim."
Lucius, being an equally scrawny bookworm with no aim and the very person having just been shot at, was not amused by this.
"Maybe don't talk like that to someone trying to kill me," he therefore said through gritted teeth and Ivan scoffed.
"If he actually wanted to shoot you he would have done a better job, don't you think?"
"Perhaps second time's the charm," the man responded to that, and Lucius made the troubling discovery that the rifle he was holding had two barrels. "Think I'll be fine with just one of you alive for now."
"No, I think two is a much better number," Lucius disagreed, relieved to notice the man's gaze kept darting in Ivan's direction. "What, uh... What do you want with us?"
"To know how you found this place, of course," the man hissed. "Now drop the knife!"
Lucius made a face but obeyed, knowing he could pick it up from the ground fairly quickly should the aim drop for a moment.
Then a sound echoed through the corridor, alerting them all that the stone door had been opened again. The Larkspur member barely got a chance to turn his head entirely. As soon as his aim faltered Ivan had taken a surprisingly quick step forward and grabbed his rifle, yanking it forward at first only to redirect it and smash it right into the man's nose.
Lucius bent down to retrieve his knife, unsure whether to be delighted or disgusted by the cracking sound that followed the attack. Before he could stand up straight again Ivan had already kicked the man off his feet, grabbed and spun the rifle around, and pointed it at its former owner.
So much for Ivan being unarmed.
At this point Lucius' mind had settled on a blend of awe and fear when looking at the man, which, according to him, was a damn good emotion to instil upon others.
Ivan then nodded at Lucius to go stand next to the door, and the latter realised he'd forgotten about whatever had caused the door to open.
"Someone's here!" the young man suddenly called out and Ivan decisively smacked him with the firearm again.
"I swear, this one should not have survived this long," he whispered, but Lucius was too busy to reply. Whoever was approaching may not have figured out there were two of them.
"Everything under control?" a familiar voice then asked, and Lucius breathed out.
Unless the one approaching is Tom, I guess.
"It's just this one," Ivan replied, poking the man's already crushed nose with the rifle again as Tom Reed appeared in the doorway. "And a disappointing assortment of disturbing furniture."
Tom acknowledged the room's interior, face scrunching up in disgust.
"Tom? How's Richard?" Lucius leaned forward to catch Tom's attention. "How—How's he holding up? Or did you chase that thing away?"
"No, they're both still out there." Tom frowned while looking around the room. "We were separated though. So if you're done here, we should—"
He paused, gaze landing on the shabby desk and he whispered something under his breath before walking over.
"Might as well not bother. I tried picking the locks but there's something off about them," Lucius informed as Tom leaned down to inspect the worn down desk. "And I mean... I'm not even sure we'll find something of interest in a couple of drawers."
"Well, while that may be true, this isn't quite the desk it's made out to be." Tom placed a hand under the edge of the board, and just as Lucius was about to scold him for once again being incomprehensive he opened up the entire desk as if it was a chest, with the top working as a lid.
Lucius gave the scene a tired look. Why were science fanatics so utterly obnoxious?
"How in the fucking Waste was I supposed to know that?" His voice was as equally dejected as his stare, and Tom glanced over at him with another wrinkle between his eyebrows.
"You're not. That's the point."
"But you're just... Proficient in sneaky furniture, or what?"
"No, I just know them," Tom corrected him, immediately regretting his words. "... I—I know how their group works. They always..."
He trailed off, and Lucius knew better than trying to make Tom speak coherently.
"Tom, was it?" the young man suddenly asked after spitting out some blood, and the aforementioned flinched. "Mr. Waker did say there was a chance we'd run into a Tom."
His mouth twisted into a smirk.
"And his tamed monster... Is that the 'Richard' you were talking about?"
Tom turned his head, an empty look taking over his face.
"Waker is dead." His voice was monotonous, but his gloved hand had reached for the other to grip around it. "Out of everyone, he can't possibly be alive."
"Well, you can believe whatever you want, I guess." The man shrugged, grimacing through the pain. "But why would I lie?"
Tom exhaled through his nose.
"To upset me, or catch me off guard?"
"Say I was lying then, how would I know about you? As you say, no one should be alive from that time."
Tom's face was paler than usual now and he swallowed to get rid of what Lucius assumed was discomfort.
"Let's find what you two are looking for," he addressed the other two, ignoring the man's question and beginning to rummage around in the desk.
To Lucius' further astonishment he then unfolded shelves from inside the thing to reveal a whole array of vials, notebooks and multiple beakers with colourful fluids.
No corpses though.
"Good." Ivan placed the rifle against the order member's head. "Now, Mr. Larkspur trash, you're going to hand me what was promised."
"I'm—" The man coughed up more blood. "I can't do that, Mr. Vieryshkin... Not yet."
"There will be no later unless you do, I'm afraid." Ivan forced his target's head down.
"We only have one dose of it," the man continued, face scrunching up as he was pushed against the ground. "We—We need to be able to replicate it first."
"Should have been quicker about it then." Ivan's voice was merciless. "I will not wait any longer."
"What did they promise you?" Tom asked, gesturing over the shelves in front of him. "Something in this area?"
Ivan gave him a suspicious glare, but let out a sigh.
"It's for injuries," he replied, harsh tone suddenly lowering. "A healing elixir."
Tom arched an eyebrow, first looking down at the man on the ground and then shifting his gaze back to the shelves again, nodding comprehensively.
"Give me a moment," he mumbled as he began studying one of the notebooks, but Ivan wasn't interested in that.
"Tell us what it looks like," he demanded from the man below him. "And maybe you can walk away from this alive."
"He's not going to tell you," Tom answered instead without looking up from his search. "The Larkspur members prioritise science above all, and that it can't fall into hands they don't approve of no matter what."
"I think he could get another chance to live though," Lucius suggested, gaining confused looks from all three men around him. "If he tells me what happened to my friend."
Ivan's head turned back and forth between Lucius and his victim of investigation, not so certain he wanted to go back on a threat, but he sighed again and moved away just a little bit to let the man sit up.
Lucius cut right to the point, still eager to get out of the cramped, disturbing space.
"You've been sneaking around the forest a lot it seems. I buried my friends there a couple of years back, and now one of the corpses is missing." His heart suddenly pounded, and he struggled to continue without losing his calm. Just looking at the face of someone who had potentially desecrated the girls' grave made it harder than he would have thought. "... What did you do with it?"
The man only stared at him for a while, finally blinking in confusion.
"... A corpse?"
"Yes, a corpse." Lucius was already losing his temper.
"What would we want with a human corpse?" The man looked insulted for some reason. "And how would we have found one that's been buried for years anyway?"
"Well you tell me." Lucius threw his hands out. "The hole was dug with a shovel, it had to be a human."
"But not any of us."
"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Lucius took a step closer. "Creeps like you and a mysteriously violated grave in the same forest? You really think I'm stupid enough to take your word for it?"
"I'm telling you the truth because it has nothing to do with us, and you promised to let me live if I did." The man's voice was cautious now. "I would not adventure that opportunity."
Lucius gritted his teeth. It was a lie. It had to be a lie. He hadn't gone through all that trouble just to go back to having no clues at all.
"So—So you don't know anything? You're supposedly some great researchers that have werewolves roaming about but someone digging up an entire grave right next to you just goes unnoticed?"
"If someone wants to dig up corpses in the forest, that's not our business—"
"You have to know something!" Lucius insisted, unable to hold back his frustration any longer and his knuckles whitened around his knife. "There's no fucking way you don't have something to do with it!"
"Um, I think this might be it," Tom then interrupted, holding up a bottle of silvery liquid. "Judging by the notes and what their previous—"
He cut off his sentence and Lucius gave him an inquisitive glare, sending a clear message that they would have a discussion later.
"I need to be certain," Ivan still protested, pulling the order member up from the ground and forced his head to look at the potion. "Is that it? The thing you promised me?"
As expected, the man said nothing and Ivan looked like he was considering crushing his head then and there.
"I'm bringing the notebook with us," Tom informed as a strange attempt to comfort. "It will give me more time to research it."
"You will do no such thing!" the Larkspur man hissed. "The notes in that book will not be shared outside the order!"
"How are you even close to having the upper hand in this?" Ivan asked, looking genuinely concerned for the man's intelligence and the latter grimaced, either out of pain or panic.
"You can't do this! I'll—I'll have failed the order! They'll have me killed!"
Ivan furrowed his brow at this, turning to look at the potion in Tom's hand and then back to the man, finally exhaling a heavy breath.
"That doesn't seem fair," he reluctantly agreed. "You remain devoted to them even at a time like this."
Then he pulled the trigger, and Lucius hurriedly looked away as yet another gunshot echoed through the room.
"That's—" Lucius swallowed as his ears tried to cope with the ringing. "Don't you think that was a tad unnecessary?"
The hypocrisy wanted to sneak forward in his head but he shook it away. They could probably have gotten more information out of him if they'd just had more time.
Then again, he supposed Richard couldn't fight that horrid garm forever.
"He said they would kill him anyway, so this may have been merciful," Ivan argued and used his coat to shield his face from the smoke. "Let's hurry up and get out of here."
Tom nodded. Whether it was to agree with the execution reasoning or the suggestion to retreat was unclear, but Lucius asked no follow-up questions.
"Careful not to slip." Ivan pointed to the ground as Lucius walked over to join them, and the latter looked down only to quickly raise his head again.
He could have done without the sight of blood and what he guessed was bits of brain here and there, so he retched, knowing he'd do well in breathing through his mouth for a while.
He wasn't sure whether to be surprised or not. Ivan had fought in wars after all and had been plenty determined during their mission, but he'd also seemed more caring and protective than many, even in the short time Lucius had known him, so why that unceremonious slaughter?
"This is no time to stand around," Ivan snapped him out of it. "We're leaving now."
Lucius' gaze dropped to the man's cane. Was that why? He'd said he wanted a potion that could heal injuries after all. With both his leg and what Lucius assumed was a loss of hearing, a healing elixir was probably tempting.
"I think it would be tempting for anyone."
Lucius grimaced.
There's a limit to how rotten one can be, Wrinkleface.
"But wouldn't it be reassuring? What with all the danger you put yourself in?"
Lucius didn't respond. Of course he couldn't steal the potion for himself. Not even he would sink that low.
"And yet... I know you're considering it."
Just leave me alone.
He was in no mood. He'd gotten nowhere. The scientist was dead and he'd revealed nothing. Maybe it was the truth though. Maybe they had nothing to do with Mabel's disappearance, but then who did?
Tom took the lead as they hurried out of the tunnel, pausing to listen before grabbing a rather normal looking, steel handle on the wall to activate the door. Amid everything, Lucius had to be disappointed by the lack of commitment to the 'disturbing torture chamber in the sewers' aesthetic.
"I can't hear anything," Tom relayed as he carefully stuck his head through the door and waved them forward. "Hurry."
They all managed to step outside before the door closed, and Lucius tried listening as well. No matter how much reluctant respect Tom had earned recently, Lucius wasn't sure he trusted the man's hearing.
Aside from the rushing water however, he heard nothing. Of course, the noise of the stream made it hard to discern much, so they stepped with caution while making their way towards the stairs.
Tom was distracted though. His head turned way more than necessary wherever they walked and Lucius wished he could mock him for it, but he knew he was looking for Richard.
He wished he could ask him if he remembered where they'd been separated, or if they'd decided to meet up somewhere should they both have escaped the garm, but silence was their best option now. Even with the loud booming from the water there was a chance canine creatures like werewolves had good enough hearing to notice mere whispers, so why risk it?
A low howl from further away suddenly reached them and Tom perked up, head turning to the left to stare down one of the larger tunnels. He didn't even wait to talk things over with the others, he immediately stepped up on a bridge to run over there.
Lucius wouldn't have it.
"What if it's the garm?" He grabbed Tom to yank him back down, but to his surprise and great devastation regarding his own abilities, Tom wouldn't budge.
"It's Richard. I know it is." Tom pulled his arm away with a distressed look in his eyes. "And he's hurt."
"Tom, get back here!" Lucius tried to whisper while still calling out to the man. "Tom, I swear to..."
He trailed off, partly because Tom was already on the other side of the bridge and clearly not listening, and partly because he wasn't sure who he'd swear to anyway.
"Let's head towards the entrance," Ivan still said, and Lucius pursed his lips. Anthony would be very upset if something happened to his friends, but chances were they would be of no help in case they ran into the garm. They had no firearms left and couldn't put up much of a fight or ways to distract it.
He let out a sigh.
"Fine, let's go."
Perhaps he could alert someone as soon as they reached town. Maybe Ethan could help them. Maybe he was strong enough to face a garm.
Assuming they can survive down here for that long.
He'd been careless though. Amid all of his thoughts he'd forgotten to be cautious when walking around a corner, and he couldn't even scream before a blend between a massive paw and hand slammed into his chest.
Fortunately for him, he was thrown into Ivan rather than tumbling over the stone floor or ending up in the water. Unfortunately for them though, this meant Ivan was already at a severe disadvantage as the blood stained garm appeared in front of them.
He rolled off as quickly as he could, but Ivan couldn't hope to stand up before the garm was upon them, and with an effortless swing of her arm she tore a large gash into the man's chest and stomach.
Lucius wanted to scream again, but he had no breath to spare. That was too much. Even if his organs were intact a wound like that would have him bleed out in no time.
He crawled backwards. He had to run, but where? Where could he run quick enough so the werewolf couldn't catch up with him?
She'd already reached him before he could act, lifting him effortlessly by his arm and prepared to slam him into the ground.
Lucius gritted his teeth as he prepared for the impact, cursing under his breath. Even if he had been able to reach it, no potion in the world could help people come back from death.