Chapter 48: Roman Wants to Throw Some Hands

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CW: blood, aftermath of fight, denial, grief, cages, kidnapping, death threats, panic attack (lemme know if I missed anything)

Roman didn't even wait for the carriage to stop before jumping off of it, rushing over to where a large group of people were. They had heard the gunshot from far away, and it was after it echoed that the witch had felt Virgil's panic fade into nothing.

He had to be okay, he had to be alive! He had to be there, Roman didn't feel him anywhere in the large group of people but Virgil had to be there! The bond was wrong, that was the only explanation, Virgil was there and he was okay.

The witch pushed his way through the crowd, several people were wrapping up injuries for others, giving each other water, some were crying and others were angry. What the hell happened? And where was Virgil?

He saw Logan pressing a gauze into Mr. Johnson's forehead, clearly trying to stop the bleeding since there was blood all over their hands and running down Johnson's face. The alchemist looked up, and when he saw Roman a sad expression crossed his face, almost answering the burning question.

"Where-where is he?" Roman asked, choked by fear.

"Oh Roman..." Logan sighed, letting go of the gauze as Mr. Johnson took it. He walked over and held out his arms to the witch, but Roman just took a step back and shook his head more.

"Where is he, Logan?"

"I'm sorry... I-"

"Logan!" Patton called, people making way as he came through. Several looked over as Remus and Janus followed him, but others didn't blink or look twice as they continued to lick their wounds. To them they just looked like more strangers.

Logan's expression somehow fell even more, his shoulders slumping as tears started to gather into his eyes. Patton's eyes widened in fear as the alchemist looked away in shame.

"I'm sorry," he told them. "I-I... I came out here as fast as I could. But he was gone by the time we arrived."

"Where is he?!" Roman shouted, looking around desperately. He tried focusing on the bond, but Virgil wasn't in town. It felt like he was moving further away but that couldn't be true, please don't let it be true, Virgil couldn't-

Miss Kayda stepped forward, putting a bandaged hand on Logan's shoulder. Blood covered the white bandages that were on her knuckles, a clear sign she fought hard. "They took him," she said bluntly.

"They... they took him?" Patton asked, his voice small.

Kayda hugged herself, holding her arms. "I'm so sorry dear. We all fought the hunters, god if I had known I never would have let Virgil even step foot into town while those... those monsters were here."

"None of us would have," Mr. Johnson spoke up. "I should have fought."

"You were the first to be hit, it's just a good thing they decided to hit you with a rifle instead of shooting. Luckily they didn't shoot anyone, but they did threaten to."

"He's... he's not here..." Roman finally admitted to himself, placing a hand to his chest as his heart broke into pieces. Virgil was gone, the monster hunters took him, they took him! "They... they..." He blinked his eyes as tears started to form. They were going to hurt him, they probably already have.

"Roman?" Remus called, stepping forward and putting his hand on his brother's shoulder. "It's going to be okay."

Roman's hand formed into a fist, grabbing his shirt. He nodded. "Yeah. Because I'm going to find them, and I'm going to get him back."

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