Cw: mentioned death of Whumper, mentions of starvation
Whumpee lived in the dark, alone. This was a recent truth. They didn't always live like that though, because before Whumper had had a heart attack upstairs, their life was filled with painful fluorescent lighting and torture as Whumpee was easily overstimulated. With Whumper's death being confirmed when Whumpee managed to break free of the itchy ropes that bound them, they tried to escape but realized, they didn't know where they were, they only knew what was in this house. So they better stay. Eventually the power was shut off and they ran out of food. Whumpee was starving to death, alone. And they would have died there too if the social welfare worker hadn't shown up at the behest of Whumper's family.
Walking around with a flashlight, they took note of the strange dwelling but was concerned when they heard scuffling in the basement. They thought maybe there was an animal left when Whumper died. How awful, they thought. A poor animal left to starve. When they got down there and found Whumpee hiding in the corner, their heart sunk. So Whumper was one of those people. My other calls, they thought. The social welfare worker was also called to assist with patients on hospital intake who were... hurt in "specific circumstances inflicted by others."
They saw that Whumpee was skin and bones so they offered their lunch from the car. It was a simple sandwich but Whumpee's eyes lit up upon seeing it. They cautiously crawled over and reached out but flinched backwards so hard they nearly fell when the social welfare worker came too close to touching them.
"Here, you can have it. You can have my chips too. I think I have a drink as well."
After Whumpee was fed, they were exhausted from the excitement of another person and food. They crawled back to their bed corner. The welfare worker knew that what would come next for Whumpee would be unpleasant but necessary.
"I don't know your name, but we need to get you out of here to where you are safe and can be taken care of." The worker spoke softly because any louder and the basement dweller would cover their ears and moan.
"Do you trust me?" They held out their hand.
Whumpee eyed them curiously but scampered over and took it.
The welfare worker handed them their sunglasses, "because it's bright outside." But they would have to cover their ears when the ambulance came because they "didn't have any earplugs" and they were "very sorry about that."
It was a one sided conversation because Whumpee wasn't able to form words with the amount of stress they were under. Since they'd been taken, Whumpee hadn't used their voice.
As much as the ambulance service tried, Whumpee was completely overwhelmed by the process of getting to the hospital. The ambulance staff had never seen someone in such a state before and wanted to work quickly but couldn't because Whumpee would scream and fight back. The welfare worker wrapped Whumpee in a blanket and held them in their lap as they sat on the gurney so they could get moving. This weight of the hug seemed to calm Whumpee enough that they could be loaded up and transported.
