Wild Creatures

Chapter 36

Content Warning: mentions of blood (sectioned off by stars).

Officer Todd turned back to face them.

"There's no need to worry. Two officers are down in the foyer, and two officers are stationed outside the building. That's in addition to the night patrol that will pass by every hour." He reassures them.

"Um...Officer Todd, there's one more thing!" Wei Ying stepped forward, quickly. "I just remembered..."

"Sure. What is it?" Fatigue is all over his face and in his posture, but Officer Todd still waits for Wei Ying to say what's on his mind.

"Well...the thing is...it's fair to assume that JingYi isn't going back up there..." Wei Ying glances up towards the ceiling, meaning apartment 613.

"Yeah, he can't go back. It's been sealed off...so..." If it's possible, Officer Todd looks paler at the mention of returning two floors up.

"I meant...um, we're going to need the rest of his things." Wei Ying blurts out. "I can't imagine what he's thinking, but when he finds out about his mother...he's going to be so upset. I want...I want to make it easier for him." Tears spilled out from his eyes, even while Wei Ying tried to be strong.

How to tell a six year old that his mother wasn't coming back? It was the worst piece of news to have to tell anyone, let alone a kid.

The only way that it might make things better was to have comforting, familiar things surrounding the child, so he wouldn't feel abandoned. Wei Ying wasn't sure what the relationship was like between JingYi and his father, but he was already guessing that it wasn't the mother who used to beat him. And to lose both parents in one night ...

Officer Todd was thinking about it.

"I know I'm not supposed to let anyone up there...but if I went...well, the truth is, I don't know anything about kids, and honestly? I don't wanna go back up there..." he looks at the door, and when he turns around, there's a new determination in his eyes. "When you guys came back earlier, you had protective clothes, right?"

Wei Ying catches on really fast.

"Yes. If I wear those, would you mind taking me there?"

Before Officer Todd can answer, Lan Zhan whirls him around. Wei Ying sees so much fear and panic in his beautiful golden eyes, he has to hug him tightly.

"I'm gonna be fine, Sweetheart. I'll only be gone twenty minutes tops, and Officer Todd is going to be with me, every step of the way. Right?" He twists his head so Officer Todd can see him.

"Yep. In and out." Officer Todd confirms. He looks at his watch. "We better hurry before the next shift starts, though. I'll wait outside."

They hear the quiet click of the door, as it closes behind him.

"My love!" Wei Ying holds his face. "Please, we have to, for JingYi's sake. I'd take you with me but one of us has to stay here, in case the children wake up. What if no one's here, then?" He's willing Lan Zhan to please understand. "JingYi would want his own things...you know that, right?"

Lan Zhan hates how right he is.

He closes his eyes in anguish, and Wei Ying knows he's won; Lan Zhan can smell it in his blood. It's relief and ... trepidation. Wei Ying does not want to go up there, either. He's doing it for a little boy, who has no one left now, except them.

And if Wei Ying can be brave...then...then Lan Zhan is going to try his best as well.

When his brilliant golden eyes open, this time they're blazing with a fierce love.