There Goes The Neighbourhood

[kilimesoftly]

It didn't happen overnight. These things never do. It took time to spread, to break quarantine after quarantine. There had been hopeful and optimistic news reports once the media blackout was over. The internet was buzzing with random cures and self help guides to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

Kili, ever cheerful though he is, never bought it. It'd been hard to when you could look outside and see the neighbourhood emptying out, or when entire sections of London became deserted. It'd been harder to after his uncle and cousins brought him and his older brother along to Tesco's to loot the place for food, for supplies, for anything other, previous looters had left behind.

Six months after the first wave of infections, the world was doomed and Kili knew it. A year after and it's all become normal.

"Tell me we get to head out of Belgravia today," he whines at the kitchen table. The entire block has become home to him and his relatives, the family manor on the corner and the streets leading into it barricaded. Kili plucks at his bowstring in anticipation of a hunt. It's been two weeks since they've gone out of their personalized safe zone. He's itching.

Comments

[filidelity]

They're alive. It doesn't do enough to lessen Fili's worry, not when he knows that it may be days again before he's granted another visit after this one, but these people haven't broken Kili's spirit. They haven't destroyed his faith in himself and his family. Fili concentrates on his brother's resilience, rather than the fact that Kili is still in chains while he vows to get them out of this place.

He nods, meaning to answer, but the sudden laughter cuts him off. Like his brother, Fili tries to pinpoint where it came from, moving closer to Kili as if to shield him (as if he hadn't arrived a little late for that). The voice remains disembodied, its owner hidden by the darkened room.

"Who's there?" Pointlessly, Fili narrows his eyes to peer into the shadows.

Neither those remarks nor the laughter are pleasant. They're menacing. Kili's response, on the other hand, is reassuring to hear.

Fili didn't need to ask his question – that voice belongs to the sick bastard who's been having "fun" at Kili's expense. That's all he needs to know.

[kilimesoftly]

"Who's there?" The deep voice is mocking. "Why, the ruler of this little kingdom for which you will help nourish and allow to thrive." The figure steps from the shadows at the back of the room. He is strong. Tall. Widely built and muscled. Bald and with one dead eye. And yet? He is handsome too. His smile is charming. He has dimples. "I'm the Captain. And you, my volunteer, must be Philip. A pleasure to finally meet you in person. I've heard your name quite a lot these last few days."

Kili's anger and fear rages together and he sets a hand on Fili's shoulder. He doesn't want him to move. He wants to hide against him.

Press his face to his back. Cower.

But that's weakness and Kili can not afford to be weak.

The Captain comes closer and motions for Fili to stand. He'll tower over him of course, but there is some semblance of equality.

"Do you want to play a game, Philip?"

[filidelity]

Ruler? In other words, this Captain isn't right in the head. Fili is silent as the man talks and approaches, but he gets to his feet, placing himself in front of Kili.

Everything about the Captain rubs Fili the wrong way.

He can't help wondering how his name came up – whether Kili was asking about him. He doesn't glance back at Kili for the answer.

Does he want to play a game? Not particularly. The question makes him uneasy; there's no chance that the Captain is thinking of a round of chess or Scrabble. It's bound to be something unpleasant, something to mess with them for entertainment.

But if he could win--

Fili finally speaks, meeting the man's one-eyed gaze and trying not to look too short as he tilts his head back. "What sort of game?"

If he could win, maybe that would give them their way out of here.

[kilimesoftly]

The Captain smiles. "If you win, I'll let you stay here the night. If I win, you're going to watch me whip his arse bloody. And Keiran, not to leave you out, poppet, if you're a very good boy and don't make me do all of the work tonight, I'll grant you one request. If you bite me, I will cut out your brother's tongue and force you to eat it."

The rules are enough to let Kili in on the game expected to be played and he recoils, hatred in his eyes even as his curls fall in front of them. His lips press together in a straight line.

But if he does what the Captain wants...

Well look what already happened. Kili did well yesterday and he was granted the wish to see Fili. At least there's some honour in the other man.

That means he might well see Fili free.

Sometimes Durins are on the same wavelength at all.

"We'll play," Kili speaks up for Fili and the Captain laughs, drawing up a chair.

"Philip, sit here. All you have to do is watch. And watch quietly. If I catch you looking away or if you get up or make a sound, you lose. I win. Understood?"

[filidelity]

Win what? Watch what? Kili and the Captain seem to know what the game entails, but Fili certainly doesn't. The rules don't tell him anything, only that their head captor must be confident that he won't lose.

"Kili--" Fili's protests end at that, despite his misgivings. This could be their one chance. They need to try.

Kili has some idea of what to expect, at least, and maybe that means it's not hopeless. Kili will get his request.

Fili nods, but there's no spoken reply for the Captain this time. As he slowly lowers himself onto the chair, he tries to seek out Kili's gaze, hoping to land on the same page as his brother. Alongside that, he wants Kili to know that the Captain won't win. No matter what Fili will be watching, he won't let him hurt Kili even more.

He's still apprehensive, he'll admit. Telling him to do something as simple as sitting there, motionless and in complete silence, means that it's going to be far from simple. The game sounds more and more like a torture session.

[kilimesoftly]

Yes, it's a torture session, but one that's Kili's grown somewhat use to, even if he's never been complacent about it. He's gotten whipped before too, so it won't matter if Fili decides he can't stand to watch this or not. So long as Kili does well, so long as Kili doesn't bite, he'll still get his wish.

That's all he can hope for right now.

The Captain approaches and Kili's cheeks sting pink from anger and embarrassment. He can't look at his brother. He might never be able to look at his brother again after this either, but he swallows down phelgm and disgust and doesn't pull away no matter how much he wants to when the Captain strokes his hair, fists it, and drags him up to be more or less in line with his crotch.

Dark eyes face forward and then close. Slowly, with hesitation, he reaches up to set his hands on either side of the Captain's thighs and is greeted with a jaunty laugh as the touch to his hair becomes gentle again. "I knew you could behave," he's told as the Captain undoes his zipper.

Kili's heart is breaking when a thumb traces his lips and he opens his mouth to lightly tongue it, just by the filthy nail. The Captain's skin tastes of salt and dirt and blood. His cock, Kili knows, will taste even worse and he steels himself for it before it's even shoved towards his face.

Full eyebrows furrow but he gets to work. It's sloppy. It still chokes him. There's just no choice today. Do this, do this well, and Fili goes free.

[filidelity]

Fili's eyes widen in horror. It is a torture session, but not the sort he'd been trying to brace himself for. He can convince himself that Kili would heal; Kili is strong. He was counting on the Captain not going too far, if he meant to use a whip, because where would that get him? He'd lose his source of so-called fun.

But this... They're lucky if this doesn't leave other scars.

Fili sits rigidly, gripping the sides of the chair's seat. He bites his lip until he tastes blood. His eyes start to sting.

Kili will get one request – any request? – but Fili pictures yanking the Captain away from his brother and smashing his skull in. And that wouldn't be enough. Not even slicing him open and cutting off what he doesn't need would be.

All of this imagined violence is impossible, unless Fili wants to throw Kili's survival and his own out the window.

"No..." Croaked out, it doesn't register that he's made a sound until it's already too late to smother it.

[kilimesoftly]

There's a small, triumphant sound from the Captain as Kili gags upon him, though what he finds most appealing in this moment is up for speculation. Kili's behaviour is certainly something he's enjoying...but his brother's reaction is precious and beautiful too.

For his part, Kili's eyes snap towards Fili, angry tears in his eyes. It doesn't matter, he tells himself. It doesn't because he's still acted well and he'll still get his wish, even if he's going to be whipped because of it. Kili's thumbs dig into the Captain's thighs, not enough to hurt, but he's doing his best to hold on here after the Captain's taken over for him and just started to thrust into his open mouth.

It's difficult to breathe, mucus and terror and the constant threat of vomiting giving over. Saliva runs down his chin...and it's followed close by another, more horrible to think about substance.

After Fili's cry, it'd only taken a half dozen thrusts for the Captain's pleasure to spike and Kili chokes on that horrid offering, swallowing what he can before his hair is released and he's allowed to spit the rest out on the pillows. His shoulders shake.

I've done well, Kili repeats to himself in a whisper inside his own head. I've done well--

"I didn't count on that," the Captain says, tucking himself away. He's still breathless when he pulls the opened belt from the loops and wraps the buckle around one hand. "Hands and knees, Keiran. Punishment first."

It's going to take some fifteen blows to draw blood, Fili. That's as far as the Captain will go as long as you don't try to get up.

[filidelity]

Fili could tear out his tongue himself. As if Kili hasn't already gone through too much, as if it hasn't been days of their captivity, now his own brother manages to make it worse with one gasp.

Fili won't forget the look in Kili's eyes (none of this, unsurprisingly, will be easy to forget). His own stay on Kili, still horrified. He's trembling with fury and disgust, and he's on the verge of springing up from his seat and barrelling into the Captain, regardless of how short-lived any satisfaction gained from that would be.

"No," he repeats, shaking his head. According to the rules, he's lost, but that shouldn't be Kili's problem, and since he can't lose twice, moving now can't make a difference.

Fili knocks his chair over in his haste to get up. He throws himself forward, catching the Captain's arm with one hand first and then resorting to using both as reinforcement.

"Not Kili-- If you're going to punish someone, punish me."

He's never felt weak or all that small before, but he's only too aware of how effortlessly he could be forced out of the way now. His hands don't even manage to wrap right around the Captain's wrist.

[kilimesoftly]

Always laughing. That's how Kili will remember the Captain. The man is only one hit in on the strap when Fili stands and Kili is certainly able to join him in the attack...

But he won't. He refuses.

If he can still get his wish, he's going to be good.

The Captain laughs as Fili tries to grab him and easily slams a palm into his nose. It breaks instantly and blood gushes across his teeth and down his chin. The chains on Kili's ankles move but the younger brother says utterly nothing. He just looks hurt and surprised.

His fingers curl into his palms. That it's easier for him to stay silent... Maybe that should bother him.

The Captain shoves Fili back into the overturned chair, forgetting for now about further marring Kili's backside. He stands triumphant instead until Kili raises his voice. "Did I... Were you pleased?" he asks like a kept boy. "Did I please you, Captain?"

Another laugh and Kili flinches. "You did very well, Keiran." He returns to the others side. Strong fingers stroke brown curls. "You want your wish? Do you want like he wants? To switch places? I'll give you anything but your freedom."

And at that. Kili nods. "I know. But will you give me his?"

"Oh! Oh ho ho!" The Captain laughs merrily. "Mmm. Perfection. Yes, my sweet boy. Mike! Jasper! Bring a rope and bring a blindfold. Dump our volunteer somewhere along the Thames. I don't care where. He'll just find himself food for the Infected."

[filidelity]

Reeling from the blow, Fili sits slumped in his chair. He squints at Kili and at the Captain through a haze of pain, blinking several times, and shakes his head again. "Kili... Don't..." Don't sound like that, talking to this sack of shit. Silence isn't as bad – except that it is. It's not right, because this is Kili.

With a jolt, Fili understands what he has to do. Here is their shot at escaping, if not together yet. He won't put up any more of a fight and risk even worse punishment for his brother. He'll come back for Kili, with help. What Kili has done for them won't be for nothing.

Before the blindfold is tightened over his eyes, Fili sends his brother one last look. He'll hurry. He's sorry.

The guards shove him out of the room, outside, away from Kili. Finally, they shove him to the ground. "Good luck getting home, mate!" Sniggering, they leave Fili to listen to their fading footsteps until he's alone.

They haven't taken off his blindfold or loosened the rope around his wrists. None of his weapons were given back to him. Anything could come and surprise him and he wouldn't be able to do much about it.

Fili breathes gingerly, thinks of Kili waiting, and reminds himself to stay calm. He works on pushing the blindfold off along the pavement. That's the less difficult part. Once he can see, he moves onto getting his bearings first and then searching for some way to free his hands.

[kilimesoftly]

Dumped on the bridge he and Kili had happily picked their way across days and days ago, Fili lucks out on location. The others must not venture past their territory or must find the Thames to be a good border. Perhaps they'd just been lazy. Ahead of Fili is the van Kili had excitedly told him to mark for retrieving sweets from, back when they only had to worry about death and nothing so much worse...and just as permanent.

Picking his way through cars and crashed trucks will be difficult, but at least it's not as dangerous as it could be.

Clickers are slow. The Infected, while quick, mostly stand idle when there's nothing around for them to run for. Neither are on the bridge. Nor the streets between the bridge and Fili's home.

Mister Bofur is the first to spot Fili's approach and shout warning for the doors to be open. It's Thorin -- and his mother -- that greet the prodigal son however. "Philip! You're alive!" his mother cries, embracing him. "Where is--"

It's best not to think of all the 'fun' Kili is likely having right now.

[filidelity]

Fili can't help but think of little else as his mother's arms wrap around him. Kili should be here. None of it should ever have happened. He pulls free soon, exhausted and shaking, because he can't bear to tell her and Thorin and everyone that he had to leave Kili behind to get help while his mother is hugging only one of her sons.

He cuts to the chase. The details are left out, but his hurried explanation contains everything his family needs to know. He and Kili made it to the other side of the bridge. They were captured by a group claiming that part of the city as their territory. Kili is still there.

"It's thanks to Kili that I got out," Fili finishes, swallowing. He looks up from the damp cloth his mother pressed into his hands to clean up his aching nose. "He's waiting – we have to hurry-- Please, Thorin! I'm fine." If frantic.

To prove it, he surges to his feet, only to find his knees buckling, forcing him to lean on the nearest person.

[kilimesoftly]

First comes a need for preparation. Kili's plight is something they all wish to rectify but they need Fili for guidance. Fili for intel. He's sat down in the main house and given water and food, a precious pad of paper, and one of the remaining working ink pens. The others, his family, his friends, take seats around him and wait expectantly, hands folded on the scarred wooden table, eyes seeking truths Fili might be leaving out.

"It's all important," Thorin snaps once as he sends Bombur and the Ri brothers to prepare them for their journey back over the bridge. "How many? A guess is better than nothing. How well armed? How guarded is the bridge?"

Fili's answers are recorded. Thought of. Planned.

"Tonight," Balin tells his cousin and puts a hand to his brother's arm. "Not before. You'll need darkness. A small team. Kill them as they come."

Yes. Kill. If Fili even mentions cannibalism, they will have to wipe the lot out.

[filidelity]

Nightfall is hours away. Not too many, but hours nonetheless, which means hours that Kili is spending still trapped in that hellhole. (He's survived several days of it, Fili reminds himself, and it won't be much longer until he'll be out and back with them.)

Fili has shared everything he can. A rough estimate of numbers, what he saw of the place. That there are other captives. Even the fate awaiting some of them.

He can't say anything about what Kili has gone through – and maybe he'd better find some way to put it from his mind and focus.

Finally, the wait before they can go through with their plan is over. Like last time, they're bound to run into a group of henchmen guarding the outskirts of their territory, ready to deal with any trespassers. But unlike last time, they know what to expect. They've come well prepared.

[kilimesoftly]

There are five guards at the bridge but they don't stand a chance. Home made gas canisters render every last one of them doubled over in a burning coughing fit and the men and women that attack them are quick with the kill. No one responsible for this will come out alive.

No one.

There's not enough time for an alarm to be called either. Though Kili is their most able bowsman, there are plenty of arrows to fire down on the sentries stationed around the wall of the Captain's kingdom. Not every arrow finds it's mark but enough do and half a dozen men fall.

It's only then that panic strikes and panic, of course, turns men into cowards and beasts. There are no such thing as prisoners in the mindset of Thorin's Company.

By the time a small group of them follow Fili to the Captain's chambers, as best as he can remember the way, the one-eyed bald man is just tucking himself away, grim smile on a grim face. He doesn't even look at Fili as he stands there, head held high.

"You would have been delicious."

Merry Christmas! Thank you again for bearing with me. ;;

[filidelity]

It's with his pulse racing and his nerves taut that Fili plunges into that poorly-lit room. The others have agreed to stand guard outside and follow only if he gives the signal for backup. He has a number of reasons for his request, not all unselfish. This is something he needs to do. He wants to do for Kili what Kili would have done for him.

And whether Kili will ever tell anyone exactly what went on in here is Kili's decision alone.

The sight awaiting Fili is sickening. Outside, all over these grounds, the Captain's followers have been dying tonight while their leader had his favourite kind of fun. And maybe it was Kili again.

Teeth bared in a snarl, something hot and angry thrumming in his chest, Fili aims his gun at that bald head. "Too bad," he grinds out. The gun's muzzle dips to crotch level; Fili pulls the trigger. He raises the gun, fires another shot.

That's where he'll stop. He turns to the shadows, searching. "Kili? Kili!"

Kili knows that his brother has come back, of course, and that they're getting out of here together. Fili doesn't need to tell him.

<3 Any time

[kilimesoftly]

Just as the Captain had known all was lost, Kili had been bolstered by the sounds of men running and guns firing. At least at first. He'd not thought it was his brother in all honesty. He thought the Captain dumped him out there, tied, bound, and left him for the Infected. No, Kili's hope had been that they were being overrun by clickers. Or crazed Infected. They'd make their way down here and he'd be put out of his misery.

Small favours, considering how his body, use to this treatment, refused to black out no matter how rough it was getting.

Bleeding and covered in questionable fluids, Kili still lifts his head when he hears Fili's voice. There's no move to cover himself up this time. He's not sure he can.

"Took you long enough," Kili says in the dark. "Are-- Did you-- Is anyone else with you?" It's bad enough his brother knows. He wants to be able to face his uncle and his mother without them being aware of this.

<333

[filidelity]

There's no quip for that greeting, not today, not here. Fili drops to his knees beside Kili, shining his torch on his brother just enough to let him determine what to do first. Even so, there's a shakiness to the next breath he takes and any words snag in his throat until he forces them out.

"They're waiting outside – it's just me in here. We're going home, Kili."

He won't stare for Kili to see his horror. Carefully, he frees Kili from his bonds. When they fall away, he wants badly to pull his brother close and tell him that he's sorry, but he returns his hands to his sides. Sorry is meaningless. "Kili," he says instead, quietly, "I haven't told anyone."

There's at least one more thing to address before they can go, and it's not freeing the other captives yet. Fili hesitates, moving the torchlight to each corner of the room.

"... Do you know what they've done with your clothes?"

[kilimesoftly]

"No," Kili says as he tries to get up on all fours. He's a fighter and will remain a fighter to the end if need be. It's got to be comforting, somewhat to Fili. At least he knows his brother isn't going to just crumble on him. "But there's a wardrobe in the back. He kept some of their clothes. Just don't give me a dress," he says, a hiccup-like laugh in the back of his throat as he tries to lighten the mood.

There's a great deal in this room for Fili to be fascinated over. Gilded paintings from the Gallery hang on the walls. There are weapons everywhere. Cans of food, personal supplies perhaps, stacked behind a curtain. And just as Kili said, a wardrobe filled with all kinds of clothing. A pair of camouflage trousers and a t-shirt ought to do just fine until they can get back home.

As Fili turns back from gathering clothes, he see Kili's old roommate in the corner, still shackled, but the blood in her hair tells a story the blond can likely piece together without asking his brother. She'd had her head bashed in. Being 'fun' doesn't provide much of a safety net either, it seems.

Kili holds up a hand for Fili to take when he comes back over. He'll need help dressing. He'll need help walking. Just don't mention the amount of blood left crusted to his inner thighs.

[filidelity]

Kili is himself, remarkably, if Fili can take it all at face value. He blocks out even a speck of the thought that he might have come back to find his brother lying here like the woman who had still been alive earlier today. It seems wrong to leave her there, but they can't take a corpse with them. He covers her up with a coat found in that wardrobe before he returns to Kili's side, where he wishes he could have stayed the entire time.

The Captain's death hasn't made up for any of this. There's no real sense of satisfaction or victory or... anything, to tell the truth. Executing him was just ending his life and stopping him from repeating what he did to Kili and others before him.

Maybe Kili should have had the chance to finish him off.

Fili is gentle as he helps his brother where he's allowed, but he says little, and nothing else about Kili. It's all just a series of instructions and then they really are leaving, their pace slow, Fili's arm secured around Kili's waist. He can give his brother something to lean on as they walk. The rest of their group surrounds them like a sentient shield. There are some searching looks for Kili, but they take a backseat to cleaning up every inch of this place and getting out.

William, Fili hopes, will be coming with them. It could actually be that he owes the man his life.

[kilimesoftly]

Luckily, Kili just looks like he'd been beaten. Anyone with cracked ribs would breathe like he's breathing. Anyone with sprains would limp. He's trying not to think about what will happen when Owen insists on looking him over. He'd rather just be left alone after he showers.

Thorin pats him once on the back where there's whip marks and Kili winces. That's the end of the familial embrace. And besides, William -- who had indeed survived to be rescued -- is busy helping the rest of the Company locate the food stores.

Some are left behind to secure and test the food supply. To put those that can not go with them out of their misery. It's a difficult task left to their uncle's best friend and cousin. Kili doesn't want to think about it.

He has enough to think about getting back over the bridge with it's maze of cars. He stumbles a few times and his legs buckle just as they see their front gate.

"Run interference," he requests of his brother, handing onto Fili with the last of his strength. "I don't want mum to worry."

[filidelity]

Steadying Kili, Fili manages to give him a Meaningful Look. It's too late for their mother not to worry, and they both know it. She would have been worried about them when they left on their ill-fated supply run. She would have worried when they didn't come back with the others, until she had to accept the likelihood that they would never come back. She's going to worry when she sees her youngest hurt.

"I'll try, but she's our mother, Kili."

And her worry is in her gaze and every touch as she greets them the moment they head inside. "Thank God," she says, only the slightest tremor in her voice, but she doesn't do what she would have done if Kili were in better shape. There's no embrace for now; she contents herself with brushing her son's wild curls out of his eyes and cupping his cheek.

There isn't much that Fili can do.

Their mother, still practical, maintains enough composure to see to it that first things come first. Kili will get a shower and a change of clothes and a meal waiting for him afterwards. And he'll have to sit through Owen taking a look at him.

Fili doubts that Kili really wants a hand, whether or not it's offered outright, but he stays close.

Happy New Year my darling!

[kilimesoftly]

"Honestly! I was roughed up a bit. Trying to get me to give up our location..." Lies. All lies. And yet, if he doesn't lie, he'll have nothing to say. And Kili, with nothing to say, is not Kili. "You should see after the rest. Some awful shit--"

"Keiran!"

"Stuff, some stuff. Sorry mum. But yeah, go tend to them I'm sure I smell bloody--"

"Keiran!"

Kili wraps his arms around her suddenly, his brows creasing his forehead as he rests his cheek to her throat. It hurts. This hurts. He lets go after just a moment and limps upstairs. He nearly has to crawl the final two steps.

When he does make it to the bathroom, Kili can't strip fast enough or shut the door on his brother fast enough. He needs a good cry. He needs to be alone for just a bit more, Fili. Just let him scrub the Captain off. It's all he has left now.

<333 for good measure.

[filidelity]

Of course Kili wants some privacy. Of course he doesn't want anyone hovering, let alone helping him wash. Fili stands outside the door to the bathroom like an awkwardly placed piece of furniture until he turns around and lets himself slide down the wall to sit on the floor. He listens to the sounds of the shower running and water swirling down the drain. He listens for anything out of place.

His gun is still tucked into its holster and the holster is still strapped to him. He separates them, running his fingers along the weapon's smooth edges. Two bullets, and then it was over. Maybe that's the problem. Kili was stuck with the Captain's company for days.

Their mother comes upstairs and finds Fili with his back against the wall, knees pulled up to his chest, arms and chin on top of them. She leans down to stroke his hair, reminding him to see Owen after Kili for his nose. He must have looked at her strangely, because her hand moves across his hair once more and she gives him a long look in turn.

Once she's left again, his face crumples. Some kind of harsh gasp tries to make it past his lips, but he presses them together tightly, teeth locked behind them, and shuts his eyes, head tilted back to touch the wall.