***CW: Sexual Abuse/Prostitution***

Jason had never imagined what kind of labyrinth of dilapidated buildings the top side would have. How every corridor led to another in an endless path with no trajectory. Entropy wrapped in veiled order.

Or at least, that's what it seemed like as he followed Liam toward what could only be called a secret paradise. Jason didn't believe in it, of course. The kid could weather the cold and breathe the air far better than Jason, so knowing what was best for someone like him wouldn't be something Liam would just know about. But it wasn't like Jason had anywhere else to go. He hadn't been lying to Talia when he agreed that getting back into the Caverns would be next to impossible.

Especially since they'd stripped him of his identification card at some point during his kidnapping.

"How ya holdin' up there, scooter?" Liam asked, his sage-green eyes catching what light they could and reflecting it like some beloved beacon.

Jason wasn't doing great. His mouth was dry, stomach growling, and his arm fucking hurt. Each dangerous slit upon his skin pulsing with an uncharacteristic warmth. "Are you sure you dressed this right?" he asked, holding the wounded appendage to his chest. It felt infected.

Liam looked back at him with a frown.

Great.

"I done dressed it as good as I could," he stated with a hint of indignance. Almost as though he knew it wasn't perfect, but was also appalled by Jason's lack of gratitude.

Gratitude didn't do shit if you were dead, though.

"When we git to the springs, I'll touch 'er up a bit," he continued. "Tha' warm, grit-water'll do ya heaps of good, I tell ya."

"Spring? You guys have springs up here?"

Springs weren't uncommon, the groundwater finding salvation beneath the Earth's crust. But, up top, it was far too cold to stumble across running water. Also….

"Wait, warm springs?"

Now, those Jason had only heard as old-world mythos.

But Liam only smiled before turning back to the elaborate maze and picking up his pace. "You'll see, Jacie-boy. Just follow good ole Liam. He'll show ya!"

Jason gritted his teeth against the nickname, still not liking it regardless of whose lips it came from. He didn't mention it, though, knowing that Liam had a specific way of speaking, which was probably just part of it.

"How do you navigate, anyways?" Jason asked, changing the subject. It was clear Liam wanted their destination to be a surprise.

"Hmm?" Liam questions with a hum.

"Well, you're blind," Jason blatantly stated. "Or, at least partially."

Liam chuckled, extending a hand to help Jason over a crumbling stone hedge. As soon as they were clear of it, Liam set his fingers in the shape of a circle and spent a moment bringing them closer to his face.

"Riiight there," he said, stopping about an inch from his eyes. The left one, glazed over from the effects of the mutation, peered up at Jason, seeing and unseeing simultaneously. "My left eye don't work real good," he explained. "My right one's a little better, but not by much. I got tunnel vision, ya see, and I can kinda sorta make out what's in this 'ere circle. Everythin' else is like... seein' fog on shaky water."

"Really? How clear is it?"

"Not much," Liam admitted, dropping his hands at his side. "I know you got yerself some fluffy hair. Looks like some weird mix of gray an' brown, but ya never know with me. Color don' register real good fer me, neither."

Mousey-brown. That's what Jason's mother had always described the color as, though Jason had seen only pictures of the cute little rodents in textbooks.

"I'd say that's pretty accurate," Jason agreed, following Liam as they carefully navigated a set of slick alleyways. Jason had expected everything up top to be frozen solid, but whatever lingered in these alleys made nauseating wet sounds as their footsteps plodded through them.

Without warning, Liam threw his hand up, catching Jason's chest in a bad way. The latter immediately fell to the ground and grasped at his chest, the onslaught of an episode gathering at his core, ready to rip him open by either side of his ribcage.

"Gotta be quiet for a minute," Liam whispered, not understanding that, in a few seconds, there would be no chance of Jason being quiet.

Those few seconds came and went. Jason heard the wail come from his throat, the sound disappearing as he crumpled to the ground. Liam swiveled on his feet, immediately getting to the ground with Jason, eyes wide and frantic. Jason couldn't tell him it'd be over after a couple minutes, couldn't console the boy rapidly trying to figure out what was wrong and how he would fix it.

Shadows fell over the duo, and Jason saw the people Liam had meant to avoid. They were both tall and lean, a man and a woman. The leers cast against the two boys had Jason's heart thumping uncomfortably. Liam closed his eyes tightly before standing and turning to face them. Jason couldn't hear what was being said, the only context clues being that Liam willingly allowed them to grasp his chin, turning his face from side to side as though he was product to be sold.

There was a slow, hesitant nod, and Liam pointed back at Jason. The guy's eyes wandered over to the immobilized kid and returned to Liam with a shake of his head.

Jason could read his lips. "No."

Whatever he disagreed with made Liam animated in a way Jason hadn't yet seen. The tones were finally working their way into Jason's eardrums, but there wasn't any coherence to the sound.

Liam was screaming. That, Jason knew.

The woman's eyes jumped at whatever Liam must've said. She turned toward her counterpart, arms crossed with an amused grin. The man let out a breath and walked over to where Jason lay, utterly vulnerable to whatever they were about to do to him. But Liam nodded with encouragement, though his eyes had lost all that warmth Jason found so endearing.

Some more mumbled words collided with each other, the vibrations in the man's chest leading Jason to believe some of them were his. After whatever words were exchanged, the trio and their baggage trudged over to a small building that leaned dangerously to one side, a small rectangular door swinging inwards as the woman shoved it open.

"…our humb…ode," were the syllables Jason could catch from the woman.

He surmised what the sentence had been and, yeah. Humble was certainly a word for this single-room square pretending to be a home. In one corner was a large heap of blankets and cushions that somewhat resembled a bed. Definitely a lot more comfortable than the bed Jason had woken up in.

On the far wall, a heater sent out gentle waves of cozy warmth but couldn't do anything to fix the foul smell of rot and mold and stagnant water, spreading its bacterial humidity throughout the air. Paper and plastic layered the floor thicker than the lichen in the Caverns, and stains of disconcerting colors painted the otherwise gray-wash walls.

Jason regained nearly all of his hearing when the whimpers and cries started, and Jason wanted to throw up. Liam had completely undressed himself, giving his body over to the two strangers without a second thought.