In Search of Home

Chapter 6

Viktor's world came back to him in bits and pieces. 

There was sharp, throbbing pain racing up and down his leg. He thought that they'd have to chop it off and maybe that Oorah had been venomous in the first place. He let out a weak pitiful moan, trying to twist away from the large hands that held him down. He opened his eyes, almost immediately wishing he hadn't as he was nearly blinded by sharp lights, and found that the blue-tinged alien, Lilac, was looking at him in something similar to sympathy. 

She made a cooing noise, said the word "Kohgrash" and kept ahold of him while something wrapped around his leg. He lifted his head to look, but it felt far too heavy to hold up, impeded by the collar around his throat. He closed his eyes instead and fell back asleep. 

The next time he woke up, he was back in his cell, head swimming in pain, accompanied by the throbbing in his leg and arm. He let out a weak whimper, flipping onto his side and curling up into a ball. He thought he heard a voice call out his name encouragingly but quickly slipped back into blissful unconsciousness before he could reply. 

Thankfully, he managed to wake up and stay awake the next time. He blearily opened his eyes, swaddled in his beautiful, wonderful, amazing straw pile. He sighed blissfully, lying still for a moment before the pain in his leg and arm reminded him where he was. He sat up slowly, petting himself down the front to assure himself that yes, he was very alive. 

"Damn," he said, throat scratchy and dry. He didn't know if he was grateful or not. 

His leg was wrapped in what seemed like a black plant-based bandage. It was tightly wrapped, but he could rotate his foot without any limitations. His arm was similarly wrapped. He looked under the bandages and saw that he had a nasty bruise wrapped around his bicep, but there didn't seem to be any lacerations. He quickly pulled the bandage off his arm. It felt much better without the bruise getting pressed on. 

He looked around the warehouse. It was just before dawn. Hints of the weird white sun were poking through the top windows, and there was a slight chill in the air. He looked around his cell, eyes drawn to the platter full of grey mush. He crawled over and began shoveling food into his mouth as quickly as he could swallow it. He scraped the dish clean before leaning back, feeling a bit better with a full stomach. 

He started to drag himself over to the water trough before a sharp "Viktor!" startled him enough to lose what precarious balance he had achieved with a throbbing arm and leg. He fell onto the ground with a loud grunt, clenching his teeth in a hiss as his arm took the brunt of his fall. 

"Ow," Viktor said after the initial wave of pain left him. He rolled onto his side to look at the offender, glaring at him. 

"Sorry," Pedro said, sounding genuinely sorry. "You've been out of it for two days." 

Pedro didn't say anything else, allowing Viktor to get back up and stick his head in the water trough. He shook the water out of his hair, feeling much better. He offered Pedro a weak smile, shuffling to the bars to lean against them. 

"I had to fight that thing. He nearly tore my leg off," Viktor said, wiggling the offending appendage. It didn't hurt nearly as bad as it did when he had gotten it. He could probably even stand on it. "I managed to land a hit on its head. I must have hit a soft spot in its skull or something." 

Pedro whistled, reaching through the bars to pat Viktor on the shoulder. "Nice work, kid. Glad you're still here. We were afraid you'd never come back." Viktor grimaced, thinking the same thing. 

The solemn silence between the two of them after that declaration was broken by Ezekiel's loud snore. Viktor cracked a grin, mirroring Pedro's, using the bars as support to stand up. He stretched, testing the weight on his leg, only feeling a dull, weak pain in his calf. At least he could stand, now.