In Search of Home

Chapter 22

At first glance, it wasn't so bad. Yes, Viktor was locked out of the giant mansion in frigid weather, but he wasn't one to give up so easily. He was also a little dramatic. It wasn't quite the dead of winter. That had long passed while he had been in the arena. If anything, it was the transitionary period between seasons, if this planet had anything like that. This was practically nothing compared to those frigid nights before they had been given flimsy heating pads. Of course, he had been in a building with walls... and had some alien straw lying around... and his clothes had been in better shape. 

Viktor decided he needed to get back to the matter at hand. The fact that he was locked out of the mansion. It was pretty pressing, he thought. 

There were other doors he could try to get in. Plus, walking around the mansion gave him a pretty good idea of the layout inside. When he got back inside, though, he was gonna cuddle up with his blanket in his very soft and warm bed first.

That is, if he got back inside.

Every door he tried had been locked. Even the front doors. The hope and confidence that he would be able to get back inside had quickly waned with each locked door. That bastard must have run around and locked every door. It probably thought that he was some filthy animal. Viktor cursed, feeling frustration fill his chest.

"Stupid fucking aliens. Can't have anything fucking nice in this goddamn place," he spat to himself, feeling burning in the back of his eyes. He pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes, taking deep breaths. He stood there for a moment.

Enough moping. Viktor decided that he'd try to make the best of the situation. He was outside for the first time in forever. Better make use of it, right?

So, he explored. Walking around kept him pretty warm, and it wasn't so cold when he wandered. His feet were sore from walking around in pebbles and dirt after being so used to carpeted flooring. He had thought about whether or not to take his socks off to preserve them but the second his bare foot touched the ground, he let out a choked scream.

God, it was cold!

He quickly put his sock back on.

The grounds were beautiful. There was a small pond farther along the paths. A fountain was in the center of it, gushing out water. Small fern-like plants circled the pond. Some were sprawling out on the path, searching for new places to live. Flowers, a bit like lilies with their opened petals, punctuated the pathway around the pond. They smelled sweet. It was idyllic. Viktor thought he could stay here forever. Eventually, though, staring at the water became a bit boring, so he moved on.

He walked towards the trees, the sweet scent of fruit filling his nose. He stared up in awe at the towering plants. Trees didn't seem to be so common on this planet, but admittedly he hasn't had the most experience outdoors to be a reliable judge on that. Maybe they didn't have a lot of water on this planet.

The trees were like the ones back on Earth, from thick bark to full leaves. The only difference was that it wasn't any species Viktor recognized, its leaves were bright purple. and its bark was a dull, rusty red. It was jarring, but Viktor quickly got used to it, especially when his attention fell on the fruit that the trees sported.

Round and purple, these fruits were unlike anything he'd ever seen before. If he had to guess, the closest comparison he could make was that they looked like a cross between an apple and a durian. They were small and spiky. If Viktor didn't notice the overwhelming sweet scent of them, he would've thought they were just hard seeds.

There were some rotten ones on the ground, covered partially by shade and foliage. He poked at one, looking at the white insides. They were built like apples on the inside, fleshy fruit surrounding a few seeds in the middle. Viktor wondered what they were called.