In Search of Home

Chapter 28

Viktor woke up when the car stopped rumbling underneath him. He licked his lips, groaning as he moved his aching arm from its position across his chest. His neck hurt, and he stretched as well as he could while sprawled out on the floor. He heard Vok'Rul's soft "Kohgrash," and looked over at him blearily, blinking a few times to get the sleep out of his eyes. He must've been asleep for a while, considering how he was feeling. 

"Wha'?" he grunted. Vok'Rul handed him a small dish. "Uh, thanks," he said dryly, squinting at it. 

Before he was about to ask what the hell this dude expected him to do with a random dish, Vok'Rul filled it up with water. He fished out a white pill from his pockets and handed that over to Viktor, too. Grateful, Viktor took the pill and drank up the water greedily. 

"Thanks," he said, getting to his feet when the door opened on Vok'Rul's side. He saw the driver bow lowly before opening the back of the car. The tall alien slid out gracefully, beckoning for Viktor to follow. He did so, wary and curious. 

He wasn't out for long before Vok'Rul whipped out the harness from the back of the car, showing it to him for a moment before putting it on Viktor. The human cooperated, only giving him the stink eye when a leash was clipped on the back of it. At least it wasn't one of those stiff sticks. Small mercies. 

They were at some sort of park. It stretched further than he could see. Right now, they were at some sandy parking lot, nestled between floating cars. He could hear some aliens out of sight chattering to each other. Further away, faint laughter from children. The wind rustled the tall tree branches, rattling them against one another like bones. If he squinted, Viktor could see small purple buds on some of the lower branches. Maybe some trees retained their leaves throughout the winter, just like Earth. He thought about the fruit already ripe and ready to eat. 

Viktor decided that maybe it was just a quirk about this planet and to not think too hard about it.

He missed Earth fiercely, but this planet held its own beauty. The wind buffeted his hair, sending a chill down his spine. He was suddenly grateful for the extra clothing. 

Vok'Rul was speaking to him, voice pitched low and quiet. Viktor tore himself from the view to look up at him. A gesture to follow and the pair were walking on a well-trodden path. The vegetation was brown, with hues of red and purple mixed in. The mansion's gardens were pretty by their own standard, but this wild nature had its own beauty. 

The path curved, winding between trees and rocks. Viktor scrambled over a few very climbable-looking ones. The rocks were black, and they looked like basalt. He wondered if any scientists had been abducted. They were probably having the time of their lives if they were let outside. He slid down the fine-grained rock, returning to Vok'Rul's after a light tug at his back. He hoped every human was being treated well, but with his own beginnings in this world, he couldn't say with certainty that they were. Even he had been one of the lucky ones. Vok'Rul clearly appreciates him. 

The tall alien was chattering lightly, idly swinging his arms. The leash in his hands was held loosely and long enough that Viktor didn't have to worry about being held back from his exploration. He did get tangled in some small bush eventually, pulling him to a stop when he went to inspect an interesting tree root. It was all curvy and loopy, he had absolutely no choice but to look at it. He grumbled to himself while pulling the leash free, glaring at Vok'Rul when the alien started chuckling. 

"Shut up. This root is so cool. I wonder what the tree is called," he said out loud, poking his entire hand through one of the loops in the root. He wondered if the loops were just how the tree grew and if there were loopy roots under the ground as well, or if it had just been some odd growth above ground.