In Search of Home

Chapter 56

His stomach is what drove him out of the listless fog he had found himself in. Hungry and feeling less like he'd fall over if he stood up, Viktor managed to choke down a couple of pieces of jerky from Pedro's own supply. The man offered him silent support, only speaking to let him know that he was there for him. Viktor was glad he was. 

Viktor explained, with stuttering pauses, why he was afraid of leaving Vok'Rul. His words were jumbled, all over the place, but Pedro just nodded along, passing him his dish of water when the words wouldn't seem to come out. 

"He was just so... still," Viktor whispered, barely audible over the machinery working in the background. "I thought I was too late." It had been unnatural to see Vok'Rul lying so stiffly. His chest had barely moved with his breaths, pulse barely there. 

"He's still here, kid. And he'll come back. That guy loves you," Pedro's voice was so full of confidence and surety that Viktor would be an idiot to not believe him. 

When he had finished speaking after what seemed like hours, he felt a bit better, just as he had when he had spoken with Nikolas. 

"Thanks," he mumbled, glancing at Pedro briefly. "Sorry for getting all..." he gestured vaguely, making a noise of derision in the back of his throat. 

"Don't apologize," Pedro told him sternly, nudging him with his shoulder. Viktor didn't even flinch, which he thought was a plus. "You're only sixteen, kid. I wish you hadn't gone through what you did." 

Viktor shrugged helplessly, a bit uncomfortable. There was no changing the past, and bemoaning about it was going to solve nothing. Still, it was nice having someone angry on his behalf. 

"C'mon," Pedro said, suddenly standing up and dragging Viktor to his feet whether he liked it or not. "Let's go take a walk. You're so pale. Does Vok'Rul not take you outside?" 

"He doesn't like when I climb trees," Viktor grumbled, following after Pedro reluctantly. 

"Do you know their word for outside?" Pedro asked. "I usually play a fucked up game of charades before Blacksmith gets the hint." 

The thought of speaking to Blacksmith, even if she had no clue what the word kora meant for him and had just been trying to get him to calm down, made Viktor ill. He did know the word for outside, but it was nothing he could pronounce, so he mutely shook his head. 

Pedro sighed an "ah, well," before he patted Viktor on the shoulder and left him standing bereft in the middle of the warehouse while the man went and mimed at Blacksmith. It didn't take too long before she got the hint - Pedro must do this often - and they were herded outside soon after. Viktor still had his harness on, but Blacksmith had no leash to go along with it. 

Viktor had been too relieved at the prospect of going along with Vok'Rul to even notice that the alien hadn't brought along a leash. Ugh, he was such an idiot, sometimes. 

The weather, like almost any other day on this planet, was mild. It was the perfect temperature. 

They sprawled out on the scratchy, brown grass, looking up at the yellow sky. There were no clouds, but the sun was so small that they could sit comfortably out there for hours. 

"How far away you think that sun is?" Viktor asked. He felt Pedro shrug beside him. 

"Dunno. Not too much of a science man. I don't think I know how far away our sun is."

"I think it's like, 93 something miles away. Million, maybe." 

"Sounds far." 

"That's the point, dummy. If it's too close, we'd boil alive. Too far, and we'd freeze," Viktor turned to look at him skeptically, a smile playing on his face. "I think it's called the Goldilocks zone."