In Search of Home

Chapter 33

He decided that the source of his anger was simply because he was starving. 

Viktor was irritated - beyond irritated, maybe - with Vok'Rul, but he certainly didn't hate him. No, that particular honor went to the ringmaster. But it didn't help that the alien was reluctant to let him out of his grasp and retreat back to the relative safety of his closet. 

The murmuring of the crowd swelled and then quieted when the alien to Vok'Rul's right - his sister - stood from her seat and began speaking in a loud, clear tone. Polite applause, something that made Viktor's skin crawl no matter how quiet it was, filled the room as she finished. Immediately, some of the aliens in the room began to settle into a neat line. 

They were all holding... stuff. As the first alien came into view, Vok'Rul straightened in his seat, temporarily loosening the hold he had on Viktor. He relished in the pseudo-freedom. The alien quickly wrapped an arm around him again at the first sign of movement - Viktor had simply tried to shift into a more comfortable position, but apparently, that wasn't allowed. 

Trying to stifle the anger that welled up in the back of his throat, Viktor turned his attention to the alien in front of the table. It wouldn't be a good idea to make a scene in front of all these aliens. There'd be no good place to hide. Hell, the only exit from what Viktor could see was across the room.

There were only about a million aliens between him and real freedom. No big deal. 

The alien in front of the table was neatly dressed, draped in some expensive-looking fabric that hung off their shoulders in waves. It held what seemed to be an electronic device. It buzzed and snapped in its hands. The alien was speaking quickly to an interested Vok'Rul, waving a free hand over the device and pointing out specific pieces. 

It must be explaining how it worked, Viktor supposed. The alien poked the device and it began making a high-pitched whirring noise. Viktor slapped his hands over his ears. 

"Jesus, turn that off," he complained, relieved when the alien immediately switched it off. It looked sheepish, but Vok'Rul spoke kindly to it, waving it off with some words. They must've been encouraging because the alien looked resolute when it nodded and left the line. 

The next alien had something else to show Vok'Rul, and so did the one after that. It only took Viktor until the fourth alien to realize that the night had devolved into some sort of invention showcase. 

It must have been a rather highly sought-after event, considering how many aliens were excited to even lay their eyes on Vok'Rul. Most of them were accompanied by an elderly alien, too. A possible sponsor of theirs, maybe? Viktor wasn't one to riddle things out. All he knew, at this point, was that these aliens were showing up, demonstrating their inventions, and - depending on Vok'Rul's reaction - leaving happy or dejected. 

Viktor watched them all carefully. That dream had been eerily realistic, and he certainly wasn't going to let his guard down in front of a bunch of unknown aliens. 

Like before, most barely batted an eye at him. It made something sour curl in his stomach. To be treated like an animal was debasing. At least when he had been in the arena, he had the others to complain with - one couldn't get lost in the agonizing unfairness of it all when there were people to listen to one's complaints. 

Vok'Rul's arm around him felt like shackles. 

Viktor squinted as the latest alien - some yellow-hued alien with an armful of disc-shaped objects in its arms - left the front of the table after Vok'Rul's less-than-interested response. A new one took its place swiftly, looking eager and excited. 

Their eyes landed on Viktor almost immediately, widening in surprise. He was immediately on edge. 

The alien was female, which Viktor could only figure out because she immediately started speaking fast. She was dressed oddly compared to all the other aliens he had seen here. Instead of the tailored clothing many of the others preferred to wear, she had mismatched sleeves, various necklaces and belts looped around her stomach, arms and legs, and large hoops dangling from her horns. Behind her was an elderly alien, who looked a bit exasperated and fond of the smaller one. He was dressed like any of the other elderly aliens here: pressed, fit clothing with little jewelry adorning him.