Domik
Everything hurt. His muscles were sore like nothing else, the skin on his wrists chafed raw from the tape used to bind his hands. His throat was dry, and he coughed as he tried to swallow. Cracking an eye open, he winced as pain lanced his head.
They had beaten him for resisting and not telling them what they wanted to know. He’d been half dazed when they had brought him here. Wherever here was.
All he’d been trying to do was protect CJ.
I should have kept her safe.
He groaned, dropping his head back down to the hard ground.
Where was he? Where was CJ?
He opened his eyes fully, wincing at the light that speared him. Blinking, he waited until his vision cleared.
The ground underneath him was cold and hard, made of the concrete humans seemed so fond of. There was a wooden door in front of him, heavy and stable, with solid hinges. The walls of the room were similarly heavy and wooden.
An animal enclosure? A…barn?
He lifted his head, turning onto his back to stare at the ceiling and noticing the small camera that was winking in the corner.
They would know he was awake soon, if they didn’t already.
Domik forced himself to sit up, made difficult by the tape that bound his ankles and wrists. He lifted both hands to rub at his eyes, and push his hair out of his face. He shuffled backward until he was leaning against the rear wall, the door immediately in front of him.
This way, at least he would know who was coming at him.
He didn’t have to wait long.
Footsteps sounded outside, getting louder as they approached him. A small window in the door opened, a face peering at him, before shutting and the door opening.
“Oh good. You’re awake,” the voice belonged to an older woman, a faded floral dress covered by a patched apron. “I have some food for you.”
Domik nodded, staying seated and not moving.
She entered the room and placed a tray down near him, smiling and stepping away, watching expectantly.
Domik blinked up at her then, realizing she wouldn’t leave until he had eaten something. He turned his head to look at the tray. There was a glass of water and a sandwich. He picked the glass up awkwardly in his bound hands, fumbling but managing to not drop it. He downed the water in big gulps, throat soothed by the liquid. Then, putting down the glass, he picked up the sandwich and ate.
It wouldn’t have mattered what was on it, he was that hungry he would have eaten it, anyway. He groaned in appreciation at the first bite, swallowing and giving a nod of thanks to the woman. She crossed her arms across her ample bosom and nodded, as if satisfied with his efforts.
“A big, powerful man like you needs to eat,” she said. “Don’t know what kind of mess you are in ending up mixed up with that lot, and I suppose it’s none of my business.” Domik shrugged. She cast a look out the door before continuing quietly, “Do you even know who they are?” She tilted her head forward as if looking at him over the rim of an invisible pair of spectacles.
He shook his head, feigning a mouthful of sandwich to avoid speaking. If he could encourage her to keep speaking, maybe she would give him the information he needed to get out of here. To get back to CJ.
“They’re the resistance,” she said in a hushed tone, as if that answered everything.
He blinked at her, taking another mouthful of sandwich and chewing.
“You don’t know who the resistance is?” she asked incredulously. “Have you been living under a rock?”
Domik shrugged again.
She huffed, rolling her eyes. “They think the alien threat is a hoax to control everyone. You’ve heard about that, right?”
He nodded.
“Right. Well, they think that other group of aliens doesn’t exist and the Taurons—”
