Vindril slowly opened his eyes, trying his best to ignore the fact that everything seemed blurred out. Somehow, he realized he was laying on the cold floor of the lab, with his belly placed down; his ears were also ringing like crazy. What the hell had happened? Why was the entire lab covered in thick layer of dust and rubble?

Slowly, as he tried to move around in order to verify that none of his extremities had been seriously hurt in any way, also checking his skin for any open wounds, he tried to piece things together. He clearly remembered entering the lab and climbing down the iron stairs that were right near the entrance door; he also could clearly remember reaching the conveyer belt and packing a few vials in his jacket. Of that he had not doubt. So what-

A sigh escaped him. Now he remembered.

Soon after Luzir had pointed out that something was on his way towards them, an explosion had soon followed. The air blast that had followed it had been so powerful that it had launched him a couple of meters back, effectively knocking him out. After that, everything went black. For whatever reasons, someone had deliberately bombed the lab exactly the moment he was in it. What were the chances of that happening? Slim. Very slim. But as it always was, his bad luck knew no bounds. It seemed that it had followed him all the way to Girunne…

As clarity slowly returned to his eyes, he looked around, trying to search for his companions. Obviously, he prioritized understanding what was going on over everything else. He was, without the shadow of a doubt, worried about the people that had planted that bomb to begin with; in his limited experience, the kind of people ready to attack a facility of a giant of industry such as LOMAAB was, were also the same one that were ready to walk the extra mile in order to achieve their objectives. And in all honesty, he would have liked to never meet them. But, as it was evident, such wishful thinking was just…naïve. Now that his earing had also started to return he could finally ear the series of steps, too many to belong to Luzir and Sully, that were resounding all around the devastated room. It didn’t long for him to realize that the people those steps belonged to were quickly approaching his position. Shit…

He had to act. He had to come up with a plan to save his-

“Boss, there’s one here! It doesn’t seem to be one of them.”

Too late. Whoever that was, was already upon him.

“Here! There’s another one!”

“And here another!”

The person who clearly was in charge of all those people, that were surely armed to the teeth, shrugged. “Are they doctors? Guards?”

“No. Doesn’t seem like that.”

“…Alright.” the person said sighing. “Tie their hands and be sure they’re knock out. We’ll be taking them with us.”

“But-”

“No buts. We’ll question them back at the base. Now move. Take all the goods you can carry.”

Huh. On the bright side, he knew Luzir and Sully had survived. At least on that front, he could sigh a breath of relief.

After that, the person that had spotted him finally realized he was conscious and hit him with a single, powerful blow to the head that knocked him out again.

Vindril couldn’t have known. But things had now gotten even more complicated.

//////

The moment Vindril opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was the giant headache that was making his head pulsate enormously. It was like having a building on top of his head. The second thing he noticed was how dump and dark was…wherever the hell those people had taken him to. Speaking of, was there really any need to knock him out again after he had just managed to recover some degree of conscience? It was a miracle his head had not split open when that asshole, whoever it was, had hit him…with something cold and metallic.

Instinctively, he tried to touch his head with his right hand in the spot where he had been hit; the throbbing sensation he perceived in that moment was making him go crazy with how disorienting and painful it was. However, he sooner realized that a pair of handcuffs had been placed on wrists; when he lifting a hand, the other come up too. He frowned. Was there really any need for that? It seemed that those people, whoever they were, perceived him as a threat. Or maybe they were containing him just to question him later. He guessed that finding three people, that were clearly unrelated to the reality of the lab, at the same time they had decided to bomb it would have made anyone curious enough…

Another throb made him clench his head. The cold metallic material those handcuffs were made was so lightweight that it was almost like not having them on. But make no mistake. Those kinds of things were manufactured on purpose to be that way.

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Vindril knew a little bit about that, thanks his past voyages across space. One time he had the opportunity to work on a starship that was transporting all the kind of…contraptions that were used to restrict the movements of anyone unfortunate enough to come across such treatment. On it, a woman, with pointy ears and deep orange eyes, had befriend; and during lunch time, while none of them were busy with their mansions, she had explained him that the manufactures tried to create an illusion; an illusion meant to debilitate and torture the condemned. In all honesty, he had dismissed such connotations on the spur of the moment. Surely it couldn’t be that bad; those were just regular handcuffs, albeit lighter. Well…now that he was experiencing them, he had to reconsider. Feeling it so free, and actually not being, was a real torment.

Laving aside those feelings, Vindril looked around himself, trying to locate his companions. As the dark shapes he saw slowly became clearer by the minute, he realized that Luzir and Sully were beside him; they just had been placed into nearby cells.

“Oh-” said Sully. “Look who’s awake. Slept well, princess?”

Vindril ignored his mocking tone. “Whe-” another pang of pain made him stop for a second. “…Where are we?”

“How the fuck should I know? Do I look like I’m some sort of clairvoyant? We’re on the same boat, I think.”

“Ugh. My head is killing me…”

“Well, you’re not the only one who’s body is messed up.” said Sully. “Shit, my arm is feeling like butter.”

“Is it broken?”

Sully moved it around attentively. A grunt of pain, followed by some curses, made him greet his teeth. “Shit! No, I don’t think so. Still, I need to close this. Losing all this blood is making me dizzy…”

“What? Are you alright? What-”

“It’s fine.” said Sully. “More importantly, do you have any idea who are those people? To bomb LOMAAB is…”

Vindril shook his head. “No. I don’t have a clue.”

Luzir, who had been silently listening at them, suddenly warned them to shut up. “…Someone is coming…be ready.”

Vindril’s heartbeat quickened. Even if his head was hurting so much that it was almost painful to just keep his eyes open, he had to see for himself. He just had to.

Now…how was he supposed to grasp all the information he needed without risking possible repercussion? For the moment, at least, it was better to wait and see how things were going to unfold…

A loud, metallic noise of gear against gear reverberated around the room. Moments later the heavy, rusty, and beaten-up door that was right in front of Vindril’s cell opened wide. A series of people, some armed with rifles, some with simple, but nonetheless effective, blunt weapons, walked inside the room, effectively surrounding them. A man with shoulder length black hair entered last. By the way he carried himself, he was evidently the one in charge.

“...I see that you are already awake…” he said, briefly looking at them individually. The moment his orange eyes met with Vindril’s, a brief but intense shiver ran down his spine. That man was dangerous. “Good. That will only simplify matters.”

The man grabbed a wooden chair that was placed near the rocky wall and placed it right near his cell, his eyes travelling all over him. “…Is your head ok?”

“…What do you think? Try getting hit with…whatever the hell you used…”

“I guess that’s true.” said the man, conceding the point. “But that’s not why I’m here. I’m here for answers. And trust, dear strangers, I’ll get them out of you, one way or another. Too much is at stake to be light handed…”

Vindril smirked. He didn’t really want to. But the tension he was feeling and the irony of the situation he was in made him do it anyway.

“What’s so funny?” asked the man curious.

“Nothing…it’s just…you know what? Never mind. What do you want to know?”

The man raised his left eyebrow; evidently he wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction from him. “…Already? No crying? No putting up a fight? No invoking some higher power protection? Now that’s strange. I honestly was expecting something else.”

Vindril smiled. “What’s the point? If you have the guts to bomb that place, you also have the will necessary to kill some people. I’ve already come across people like you in the past. It’s in our best interest to collaborate with you. Though…”

“…What?”

“I cannot help but ask myself: Who are you? You’re clearly no small fish, or you wouldn’t have had the power to set up such a fucking bomb…”

The man turned silent for a moment, his eyes staring right into Vindril’s ones. It might have been a suggestion, given the hard blow to the head he had taken, but Vindril was under the impression that man had not blinked. It was like he was staring intensively right into him, to discern the truth from the lie.

“…You can call me Arturyll.”

“And I’m-”

“Vindril.”

His eyes opened wide. How could he know his name? Who was that mysterious man really?

“His name is Luzir.” he pointed at the giant. “And his is Sullivan. I know all of that.”

After a brief pause to fix his posture, he resumed talking. “What I want to know, what I desire, is knowing why were you inside the lab. It’s abundantly clear that you were not in there under official business. Your clothes are a clear indication as any. So what does that make you? A saboteur? An anarchist? Or a thief?”

“If you’ve dragged me in here, than you also know the answer. You’ve surely found the vials we have stuffed in our pockets.”

“Indeed. We most certainly did. So that makes you a bunch of thieves…at best. However, I cannot help but think that you’re hiding something from me? I mean, who in their right mind would rob that place? Surely you’re aware of the consequences…”

“Heh. You’ll be surprised by how fearless a man in need of cash can act.”

“So that’s it? Just…money? No further motive?”

“That’s right.”

The man who had introduced himself as Arturyll looked at them, scrutinizing their every single movement, their every single expression. It wouldn’t have taken a genius to understand his intentions. He was trying to evaluate their threat level.

Eventually, after quite some time, he simply got up from his chair and ordered his followers to liberate Vindril and his friends. By the quit mumbling that trailed after that order it mustn’t have been a very liked solution. Still, none of them dared to act otherwise. It seemed, at least to Vindril’s eyes, that raven haired man had the undying loyalty of all his followers. Not a bad trait to have…

“Follow me. We have things to discuss…”

With that, he simply turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Vindril confused. Who was that man? What did he want to show him? Why had he bombed that damned lab to begin with?

He sighed resigned. What other choice did he really have if not do as told?