The boy's eyes opened.
Everything felt heavy. His body. His thoughts.
Like he was still half asleep. He blinked a few times to clear his vision.
He shifted. The mattress beneath him creaked softly. He pushed himself up and sat on the bed. He was on the bottom of a bunk bed.
His movements paused for a second. Then continued.
His gaze moved around the room. ...small...dimly lit...
There were two bunk beds beside the one he was on. The air felt like no one had opened the window in a long time.
His gaze drifted towards the door. No lock visible from this side.
He looked down at himself. Same clothes...arm still bandaged....clean.
He gets up from the bed and stands.
He starts to remember.
The man....the weapon...the dart
..the man's voice echoed faintly in his mind.
His hands went to his shoulder...everything coming back to him.
The door opens. The boy's head snapped towards it, his body tensing instantly.
Someone stepped inside. Not the man from before.
Younger....maybe around his age...with a short buzz cut.
The boy's chest tightened, and he instinctively took a small step back.
The other guy noticed immediately. He paused for a second and gave a small smile.
He lifted his hands slightly, like he didn't want to startle him.
"Hey, it's okay....i'm not gonna do anything."
The boy didn't respond.
His eyes fixated on him, wary. The buzz cut boy seemed to notice that too.
"Relax." He smiled. "You're safe."
....safe...the word didn't sit right.
"Where....where am I?"
The buzz cut boy hesitated for a second.
"Somewhere you don't have to worry about getting torn apart."
He stepped into the room carefully.
"Look .. i'm gonna explain everything. No one is gonna hurt you."
He approaches him and stands right in front of him and smiles.
"I'm Eli." He lifted his hand slightly and extended it towards him. "What about you?"
..the boy looked at his hand and looked at him. He didn't take it. He was trying to figure him out.
"I don't...I don't know my name." He said after a moment. The words came out quiet.
Eli didn't pull his hand back right away. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, studying him for a second.
"That's okay. If you don't want to tell me yet, that's fine."
The boy frowned a little at that. But before he could respond, Eli suddenly reached forward and grabbed his hand himself and shook it once.
"Nice to meet you anyway...boy with no name."
Then he let go like nothing strange has just happened.
The boy started to look at Eli. Not his face now. His arm. It was full of tattoos.
"So..?" Eli sat on the bed and looked at the boy. "How are you feeling now? Dizzy or anything?"
The boy didn't answer. He didn't completely feel safe even now.
"Where are we?" He asked again.
Eli sighed. He glanced around the room for a second. He stood up and grabbed a chair from the corner and set it down in front of the boy. He sat back on the bed.
"Sit." He said.
His tone wasn't harsh though.
The boy didn't move right away. His eyes flicked from the chair...back to Eli. And then he sat down quietly.
Eli leaned forward, studying the boy for a moment.
"I didn't come here on my own either."
The boy just kept looking at him.
Eli rested his arms loosely in his knees.
"Some guys brought me here." He continued. "Just like you....and we're not the only ones here."
The boy's gaze stayed on him.
"Is this...some kind of safe zone? Or a camp?"
Eli looked at him and smiled. But it didn't look like a happy smile.
"No....it's not like that."
The boy got more confused.
"The people who brought us here are survivors...just like us."
He paused for a moment.
"They go out and...and they look for other survivors....mostly teens....people who wouldn't last long on their own."
"And then?" The boy asked.
Eli looked at him.
"They bring them here." He said simply with no emotion in his voice.
"They give them something to do...planting...fixing things...cleaning...going out and collecting samples."
The boy stayed quiet for a moment.
Confused...but not completely.
He understood enough.
"You don't have to worry." Eli continued. "As long as you do what they tell you..you'll be fine."
The boy's hands curled on his knees.
"There's food here....water...a place to sleep."
Another pause.
"Everything you need to survive."
It didn't sound like reassurance. It sounded like terms.
Eli's expression was changing. He was looking away and getting fidgety.
"And don't try to leave."
The boy didn't look away.
"So that means....we're prisoners."
Eli froze. For a moment, he didn't answer. His gaze shifted. Like he was expecting that question, but didn't want it asked out loud.
The silence stretched. The boy kept watching him.
"Yeah." Eli said finally.
"But I'm okay with it as long as i'm alive."
The boy didn't say anything after that.
Silence settled between them.
The boy started thinking. If there were others here...then Nathan and Willow might be here too...or not.
He broke the silence.
"Where's the bathroom?.."
Eli pointed to the door.
"Right outside....in front of this room."
...
The boy washed his face. Cold water running over his skin, dripping down into the sink.
He stayed like that for a second. Hands resting on the edge.
He lifted his head. His eyes met the mirror.
Tired eyes....messy dark hair...
His gaze shifted. Down to his arm.
The bandage...still clean....no blood seeping through...
He stared at it. The he slightly touched it. Still no pain.
His hand hovered over the bandage. Then he started to unwrap it slowly. Layer by layer.
The fabric loosened, sliding away from his skin.
His arm....no cut...no scar...no mark...no blood.
Like nothing had ever happened.