"Sorry kiddo, but you're coming with me." The man said, his voice somewhat sympathetic.
The large man proceeded to pull a small syringe out of his coat pocket, and gingerly slid it into the side of Adrien's neck. Adrien's struggles began to slow, his muscles relaxed, his vision blurred, became fuzzy, and he slumped unmoving down onto the cold stone below him.
Adrien woke in a dim dark room, cool air flowing around him. He groaned, his muscles ached and strained as he slowly began to lift himself off the freezing hard surface he was laying against. His vision blurred and mirrored, as he steadied himself into a sitting position.
As his vision somewhat cleared he looked around the dimly lit room. He was surprised to find himself in what seemed to be a small bedroom, light grey walls, hardwood floors. It was lightly decorated, a dresser in one corner and bed with a short night stand in another. He was bewildered to say the least, unsure of how he got here or where he was.
"Hello?" He asked, his unused voice croaking.
Then there he noticed it, hard metal with leather lining was around his neck. Adrien ran his fingers around it's smooth surface, it was a collar, they collared him.
Adrien panicked, completely forgetting that his body had yet to fully wake up from the drugs he had been given, and stumbled to the door located on the other side of the room. The world around him swam and his legs were shaking from the strain, barely holding him up as he reached for the door knob.
It didn't budge.
The door was locked; a sob struck up his throat. He was trapped, he didn't know where he was and-
an image of his father falling to the ground flashed in mind.
Adrien cried, and slowly slumped down beside the locked door onto the floor. He trembled with frustrated tears as the black dots in his vision finally overcame him.
"Oh my, is he alright?" A woman's voice sounded through the darkness of Adrien's mind.
He couldn't quite make out the words she was saying, but her voice was soft, filled with worry.
"I'm sure he's fine, quit yer worrin,'' A man's voice. "Let's get im' on the bed."
Adrien could feel himself being moved and set upon a soft cool surface. It felt nice, a vast difference from the hardness of the wooden floor. He could feel soft fingers brushing his bangs away from his face, firmly putting their palm against his forehead.
Her soft voice spoke again, this time he could hear her clearly.
"He has a fever."
"Figures." The man grunted in response.
A cold compress was placed on his head, he groaned in response. The coldness against his head causing mild discomfort.
"You 'wake kid?" The man nudged his cheek as the blankets from the bed were brought up around him.
Adrien felt fuzzy, and tired but his mind seemed to function better than the last time he'd woken up. He was cold, grateful for the blankets now tucking him against the bed. Adrien hummed in response to the man's question, still too dizzy to speak, his throat felt dry.
His hair was brushed away again, a warm hand softly caressing the top of his head.
"Can you talk hun?"
Adrien tried to open his eyes, slowly succeeding in opening them into blurry slits. Two silhouettes came into view, the holders of the two voices he had been hearing. One, the woman, held a soft concerned look on her face. Her dark hair held in a low bun behind her head, glasses atop her face. She wore soft sleek dark blue jacket and pants, she looked well put together. The man, tall and burly, a scratchy black beard on his face wore a black suit. The man looked displeased, concerned at the site before him.
"-don,'" Adrien tried.
"Don't... Feel good."
His voice was barely above a scratchy whisper but the two adult's faces scrunched up in concern, they had heard him.
The man stood up, patting down his ruffled overcoat.
"Stay "ere with him, I'll get somethin' for em to eat. For the nausea too."
With that, the man walked out to the seemingly now unlocked door.
Adrien managed to find his voice, albeit it was weak, but he could muster up some words.
"Where, where are we?"
We, he said. An odd choice of words, one would expect him to say "I", but Adrien felt that would be wrong to say. He didn't know why. The woman, he noted to ask for her name later, the man's too, looked at him with sorrow. Though she wore a small comforting smile on her face.
"I'm sorry hun, but I can't tell you that. But I can say, you're safe with us. Hirtly and I won't hurt you, I promise."
Hirtly, that was his name, what an odd name, he thought. Adrien smiled, her warm touch was something he hadn't experienced in a long time. When his mother passed, all he got was the occasional hug from his father when returned home. Something that didn't happen often.
The woman's eyes saddened, she looked away from him, her hand still resting on his head.
"I won't be able to protect you from everything that will happen here. But I want you to know I will always be here if you need to talk." She paused.
"Hirtly too, we'll be your safe haven during your time here."
Adrien didn't understand what she meant by that, but he didn't care. He felt warm and safe of all things. Adrien steadily drifted into the blissfulness of sleep.