Chapter 2:
Disclaimer: I still don't own anything you recognize. This is the re-uploaded version of Chapter 2.
Everything hurt. His head, his arms, his legs, and especially his foot. Everything was coming back to him, slowly and in a blur, but it was coming back to him, including the pain.
He had been attacked, K-unit had come to his aid, only a little to late, and they had all ended up inside a hot stuffy van, heading wherever the enemy pleased. They hit a bump every fifteen seconds only adding to Alex's headache as his head bounced off the floor of the van every time.
He tried using his other senses to take in what was around him. The van was loud as it drove, but inside it was silent, only the sounds of multiple people breathing could be heard if you listened carefully. His hands were bound, as where his ankles, so they weren't taking any chances with him. He took the risk of opening his eyes, needing to know who else was with him.
Wolf, Eagle, and Snake were all sat against the opposite wall, while Alex was laid on the floor. They were all still unconscious.
Bear was the only one missing. Maybe he ran for help instead of joining the fight.
Alex laid there in his thoughts, not wishing to alert man who had been placed to watch them, that he was awake. Looking around he saw multiple things, but what caught his eye was the scorpion emblazed on the wall. He should have guessed. While Alex had made many great enemies as a spy, he was sure none of them hated him as much as Scorpia did. After all he had brought down their entire operation at only fourteen.
It was only a few minutes longer before Snake woke, groaning softly. Now that Alex looked closer he could see a large bruise forming near his temple, the bluish purple starting to color the skin near his scalp. Snake gently opened his eyes, unsure of how bright it would be, and repeated all the actions Alex had, counting heads, looking around to see where they were, and taking in his surroundings.
The only difference between Alex and Snake's actions was that Snake had moved around a lot more, alerting their guard in the process.
"Ahh…look who's up. Have a nice nap sleeping beauty?" The man that sat facing them wore an eye patch on his right eye and a scar went across his left, leaving it slightly puffy and squinted. Alex decided to call him Messy, for his messy face, along with his clothes that looked to be almost a weeks old and worn out.
Snake glared up at Messy, only causing the gross man to laugh. Alex decided now would be as good as ever to 'wake up' and made a show of doing so. Groaning loudly, he sat up, leaning against the side of the van to help keep him stable. Messy stopped laughing and looked at him.
"Nice to see that you're awake, don't go and try anything Rider, you're tied up nice and tight and we got plenty of punishments for you where we're heading." He laughed again, as if watching Alex Rider being tortured would be the greatest entertainment the world could offer.
"Do you always laugh from your own stupid jokes? It's really annoying, just to let you know. It's also kind of narcissistic." Messy stopped laughing almost immediately, turning to glare at the boy as Snake looked at him like he had lost his mind.
"Rider, you know those witty comments won't be tolerated at the institute."
"I'm sure I'll make it." Alex lips twitched, but he didn't let himself fully smile, not yet anyway. As messed up as it was Alex enjoyed messing with the enemy. It usually caused them to slip up, and if they didn't then Alex took at least some pleasure knowing he could get under their skin. Well, until they took pleasure in beating him for said comments, then it just became painful. That was around the time Alex shut his mouth. He may have been the youngest spy in the world, but that didn't make him stupid, he knew when to quit.
"Just you wait Rider. You've got it coming, and it won't be pretty." At this Messy smiled turning his back and looking to the front of the van.
Wolf and Eagle had awakened during this 'fight of wits' as one may wish to call it. They all shared a similar look, as if Alex belonged in an institute for the insane.
And maybe he did, but Alex just shrugged before leaning his head back against the side of the van, taking some deep breaths to calm himself before they arrived at whatever hellhole they were headed to.