Axel was still passed out, but he heard voices before he felt anything else.
"Get me intel on this kid immediately…"
The words were distorted, like they were passing through water. His head pounded hard, each beat sending pain through his skull. His eyes felt heavy and stuck, like opening them took more effort than it should.
"Open your eyes," Aurora urged inside his mind. "Now. I need to see where we are."
Axel tried to respond, but his thoughts felt slow and scattered. His body wouldn't listen right away. Still, he forced his eyes open.
The world came into focus in pieces. Cold white light hit him first, and his eyes landed on metal walls. He was in a small room that smelled faintly of oil and disinfectant.
He tried to move, but chains rattled.
"The hell…"
Axel looked down and saw thick restraints locked around his wrists and ankles, binding him to a metal chair bolted into the floor. He tensed and pulled hard. The chains didn't budge, not even a little.
