A Lad

Zmey opened his eyes.He sighed. And mumbled in a weak tone, "Ah... what happened?"He felt tightness in his neck as he rose to his side from the surface beneath him—a soft bed.He closed his eyes as he turned his neck; the cracking of his neck bones resounded in his ears.At that moment, he assessed his surroundings.He looked from here to there..."Uh?"The room had a dim light from two flamelamps on both sides. If Zmey could see clearly, he thought a kind of yellowish bricks should be the ones making up the walls. His jaw dropped even more when he glanced forward. It was surprising that iron railings of a sort guarded the entrance. But also, a strange man was sitting very close to the gate, outside the room.What room exactly? A cell!'What's going on?' Zmey asked himself, tightening the cloth of the bedspread in his fist."What did they say you're up to, lad?" the man asked. Zmey, not even realising it, had gaped straight away.