At dawn Simon woke up. He had fallen asleep late despite being utterly exhausted. The morning was cold, damp and cloudy. Simon pushed himself out of the shuttle and restarted his exploration. The light wind and the trees swaying was the only nearby noise.
Bright light started to appear when the clouds moved and the temperature started to rise. Simon steeled himself and walked on. After walking for awhile he stopped and listened. He didn’t have to wait long for the sound to become more clear. A smile formed on his lips and he heard the telltale sound of water running.
He picked up speed and ended up in front of a river with clear water. Simon scanned the nearby area before walking up and testing the water. The water was heavenly on his lips and he refilled his bottle. Simon backed up and turned around to head back.
*Crack*
Simon snapped to attention as he heard a twig crack. Where the sound came from stood a large animal. It looked like wingless bird with a nasty looking beak, but it had fur. It’s fur was in a myriad of green and brown colours like camouflage. Simons pulse started to pick up. He had been cornered. The water flowing was the only noise as Simon and the bird had a intense staring contest.
It opened it’s bright red beak *URRRRRR*.
A moment later similar sounds responded nearby. ‘Damn’ He thought ‘I'm being surrounded’.
As he was trying desperately to come up with a plan the bird charged. It was surprisingly fast and caught up with him in moments. Simon had barely time to register the moment before he felt a pain shoot up in his body. The bird attacked him with violent ferocity. He responded in kind, slamming his fist on it’s side.
“Arghh Fuck!” he cursed aloud while hitting the bird.
Adrenaline corsed through his veins and the bird staggered back a few steps, dazed from a punch to it’s face. He looked down and saw both bite and claw marks on his torso and legs. Simon felt his body bleeding profusely and he saw two more birds stalking out of the forest in his peripheral vision. Their red beaks gleaming in the sun. As the first bird started to come back from it’s revery he reversed closer to river. Blood seeped from from his wounds and he was starting to feel light headed.
‘Think damnit!’
*UUURRRR*
All three birds started another charge. He made up his mind and jumped. The river current was violent and the temperature was cold. Simon was drifting downstream fast and as he came back up for air he saw the birds following.
*URR* *URR* *URRP*
The water near him was being dyed pink as his wound kept pumping out his blood. Simon was lucky when a stone in the middle of the river stopped his drifting. Simon coughed up some cold water. He quickly tore off his undershirt and made a quick bandage on his wounds. As he looked back up he saw two birds glaring at him while the third was backing up.
‘Fuck it’s gonna jump’ he swore in his mind
He pushed off the rock before the birds could start round two. The flow caught him once again and he picked up speed. While drifting he cursed himself, he had been so stupid. He should had been much more careful when exploring but the exhaustion and the familiar forest had lulled him into false sense of security. The encounter was a stark reminder that he was completely out of his depth. And now he was wounded and without food. Simon didn’t have much more time to think of his foolish mistakes as he gained momentum. This planet was trying it’s hardest to kill him. The latest attempt was the waterfall closing in fast.
He continued drifting after the fall with his head looking straight up at the sky. Simon was starting to feel colder and the blood loss wasn’t helping. The birds stopped at the cliff not pursuing further. As their sad cries echoed through the silent forest, Simon felt some pressure lessen.
Time ticked by and after a while his speed slowed down. As he tried looking around he saw a bend of the river coming up. With Simon's last strength he pushed himself to the gravelly shore and crawled out of the water. The ground and plant life was warm from the sun. The sun was now high up in the sky. He felt himself warming up as he inched up the slope. Behind the slope was a dirt trail with some semblance to a road. It looked like an overgrown farm road. This was the first sign that this planet could have some civilization. Simon didn’t have much time to think it over as he was all worn out. He ended up in the middle of the road before passing out.
As time passed by strange things started occur in Simon's body. His skin and started emitting a purple hue and his temperature rose. Inside his body more bizarre things happened. His stem cells was revived by the phenomenon. This created new tissue, improved cell health and increased his body’s overall strength and endurance. The most noticeable change was that he started to revert in age during the afternoon. When the temperature went back to normal levels all that was left of wounds was small scars with lighter coloured skin. The changes ended with his skin colour going back to caucasian.
Nothing more happened until late afternoon. Two figures came walking on the road nearing Simon. As they drew near they started becoming weary. During this time of the cycle this path rarely saw any travelers. The two inched closer to the body checking the treeline for any ambush. All they could see was a body lying in a small pool of blood. What stood out was the strange clothing the young man was wearing. The closest stranger kneeled down to check for breathing. She turned around and nodded to the old man. What ensued was a argument between them. This was broken when Simon stirred in his sleep.
“Urghh” Simon moaned in a low voice.
The gravel nearest his body started to float a few seconds before returning lightly to the ground.
The old man exclaimed surprise in a gravelly voice and pointed first to the woman and then to Simon. He seemed proud of himself as he continued walking. The woman picked up Simon with a scowl and followed after. Some words came from her that sounded a lot like curses. They reached their destination at sundown.
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Simon woke up with a headache in an unknown room. The room was sparse with uneven wooden floor, stone walls and a small window on the far wall. The only other furniture in the room was a wooden bench and a large chest. He put the quilt aside to check his body, what he saw left him more disoriented. He had always been fit but this was ridiculous, his muscles was more prominent than they had ever been before. A distinct six pack greeted him as he drew fingers over the injuries. All that left was some pink skin.
‘Must have great healthcare here’ Simon mused.
The sound of shuffling brought him back from his thoughts. He put the blanket back over his body and closed eyes as he focuses on the noise. The door creaked opened and Simons pulse sped up in both excitement and alarm. The footsteps neared him and he decided to open his eyes to get this alien encounter over with. As his eyes focused on the form he could finally see the alien. She looked remarkably human but her ears was fluffy and she had some light fur on her arms. He gaped up at her and started to speak. Before he could utter a word the woman lightly tapped him and shook her head. She pointed at the thing she was carrying and handed it to him. Simon gripped the wooden bowl and spoon and peered inside. A clear soup with unknown vegetables greeted him and his stomach grumbled. The girl nodded at him with a neutral expression and then exited the room.
His gaze followed her out and he forgot to introduce himself or ask any questions before she left. The soup tasted salty but the vegetables was crunchy and well cooked. He sighed in ecstasy at his first fresh food on the planet. The bowl was quickly emptied.
“Excuse me!” Simon shouted
Shouting brought on a coughing fit and the girl entered with a scowl on her face. She made the universal sign for silence and Simon nodded dumbly at her. Now that he some energy in him he could focus on her. The girl was tall, had brown hair and striking blue eyes. She was dressed in a grey robe that hid her body's features.
Before he could voice any protest she pulled back the blanket and checked his body. He could feel that she had strong calloused hands. Simon blushed for the first time he could remember. Simon was always the alpha in relationship and conversations with the opposite sex.
“Hey!” Simon complained in a croaky voice.
She bumped his head again and continued checking him. The bump brought back the headache and Simon dropped the bowl and put his hands on his head. The girl stopped and looked slightly worried. Simon had a strange feeling in his head and the bowl beside him shot right up towards the ceiling and stayed there. As the pain eased the bowl fell back down and hit the floor. Both the girl and Simon watched the bowl to see what it would do next.
“Amara..”
A stern voice brought both their attention to the doorway. There stood a old man with a prominent grey beard. He pointed at the girl and then to the hallway. She nodded and went outside.
“No mu falt..” she spoke in a low voice as she passed him.
‘What the hell.. Sounds like they are speaking english’
Simon was trying hard to make sense of the situation, flying bowls and english speaking aliens. And the old man standing in the door looked human, even more so than the violent fluffy girl. He felt that universe was playing tricks on him. At least his headache passed.
“Exsude her yng sage, her meen well but..” the man spoke.
“Uhm no problem..”
“Where am i? How did you heal me? Sage?” Simon asked.
“Holt on holt on yng sage” The man replied with an amused face.
“I wil anser yur questins in dy time but for now you need to rest, we found you on the road heading home and we need to make sure that you’re alright before we could have a long talk” The old man explained.
As the old man continued speaking Simon could make out the words better from the strange dialect.
“I’m Thomas and the girl is Amara she don’t talk much but is friendly enough, rest now”
“Simon” He answered before he was left alone again.
He watched the world becoming darker through the window before falling asleep again. During the night he woke several times from nightmares of evil birds. Each time he woke up the girl Amara would peer into the room to see if he was alright. She would only nod at him before closing the door.
As Simon slept the Thomas and Amara sat talking about the stranger. The room had four chairs with comfortable red cushions and a large black table made from some exotic wood.
“Well Simon seems like a nice young man and the magic he was using.. I can’t believe the luck i'm having.. To learn new things at my age, interesting interesting” Thomas grumbled
“And you wanted to leave him for the Roamers” Michaela responded in a low voice.
“What was that?” Thomas asked.
“Nothing..”
“Ah yes i can’t wait to experiment on him and learn his secrets!” Thomas continued. Amara responded with a stern scowl.
Thomas coughed and continued talking mostly to himself “Ah i mean.. hmm.. talk and help him harness his power for the greater good.. Yes yes a most unique blessing”
The low moan from the nearby room stopped the one sided conversation. Amara stood up and walked away to check their guest.
“Very interesting indeed” Thomas mumbled as he drank the last of his tea and stroked his beard.