Adam jostled awake. It felt like his body was in free fall. He opened his eyes slowly. His vision blurred as he stared at the tops of the trees that seemed to be moving. No, it wasn't the tops of the trees that were moving. It was him that was moving. He could feel a warm body pressing up against him as someone carried him in their arms.

His consciousness slowly ebbed, but not before he caught sight of the same girl holding him in her arms while sprinting away in a run like he was some damsel in distress. The last thing that entered his mind before fading into unconsciousness was how pretty the girl's ever-present smile was.

The next time Adam opened his eyes, he was in a room lit only by candlelight. His vision swam as he tried to get a look around the place, only for darkness to take over him once again, but before he went fully back into the embrace of that darkness, he could hear an older man chanting something he couldn't understand.

He awoke again sometime later. He wasn't sure how much time had passed him by, but he felt warm, and he could feel his strength slowly return to him. His pain was only a dull ache now, and his throat felt like an empty well that had gone decades without water.

Adam heard the sound of soft snoring coming from beside him. He turned his head in that direction only to come face to face with a sleeping girl no more than a few inches away. It was the same girl who saved his life earlier, and even now, in her throughs of sleep, she still had a warm smile on her soft, cute delicate lips.

The girl was curled in a ball beside him, wearing a set of brown robes with decorative beads on the front, looking for all the world an Indian princess except for a mix of Asian lineage evident in her features.

Adam reached over to brush the lock of hair out of the girl's face with a heavy-laden hand. It felt like his arm had a hundred-pound weight strapped to it, but he still managed to brush the hair aside as he intended.

The girl's smile widened as she leaned into Adams's palm. Her eyes fluttered open, and he watched her deep brown eyes slowly come into focus. When she noticed Adam awake and moving, she bolted to her feet. The girl, or, more like, the young woman, started speaking rapidly before running out of the room, leaving him alone. He understood none of the words coming from the girl's mouth. It sounded beautiful, whatever language she spoke, but he had never heard of it.

Adam slowly sat up, expecting to feel pain from his wound. Surprised that he felt no discomfort sitting up, he examined his wound only to find none; not even a bandage covered his now whole and undamaged midsection.

"What the hell," he said, touching where a sizable hole used to be. It was gone, and there wasn't even a lump where a scar should have been. He tested his ankle by twisting it slowly, and to his surprise, it moved in the direction he wanted. His ankle still had a twinge of pain, so he stopped, not wanting to damage it. Adam breathed a sigh of relief. Was it all just a hallucination from dehydration, and he didn't hurt himself nearly that bad? He had no idea how long he hung from the cockpit seat, so it was possible. Or could there really be a way to mend a wound like his in...

"How long have I been out?" he asked the empty room. It seemed like an answer worth knowing, but there was no reply as to be expected.

"I need to find out my status," he mumbled. The plane wreck was obvious, but the where was almost as important as the what.

Adam yelped and sat up so fast his vision blurred. Strange symbols appeared in his eye, startling him.

He turned his head, but the characters followed. Whatever the writing was, it started moving into focus when he concentrated on them. Now instead of being right up to his nose, the symbols were in a white box several inches away.

Adam reached out to grab the symbols, but his hand passed through them, making the box turn into mist and disappear. He frowned and waited for the white box to return with its mysterious writing, but it never did.

Footsteps approaching turned Adam's attention back to reality. An old man rushed into the room, walking briskly.

He scowled at Adam like a naughty child and shoved him gently back onto the pillows. Adam wondered why the old man cared that he was sitting when his injuries were cured but decided to go along with the whole thing. It was the old man and girl who saved his life after all.

Adam caught sight of the girl entering the room. She looked both worried and curious at the same time she gazed at him. He was about to wave at the girl, but the old man started poking at his abdomen, interrupting him. The old guy frowned before laying his palm on his stomach, where a piece of shrapnel tore a chunk out of it, and muttered. After a moment of looking confused, he started chanting. His hand glowed a faint blue while he chanted and began to fade when he stopped. The old man's frown deepened, but he shrugged and removed his covers.

Adam yelped for the second time today, only this time, it was for an entirely different reason. As the covers came off, he became increasingly aware of his nakedness.

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Adam's hands shot toward his manhood, covering it as fast as he could. He could feel the heat from his reddening face like a furnace latch being opened. The girl giggled, causing Adam's embarrassment to rise, but thankfully, the old man heard the girl, and he jumped at her angrily. He snapped something toward the girl, and she bolted from the room in a hurry, her face reddening.

The old man said something to Adam, but he gave up on trying to understand what was being said.

"Yeah, that's nice and all, but could you give me back my blanket?" Adam asked while still hiding his manhood. He didn't care whether the girl was out of the room. He still didn't want anyone looking down there.

The old man lifted an eyebrow and said something looking between Adam's cupped hands and back to his face several times. The old man shook his head and grabbed the blanket off the floor, and threw it on him. He threw his hands in the air in a there are you happy gesture before going back to inspecting his ankle. Adam could see a smirk on the corner of the old man's lips and became very self-conscious suddenly. Did the old guy think it was small or something? He had no one to compare it to, but he thought it was pretty big.

Adam tucked the blanket tighter around himself, all to the old man's amusement.

He remembered the girl's face turning red and wondered if it was also from laughter. He wished he were dead at this moment. At least then, he wouldn't have to feel like he did.

Pain shooting through his ankle knocked him out of his deep feeling of shame and caused him to hiss loudly. The old man stopped twisting and prodding his ankle and gave a hurt nod of approval. Adam repaid it by glaring at the old guy. It really hurt. The old man shook his head in a way that said what a baby before walking away. He stopped halfway across the room before turning back toward Adam. He pointed at Adam and then at the floor, growling something. Did he want him to follow? He wasn't sure. Adam made to stand, but the old man yelled something and pointed at Adam and back to the floor with anger.

"Nope, he wanted me to stay," Adam muttered. The old man nodded in approval when Adam laid back against his pillow. Then he pointed at himself and mimicked eating something and pointed back towards Adam. Adam's stomach growled at the mention of food which made the old man chuckle. The guy then pointed towards the door, mimicked eating something, and then back toward Adam again. He nodded, giving the old guy the thumbs up, letting him know he understood.

'Geez, does this guy think I'm an idiot or something?' Adam thought, letting out a depressed sigh. The guy probably did think he was a halfwit with less than two brain cells to rub together, but he couldn't blame the old man in his situation.

The old man tilted his head, staring at the raised thumb curiously. He copied Adam and raised his thumb into the air as well. The old man's face lit up with a smile as if he had just discovered an alien way of communication. He dropped the thumbs up and raised it again, this time more quickly.

Adam rolled his eyes when the old guy repeated the motion several more times. Eventually, he did leave, giving Adam time alone to think. He tried to concentrate on the weird message that had appeared earlier, but every little bit, the memory of the girl seeing him naked would jump to the forefront of his mind.

He replayed the memory in his mind so often now the girl outright laughed and pointed at it before leaving. Adam's insides felt queasy like he was about to hurl, and he wasn't sure if he could eat anymore.

Several minutes later, a knock sounded at the door. He finally washed away all his doubts and anxiety by constantly reminding himself that it didn't matter if some stranger saw him naked. It wasn't like he would be staying.

"Manha Mana, mado shin shin?" the melodic voice from the other side of the was far from the old man's grouchy voice that it made Adam jump. He wasn't expecting the girl so soon, and his stomach became queasy again. Adam sat up straight and stared at the door nervously.

"Come in," he said, his voice far stronger than expected. He thought his voice would surely mimic his weak self. 'but I don't feel weak,' a voice echoed in his mind. In fact, he never felt better.

The girl must have taken his words as confirmation and walked inside the room carrying a wooden tray. She set the tray down on his lap, being careful not to spill the contents of the tray. It didn't have much on it, just a piece of bread and a bowl of steaming hot stew.

The girl dragged a chair next to the bed and sat on it. She gave Adam a curious gaze before speaking in her foreign language.

"I don't understand," Adam said, speaking slowly and as clearly as possible. The girl frowned and pointed at the stew and mimicked eating, then pointed at him. Did she want some of the food? Don't tell me this is her food, he thought, horrified. Would his eating mean she would go hungry? Adam nodded his head, giving her a reassuring smile. He wouldn't take someone else's food, no matter how hungry he was.

The girl grabbed the bowl of stew off the tray eagerly, and Adam decided he would just eat the bread, but before he could make a move for it, a spoon full of brown liquid appeared in front of him.

Oh, I'm such an idiot, Adam thought. She wasn't asking to eat the food. She was asking if he needed help eating the food. He opened his mouth to protest but stopped when he saw her face. She looked eager as she held the spoon to his lips, and he wondered if the girl had made the stew herself.

The stew was bland, causing Adam to gag from the taste. The girl's face fell, her eyes turning sad at Adam's reaction to the food. Adam thought fast and started coughing, making it seem like that was the cause of his discomfort and not the food.

"Mmm," he said, giving her a thumbs up while pretending the meal was the best he ever had. The girl's eyes lit up after that, and she eagerly gave him another bite beaming the whole time.

Adam ate every bite of stew and even managed to get down the bread that was almost as hard as an uncooked potato. Every time he swallowed his food, an audible ding could be heard. He thought he was going crazy. But then again, someone could have been outside beating on something, and it was just coincidental timing.

The girl had already left, and Adam felt his eyes grow heavy. He wished he could understand the old man and girl to thank them properly, but maybe he could find a way to show them his appreciation. But that could wait for the morning, he thought before drifting off into his subconsciousness.