I launched myself into the hatch, losing my spear in the process. It clattered to the floor, but didn’t break, thankfully. I landed awkwardly on one foot, but quickly regained my balance.
“Get off of him!” I swatted at the mosquitoes who quickly fled up through the hatch. Thankfully, John was still breathing, though shaking his shoulder didn’t seem to rouse him at all. “You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.” I shook my head sadly, feeling we were right back to where we’d started. John was out cold, the shuttle was not working, and we were crashed in the middle of the freaking jungle. The maniacal laughter from outside bubbled up again, but I only let a small chuckle out.
The crystal still sat on the floor where I had left it. Having the crystal was progress, and we were both alive, which was also a plus.
How much blood did those little fuckers take?
If it had been Noseen, John would be dead. Instead, it seemed he’d passed out from being drained of energy. He hadn’t been in great shape during the mad dash through the jungle, either, so it might not have taken much.
How was he so weak?
In my mind John was stronger than me. The middle sibling, who was too smart for his own good. Yet, he’d almost died, and I’d thrived.
I sat down on the floor while resting my head back on the cargo crate for a moment, to let my panic subside. John would be okay, the cat was dead, and we were both back in the shuttle. I eyed the water jug, then yanked out my canteen and tossed some on John’s face. He moaned and his eyelids twitched, but they didn’t open. I didn’t do it again, not wanting to waste the water. We only had what I had left in this jug, one in my inventory crystal, and what was in my canteen. I hadn’t come across a drinking water source in my trek through the jungle, except for the spring near the compound, and maybe the river, so this was it for now. And I wasn’t actually going to get close enough to the river to get water if there was any way to avoid it.
“Come on, John, you gotta get up. We need to get this crystal in place…”
He mumbled something but didn’t come around.
I sipped on water, then refilled my canteen from the jug. I let out another deep sigh, and looked at the crystal on the floor, and over to the one currently set up. Multiple velcro straps held it in place, and it looked like a wire harness draped over part of it. It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out.
I studied the empty holder and pulled the straps free, then headed back to the crystal. A loud thudding sound came from the distance, and I frowned. The storm had moved faster than I thought it would, even with the wind. I approached the crystal and carefully picked it up, getting it over to the holder. I strapped the first velcro piece into place
“Alex?” mumbled John.
My head snapped around super quick to find John blinking at the ceiling. “Hey, you're awake," I said, rushing to his side. Relief flowed through me that he’d awakened. I didn’t know how to help him with blood loss, other than to wait and hope.
“What happened?” He reached up and touched his head. “I remember the cat, and diving into the hatch. I was slightly dizzy, and tried to get to the jug of water.” He shook his head, slowly sitting up. “Then a cloud of something came in.” He went quiet but noticed the water jug. His hands reached out and I instead handed over the canteen. He slowly lifted it to his mouth. After a few mouthfuls, he set it beside him. “Damn, I needed water. I feel woozy.” John blinked a few times looking at my clothes, his face going white. “What happened?”
“The cat's dead. It was a pretty rough fight…” I said scratching the back of my head. Something was caked in my hair, and I quickly stopped picking at it.
“I’d say…” He shook his head. “You got a healing skill of some kind, that's clear. Otherwise, you’d be dead.”
I nodded and motioned down to my clothes. “Please say we have some spares, or I’m going to need to do some laundry in the rain.”
John shook his head, winced, and motioned to the other cargo container with his hand. “There should be a spare shirt at least in there. The pants will be way too big for you, though.”
I opened the cargo container we’d been using as a step stool and pulled out a new shirt. There was more than one. It took only seconds to switch out the destroyed one and toss it into my inventory. My pants were dirty as heck, but weren’t as covered in blood. Or as torn up, for that matter. They’d need to do for now. Maybe once the rain started, I'd clean them and wear the big ones until they dried.
I took a moment to look at the scar just above my belly button, which stretched from one side to the other. Thankfully, it’d healed and hadn’t been that deep, or I’d be dead right now. It wasn’t clear if it would fade with time or if I was stuck with it. Maybe as I ate more food, it would heal more. Based on the description of Improved Body, energy from eating was allocated toward the worst injuries first, and a scar wasn't high on that list.
“Much better, though I have plenty of blood-covered things in the inventory crystal, just warning you.” The inventory crystal stayed tucked under my shirt and I tucked the shirt end into my pants and belt. “Can you take a look at my spear? I might have bent it.” I motioned over my shoulder to the spear on the floor.
"Hold onto that inventory crystal for now. Once we get out of here, I'll take it back and put my tools away, but I don't have the energy to return everything from where I've currently stashed it all.” By the time I turned back around after closing the container, John held the spear, glaring at the metal. Using some sort of skill, the shaft bent back into place and he collapsed it down to knife form.
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“Here you go,” he said with a frown, holding his head. “No idea how you did that.”
“It was the cat…”
John nodded at the explanation, but then he studied me a little harder. I could tell he’d used Insight by the prickly sensation. “Well, guess you aren’t the little sister anymore.” The confusion on his face grew, and his cheeks burned red. “You’re freaking at my level! What happened out there? And where is Hawk?” His questions tumbled out with less anger and more frustration.
I let out a sigh, closing the cargo crate, before leaning against it. “The jungle was the jungle. I hunted and killed beasts as they attacked me." I paused, thinking of the various creatures I'd gone up against and survived. "Then I got to the compound.” I gave him a quick rundown of everything that happened at the compound with Hawk and Doc.
The red on his cheeks increased and he gritted his teeth as I spoke before finally interrupting me. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! After everything I do keeping them supplied, Hawk couldn’t be bothered to get off his ass and come back with you?” The question came out as a roar in the shuttle.
“They are pretty low on people,” I said, thinking of the dead guy, and then Denver, who was sick. "Like, one dead and one majorly sick that might not make it."
“Still.” John took a deep breath to calm himself down. Normally, he wasn’t someone who got angry easily. "I need to have words with him when we get there.”
“Have fun with that… Though I survived, and I’ve grown stronger. Dad doesn't need to be worried about me getting a class anymore.” The clouds moving in across the front window caught my eye, and I pointed in that direction. “There’s a pretty rough storm on the way. The clouds look dangerous and that wind is starting to blow pretty hard.”
John ran a hand over his face, then grabbed the canteen again. He took a few more giant swallows. “Alright, I can get the crystal back into place, but it might be worth it just to stay here until the storm clears. The shuttle is waterproof after all, and there aren’t any nearby trees that can fall on us to cause damage.” He climbed to his feet slowly, and I noticed that his one leg trembled. That wasn’t good. It should be healed by now.
“How are your injuries?”
John shrugged. “Better, but still not completely recovered.” He held out the canteen as he passed me by. I tossed it into the inventory crystal, glad I’d filled it up when he was out.
“So, what happened to you in the jungle?”
He groaned, blushing. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“Dude, it can’t be that bad.”
“Obviously, it is.” He motioned toward me. “You survived how many days in the jungle, gained levels, and grew stronger. While I got stuck in a tree, cornered by a beast.”
“That wasn't a normal beast, and I think it was my fault. It tracked me here, and used you as bait." I shook my head, reminded of the fact that it’d spoken. I needed to mention that to someone, or at least warn people that beasts weren't all just dumb creatures.
"Beasts don't set traps," said John, glaring at me.
"This one did. It also spoke. It was linked to that cat pride that I killed one of, near the compound."
John's mouth dropped open, but then he closed it, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter, it still cornered me up the tree."
I didn't want to argue with him, but he needed to understand the difference. "I mean, how is a fighter pilot supposed to do great on the ground?” I asked, pointedly. “Your skill set doesn’t mesh with the jungle floor.”
“That’s the problem!” His voice rose, cutting across my statement. “I need a different class.”
“Or, we figure out a way to use the one you have,” I said softly. I couldn't help but think about the fact that this jungle wasn't all that was out there. Noseen had been level 742. A fighter pilot wasn't great right now, but on other worlds? Flying through space? Heading to the planet Noseen owned? It might be an amazing class. “What about a smaller craft that flies and has weapons? Or getting the shuttle outfitted with crystals that could be used against the fliers?” I approached him and set my hand on his shoulders, squeezing lightly. “Better yet, a flying mech suit with a sword.” That one I could easily imagine, if it was only possible, or we found the equipment dropship. “We just need to get creative.”
John trembled, then nodded, letting his shoulders cave inward. “Yeah, something to think about as we wait out the storm.” He snorted. "A flying mech suit... You've spent too long in the jungle." Yet, I spotted a small smile on his face as he pointed at the open crate. “At least we have plenty of crystal shards to work with if I do try to outfit the ship.”
The sound of the wind whistling by the open hatch picked up. The storm was getting closer. “You should take another break, drink more water, and maybe eat another ration bar. Regain your strength, that sort of thing.” His leg worried me, though I needed to remember my healing was overpowered, especially for my level.
“I’m fine, just frustrated with the circumstances.” John sat down on the edge of the crate. "I've been stuck in the shuttle since we crashed, with not much to do but grumble about my class."
“I get that, I really do.” My thoughts wandered to the fact that I needed to hide my class from everyone, and how possible that was really going to be at the colony? “But we have plenty of time to figure that out.” I glanced upward at the sky through the hatch, which was getting dimmer. We’d need to close the hatch soon, though the fresh air was good. Being this close to John made me realize we both smelled. I was doing my best to ignore it, but at the compound, we’d have to scrub up somewhat, even if it was just using wet cloths, because it was giving me a slight headache. Maybe Hawk would still be willing to let me take that shower.
I tracked John's presence around the ship without meaning to. It hovered in the background, even when I blinked. The connection with him being prey freaked me out a little, and I did my best to not think about it. He was my brother, for freakin’ sake. Thinking about eating him was just wrong. Or eating any human, for that matter. I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I turned away from John. The air rushing in from overhead felt good. Being in the shuttle was so different from being out in the jungle, and I wasn’t sure I liked it. I felt closed in and cut off from the world. Somehow, the jungle felt safer. Here, I felt almost trapped.
I moved closer to the crystal shards that were inside the open crate that John had pointed out. They glittered in the low light coming from the open hatch and the front window. The first one I picked up was sharp, and almost looked the same shape as my knife, but a bit smaller. “Hey, did you shape these?”
John huffed. “Once the ship was done, I didn’t have much else to do. I have a skill around shaping them for engineering purposes, but sometimes you can learn new tricks.”
“I thought Singers did that?” I asked with a frown.