Chapter 4 - Dreams and uhhh drugs?!
POV : 3rd person
Zero tries to clear his mind as he continued to walk quite the distance away from where he last left Sven in order to get some much-needed peace and quiet. By the time they managed to lose the furious Grimdock it had already been nightfall, all thanks to that idiot…
He felt the blistering cold wind that blew against his face as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the cold air as it filled his lungs. Compared to the scorching heat of the day this is indeed a change for the better, ignoring the multiple presences that are lurking beneath the sand, stalking him from a safe distance away.
He turned and decided it was time to head back, who knows what that idiot might do when left to his own devices.
To his surprise, he spotted a bright glow in the dark which came from Sven’s direction.
‘What is that idiot up to now?!’
Zero slowly walks back to Sven, mentally preparing himself for whatever that lay in wait for him back there.
After several minutes of walking, Zero came back quite the bizarre scene where Sven is just huddled close to a fire and the Grimdock’s egg lay in two halves cooking above it.
With no equipment or virtually anything that could start a fire in sight, how did Sven even manage to get a fire going?!
“Hey Sven?”
“Sup dude!”
“How did you get a fire going?” Zero asked with a puzzled look on his face.
“Haha! Well, the most astonishing thing happened while you were gone man! Do you remember those grey patches of sand we found from time to time?”
“Well, yeah?”
“Apparently they combust into flames upon contact with liquid, like Phoom!”
“Wait huh? Where did you even find any liq-” Zero’s voice trailed off at the sight of Sven attempting to whistle innocently, trying his best to avoid Zero’s inquiring gaze.
…
Zero’s gaze changed from an inquisitive one to one of disgust.
“Come on man! When a guy’s gotta go, a guy’s gotta go!” Sven frantically defended himself.
“And you’re cooking the egg which we painstakingly got, on a fire which you started with your…piss…”
At this point, Zero was glaring daggers at Sven. If glares alone could kill someone, Sven would’ve already died a thousand times over.
Sven felt a chill run down his spine.
“Chill man chill! If you have a better idea on how to start a fire out here, I’m all ears. In the meantime, improvise. Adapt. Overcome!”
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Zero once more found himself at a loss for words to Sven’s retort.
He plopped himself down onto the sand next to Sven, close to the crackling fire. Still, the thought of being so close to a fire started by Sven’s pee somewhat unnerves him but the fire is the only source of warmth in the cold dark night, Zero decided to just no longer give a crap.
The fire produced from the grey sand emitted a chemical reaction beneath it, scaring away their stalkers beneath the sand that threaten to strike the moment when they let their guard down.
Taking the chance to relax, both Zero and Sven lay down on the cold sand, gazing at the stars.
“Hey, Zero?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you ever wonder what’s out there? I mean, back there all they teach us is about things that could eat us and how to kill them but do you ever imagine how it would feel like to travel between the stars, seeing the vast world out there, meeting all kinds of weird beings. I bet there’s bound to be an alien that doesn’t want to eat us right? Ooh ooh, or even one with a ball sack for a head!” Sven said as he burst into laughter.
Zero just shrugs in response while letting out a small chuckle, slowly taking in the breathtaking sight that lay before him.
“Let’s say, just for a second you manage to get off this godforsaken planet, what do you wanna do?”
“I don’t know Sven, never really thought about it…”
“Seriously dude? You’ve gotta learn how to dream man, else life just ain’t worth living for. Well I know what I want to do, I want to be an Imperial Reaper. Those guys are seriously bad ass! Going where no one else dares to go, killing whoever and whatever stands in their way. The standard issue X-9 Gunblade! It’s like both a gun and a sword but in one! How cool is that?!” Sven tattered on like a kid bragging about his favourite action hero.
“Uhh, Sven I think the eggs are done.”
“Oh yeah, they are”
Sven juggled the two halves of the egg in the air immediately after removing them from the fire.
“HOT! HOT! HOT!”
“You idiot, of course it’s hot! Put it down and let it cool off in the sand first.”
After waiting for them to cool down, Sven gobbled his down, using the egg shell as a bowl after handing the other half to Zero.
“Dude, that’s some good stuff right there. Hey, you gonna eat yours?” Sven asked as he reached over to grab Zero’s half of the egg.
“Hey! Keep your hands off mine, you already had yours!” Zero exclaimed while holding off Sven with his right foot.
Zero immediately resorted to defensive eating, strategically consuming food for the sole purpose of preventing others from getting it.
“By the way Zero, is it just me or have you been a lot more chatty recently?”
“It’s just your imagination,” Zero said coldly, to which Sven just responds with a heartwarming smile.
The both of them lay back down on the cold sand once more, enjoying the warmth of the fire. Zero closes his eyes as he rubbed his stomach, feeling satisfied after the meal. The egg was indeed tasty, hitting all the right spots after that hell of a day.
“Erm Zero? Why is the sky all wavy and like really really bright?”
“Huh? Wavy and bright?”
Zero opens his eyes to look at the night sky.
“I don’t see anything.”
“Stop pulling my leg maaan, it’s likee really reeaallyy briiight maaaan,” Sven said as his words dragged on really slowly and began slurring a little at the end.
”Wait a minute… Everything looks, really colourful. Was the sky always this colouuur? Huuuuh? Everything feels, reaaaally waavyyy.”
“Coloouurful? I’m liiike heaaring colours maaan…”
Grimdocks’ eggs contain an extremely potent natural hallucinogen, a drug in other words. But it was never recorded down as nobody was dumb enough to steal one much less eat one. And thus, the two boys pass their first night, high as a kite.
**
In a planetary system not too far from the planet Tyrios…
Two figures stand in a dark regal military office, one staring out the window as the moonlight shone on his face, revealing an old face with a battle scar on his right eye while the other stood at attention.
“So, the smuggler finally decided to talk after much “persuading”.”
“Yes Major Horvath, we have finally located her position, she's on planet Tyrios, a barren desert planet in a system not too far from here.” The captain replied as he recalled a dismembered figure strapped to a chair in a dark cell.
“But still, to be hiding on such a barren planet, relying on a smuggler to constantly smuggle her supplies… Hahaha! To make such a foolish mistake, has losing her mind finally fried her brain? No matter. Captain King Langley, ready your fleet and strike force at once. Bring her back, alive.”
“Yes sir! We will leave this instant. We will bring her back to answer for her crimes against the empire without fail.”
The captain left with a salute.
With no one else left in the dark room, the Major whispered in a grim tone that only he could hear.
“You will pay this time… Dr Ava…”