21 Chapter 21 Crystal Skin

When they finally crawled out of the cave, Dustin was much improved. He no longer felt angry or depressed. He was still going to get off this damn planet, even if he couldn't do it the easy way.

They made sure there was nothing moving or making a sound before they descended to the cave floor. Snake's body was still there, but part of it was missing.

"They like to keep trophies," she responded to his confused look.

Shaking his head, he led them towards the city. There were bodies everywhere. The amount of blood, was surprisingly small. He was hoping to find a source of water. The sex had been great, but he was parched.

Stepping past the deflated body of the slime toad, he looked around. If any of these things had a skin plate that could reflect the lasers, he wanted to steal it from them. They spread out, investigating the various bodies, but staying in sight of each other.

Dustin came up to a building, and glanced inside. It looked like there had been a lot of fighting right here, rather than just a bunch of bodies shot as they ran away. The lock on the door had been melted by repeated blasts from the lasers, much like the hole burrowing through the ground had. One wall was nothing but a smoking ruin of metal, half melted in on itself. He moved closer, hearing Olivia enter behind him. This had been something built from all of the PED devices from all of the prisoners.

"They were building a super computer," she blurted in astonishment.

"But why?"

"Maybe they were trying to do the same thing we were."

"Maybe…" he mused, moving a large melted piece that had cooled some, to the side.

Underneath, he found a shiny multifaceted clump, about the size of a large dog.

"What's that?" she asked, moving closer.

"What I've been looking for," he said with a grin.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Stand up, we won't hurt you like those hunters or that snake guy."

She continued to look at him, then realized the lump of shiny rock must be alive.

"I've heard that before," a soft high-pitched voice said.

"I didn't say I wouldn't hurt you, just not like those others."

"Well, at least you're truthful," he conceded, uncurling and climbing to his feet.

He was cute. Olivia sucked in a breath, in surprise, and promptly left the room. His face was small, with large eyes that shined in a rainbow of colors. Every inch of his skin was covered in crystals. They were larger on his back, which led to the illusion of just being a rock when rolled into a ball. He would be lucky if he stood a full two feet.

"Done gawking?" he grumbled in annoyance.

"Just trying to figure out how to get a genetic sample from you."

"Good luck, that Snake guy tried for years to figure it out. He finally locked me in here, to keep me from escaping, and threw the PED devices in to keep me busy."

"So, you built this thing?"

"Yea, but it was more out of boredom then actual use. The juice it had wasn't enough to power any actual evolution."

"Makes sense. So, did he try pulling teeth or cutting your tongue?"

Nodding, he said, "The crystal coating continues throughout my digestive system. I'm not even sure how I can digest my foods."

"Okay," he said, walking towards him.

"Wait, what are you doing?" he backed up holding his hands up.

"Let me see your smallest finger."

The crystal guy looked at him for a moment, then shrugged. "It's not like you can hurt me."

Squatting down, he took the guys finger, and shoved it into the port whole.

(GENETIC MATERIAL ACQUIRED. ANALYZING.)

"Wait, what's that? Is it actually working?" he asked incredulously.

"Nothing ever said the sample had completely contained in the port."

He opened his mouth, and then shut it. Shaking his head, he began to laugh.

"If that Snake guy knew, he would be pissed. He tried everything to get a sample from me, but never could get even a sliver."

(POSSIBLE EVOLUTION OPTIONS: CRYSTAL SKIN, CRYSTAL DIGESTIVE SYSTEM, REDUCED CONSUMPTION, REDUCED NEED FOR BREATHING, TORPOR AT WILL)

"Save this information for later evolutions," he said.

(EVOLUTION OPTIONS SAVED. DOES HOST REFUSE EVOLUTION AT THIS TIME?)

"I want the reduced consumption and reduced breathing right now. Initiate that evolution."

(EVOLUTION INITIATED)

"Did it really work?" he asked, when Dustin released his hand.

"Yep," he responded, standing up and walking away.

"Wait, where are you going?" he asked.

"Why?" asked Dustin, turning back.

"Everyone who's ever found me, wanted to keep me, like a treasure or something. But you've just met me, and you're already leaving. I don't know, it just seems odd."

"Let me ask you a question. What do you want?"

The man seemed shocked at the question. He looked around the room. "I want to see the sun again."

"Then get out of this cave," he said, shrugging and turning again.

Olivia was walking towards him, carrying a bucket of water and several skewers of cooked meat.

"Ah," he sighed with a smile.

"I was hungry and thirsty, so when I found this, I thought you might be too."

Grabbing the bucket, he dunked his head into it, and drank his fill. Flinging his head back, he grinned at her, and she laughed at the sight.

"Did you figure out what you were wanting?" she asked, passing him a skewer.

"Yeah. Ready to get off this rock?"

She looked at him, uncertainty in her eyes, but she nodded.

"How do you plan to do that?" asked the crystal man behind him.

They both turned to look at him. Olivia seemed to have gotten over whatever bothered her before, because she didn't immediately run away at the sight of him.

"By using the crystals to ignore the damage from the lasers."

"That's all good and well, but what about the sonic blasts?"

"What sonic blasts?"

"The ones that rip you apart when you get past the sentry guns. Even the crystals won't keep you safe from those."