Chapter 10 Trials of Patience

Olivia groan and sat up, finding herself in the medical bay of the ship Dustin had built. She had been forced back into her normal human form, and wondered how long she had been out. The last thing she could remember, as she sat up and sat on the edge of the bed, was rushing to get out of the ship after the self-destruct had been initiated. At least Dustin had managed to fetch her and get them back to the ship.

Looking around with a grimace as her head thudded in pain, she wondered where Dustin was.

"Computer, please let Dustin know I'm awake."

"I can't do that, Olivia."

Olivia groaned in annoyance. What was he mad about now? Was he ever going to get over this childish crap?

"Where is he, so I can talk to him, then?" she growled, slowly climbing to her feet.

"I'm not sure."

Her head snapped up, as she realized what the computer had said.

"What?"

"I do not know Dustin's current location."

"Why not?" she snapped, lunging for the door, confused as to why she was still struggling. Normally evolutions cured whatever was wrong with her. Why was she so unsteady on her feet?

"After he ordered me to get you to safe space, he was taken captive by an unknown alien vessel."

"Shit!" she hissed, slamming her hand against the button that opened the door.

"You are not fully recovered from the poisoning your system was exposed to during the ship detonation. It is recommended you return to your bed in the medical bay."

She went to curse the computer out, when the world seemed to tip and everything went black.

Opening her eyes, she found herself back in the bed in the medical bay. Sighing, she closed them again.

"Computer, what's wrong with me?"

"You are suffering from genetic abnormalities resulting from some kind of poisoning you were exposed to from the ship detonation. Attempts to purge the abnormalities with evolutions have resulted in stabilizing 76 percent of your body, but until the poison is completely purged, further evolutions may cause more damage than help."

She mulled that over in silence.

"What about Dustin? Have you tried to find him?"

"All nanobots that have been sent, or were left, in an attempt to track him, have failed. The unknown aliens have technology sufficient to completely neutralize the nanobots. My conclusion is to wait for Dustin to find us."

She threw her arm over her eyes, and counted to ten. This was such a mess. Had he been affected by this poison too? Taking a breath, she forced herself to calm down. Of everyone she knew, Dustin was the most capable person, and the most determined to live. She was just going to have to wait for him to get his butt out of whatever frying pan he had ended up in again, and get back.

XxxxX

The flames were licking along the edges of the water, burning everything that could burn. The heat was almost visible as it rolled out across the water.

Moving parallel to the shore, he was able to get far enough away from the fire, to climb on shore. Looking around carefully, Dustin made sure there weren't any creatures about to attack him, grab him, or anything. His skin was crawling with the feeling that he was being watched, and he knew he needed to get away from the crash site. If those aliens, the Xalkak, decided to come after him again, it wouldn't be hard for them to find him.

Standing, he stumbled, and ended up leaning heavily against a tree. Shaking his head, he wondered what was going on, but knew that he couldn't stop to find out, especially with his PED out of order for the moment.

Taking several steps, he found that if he focused hard on the next tree, he could move from tree to tree.

Dustin wasn't sure how far he had traveled, when he finally slid to his knees. His head was aching and he was having a hard time catching a breath. He couldn't remember ever feeling like this before. If his nanobots were working, they probably could have fixed the problem already. His crystal lizard should have been able to handle most everything.

A figure in the dark in front of him, hunched down to look at him. It looked a lot like a man made of plants, but it had glowing purple eyes. Panic flared briefly in him, but then his eyes began to close and everything went dark.

He blinked in the morning light, confused as to where he was. Stone walls rose around him, and a figure, that looked like a young woman with those same glowing purple eyes, approached him slowly. She wasn't wearing any clothes as she sidled closer, carrying a wooden bowl of something, and his eyes wandered over her appreciatively. Her muscles bunched as she shifted with the low ceiling.

Other than the super long ears, Dustin could have banged her in a heartbeat. And what were ears? He could overlook them. Her curly hair begged for his fingers to run through it, to see how silky it really was, but when he went to raise his hand, she shoved the bowl into it, and quickly moved away.

Moving slowly, he sat up with difficulty. The bowl held nothing more than water. Looking at it for a moment, he finally drank it, appreciating how good it tasted. How long must he have been out, for water to taste good? He had almost drowned when he first arrived!

Setting the bowl down, he watched her as she stayed just out of his reach. If he didn't know any better, he would almost think she could read his mind.

With a firm nod, she disappeared into the dark of the cave. Scrunching his brow, Dustin wondered if that was a yes, she could read his mind, or a good job for drinking the water?

Glancing up at the ceiling again, he saw that there was a light covering of lichen that glowed softly.

At least the Xalkak couldn't find him here, and Olivia was safe. Now all he needed was a good steak and potatoes.