Chapter 3 - A Forky Touchdown

It burned.

Smoke, blisters, peeling skin, and healing just to do it all over again.

It burned.

The spinning out of control was the worse part; unlike his time in the Infinite Spiral, Ikaris could feel every twist and turn profoundly this time.

Any barf that made it to his throat was swiftly and smoothly sent back into the depths of his stomach. There was no oxygen to breathe upon entering the atmosphere, and just opening his mouth guaranteed that Ikaris' tongue would turn to ash.

It burned.

But the burning was not unbearable, and even as his skin boiled, Ikaris was on the brink of recalling a time when this had happened before. Surprisingly, it was not his first time burning up on atmospheric re-entry.

The familiar twists of his body and pulling on the nearby particles to steady himself – even if it would do naught due to forgetting how to utilize Cosmic Energy – gave Ikaris the mental stability needed to tough out this struggle.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ikaris could no longer resist and blisters wormed their way onto his tongue like an instant infection.

It kept burning.

At one point, he wasn't sure if it was him burning anymore. It felt like someone else, but Ikaris kept spinning, trying to stop the flames from consuming him, quite futilely at that. There was no way Ikaris could rouse the Gravitons in the atmosphere, especially since he wasn't sure how to accomplish that in the first place.

There wasn't a lot Ikaris could remember at this point in time.

Atmospheric reentry should have turned him into ashes, but the physique of an Eternal always kept him on the brink of turning into ashes. Of course, the pain was now a hundred times more intense since he was no longer a Synthetic Being – not that he would remember that.

Luckily, Ikaris still had a basic understanding of what his abilities should be, and the fact that he was here on a mission – what that mission was? There would be a chance to relearn everything.

For now…

'I need to survive!'

Something inside Ikaris screamed and his body reacted to the stimulus, surging with Cosmic Energy that he was not ready to possess. A period of growth was required – Arishem had made that much clear, but Ikaris knew there was no time for adjustment and growth.

BOOOOOOOOOM

Ikaris' Premier (Eternal's Costume) reformed around his body. Previously, the Premier had been burning away, bit by bit due to the heat, but with a new surge of Cosmic Energy, the Premier reassembled to stabilize the abrupt surge.

Cosmic Energy forced open new pathways in Ikaris' body, enlarging cells that had been dormant since Arishem facilitated his rebirth. The surge brought a sense of familiarity and before he could even realize what he was doing, Ikaris had already created a stream of golden energy around his body.

A thin mix of Gravitons, Cosmic Energy, and Ambient Energy barely managed to shield Ikaris enough for the brunt of the descent into the Earth's atmosphere. After a couple of minutes, everything changed.

Ikaris opened his eyes to a beautiful expanse of blue, green, and white. It brought flashes of something to his mind, but it was just beyond his reach.

"Woah…"

He couldn't help but be amazed – it was his first time in flight… though, it could better be termed as falling. Still, Ikaris felt strangely comforted by the sights, sensations, and overall thrill.

At least, until the Cosmic Energy ran counter to what Ikaris wanted to happen.

BOOOOOOOOM

Another boom and this time, the Cosmic Energy shifted into a downwards spiral, enhanced by an uncontrollable concussive force. Everything became a blur and by the time Ikaris blinked and reopened his eyes, he was hundreds of feet above the ground.

Terror was supposed to come, but… it never came.

Ikaris blinked once more and this time, he was dozens of feet above the ground, and all that was left to do was brace for the inevitable impact. Ten feet above the ground was when he noticed the bridge below, cars on the street, and what was about to happen.

BANG

BANG

CRACK

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ROCK CREEK BRIDGE

Charlie was driving home from another case in Mason – every now and again, the guys at the Sheriff's station would appreciate his help with the paperwork, and it brought a couple hundred on his end-of-the-month check, so Charlie was more than happy to help.

That's when it happened – the night sky turned bright for a couple of seconds and all the warning signs told Charlie to stop the car… he did! But not everyone was lucky enough to have sharp instincts.

It happened in a flash.

Something streaked from above, and rammed into the cables, destabilizing the entire bridge for a split second, then it smashed into the ground hard enough to crack the concrete instantly.

What followed was another enormous shake, then cracking sounds as the concrete gave way. Then, whatever it was tore through the bridge entirely and people exited their colliding cars and made a break either for the epicenter of the shaking or off the bridge entirely.

Finally, there was a splash and Charlie rushed out of his car, flashlight in hand, to peer over the edge and see the cause of all the disturbances, but there was nothing to be found.

Whatever it was had already sunk to the bottom of the river.

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The drowning didn't come until much later, and instincts took over as Ikaris paddled his naked body to the surface of the water – at least, he thought he was moving in the direction of the surface until he touched the bottom of the river.

A new bout of currents came and swept him away.

It was a new lesson learned, or maybe… re-remembered was a more accurate thing to say – the bottom of rivers had a different flow from the top. Ikaris was pulled down the river but he didn't bother to put up much of a fight.

The important thing was to struggle as little as possible. When the time came some five minutes later, just as the currents had calmed down enough for him to break free, Ikaris started to battle with all the energy he could muster.

It helped that he wasn't feeling tired or out of breath to begin with, and he was fairly certain that he was swimming in the right direction this time around. Ikaris broke through the surface of the water a minute later, only to be surprised when a new current carried down a different path.

"Fuck me!"

Like always, when he got the least bit irritated, Ikaris' voice broke into a thick Scottish accent. Of course, the Eternal was aware that he sounded different, but his entire body felt different as well so there was nowhere to draw information from.

BANG

BANG

A couple of untimely rocks shook Ikaris every so often, but more often than not, it was the mere unpredictability of the river that got to him the most. Ikaris tried to swim to one side, but the next moment, the currents would shift and the opposite side would be a shorter distance.

This happened at least three times.

When enough became enough, a rock became Ikaris' favorite friend; his talon-like fingers ripped into the surface of a rock, pulled him onto a stable enough standing position, and the rest was a matter of leaping strength.

"Shit!"

And that landed him right back into the water. Admittedly, Ikaris was expecting something closer to leaping the twenty feet gap that separated the center of the river from the shore, but that didn't happen.

All in all, it wasn't a lot to expect from his body given he survived a descent from space with no parachute, so… at the very least, Ikaris was certain he had the potential to do incredible things. It seemed, he was only out of power at the current time.

The struggle with the currents was eventually won when, nearly thirty minutes later, Ikaris managed to find his way to the shore, but a next problem immediately came to the forefront of his mind.

"I dinna ken where this is!" Ikaris wrung the water from his black hair as a sad smile made its way onto his face. "This is gonna be one hell of a story for the others… what others? Are they others?"

By the time the countless questions came to mind, Ikaris was already kneeling on the ground, clutching his head while trying to remember things that just weren't there anymore.

But if there was one thing working for him – it was instinct and a rick sensation of deja vu.

"I have done this before – a lot of time probably."

Ikaris took his first step in an unfamiliar world and it just so happened that his feet were set upon the sharpest rock on the ground. He felt the prick and was quick to examine it, discovering a smear of blood and a rapidly healing wound.

"That's good to know," The Eternal mused, wondering if injuring himself was worth any more discoveries. "But I guess I am not ready to risk any more injuries until I am sure what's happening. As far as I know, healing my injuries from the river could half my lifespan or something."

The journey started with another step.

And an accumulation of those steps took Ikaris further and further away from the river, into the depths of the forest where everything felt more and more familiar. Along the way, his instincts would naturally lead him to certain materials.

By a couple of miles into the forest, Ikaris already knew some of the best leaves to make tea, roots to grind into dye powder, and medicinal sap used by Ancient Babylonians.

Memories were not coming back, but with instinct so refined, Ikaris honestly started to wonder why he needed memories at all. Sadly, he was also beginning to notice some gaps in his observation that seemed particularly unnatural.

As refined as his instincts were, Ikaris soon found that his body was not cooperative. There were certain sounds he could not distinguish, and tracks he could not identify.

Tasting the sap of a particular tree made his tongue incredibly numb. Obviously, Ikaris was not as impervious to his environment as he first believed – though, he should have already learned such a lesson from the incident in the river.

"What's this?" Ikaris held a red berry in his hands, frowning as he struggled to identify the fruit. "Red Berry? No… this is called 'Snake Fruit'?"

No sooner did the words leave his mouth than a snake perched atop a nearby tree struck at Ikaris' arm… and the concentrated Eternal was too distracted to react in time, not that he would have been able to given the dullness of his current senses.

Ikaris could feel the moment venom was pumped into his body, but he remained relatively unbothered, hooking the snake by its neck and squeezing until the creature squirmed no more.

Then, the Eternal continued his exploration.

It took exactly five steps for Ikaris to start swaying on his feet, clinging to the nearby trees – half of which were not meant to be touched at all. The doubles came next until finally, Ikaris could taste the blood on his tongue… blood bubbling from his soar throat.

"Dang it!"

Ikaris fell to his knees, focusing his mind and sharpening his senses in search of something, anything that could help. A sudden panic enveloped his heart – that was fear… fear of not dying, but dying too early.

Then again, all humans feared dying too early.

Luckily, whatever was in his system was no match for an Eternal's Physique and Ikaris was able to recover, finding himself better off for the experience. As matters stand, Ikaris could feel that he was currently weak, but considering the snake's venom that should have killed him, it became obvious that he wouldn't be weak forever.

It also answered the question stored at the back of Ikaris' mind – why did he feel so strange inside his body?

Well… now he knew it was because his body did not yet have the chance to achieve its full potential.

"My hand and ****** has been feeling kind of small."

Ikaris flexed his wrist and stared at the thing dangling between his legs, finally acknowledging the fact that some clothing would do him some good at the moment. Leaves strung together by tin vines and tree sap made for a Tarzan-like appearance that would leave girls at the clubs wanting more.

Sadly, there was no one to see Ikaris in such a state.

Clothing brought confidence and confidence made it possible for the Eternal to venture deeper into the forest, noting the subtle change in vegetation ever so often. Yet, there were no people in sight and no sign that people lived in the surrounding areas.

Ikaris would have been able to tell if they did – it was the subtle things in the environment, everything tended to diverge a little with humans around… a bit more moss at the bottom of trees, and grasshoppers frequently using both legs to jump. All of such things were signs that humans constantly visited an area.

The moment he made it to a small clearing, Ikaris knew it was the perfect spot, he just knew instantly. Everything was either there or very near there, from the grass on the ground, the moss on trees, the nearby round leaves, the wet soil that would make it easier to dig, and the subtle rush of water just beyond earshot.

"This is the place." The Eternal declared.

The work started immediately. A human would need time for preparation, but an Eternal only needed his instincts and strength to get the job done. Ikaris started by using his hands to work his way just barely under the soil, enough to grab one lump of grass after the next.

It took nearly thirty minutes to get enough chunks, and the area was established. What followed was a two-hour-long journey for suitable sticks to build the framework of the shelter. That led to climbing one too many trees, and hopping on specific limbs until something gave way.

Ikaris was never so thankful for an Eternal's healing prowess than that moment. Had he not healed so quickly, several lacerations and a fractured femur would have stayed with him for the immediate future.

Ten holes were dug into the naked soil, and both ends of the sticks were placed in the holes exactly opposite of each other, creating an arching framework. As more sticks were placed and bent, the overall structure of the shelter became apparent.

More sticks were secured to the structure, and Ikaris found no shortage of thick, but thin, vines to tie the entire thing together. Specific sap samples coating the sticks would ensure that insects trying to get inside the shelter would be in for a nasty surprise.

The framework was complete in five hours, just for the break of dawn to come around. Ikaris spent some time admiring the twilight, noting it was the most peaceful time in the forest. Of course, he also noted that the lack of sleep didn't bother him.

With the framework established, it came time to thread thinner vines through large round leaves, creating a roof for the shelter. The leaves were large but easily torn, and Ikaris found himself on the brink of frustration more than once.

But he managed to pull through.

Using large leaves was never the problem since there was a strategy to the madness, and by midday, the strategy had worked perfectly. Large leaves were used on the first layer since they provided the most coverage, while fallen leave from the ground shrouded the larger leaves.

Finally, moss was added over the entire thing to disguise the appearance and whatever smells may be coming from inside – in this case, that would be Ikaris' scent. The shelter was complete in a little under twelve hours since Ikaris started the project, and though everything looked fairly impressive, The Eternal was not satisfied.

"Now, I just have to focus on water and food."