That Which Devours

All of us went quiet, and I sipped on the cup of water. If that tree wasn’t on the far side, all the way across the shuttle landing zone, this would be easier.

“What about sneaking along the back fence line? You made it all the way here,” added Doc. He pointed over his shoulder toward the darkened doorway. “There’s that hole toward the back of the ship. Go out that way, and stick close to the fence there. No one's gone out that way before, the cats might not be expecting it.” He eyed my shoulders. “You should be able to fit.”

Hawk didn’t say anything for a moment, but just stared at Doc, like he had questions he wanted to ask about the hole in the shuttle. “I didn’t know there was a hole in the back of the ship.”

“Just a small one.” Doc leaned back defensively. “It’s close enough to the fence that the crystals protect it.” Hawk's eyes narrowed and he didn’t respond immediately. Doc started to sweat and run his hands along his arms nervously. “I swear, I haven’t used it before. I just know about it. I follow the rules. I gotta stay with my buddy.”

“And who is your buddy?”

“Right now, Denver. I’m protecting him until he gets better.”

Hawk slowly nodded. “You should go give him some water.”

Doc grabbed his cup, spilling some water in the process, and fled away from the table toward the cot Denver was on.

“Is he okay?” I asked.

Hawk snorted. “Are any of us okay?” He turned to watch Doc dribble water between Denver's lips.

“I mean you're living in a compound in the middle of the jungle instead of the colony.”

“I wouldn’t be under Xander’s command if you put a gun to my head. That snot-nosed brat doesn’t know shit about how to lead people.” His hands tightened around the cup, then relaxed. “I’ll go to the mines if needed, but you're right. This place is too important to us all to keep communication up, and we need this supply point for the shuttle.”

Hawk was correct. We couldn’t go directly to the mines from the colony because of the damn flyers. But the talk of the shuttle made me think about how much time was passing. I needed to be back to the shuttle tomorrow to make my timeline, and I didn’t know how much margin John had on supplies. So, it was time to figure out a bare-bones plan and get to it.

“That’s not a problem to solve for today,” I said. “Right now, the focus is on the fence, right?” Yet, it made me wonder what was up with Alexander. I didn’t interact with him at all, but no one seemed to like the guy. First Greg, now Hawk. Dad was the only one I knew who was close to him, along with Sasha and Len. Then again, Len didn’t seem to like him either. And I hadn’t ever heard Dad say good things, particularly, he just didn’t say anything negative and generally supported the Council.

I tried to refocus on the problem at hand. The shuttle first, which now meant fixing the fence. “So, I sneak out the back along the fence line, staying in the shadows. If a cat comes out, Jimmy gets your attention to be the mouse, while I go to cut the tree down.”

“Simple plans usually work best.” Hawk nodded, but looked uncertain. “I’ll need to let Jimmy know the plan, and I’ll stay out front near the crystals. The attention should be on me, either way, if any of them are about. We normally have a few more hours before they appear. They prefer dusk." Hawk stood up. “Prep yourself.”

He turned and opened the wooden door, leaving it open behind him. Bright sunlight streamed in, and it had to be early afternoon at this point. Hawk turned toward the tree and waved his arms. Then, after a couple of moments, he started making hand signs. With the binoculars, Jimmy should see them. If he used morse code with the crystal, I bet he signaled back. It was a brilliant system.

The punctures in my foot scabbed over again, which was faster than normal. I bet it had something to do with my class. They didn’t hurt much, and I pulled out some bandaids that John had put in my pack. One went over each of the holes. The holes in my boot were something I needed to remember, but couldn’t do much about. I slowly pulled on the new socks. They felt amazing on my feet. That boot wouldn’t be waterproof, and I needed to protect the two injuries. At least they were healing faster than before I’d unlocked a class.

Once both boots were back on and tightened, I stretched upward. Whatever pain had come from increasing two stats over 30 was now gone, thankfully. I hadn’t been prepared for that, and it had almost killed me. Then again, without that extra speed, I would have been dead anyway.

Hawk poked his head in. “Doc, show Alex your hideaway but be quick about it. Get back to watch Denver.”

Doc got up and set the cup on the table. I quickly finished my water before following him through the doorway. It was strange to walk on a metal floor after only walking on dirt for the past three months. Not to mention being on a dropship again. Ever since Dad had rescued me from the cryo tube, I'd been living outside, or in a tent. I’d only hidden once in the dropship when we were attacked. The narrow hallways felt almost suffocating as we slowly moved through the giant half-ship. We followed a straight shot that came to a crossroads. From the dust on the floor and the limited light, it was clear most people went to the right. Straight ahead, it looked like something had shredded the metal corridor.

Dust filled the air and I forced myself to breathe through my mouth in shallow breaths. Every step reminded me of the layout of the dropship I had been assigned. The right was the way to the cold tubes. The left led to cabins for the few crew who stayed awake. There would have been a bunch of cold tubes in the back, and then another large section in the front. The ones in the front must have been the ones at the other crash site, near the mining colony. It was amazing that anyone had survived in this part of the ship at all.

I glanced toward the right. Suddenly, I heard fists pounding on the plastic tube, trying to rescue me as I struggled.

“You coming?”

Doc’s voice cut through the memory. I nodded, trying to push thoughts of my entombment, and rescue, back into the box they usually lived in.

He headed to the left, taking a big step to not leave any footprints right in the line of sight. I didn’t care as I followed. Two closed doors came up on either side, then another two. Both were open, and the one on the right looked like someone had taken a crowbar to open it. Doc squeezed through the opening.

I followed.

The room was a small cabin with another door that led to what had to be a closet of some kind. The Doc slid the door open with ease and moved inside.

It wasn’t a closet, but instead some kind of conference room. A large table had been in the middle. Now, it was on its side against the far wall. Shelves held empty bottles everywhere. Doc headed toward the table. “The table is blocking the crack.”

He shifted it a few feet, and light streamed into the room from a literal crack in the shell of the dropship. Something must have pierced it during the crash and then been yanked out. The jagged edges looked sharp as the metal bent outward. Wires dangled within the four-foot passage.

“In you go.” He shooed me inside.

Reluctantly, I wrapped the cloak tight around my shoulders and got on my hands and knees to climb through the hole. It was tight, but I fit, moving as slowly as possible to not cut myself. Once my feet cleared the edge, he closed it back up behind me. I paused as soon as he did it.

I really was going to do this. I had to. John was counting on me.

A soft buzzing near my ear reminded me that Noseen was here as well. They didn’t seem to speak while others were around, and I was actually rather glad for it. “So you aren’t wandering the jungle hunting. You are on a quest.”

They hadn’t really asked a question, but I responded anyway. “I need to get a crystal to fix the shuttle. Leveling is just a side effect.”

“You are rather squishy still, even for this zone, to be on a quest."

My thoughts paused. This zone? It went with the offhand comment he had made about a vacation. “What do you mean about this zone?”

This time they sounded confused. “The Sanctuary? No one is over level 25 here.”

The answer made me want to ask a whole bunch more questions, but I just didn’t have time. I’d have to remember to ask later, because right now I needed to be sneaking along the fence and getting to the freakin’ tree. Daylight was moving quickly, and if I wanted to be hauling a crystal back to the shuttle today I had to get a move on. I made a note to ask more questions about this Sanctuary later, when I had time.

I let out a sigh, then pulled my cloak tight around me as I crawled out of the dropship into the afternoon sun. The fence loomed not even three feet in front of me. This side stood in shadows, but not for much farther, the midday sun leaving few shadows in the shuttle landing area. This close to the fence, I realized I could fit between the cross segments and head to the edge of the jungle if I wanted.

My gaze flickered overhead to the crystals humming every ten feet. They should keep me safe if I stayed close to the fence. The choice was more shadows to hide in, or the more likely safety of the crystals.

I stuck with the fence and stayed crouched down, moving along the base. It didn’t take long for my thighs to hurt, staying low to the ground. In a few places, bushes grew near the fence and I tracked my progress by how long it would be until the next bush. Nothing reached my senses that alarmed me, and I paused at the next fern. Birds were making noise high above in the trees and a large shadow flew overhead, making me freeze. My eyes locked on one of the flyers. Its wings stretched out wide on either side as it glided high through the air.

Everything in the forest went quiet. I huddled next to the bush and the fence, trying to make myself as small as possible. Given how high up it flew, I couldn’t tell how big the creature was, but the large beak and two legs stretching out behind it made me believe it could pick me up if it wanted. It glided toward the north at a slow pace, and I didn’t dare move until I couldn’t see it because of the tree cover in that direction. The next bush wasn’t far, and I hurried over. I reached out to one of the branches and almost jerked back as the color of my skin shifted. It was almost green. The color deepened as I touched the fern, matching it.

Camouflage, indeed.