《Huntress of K'Shaul》


 Chapter One – An Unexpected Encounter

    Merida had flaming red hair, freckles, and from the blush on her cheeks, it was clear she was feeling what I was feeling. I had no idea what was going on with me, but suddenly, I was as hard as I rock.


    But Merida and I were alone for a second, out in the open, near a big chalky white cliff, next to some petroglyphs. Behind us were thirty of our classmates, the professor, and the fat bus driver.


    Merida and I had made it to the cliffs first, for whatever reason, and we were the first to feel that strange energy in the air. The sky was a fierce blue as the sun baked the cliffs around us. The juniper bushes drooped, while the insects inside of them clicked away. It was so hot. In all kinds of ways.


    Merida was gorgeous, and we were friends, kind of. We shared our notes and talked about the class, mostly. She had a boyfriend. Besides, there was someone else in the class I wanted. Not that I could ever have her, though. She¡¯d made that clear.


    Merida and I stared at each other. Her nipples were sticking out from her tight blouse.


    ¡°Are you feeling that?¡± she asked in a breathy voice.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I had to adjust my pants.


    Her eyes went to my crotch.


    Our little moment was interrupted as the rest of the class joined us.


    Professor Kroft started her lecture. ¡°The petroglyphs here are eight thousand years old. We can only guess their original meaning, though you¡¯ll notice the Kokopelli, the goddess, playing her flute. We think that in this case, it might have been warning to avoid this entire area. She is like the pied piper, from European folklore¡­¡±


    Her voice droned on.


    There were only two good things about the anthropology class I was taking at Colorado Mesa University. One was Professor Kroft, who was beautiful¡ª olive-colored skin, curly black hair, and sparkling brown eyes that made her seem younger than forty. The other was the fact that it was one class closer to graduating. I was so ready to get the fuck out of there.


    I didn¡¯t fit in. I didn¡¯t have many friends. It was a waste of money.


    I figured I would end up like my father, working as a general contractor, but unlike him, I wanted to actually save my money, and that meant a degree in business and accounting.


    I stepped closer to Merida. She smelled so good; I wanted to grab her and kiss her.


    She leaned closer to me, and her hand brushed mine.


    Her nipples were so hard.


    Everyone seemed to be listening to Professor Kroft except for me and Merida. We were both very distracted. Her hand brushed mine again, but this time, she let it linger there.


    Her skin felt so good.


    I glanced over to see Billie Lynn Kidd watching Merida and me.


    Yes, her parents hated her. They named her Billie Kidd. Well, she did break hearts like a gunslinger, so maybe it was a good name.


    I¡¯d fallen head over in heels with Billie, and I thought she might feel the same, but no. The second she found out I wasn¡¯t a football player, she¡¯d made it clear she wasn¡¯t interested. She went from warm and giggly to cold and hateful in seconds.


    And yet, she was watching me and Merida with a look of jealously on her eyes.


    Merida finally took my hand. Her palm was sweaty, but I didn¡¯t mind. She led me away from the class, down a game trail between two junipers.


    The minute we were away from the rest of the class, Merida whirled on me.


    I felt sweat drip down the side of my face. I was boiling hot, and my cock was like iron in my pants. The sound of the insects buzzing seemed to increase.


    That didn¡¯t matter because suddenly, Merida was unbuttoning her blouse and then pulling down her bra. ¡°Take off your shirt, Sid. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but I can¡¯t think straight. Let¡¯s just do this really quick and then get back.¡±


    My brain wasn¡¯t working so well.


    Things like this didn¡¯t happen, not to guys like me.


    But suddenly, I was staring at her perfect tits, freckled and full, her thick nipples pointing upwards.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    I took off my shirt, though I was struggling to think. ¡°Wait, Merida. Something is going on. Maybe something with the petroglyphs.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t fucking care about the petroglyphs. Just kiss me.¡±


    Then she stepped into my arms.


    Her naked breasts were pushing up against my chest. I was smelling her perfume and her sweaty body, and suddenly, I felt her straddling my leg, pushing her center against my thigh.


    Her mouth found mine. We went from kissing with our lips to kissing with our tongues in seconds.


    I couldn¡¯t believe that the boring field trip had turned into me French kissing the cute redhead in my anthropology class. Her lips were soft and wet, and she smelled so good. She moaned as she grinded her clit on my leg. She sucked on my tongue as we both tried to breathe. My heart felt like it would explode out of my chest.


    Even without our wet kissing, our faces were drenched in sweat. Why was it so hot?


    Then I remembered the boyfriend. I didn¡¯t want this girl to hate herself for losing control.


    I took hold of her soft red hair. ¡°Wait. Merida. You have a boyfriend, right? What would he think of this?¡± My cock was telling me I was an idiot. But I wasn¡¯t someone who took advantage of other people.


    She gulped in a breath. ¡°I lied about having a boyfriend. I didn¡¯t like you like that, Sid, until, uh, five minutes ago. Now I want you to fuck me.¡±


    Was I hurt? A little.


    Was I going to do what she wanted?


    Fuck yeah, I was.


    ¡°Okay, Merida. But you can¡¯t be loud. I think Billie saw us come back here.¡±


    Merida smiled, green eyes twinkling. ¡°I¡¯d fuck her too. She¡¯s fucking hot in a bitchy cheerleader-y kind of way.¡±


    That pretty much summed up Billie¡ªblonde, into CrossFit, and only interested in football players at the local university, not even a Division One team. She needed to aim higher.


    Now that I knew Merida wasn¡¯t attached, I pushed her up against the cliff and French kissed her again, forcing my tongue into her mouth. I had one hand in her shorts, cupping her squishy ass, while the other squeezed her tits. Her big nipple pushed against my palm.


    I had to stop kissing her suck on her tit, hard, while pulling on her other nipple.


    She moaned again. ¡°Yes, Sid, be fucking rough with me. I¡¯ve never felt like this. It¡¯s like¡­it¡¯s like I¡¯m possessed.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure if Kokopelli was a fertility goddess, but I didn¡¯t care. I was possessed too.


    Then I was on my knees, pulling down her shorts and panties.


    She had shaved her pussy, and her lips were a bright pink.


    Merida was horny. Her juices had painted the inside of her thighs.


    I bent and licked them up, smelling her, and then tasting her.


    I¡¯d fantasized about her, like I¡¯d fantasized about Billie and Professor Kroft. I never would¡¯ve thought I would find myself in the desert sucking on her clit.


    But it wasn¡¯t enough for Merida.


    She turned around, naked from the waist down, except for her sandals.


    She bent over, so I could see her girl cum leaking down from her open hole. Her asshole was as pink as her lips.


    Then, I was behind her, with my jeans around my ankles.


    I sank my cock into her.


    ¡°Oh, fuck, you¡¯re big,¡± she gasped. ¡°I didn¡¯t think Sid Marshall would have such a big, fucking cock.¡±


    Normally, I would¡¯ve paused to enjoy the praise.


    But I was too far gone.


    I slammed into her, into her depths, which were so soft, so warm, so wet. Her juices soaked my groin, my thighs, my balls. Sure, I¡¯d had sex a few times before, but I¡¯d never been with someone so wet and horny. Those other girls soon tossed me aside, for whatever reason. I was so unlucky in love that I should¡¯ve moved to Vegas.


    Every thrust felt better and better. Every single cell in my cock was alive and tingling. She seemed to get wetter and tighter as she thrusted back into me.


    It was clear she didn¡¯t care if I got her pregnant. Maybe she wanted me to. But I wasn¡¯t going to stop until I filled her.


    My legs were screaming, and I was sweating gallons. The sun seemed to get hotter as we fucked. I loved how every part of her smelled, no matter how musky, and she was so pretty, her long red hair bouncing.


    She yelped every time I went deep. We were being loud, I knew, but I couldn¡¯t help but lose control.


    I pounded her, harder, harder, harder, until she literally screamed, ¡°Fuck my pussy, Sid! Fuck my pussy!¡±


    I heard Professor Kroft go silent, and I heard giggles and laughter.


    We were going to get caught, probably expelled, and of course, there was the public humiliation. I would probably be okay. For Merida, it would be different.


    I felt her come on me, her tight tunnel clasping me, squeezing me, and it was the most erotic thing I¡¯d ever felt.


    There was no way I could hold back.


    I grabbed her full hips, hard, staring down at the perfectly white skin of her ass.


    Then I was coming in her.


    And she could feel it. ¡°Yes,¡± she hissed. ¡°Fill me up, Sid. Fill me up with your horny fucking cum.¡±


    If I hadn¡¯t already been in mid-orgasm, that would have done it for sure.


    My head filled with bliss as I filled her. It was the most intense orgasm of my life, and yes, I might have transfer, or at least take the rest of my credits online, but it was worth it.


    It was this perfect feeling, and I couldn¡¯t help but continue to thrust into her until I had blown my entire load.


    ¡°Sid Marshall!¡± Professor Kroft stood there, with Billie, who had her hand up to cover her perfectly made-up face.


    Somehow, I wasn¡¯t all that ashamed. Fuck it. It was only college. ¡°Sorry, Professor, but that Kokopelli is one crazy bitch. I blame her.¡±


    Merida, though, suddenly was running from us. She scooped up her shorts and disappeared into the Juniper.


    I have to wonder how things might¡¯ve changed if Merida hadn¡¯t stayed where she was.


    Professor Kroft was squinting at me, probably trying to figure out what to do with me.


    Billie, though, suddenly went blank. It was like all the emotions had gone out of her face.


    She pointed and said something, but I couldn¡¯t hear what it was. A vicious wind suddenly blew into me, filling the entire world with a roar. Thunder followed, breaking my ear drums.


    I breathed in, and the air burned the inside of my nose, it was so hot.


    Turning, I saw what Billie was pointing at.


    A boiling wall of dark swirling clouds, filled with lightning, racing toward us. Any normal storm would¡¯ve brought cold, but not this one. The heat was unbearable.


    The storm cut across the landscape, heading right toward us. The black wall of clouds reached from the ground to sky, sucking in all light.


    The storm hit me first, and I remembered thinking I should pull up my pants.


    The strange energy storm did reach Professor KROFT and Billie, but I didn¡¯t know that at the time. I was too busy being incinerated by the lightning.


    I think I was killed, but I¡¯m not sure.


    For whatever reason, I entered K¡¯Shaul alone.

 Chapter Two – On a Patchwork World

    I didn¡¯t know it was called K¡¯Shaul when I first arrived, and it would take a long time to figure that particular mystery out. In the end, the place had a ton of names. It was, quite literally, legendary, but I didn¡¯t know that at the time.


    Standing there, on this new world, my first thought that I should probably pull up my fucking pants. Then I realized I wasn¡¯t wearing pants. I stood up and watched the black wall of boiling clouds sizzle across the landscape, but I was having trouble with what I was seeing.


    On the right was a rain forest, with huge redwood trees, ferns, and undergrowth.


    On the left was the desert outside of Grand Junction, in a perfect line, sagebrush, sand, and some of the drooping Junipers. A chunk of cliff wall rose above me about ten feet from where I stood. In the distance was some asphalt and half of the bus. And then there was just more desert.


    It was like someone had carved about fifteen feet of my world out of my world and slammed it down between the rain forest and a real desert, the kind with sand, only this sand was red.


    Shading my eyes, I glanced up, and yes, there were two suns in the sky, one that was yellow and one that was far smaller and the color of blood.


    The twin suns were in the sky above the red desert dunes.


    Above the rain forest, the sky was cloudy, and a light rain was falling, pattering down on the tall trees and undergrowth.


    I had to be dead. Or dreaming. Or tripping. Or all three.


    Something winking at me from out on the dunes. Some kind of metal was there, half-buried in the sand.


    I¡¯d grown up going on hunting trips with my uncle, who couldn¡¯t really hold down a job, but always seemed to have money. My own old man always worked and never saved a dime. It was why I was studying economics. I didn¡¯t want to end up like my father.


    But Uncle Marty was a different story. He had any number of investments working for him, and so he had a lot of free time. Me and my uncle would go hunting in the fall, but before that I had to pass a hunter safety class. I remembered the basic gun safety stuff, but more than that, they talked about surviving out in the wilderness, and how you can freak the fuck out if you¡¯re not focused.


    Uncle Marty had driven it home. First thing you do? Don¡¯t fucking panic.


    Second thing? Start a fire.


    A fire gave you focus. It also could be used as a signal. Even more than that? A fire was friend, you could talk to, nurture. It was something that kept you accountable because if you didn¡¯t take care of it, it would die. Friends don¡¯t let friends die.


    It was stupid, standing in the hot twin suns, to think about building a fire, but I wasn¡¯t going to question myself.


    I was swallowing some hard fucking truths. Better to take it easy on the logistics and do the next thing.


    I made my way to the bus, which had been sliced apart by the storm. The front was gone, but about twenty feet of the back had been brought over.


    I crawled inside, hoping someone had left something behind.


    Nothing but seats, seatbelts, and grimy floor.


    I could use it as a home base, though. I wouldn¡¯t want to be out in the open once the suns set. Or would they set? How did that work?


    There was a line separating the blue sky above me and the rain clouds above the forest. Another line separated my sky and the washed-out blue above the red desert dunes.


    What was going on?


    There weren¡¯t any matches on the bus. No lighter either.


    I drew a hand through my hair. I should¡¯ve been covered in sweat, but my hair was dry. Did I have a new body? Or had the stormfront magically dried me out?


    I felt my sanity tilt. ¡°Don¡¯t go there, Sid. Just try and build a fire. It¡¯s stupid, I know, and it¡¯s crazy you¡¯re talking to yourself, but come on.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Even with me going crazy, I felt the lust, and I got hard, slowly, but surely.


    ¡°No. That can wait.¡± I felt something inside turn into iron.


    ¡°Go check out the dune,¡± I whispered. ¡°And if you need to talk to yourself, you go right ahead. This is some trippy fucking shit. Let¡¯s focus on building a fire, getting shelter, finding clothing, and finding water. The rain forest is good for that, but you need something to collect that rainwater. Food is going to be an issue, but not for a while.¡±


    Fire. Shelter. Clothing. Water. Food.


    The order wasn¡¯t right. Water and shelter came first.


    ¡°What if there¡¯s no one else here?¡± I asked the bad question.


    That first wave of fear hit me hard.


    The second wave was worse. ¡°What if I¡¯m not alone?¡±


    Anything could be out there. I was clearly on another world¡­if not two.


    I couldn¡¯t think like that. I had to focus on survival, and for some weird reason, that meant a fire. Normally, I would have waterproof matches or a lighter, but at that moment, I didn¡¯t even have socks.


    Leaving the bus, I walked to the line on the ground. I stood there with one bare foot on the dry brown dust of Earth and the other on the rough, red sand of some other reality. What the hell?


    Something was half-buried in the sand. It was a red crystal, about the size of my fist. I picked it up, feeling the hot, smooth glass. I peeked through it and saw the dunes, painted an even darker color of crimson.


    I kept the crystal, not really understanding how important it would be to my survival.


    Jogging across the sand, I felt the heat of the twin suns frying me. It had to be at least a hundred and ten degrees, but it felt cool compared to that storm that had incinerated me.


    I ran toward the structure, half-buried in the closest dune. The closer I got, the more unbelievable my situation became. The metal of the object had a blue tint to it, and it was round, like your classic flying saucer. That was a spaceship covered in red sand.


    Getting closer, I saw that one side of the starship had been sliced open, like the bus.


    I approached carefully. I had no idea what I was going to find there. However, a fucking spaceship had to have more supplies than the janky bus.


    I climbed up the dune, my heart pounding.


    Reaching the edge, I pulled myself up.


    Yep, it was an alien spacecraft all right.


    An alien lay on the floor, one hand outstretched.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what it had looked like before the crash because only bones were left. Its skull had what looked like fangs. It was wearing some kind of gray jumpsuit, bleached nearly white by the sun.


    It had a thumb and three fingers¡ªthe tips were claws¡ªand on one finger was a ring.


    My Aunt Kathy had been crazy about jewels and could name all the major ones. This was an opal, definitely, in a simple bluish-gray steel setting.


    The crazy storm had cut off the front of my bus, but in the case of the starship, it had snipped off the bridge. But with all the dust and the bones, it seemed to have happened a long time ago. There was only the one room, and most of it was that steel-like blue metal. There seemed to be compartments, though.


    I climbed off the hot sand and stepped onto the cool metal of the ship. I gripped the red crystal. It wasn¡¯t much of a weapon, but it was something.


    Then, the red crystal disappeared from my hand¡­


    A second later, something moved, something small, and then, I watched in wonder as the opal ring scurried toward me. It had grown spider legs and before I knew it, it leapt toward my face.


    I put up a hand to protect myself.


    Sharp pain bit into my left hand, my ring finger, where I had hoped one day to wear a wedding band. I looked down in horror at the blood gushing down onto the floor. Those spider legs had dug into my flesh. The opal was gone, and it was only a steel ring, though the surface of it was rippling, like it was liquid.


    I tried to rip the ring off. The way it felt, those spider legs had wrapped around my finger bone. That ring was connected me. There was no taking it off.


    ¡°What the hell?¡±


    This felt like one surprise too much.


    Then the pain in my head made me fall to my knees. I clutched my head, but it wasn¡¯t my head, it was my eyes. My eyes were killing me.


    My vision went black and for a second, I died a little. How could I navigate the new world blind?


    Then the pain left my head and suddenly I was seeing static. Still, static never looked so good.


    The static cleared for a second, but I was seeing a readout right there in my vision. At first, all I saw were runes, but the pain returned, and it was like someone had taken a Dremel tool to the inside of my skull. Slowly, as the pain got worse, the runes turned into English. It was like my head was being re-programmed.


    I glanced around the ship and wherever I looked, I saw the same thing.


    <<< >>>


    Location confirmed: K¡¯Shaul.


    Power Source Found.


    Anomalous energy detected. Magic???


    New HOST detected. Primate species. Intelligence level???


    Primary mission incomplete


    Location unknown


    Biosystems Scanning¡­


    Results pending¡­.


    <<< >>>


    I now had a name for the strange world where I found myself. K¡¯Shaul.


    The ring felt like fire on my hand, but there was no taking it off. I felt a tingling in my toes and then a cramping in my calf. Even if I wanted to take it off, I couldn¡¯t because I didn¡¯t have a knife or even a hatchet. That¡¯s what I needed, a hatchet. I¡¯d read a book when I was a kid about someone surviving in Alaska and all they had was a hatchet.


    Well, hell, I was doing better than that. I had a fucking spaceship.


    Was it wrong that I felt kind of better about my whole situation because the goddamn ring didn¡¯t know where I was either.


    What I didn¡¯t like was the idea that the ring¡¯s primary mission was incomplete. What was its primary mission?


    Pain went from my calves to my knees. It was probably the scanning. Lucky me.


    Every second brought more agony. All I could do was claw at the metal floor as the pain went up my leg. What would happen when the scan hit my johnson?


    I doubted that it would feel every good.


    Where was Merida when I needed her?

 Chapter Three – Salvaging and After

    My knee joints were killing me. Uncle Marty had complained about knee trouble, but I was pretty sure what was happening to me felt different.


    Then my thigh muscles started to twitch.


    Oh fuck.


    I got into a sitting position, my back against the wall, and started to massage my legs. It helped a little. Still, it fucking hurt. But I didn¡¯t want to waste a second feeling sorry for myself.


    I was trying not to panic because of the ring in my finger. At least the bleeding stopped. Basically, with all the shit going on, I knew I needed to focus, or I would lose my shit. Maybe I¡¯d find more answers somewhere on the ship. What else would I find? Hopefully not another piece of jewelry that would wrap itself around my bones.


    Getting to my feet, I ignored the pain. Instead, I focused on my survival. I went to one of the cupboards and opened it up. Hanging there were more of the gray jumpsuits that the dead guy had been wearing. I thought one just might fit me. I fought through the pain in my thighs and put it on.


    It felt good to get dressed. Being naked on alien world was tough.


    Even better, the clothes seemed to change a bit, making me more comfortable. Was it special air-conditioned fabric? There were sandals there as well, and I strapped them on. I had clothes. This was good.


    Randomly opening cabinets on an alien spacecraft probably wasn¡¯t a good idea, and yet, what choice did I have? I wanted to find more gear¡ªa blade, a bucket, or something to start a fire with.


    That was probably unlikely.


    One cabinet might¡¯ve had food in it, but most of the it was dust.


    Another cabinet held tools, and I found something that looked vaguely like welding torch. A metal tube jutted out of a metal cannister. It didn¡¯t exactly feel natural in my hand, since I had a pinkie, but I could press the trigger. A blue flame erupted out of the tip.


    I had a way of starting a fire.


    The good news didn¡¯t end there. The torch¡ªalong with some other tool-like instruments¡ªwere in a metal container that I could use to collect water. I picked up what I thought was a hammer, but no, I¡¯d soon realized it was something else entirely.


    The next cabinet over held guns. At first, I was fucking laughing.


    Then I was screaming. The scan had hit my groin. It was like someone kicking me in the balls.


    I went down, gasping, trying to breathe as I looked up at all the weaponry. There were three rifles and three handguns, all made from the same dark, blue-black metal.


    Abruptly, the pain in my balls turned into pleasure, and my cock got hard as the scanning went up and down my length. It was like I was getting sucked off.


    I found myself on my back, grunting. Damn, but it felt good.


    I¡¯d never been hornier in my life. My first instinct was to grab my shaft and relieve myself of some of the pressure. My heart was thundering, and I couldn¡¯t breathe.


    The strange display came back after a pop of static.


    <<< >>>


    Primate species confirmed.


    Genitals analyzed. Nerve endings provide pleasure and reward for procreating. Function detected for successful ejaculation.


    Anomalous energy detected: Unknown source. Magic???This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Biosystems scan resuming¡­


    Further results pending¡­.


    <<< >>>


    It was the second time the readout had mentioned unknown energy. Magic wasn¡¯t real, right? Then I remembered the red crystal. It had disappeared, and a second later, the ring had hijacked my finger. They had to be related.


    While my mind whirled, I felt the scan rise up into my abdomen. At first, it was painful, then it was nausea, and then it was a bad mixture of both. Luckily, I¡¯d skipped breakfast before the field trip.


    My lungs were filled the fire, and then I felt ice in my heart. The goddamn scan was going through my ventricles, and atriums, and aortas and shit, and that was bad, but the cramps in my shoulders, arms, and forearms were worse. The scan went through to the tips of my fingers, which tingled, and then, nothing.


    I expected to see the results.


    None came.


    All that pain and strangeness for nothing?


    I felt cheated.


    Picking up a pistol, I aimed outside the ship and pulled the trigger. A flash of red light struck the sands, making it smoke. I didn¡¯t know if it was simply an energy weapon or if there was a projectile.


    On the side was a screen, and it showed a rune, which my brain translated into twenty-four.


    So, the pistol had twenty-four rounds. I didn¡¯t see a magazine or any other way to reload, so I have to use those rounds sparingly.


    Grabbing a rifle, I touched the trigger and saw the screen light up. Twenty-five shots in the rifle as well.


    Slinging it over my shoulder, I scooped up the toolbox.


    I guess my bioscan results were still pending. Now, at least, I had some supplies.


    I tried to open up other cabinets, but they seemed locked. I couldn¡¯t find a way to open them. Maybe you needed claws, I didn¡¯t know. I could always come back.


    The jumpsuit had a pocket, which is where I put the pistol.


    I retraced my steps across the sands to get back to the bus. There I stashed the tools from the metal box and took the box to the rain forest but not before scrubbing the container with sand. That probably wouldn¡¯t do shit to disinfect it, but I had to do something.


    Rain still drizzled down onto the tall trees, as big as redwoods¡­no, these were bigger and stranger. In clearings I found ferns as well as strange broad-leafed plants that naturally collected the rainwater. Tipping them to one side, I could drain the moisture into my toolbox. Lucky for me, it was watertight.


    I collected up all the water and then drank all I could from another leaf. It tasted perfect, the best water I¡¯d had in a long time. It completely quenched my thirst.


    My water situation was good. That meant my chances of survival had gone up exponentially.


    Not that I really needed a fire now, I figured it was a good exercise anyway. If nothing else, I needed the company. Besides, it was going to get cold once night fell. I knew that from experience. The rain forest might not, but the desert would.


    Finding dry wood wouldn¡¯t be easy. Good thing I had the perfect way to dry it.


    I found a dead pine, far smaller than the redwoods, and drug it out of the forest.


    It was strange going from the damp cold of the rain forest and back into the desert heat. It was a sixty degree drop in temperature by taking a single step.


    Some of the tree limbs broke off as I pulled it through the undergrowth, and I made a ton of noise.


    In the distance, I heard a loud roar. Whatever had made that noise was big.


    Okay, so I wasn¡¯t alone. That fucking didn¡¯t make me feel any better, I can tell you that. Not at first. Then I realized that if there were animals there was food. I didn¡¯t have a knife, not that I knew of, but there were rocks in the rain forest. I could chip away stone to get an edge.


    Professor Kroft had talked about early stone tools, and I¡¯d gone down a rabbit hole on YouTube searching for information. Creating edges was an artform, and you needed the right kind of stone, but I might have a ton of time to practice.


    Or would the energy storm come back? Maybe I would suddenly wake up and it had all been a dream.


    My throbbing finger told me I wasn¡¯t dreaming. I¡¯d washed off the dried blood. Now I had to hope I didn¡¯t get an infection.


    Another roar echoed through the redwoods. It was closer.


    At least I had guns. And if the guns failed me, I had the hammer which wasn¡¯t a hammer, though, again, I didn¡¯t know that.


    I went back for the limbs that had broken off. Under some ferns, I found some dry grass and a few long, rotten branches, which were relatively dry.


    I dragged all my fire-building supplies back to the bus. It would provide me with some protection if the beastie came for me. I needed more ways to collect water other than those big leaves and my toolbox. There had to be more containers back at the spaceship. I¡¯d have to search more.


    I¡¯d just dumped the wood on the ground when another message flashed in my eyes.


    <<< >>>


    Possible optimizations detected.


    Biosystem scans resuming.


    Further results pending¡­.


    <<< >>>


    Part of me wanted to stay on the bus, but I was getting hungry. Skipping breakfast was good for not barfing when your biosystems were being scanned by alien technology, but it sucks when survival was on the line.


    Besides, I wanted to see what was doing all that roaring in the rainforest.


    I could let the wood dry while I went on some recon.


    I had taken three steps from the bus when suddenly, out of nowhere, Professor Kroft tumbled out of the air and onto the ground.


    I¡¯m not sure which surprised me more¡­the fact that she appeared out of nowhere or the fact that she was completely naked.

 Chapter Four – Surprise, Professor!

    Immediately, Professor Kroft scrambled to her feet and fell into the classic ¡°girl-trying-to-hide-the-good-parts¡± pose. She covered her big boobs with one arm and cupped a hand over her sex, which after I took a quick glance¡ªwas shaved down to a landing strip.


    The professor had long, black curly hair, a little frizzy after being hit by the storm. I¡¯d never seen it long. Normally it was bun, but now it cascaded down her back.


    Also, I¡¯d never seen her without glasses. I liked the glasses, but I guess they¡¯d burned up in the storm like everything else.


    I was surprised to see various tattoos on the professor. I wasn¡¯t going to stare, so I couldn¡¯t really get a sense of them all. There were some words, some images, a bird maybe, or a butterfly.


    ¡°Sid! How long have you been here?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Maybe an hour. Maybe more.¡± I thought about all the time I spent on the floor of the spaceship in agonizing pain. Was I going to tell her about the alien ring or the messages that kept appearing in my vision? ¡°What happened to you?¡±


    The beautiful professor stood with her mouth open. ¡°You were having sex with Merida. On my field trip.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t my fault,¡± I said. Then I smiled. ¡°Okay, it was half my fault. Merida grabbed me and led me away. I was surprised as she was, but suddenly, we were both so horny.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± the professor admitted. She still didn¡¯t drop her hands. ¡°It seemed Merida felt it as well. Did that strange storm consume her?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. But it hit me, obviously. What about Billie?¡±


    The Professor paused. ¡°She ran from me. I couldn¡¯t help but take a curiosity in the phenomenon. There were warnings, in the petroglyphs, about the lightning knife clouds, but I didn¡¯t understand it. I guess now I do.¡±


    She turned, slightly, to take in the towering redwoods rising up from the sage, juniper and dust where we stood. Then she took in the dunes. ¡°What is this place?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I, uh, found a spaceship, and there might be a monster in the forest. At least I have guns and clothes. I can get some for you.¡±


    The professor turned, smiling. ¡°Clothes or just the guns? Perhaps you would like me better running around naked.¡±


    My hardon returned, making the front of my jumpsuit bulge.


    Her eyes went to it.


    She spun around.


    I had the perfect view of her ass, which was round and full, a wonderful attribute of her hour-glass figure.


    There was no way I could stop myself from staring.


    ¡°Obviously, Mr. Marshall, I¡¯m still aroused because I flirted with you, a student, and that cannot happen. I know, you have certain needs, and men your age are particularly, uh, hormonal, but let me assure you, you and I cannot be intimate.¡±


    I continued to stare at the line of her ass. To my credit, I didn¡¯t stoop to try and catch a glimpse of her sex.


    Finally, I marched away from her. ¡°Okay, Professor. I get it. Let me get you some clothes and a gun, but don¡¯t go anywhere.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not staying here alone!¡± I heard the alarm in her voice, but she soon got control of herself. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m going with you to this supposed spaceship. I cannot miss that.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Follow me.¡±


    We trekked toward the ship, but this time, several dunes shivered as sand slid and shifted. I thought I saw something moving underneath the ground, but soon the landscape was still.


    I kept my eyes open, rifle in my hands, while I told the professor about everything that had already happened to me. I let her know about the ring, the scans, and the possible optimizations, though I didn¡¯t know what that really meant.


    It was hard to concentrate with the naked professor right next to me, and I was so turned on already. There was something about the patchwork world that heightened our libidos. It was why Merida had pulled me into the bushes.


    We finally made it to the ship, and I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed when the professor zipped up her jumpsuit.


    However, once we stood face to face again, I noticed that I could see her nipples through the material, which adjusted itself to cover her. She¡¯d left the front unzipped a bit, so I could also see her cleavage. Why did she do that?This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Like me, she was probably horny.


    When she bent over to strap on her sandals, I could see her tits dangling, and again, I got hard.


    I hid my erection by going over to a cabinet and grabbing her a rifle and a pistol. There were two guns left.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to reload them, but we have twenty-five shots a piece. I think they¡¯re like blasters, the energy weapons from Star Wars. I¡¯m not sure how I feel about that because if the monster is as big as I think it is, bullets might work better.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like guns,¡± the professor sniffed.


    ¡°Yeah, well, I don¡¯t think the monster will like them either.


    She sighed. ¡°Fine. The pistol. You just pull the trigger, am I correct?


    ¡°Correct.¡± I tried some of the other cabinets again, but they were all still locked. Glancing around, I shook my head. ¡°I found a toolbox type of thing, but I¡¯d like something else to use to carry water.¡±


    The professor immediately came up with any number of good ideas. ¡°If we did kill an animal, we could use the stomach for a water skin. Also, the rain forest might have reed-like plants. In Borneo, I learned how to weave watertight baskets, though the skill is not unique to the peoples of that part of the world. There are many Native American tribes in the United States that could make extraordinary baskets including the Ute, the Apache, the Shoshoni, the Awani in California¡ª¡±


    I cut her off. ¡°I get it. That¡¯s good news.¡±


    The professor then wandered around the spacecraft, squinting. ¡°While I can¡¯t see very well, I do have some theories. The alien¡¯s cause of death is probably blunt force trauma from the crash. You can see that half of the spaceship was sheared off. It then crashed into the dune before being half-covered by the shifting sands. It could be the forces inside the energy storm reacts differently to organic material.¡±


    It made sense until I really thought about it. ¡°But it did bring part of the bus and those are Colorado junipers, so it doesn¡¯t just burn up inorganic life.¡±


    ¡°It might be beyond outstanding.¡± The professor sighed. ¡°No, it is definitely beyond our understanding.¡±


    She glanced down at the dead alien. ¡°If I were to guess, I would think the alien pilot was some kind of cat man hybrid.¡±


    ¡°Which means there might be cat girls on this world,¡± I mused, trying not to sound like a big nerd.


    The professor arched an eyebrow. ¡°A cat girl?¡±


    ¡°A neko, like from anime,¡± I tried not to be awkward. Explaining anime was never easy. Most of the time, it led to¡­


    ¡°Yes. I understand. Hentai, tentacles in inappropriate places, and other such adolescent fantasies. I know, Mr. Marshall. I know.¡±


    ¡°You can call me Sid,¡± I said. ¡°And I don¡¯t want to keep calling your professor, or doctor, or whatever. What¡¯s your first name?¡±


    We stood there for several long seconds, sweating. The inside of the spaceship was basically an oven, and we were both sweating buckets. I could smell her¡­both her perfume and her body.


    I didn¡¯t even try and hide my hardon. Fuck it. She knew what she was doing to me simply by standing there.


    I could feel the sexual tension. It was like we were kissing without kissing.


    She lifted a hand to one of her heavy breasts, to touch her nipple, and then she zipped up her jumpsuit. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sid, but I think you should continue to refer to me as Professor Kroft. I¡¯ve gone my entire career without sleeping with a student, and I don¡¯t plan on that changing. Besides, we won¡¯t be here for long. We¡¯ll find a way home. Until then, you and I will have to, um, take care of our needs ourselves. Something about this place is triggering our libidos, obviously.¡±


    ¡°Magic,¡± I said. ¡°The ring¡¯s messages suggested there was a strange energy here when it scanned, you know, my junk.¡±


    ¡°Your junk?¡± she asked. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of junk there.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    She closed her eyes. ¡°No, don¡¯t thank me. Just¡­just give me a minute. Would it be possible for you to walk back to the bus alone? I need some time to think.¡±


    ¡°And you want to do it here? It¡¯s really hot¡­¡±


    Eyes open and shining with lust, she licked her lips. ¡°I know. I like the heat. I like it when I get sweaty.¡±


    Then it hit me. She wasn¡¯t staying in the spaceship to think. She was going to get naked and masturbate like crazy.


    I wanted to stay to watch, but no, she¡¯d made her boundaries clear. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll take the other set of clothes and the guns back to the bus. While you, uh, think.¡±


    She winced. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d help me bury the alien. It¡¯s presence here, might, uh, get in the way of me¡­thinking.¡±


    We moved the body into a shallow grave and then pushed sand over it.


    I kept thinking the ring would do something, or I¡¯d get an update, but no. How long would the scans take?


    ¡°Okay. Thank you, Sid,¡± the professor said. ¡°I¡¯ll catch up with you shortly.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    I was walking across the sands when I heard her unzip her jumpsuit. Then, images of her touching her tits and putting a hand between her legs filled my head. If she was feeling like I was, it would take ten seconds for her to make herself come.


    I forced myself not to think about her. I had to focus on survival.


    Why was Professor Kroft so certain we¡¯d get home?


    I wasn¡¯t so sure. What had happened to us was out of the normal. Maybe it had had happened to some Ute guy thousands of years ago and maybe and the other Native Americans left the petroglyphs as a warning. I could see Merida and the rest of the people standing around, after the swirling black clouds had passed, scratching their heads. They would certainly tell people to stay away.


    There had to be some time mechanics at work. Those black clouds had hit me first, but it couldn¡¯t have been hours before it reached Professor Kroft. What if seconds there were hours in the new world?


    Well, if the energy storm hit Billie next, she would probably show up eventually. Her and the professor had been standing so close.


    I hoped Billie had escaped. Being here with her would be a total pain in the ass. Then again, I wouldn¡¯t be competing against any football players. It would be her and me¡­and the professor, with her tattoos and desires.


    I turned around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the professor, but all I saw was the metal of the spaceship in the dunes. I took a deep breath. I was so hard that I couldn¡¯t think straight. But I wasn¡¯t going to jerk off in the middle of the desert, not when the sands shivered in the distance.


    I expected to see a giant sand worm, like from Dune, come bursting up.


    Instead, there was nothing except for a hot breeze.


    I made it back to the bus in time to see Billie come spilling out of the sky.


    One minute she wasn¡¯t there and the next, she¡¯s on her hands and knees, little titties dangling from her chest, as the sun reddened her pale skin. She was far thinner than my MILF-y professor, so much blonder, and yet, she had an ass just as round, though far more muscular. Billie¡¯s nipples were as pink as the professors, but far puffier.


    She looked up at me. ¡°What in the fuck, Sid?¡±


    I knew how to answer that, but I wasn¡¯t sure it was the kind of fuck she wanted.

 Chapter Five – WTF, Billie?

    I never knew someone could listen so furiously but that was the only way to describe Billie while she put on the outfit.


    When I gave her the pistol, she immediately fired five shots. She hit the tree I¡¯d dragged out of the rainforest three times, and the side of the bus twice. The wood was still too wet to catch fire, and she didn¡¯t hit any windows, but the bus¡¯s metal glowed red hot before cooling.


    The pistols seemed to fire some kind of superheated plasma. Later, I¡¯d look for some kind of projectile and couldn¡¯t find any evidence of one.


    ¡°Billie, I don¡¯t know how to recharge those weapons. You just wasted five shots.¡±


    She gave me a disgusted look. ¡°We just need to fucking find more bullets.¡±


    I got mad. ¡°Okay, genius, where? The local Big Five? Fucking Walmart? Redhawk Rifles off 23rd and G Road?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± she screamed at me.


    I¡¯d told her all that I knew, except I said that the professor was in the starship ¡°thinking.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if the lust magic I was feeling affected her at all. It sure didn¡¯t seem so.


    But there was no fucking way I was going to let her scream at me.


    I kept my distance¡ªgetting in her face was a terrible idea. However, I kept my voice firm. ¡°If you fucking yell at me, I will leave you. We aren¡¯t in Grand Junction anymore, and we¡¯re not in college. And yes, I¡¯m just that guy in your anthropology class, but I¡¯m also the best chance you have of surviving this.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t match my gaze. Her eyes went to the ground. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m scared. And showing up here naked was awful. I¡¯m glad you had something for me to wear. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°No more just doing shit, okay? We have to be careful, or we¡¯ll end up dead.¡± I tried to be gentler, but I was still so pissed off.


    Billie put the gun into her jumpsuit. ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t know, okay? Don¡¯t get your panties all up in a twist.¡± She pulled the crotch of her jumpsuit. ¡°Speaking of which, I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m not wearing underwear, but this feels pretty good. It¡¯s not giving me a wedgie or anything, but getting out of it to pee is going to suck. And speaking of which, do we have toilet paper? We need toilet paper, Sid.¡±


    I didn¡¯t say anything.


    We were on another world¡ªnot sure I could call it a planet because it wasn¡¯t following the laws of physics and here was this spoiled brat complaining about a lack of toilet paper.


    She must¡¯ve seen the expression on my face. ¡°What?¡±


    I sighed, trying to keep my temper under control. ¡°Maybe the energy storm will drop a Walmart on us. Until then, we¡¯ll have to make do. I found us water, clothes, and shelter, as well as the means to start a fire. Now, we just need something to eat.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a vegetarian,¡± she said.


    Of course she was.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try and keep that in mind.¡± I went to turn away.


    ¡°You and Merida were totally doing it. Back at the field trip. I totally saw you.¡±


    And there we were, standing there in the dust, while the rain fell in the forest and the sun baked the sand.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± I said.


    Billie¡¯s eyes went to my hand. ¡°Your magic ring better not give you the ability to see through my clothes. I saw how you were looking at me. You¡¯re probably always totally horny. Like all guys. Well, it¡¯s not happening.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not a football player.¡±


    She made a face. ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°Noooooo¡­¡± It took her like five minutes to say that one word. ¡°It¡¯s not just nothing. You think that since I¡¯m a cheerleader I would only date a football player?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you dating a football player?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah. But I would date other people.¡±


    I knew I was wasting time. It was all pointless, high school shit, and I wanted to make sure that the professor was okay. Her ¡°thinking¡± was taking longer than I would¡¯ve thought.


    At the same time, I didn¡¯t have anything to lose. It wasn¡¯t like she¡¯d ruin my reputation or come after me. ¡°Fine, Billie. I think you were into me, but the minute you found out I wasn¡¯t a football player you lost interest. And you found one you liked, so it¡¯s all good. You¡¯re kind of a bitch anyway.¡±


    ¡°I am not a bitch!¡± She walked right up into my face. ¡°And I don¡¯t need you to survive. I¡¯ve been camping before. I know what to do, Sid.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Without another word, I turned around and hurried away from her. I told her I would leave her behind, and I meant it.


    I jogged away, moving quickly across the red sands, heading toward the starship.


    The professor was walking toward me, her gray jumpsuit striking a harsh contrast against the crimson landscape.


    Billie followed me, talking a mile a minute. ¡°Okay, I can be bitchy, which is different, and I just didn¡¯t like you like that, Sid. It¡¯s nothing personal. Yes, I thought you were cute, and yes, I kind of wanted to be with a football player, because in high school, I was so unpopular. I swore to myself that college would be different.¡±


    That made me stop. ¡°What were you like in high school?¡±


    Her blue eyes still were burning, and I knew, she didn¡¯t want to tell me a thing. ¡°I just wasn¡¯t popular, okay? Like, my mom was my best friend. It was kind of pathetic, and¡­and¡­we all have our secrets, right? I swore that college would be different, and it wasn¡¯t, not right away, until this year, when I decided to really get serious about things.¡±


    ¡°What kind of things?¡± I asked. ¡°What kind of secrets?¡±


    She sighed. ¡°The things a person does to be popular. How to look. Who to date. That kind of thing. I¡¯m sorry I yelled again. I don¡¯t want to yell at you¡­or anyone, really. I¡¯m just feeling all¡­¡±


    I could see the word ¡°horny¡± on her lips.


    So the magic of the place was affecting her as well.


    She licked her pink lips. ¡°I¡¯m just not feeling like myself. I guess I shouldn¡¯t be, because, well, you know, we¡¯re literally on another world. I do have a boyfriend back on Earth, and I can¡¯t just cheat on him, so let¡¯s just be friends, okay?¡±


    She was trying to make peace. However, hearing the ¡°let¡¯s just be friends¡± would never not hurt. In the end, it didn¡¯t matter, and I wasn¡¯t going to be an asshole. I reached out a hand. ¡°Fine. Friends.¡±


    Instead of shaking my hands, she leaned in and gave me a big hug.


    Her smell was in my nose, and I felt the heat of her body, which felt like it was a thousand degrees hotter than the two suns above us. I wanted to grab her and feel her ass. It had looked so good, but I knew it would feel even better. I wanted to squeeze it, and I wanted to kiss her.


    She had to be feeling horny, and I thought about trying something, but no, she had a boyfriend. And she had secrets. She wasn¡¯t telling me much about her high school experience, and I hadn¡¯t really seen her before we¡¯d taken the class together. It sounded like she was a sophomore. She seemed younger.


    She gave me a final squeeze and then stepped back.


    Her eyes dropped to my crotch. ¡°Oops. Sorry.¡±


    I was strangely apathetic. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s just a part of being here. It¡¯s why Merida and I did what we did. We felt it even before the energy storm hit us. I¡¯m assuming you did too.¡±


    Billie blushed. ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t want to talk about it. I¡¯m kinda of shy when it comes to that kind of thing.¡±


    ¡°Sex stuff?¡± I offered.


    She nodded. ¡°Yeah. Uh. Sex stuff.¡±


    The professor finally caught up to us. ¡°Miss Kidd. I¡¯m so sorry to see that you didn¡¯t escape the storm.¡±


    Professor Kroft still had a blush on her face, and yet, I could see how much more relaxed she was. She had her hair tied up in a bun, and she saw me looking.


    She touched it. ¡°Yes, I found some elastic bands and some other random objects in the starship¡¯s equivalent to a junk drawer. I gathered up what I could and put it in this bag. There are several pieces of cloth that might be useful.¡±


    I was curious to see what she¡¯d found, but I was also getting hungrier. That hunger wouldn¡¯t be going away any time soon. While it wouldn¡¯t become a real problem for several days, it was still a reminder that I had to go hunting monsters.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening, Professor?¡± Billie asked in a quiet voice.


    The professor frowned. ¡°Let¡¯s not have this discussion out in the heat. I am very thirsty, and we should seek shelter in the bus. But I¡¯m afraid I have no answers.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I wanted to hear,¡± Billie said quietly. A tear slid down her face.


    That girl had some violent mood swings. One minutes she¡¯s yelling and the next she¡¯s crying. It was like being with a tornado of emotions.


    The professor was being far more understanding than I would¡¯ve been.


    She took the girl¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s walk back to the bus. We¡¯ll feel much better with a little water. We¡¯ll get through this, Billie. Think about it. Whoever created the petroglyphs we saw must¡¯ve returned to Earth to warn others.¡±


    I didn¡¯t argue with her, but I was pretty sure that the drawings were made by the people left behind.


    I went through the bag and noted what might be useful for later on. The pieces of metal I could probably use, but I loved that we had elastic bands, since they could be used for any number of things. There was also some blue-black wire as well as some string. It was a good find.


    I made a mental list of our inventory:


    <<< >>>


    <ul>


    <li>Bag of crap containing elastic bands, steel wire, some string, bits of metal, and several pieces of gray cloth</li>


    <li>3 jumpsuits</li>


    <li>3 pairs of sandals</li>


    <li>3 pistols</li>


    <li>3 rifles</li>


    <li>Toolbox for water</li>


    <li>Various tools</li>


    <li>Welding torch</li>


    <li>Hammer</li>


    </ul>


    <<< >>>


    I did go into the rain forest, but I didn¡¯t find the monster. Instead, I found big, black birds, like overgrown crows, and I managed to shoot three down. They were smart, and it took me six shots to bring them down. I hated using that many charges.


    The rain was gone, and the sky was a bright blue, marked by misty clouds, slowly fading away. I thought I caught the smell of the ocean, but that place was so humid, I wasn¡¯t sure. As the sun set and the clouds dissipated, I looked up to see moons strewn across the entire sky. There must¡¯ve been a dozen, in various phases.


    It was so alien and gorgeous.


    Back with the ladies, I plucked the feathers off the birds. We didn¡¯t talk much at all. Too much had happened, and I think we were trying to process it all.


    Going back to our bag of crap, I found one of the bits of metal had a pretty good edge. Using the other pieces of metal, I managed to hone it into a dull blade. It was enough for me to cut through the pink skin of the ravens. Then, I scooped out the guts and found wet sticks.


    We cooked them on our fire like hot dogs, turning them over and over, until the flesh was blackened.


    I have to say, it was the best meal I¡¯d had in a long time. Yes, the outside was burned, and the inside was nearly raw, but it was food.


    I noticed Billie didn¡¯t complain a bit. She ate her raven and drank her toolbox water and was happy to do it. I was having a bit of trouble believing that Professor Kroft could weave a basket that was waterproof. I would have to see it to believe it.


    Nothing came for us while we sat around our fire. We started referring to the scarlet desert as Red Dune World, while the forest became Rainforest World. What we lacked in creativity we made up for in horniness.


    I was nearly bursting, and with every breath I took, I seemed to get even more aroused.


    At least Professor Kroft had had her ¡°thinking¡± time.


    I thought about taking some time to ¡°think¡± myself, but I was too tired. When the professor offered to take the first watch, I took her up on it.


    Lying on a bus seat, I was out like a light. But I wasn¡¯t asleep for long.


    Muffled moans woke me up.


    Bille was doing a little ¡°thinking¡± of her own.

 Chapter Six – Bus Encounter

    I heard a sigh, and then another moan, and then I heard a soft squeaking.


    Professor Kroft was outside, which left Billie and me in the bus. I was on the right side, near the front. She was down on the left near the back, two or three seats away.


    Without a doubt, Billie was touching herself. I sniffed and could smell her excitement, which soon had me hard as rock.


    I hadn¡¯t unzipped my jumpsuit because, like I thought, it was really cold. The bus offered us some shelter, though, and our body heat had warmed it up. The fire also helped because I¡¯d built it close to the opening.


    Professor Kroft was outside, sitting on the edge.


    Did she hear Billie?


    Obviously not.


    The squeaking continued, and then stopped abruptly. There was nothing for several long moments. Had she finished?


    That smell was driving me crazy. I wanted to get closer to it.


    I knew that would be a mistake. Billie had made it clear that she was going to be faithful to her football boyfriend.


    She thought I was asleep, which was why she was playing with herself.


    She let out a stifled groan. Then I felt the bus sway a little. She was really going at it. Had she unzipped completely? Probably not. I bet she had unzipped down to her waist, which meant that her puffy pink nipples were out. I could only imagine what they looked like, with her lying on her back, legs spread, as she rubbed herself.


    Was she just rubbing herself? Or was she pulling on her nipples?


    There was no way I could stop myself. I¡¯d come once the day before, with Merida, but then I¡¯d arrived in the patchwork world, which had something to do with sex, and maybe magic, if the ring was correct. I¡¯d seen both Professor Kroft and Billie naked.


    Here was one of the most beautiful girls at my college, masturbating like crazy not ten feet from me.


    Fuck it.


    I unzipped my jump suit, easing down the zipper, and even though I tried to be quiet, there was no way she wouldn¡¯t hear me.


    She tried not to moan, but she failed, and then she gasped.


    I had my zipper down. I grabbed my shaft, but it was already so slick with my pre-cum. I must¡¯ve stained the front of my jumpsuit. That was a problem for the next day.


    But I didn¡¯t care about the next day. All I cared about was stroking myself, listening to the cheerleader try not to scream out.


    ¡°Oh,¡± she whispered. ¡°Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    She sighed, probably frustrated that she was talking at all.


    I¡¯ve never been really loud during sex, but I was breathing hard, and I knew, she could probably hear me.


    No, she could hear something else. There¡¯s a reason why it was called fapping.


    My cock was dripping pre-cum, and there was no way to hide the sound of me fucking my hand.


    Girls have it easy. They have little clits they can rub, and normally, they can do it without creating a big ruckus. And yes, they get wet, but it¡¯s nothing like shooting a big load. For most women¡­I guess squirters were different.


    I couldn¡¯t stop stroking myself, no matter how loud it was. She didn¡¯t seem to mind, since she wasn¡¯t stopping me, or calling me disgusting, or telling me to get the fuck out.


    Of course not. Because she was the one who had started masturbating even though we were on the same bus. She then moaned, and even grunted a little.


    Did she come?


    The idea had me throbbing. I was right on the edge.


    ¡°Uh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Fuck.¡± The horny cheerleader hissed. If she¡¯d orgasmed, it was clear she was going for a second, or maybe even a third. Girls were so lucky.


    What was I going to do with my load? My only option was to get a piece of cloth, so I could clean up.


    Well, it wasn¡¯t my only option. I could go to Billie and see if she could help me with the problem. I could come in her mouth. Or I could come in her pussy. It would feel so good to sink deep inside of her. She was so fucking hot.


    I could imagine going to her and jerking off and coming on those perfect little titties. Or maybe I would come on her face. Seeing her proud, beautiful face with my seed on it would be so satisfying. She¡¯d look so slutty, and I bet if she were having trouble orgasming again, that would do it.


    I finally found the strength to let go of my cock.


    I got up but I knew I had to say something. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    My heart was in my throat. What would she say? Would she scream at me? Or would she tell me to fuck off? What would happen?


    Her voice came out quiet. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll wait.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± My soul was singing. This was happening. I didn¡¯t know what it meant, and right then, I didn¡¯t care. I just wanted to fucking come.


    Then I was hurrying through the bus. I went and grabbed the extra cloth out of the bag.


    Professor Kroft turned around. ¡°Oh, Mr. Marshall. Is everything okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. With my suit unbuttoned, it was obvious what I was doing. There was no way I was going to admit anything. ¡°Wake me if you get tired, Professor.¡±


    ¡°Sure, Sid.¡± She was smiling a little. Did she know something?


    Then I was hurrying back to the seat.


    There was no stopping me, but I wasn¡¯t going to stop. I was even harder, and there was even more pre-cum. I found myself on the edge. But now, I wasn¡¯t going to come until Billie did.


    I heard her, felt her, smelled her.


    She gasped. ¡°Are you close?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, not believing the turn of events. Just that day, she was saying she was not interested in me, and then, not a day later, we were jerking off together.


    ¡°Tell me when you¡¯re about to come.¡± Her breathy voice was unbearably sexy.


    Just thinking about what we were doing made me come. I gave my cock three extra strokes, and then, I gasped. ¡°Oh, fuck, Billie. I can¡¯t hold it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, fuck, I knew you could hear me. I know you could smell me. I love it, Sid. I love how my pussy smells. Come with me. Please. Oh, it¡¯s happening. I¡¯m coming¡­¡±


    Who knew she was that dirty? She¡¯d mentioned something about secrets. Was she secretly a nymphomaniac?


    She grunted as she orgasmed, and they weren¡¯t exactly delicate.


    Then it was happening to me. The orgasm made my head swim, it felt so good, and it felt so perfect. Over and over, I rode the waves the pleasure, and every piece of bliss meant another shot of semen into my hand. I was soon overflowing, and I knew I was coming on my belly, but I didn¡¯t care. I had the cloth to clean myself up.


    Billie gasped. ¡°Oh, I can smell you too. Oh, fuck, it¡¯s happening again. I love it when I come twice so fast. It¡¯s going to be such a big one. Oh. Oh. Oh.¡±


    This time, she didn¡¯t grunt. Instead, she whimpered through her orgasm.


    My head was swirling, and then, my vision was filled with messages from the ring.


    Weird timing, but I would take what I could get.

 Chapter Seven – Optimized

    Still coming down from my orgasm, I read through the display while I used the piece of cloth to clean up and then zipped up the suit.


    <<<>>>


    Biosystems scans are complete.


    Anomalous energy detected: Unknown source. Magic???


    Primate species re-confirmed. Relatively advanced biologically but limited in intelligence. Preoccupation with sexual activity. Admires females and their mammary glands. Additional fat cells on the chest of the females unnecessary but HOST would disagree. HOST enjoys the scent of the females due to their pheromones. More analysis needed.


    HOST¡¯s cellular structure confirmed.


    Mitochondria confirmed.


    Adenosine triphosphate confirmed.


    Optimizing.


    <<<>>>


    My body lit up like a Christmas tree, and with it, came pain. It was like my blood was boiling in my veins. It was like I could feel myself cooking.


    I rose up, staggered down the main aisle of the bus. I had to get the fuck out of there. I hit the ground, hardly feeling anything but the awful pain.


    Above us, a ton of stars spread across our little strip of Earth sky, but the sky above Red Dune World there was only a reddish darkness, which was probably from the red sun. I didn¡¯t know the how the astronomy worked. All I knew was that the eastern horizon looked like dried blood.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Professor Kroft staggered back as the fire popped and cracked.


    I couldn¡¯t talk, but I heard Billie, who was still in the bus. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Professor, but he¡¯s glowing. Why is he glowing? Oh my god! I wanna go home! I wanna go home!¡±


    Was I glowing?


    I just didn¡¯t want to be in fucking pain. What was the ring doing to me? What did optimizing mean? I wound up on my knees, in the sand, gritting my teeth.


    The professor approached me. Yes, I was glowing, very brightly, like I was cosplaying a lighthouse. I hoped it didn¡¯t attract the attention of that monster in the forest.


    ¡°Please, tell us what¡¯s happening,¡± the professor begged.


    Billie was sobbing in the bus. I wish she¡¯d get her shit together, but I guess, we were all handling the situation in our own special way.


    Mine was trying not to scream.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I managed. ¡°Optimizing. Adenosine triphosphate. My cells. The ring.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Yes, I see. ATP are the molecules that store chemical energy. If you are being optimized, you might have more energy, you¡¯ll be faster, stronger, more agile.¡±


    ¡°If. I. Fucking. Survive,¡± I growled.


    The professor gently touched my back. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. I don¡¯t want to lose you. Or Billie. We¡¯re in this together.¡±


    They were nice words, but Billie was still sobbing, and I had zero control over what happened to me.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    I still didn¡¯t even know what the ring¡¯s primary mission was.


    It felt like forever, but slowly, yes, ever so slowly, the pain was leaving me, and the glow was fading.


    I looked down at my arm, and I was glowing so brightly I could see through the sleeve of the jumpsuit. All my veins and arteries were visible. It was like my skin was transparent and my blood had turned fluorescent. Then, when my blood stopped glowing, it was like I could see every one of my cells, glowing like a star. It looked like I was made of stars until those pinpricks of light faded.


    Then, all we had left was the light of the fire and bloody eastern sky.


    A second later, the ring gave me more bizarre news.


    <<<>>>


    Optimizing complete!


    51% successful.


    Anomalous energy detected: Unknown source. Magic???


    Anomalous energy used for optimization. Log file unavailable.


    Error: This unit¡¯s power source is low. Please find an AQUIA Charging Station or find anomalous energy source.


    Evaluating current circumstances.


    Results of evaluation pending¡­.


    <<<>>>


    So the ring optimized my cells using magic? Was this good? I didn¡¯t know what to think, but I was glad the thing had stopped at 51%. I had a feeling that a 100% optimization might¡¯ve hurt even worse. Fuck, it even might have killed me.


    All the numbers didn¡¯t mean much to me right then. I was just glad not to be in pain. But other questions remained. There was that whole thing about primary mission, and could it continue to evaluate current circumstances even though it was running out of battery?


    I wished I had a handbook on the alien ring, but there hadn¡¯t been a manual in the starship. There wasn¡¯t an End User License Agreement either. That might¡¯ve been for the best because I¡¯m pretty sure I wouldn¡¯t have signed the EULA anyway.


    I wasn¡¯t sure I was going to find a charging station, but if I could find another power crystal, it might help the ring work better.


    Billie came out of the bus sniffling and wiping away her tears on the sleeve of her jumpsuit. ¡°Is he bigger?¡±


    I stood up, and yes, for a second, the jumpsuit pulled up into my crotch. The shoulders and arms were tight, and I flexed, the jumpsuit almost burst.


    I wasn¡¯t fifty percent bigger, but I was definitely bigger.


    The jumpsuit then expanded out to accommodate my new size.


    ¡°Wait,¡± the professor said. ¡°Sid, unzip your jumpsuit. I think you have changed, but it¡¯s hard to tell. Come closer to the fire.¡±


    I was curious myself. I unzipped my outfit and let the top fall to my waist.


    Looking down at myself, it was like I had a stranger¡¯s body.


    The fire painted my abs with shadows, and yes, I had abs, a full six-pack for a second. And then, I watched in wonder as it became a four-pack as I fattened up a bit. ¡°Hey! Come on!¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s good,¡± the professor said. ¡°You need fat for energy. You still look¡­amazing.¡±


    I flexed my arms, and watched my muscles bulge¡ªbiceps, triceps, even my forearms. My chest was swollen and powerful. I felt amazing, like I had limitless energy.


    Going to school, working at job sites on the weekend, doing side jobs with my Uncle Marty, I had run myself ragged. Now, it felt like I¡¯d slept for a week. I was a little hungry, a little thirsty, but other than that, my body felt perfect.


    ¡°Oh my god,¡± Billie gasped. ¡°You¡¯re even more cut than Mike Westra. No way.¡±


    Both women were looking at me with lust and admiration in their eyes.


    The professor absently unzipped a bit, letting her hand linger on her breast.


    That simple motion got me hard.


    ¡°Wait. Hold up.¡± I turned away and walked away. Then I pushed the jumpsuit all the way down and yes, there was my cock, probably two inches longer and way girthier. I had a new johnson, bigger, and rigid.


    Talk about optimized.


    The professor and Billie were talking in whispers behind me. I don¡¯t know what they were talking about until I heard Professor Kroft whisper, ¡°It¡¯s okay. What you¡¯re feeling is natural. This is stressful. Just be gentle with yourself.¡±


    Billie was getting some needed counseling. Good. We couldn¡¯t have her falling apart. We all needed to be tough.


    I turned, taking in the bus, the fire, and the tall trees beyond. The skies were so different¡ªthe scarlet sky above me in Red Dune World, the normal stars of the strip of world taken from Earth, and then all the moons above Rainforest World. Such a strange place.


    I heard the whisper of sand moving behind me. The chitter of insects followed, but not normal sized insects. The noise was soon deafening. These were monstrous insects.


    Whirling, I saw the red sand was swarming with the things, creating a rippling carpet of horror under the crimson dark.


    The first bug leapt out of the sand, and more and more followed, hundreds, thousands, all about the size of the biggest dog breed you could think of.


    Huge bugs were coming for us, more than we could fight.


    It looked like I was about to test my new optimized body.


    The timing couldn¡¯t have been better.

 Chapter Eight – Testing Out the New Hardware

    I loved the movie Starship Troopers. Why wouldn¡¯t I? Killing giant bugs with big machine guns was every man¡¯s fantasy. Throw in a shower scene with hot girls, and you had the perfect movie.


    At that moment, I didn¡¯t know if there were any insects the size of tanks, but suddenly I had a sand flea the size of a Great Dane coming right at me. Behind it was an army of similar insects, digging up through the dirt and flinging their bulbous flea bodies into the air. Their front four limbs were sharpened bone while its long spring-like back legs allowed it to launch itself into the air. The thing¡¯s two long knife-like teeth were hollow, perfectly for impaling me and then sucking me dry.


    I couldn¡¯t run, not right then, and I didn¡¯t have my guns, but I could still fight. I caught the thing by its carapace and flung it into the oncoming bugs. I didn¡¯t even throw it with all my strength, and it still exploded into a thousand pieces, ripping through any number of the fleas.


    Another monster bug jumped at me, and I dodged it; it seemed to be moving in slow motion. That was an illusion. I was the one moving fast, everything sharpened by my adrenaline.


    I could see my leg glowing under my pants as I kicked my foot into the flea, shattering it in half. I was suddenly covered in goo. Maybe my foot should¡¯ve been jelly, but it seemed that along with enhanced strength, both my skin and my bones were tougher.


    Another giant flea leapt at me and a big slug of plasma struck it, melting through its carapace in seconds. I heard it squeal in pain. It was so fucking loud!


    Spinning, I saw that Billie had one of the rifles to her shoulder. She¡¯d unzipped more of her jumpsuit, and so not only was she a tough chick with a big gun, she was showing off way more her sweaty cleavage.


    Professor Kroft stood behind her, with a pistol out, though the teacher didn¡¯t look very confident. She did start firing, but she couldn¡¯t hit anything. Billie was doing the heavy lifting there.


    Fleas had swarmed them, and Billie was taking them out, one after another, with the plasma bolts. Every death brought a weird alien shriek.


    We were wasting so much ammo, and in the end, there was no way we could fight off the thousands of fleas. We had to run.


    I took three steps¡ªone, two, three, and realized I¡¯d jumped thirty feet. I¡¯d accidentally sped past both the professor and Billie.


    A whole new world of movement had opened for me.


    I crouched and sprang up, soaring through the air, and landing next to the bus.


    A flea tried to catch hold of me, and I punched it into goo. I was covered in bug blood, which is actually called hemolymph. Instead of red, this stuff was a pale yellow, and I was covered in the stuff. I kind of liked the zoology class that I¡¯d taken last semester.


    I didn¡¯t want to waste ammunition on an enemy we couldn¡¯t beat, not in a straight up fight. Besides, I wasn¡¯t sure how to make a bow and arrow, and so, the guns were our main tools for hunting. I planned on shooting more of the huge ravens for breakfast.


    If I lived through the night.


    ¡°To the trees!¡± I yelled to the women. ¡°We have to retreat!¡±


    We¡¯d drank most of the water from the toolbox, and so I tossed in the tools, but I kept the hammer out. It was a massive thing, more of a roofer¡¯s hammer than anything else, with a blunt end and sharp end.


    In my hands, either end would work.


    I sped over to Professor Kroft, thinking of giving her the toolbox, but I was going so fast I had trouble stopping. I overshot her by five feet.


    Dropping the toolbox, half full of water, I pointed. ¡°Grab that! Run there!¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°Don¡¯t order her around!¡± Billie screamed at me as she continued to shoot. ¡°She¡¯s not your slave!¡±


    ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± I cursed, but Professor Kroft took the toolbox without a word.


    I jumped past both women and smashed in the head of a flea with my newfound weapon. Turning, I killed two more with a might swing. Their squeals of pain felt oddly satisfying.


    Unexpectedly, a message from the ring lit up my vision.


    <<<>>>


    Evaluating current circumstances.


    Evaluation paused.


    Paraxen Multitool Detected


    Configure settings? Y/N


    <<<>>>


    ¡°No!¡± I screamed. My hammer was fine, though I wondered if I could turn it into a gun. At least a I had a word ¡°Paraxen¡± to work with. Was that the name of the alien or the name of the world?


    Right then, with ten thousand giant sand fleas trying to kill us, it was the wrong time to ask. The ring then gave me more bad news.


    <<<>>>


    Evaluation of current circumstances resumed.


    Error: This unit¡¯s power source is low. Please find an AQUIA C13 Charging Station or an anomalous energy source.


    Results of evaluation pending¡­.


    <<<>>>


    Yes, I knew its battery was low, but there was nothing I could do to fix that in the middle of a fight. I was simply glad the messages went away. Maybe the damn thing knew that if it blocked my vision it would have to find another host.


    I was bashing in bug heads left and right, giving the professor and Billie time to dash into the forest.


    Then I joined them, flinging myself into the air. I came down through foliage, rolling through ferns, and into a redwood. The limbs shook, and cold water rained down. My bell had been rung, but I wasn¡¯t going to let that stop me.


    The fleas would follow us into the forest. Our only hope was to climb as high as we could and hope that they couldn¡¯t find us. Luckily, the whole forest glowed with silver moonlight, thanks to the various moons overhead.


    I didn¡¯t trust myself to try and jump with any accuracy. This new body was going to take some getting used to.


    The redwoods didn¡¯t have any lower limbs, but there was some kind of twisted tree with pale bark that had a ton of branches, creating a lattice work between two of the giant pines. We could climb that weird tree up to the limbs way up high.


    ¡°Make for the redwood!¡± I called out.


    Billie grabbed a branch and let out a long, ¡°Ewww!¡±


    I grabbed a limb and was surprised to find it so spongey. It definitely wasn¡¯t bark.


    Professor Kroft was already ten feet above us. She called down, ¡°It¡¯s some kind of fungal growth, prospering in the shade between the trees. If it¡¯s carnivorous, we¡¯re in trouble. Or if the spores are poisonous, this could be the last night of our lives. However, it seems we don¡¯t have a choice.¡±


    That was the understatement of the year.


    We climbed higher and higher. Below us, the fleas were crawling through the growth. A few tried to jump at us and wound up hitting the mushroom tree. It made the whole structure shake. We were probably ten stories up when we finally reached the lowest redwood limb.


    We were able to cross over, and we climbed higher, until we found a series of limbs to rest on. While we could sleep up there, it wasn¡¯t going to be comfortable. Not only was the wood hard, but we couldn¡¯t really lie down. Even worse, it was a far colder than I would¡¯ve thought.


    Some of the fleas tried to leap up at us, but they couldn¡¯t jump that high.


    We were breathing hard, and I was glowing, or my muscles were at least, at least¡ª legs, trapezoids, shoulders, back.


    With each breath, the glow dimmed a little.


    We could see our bus, and it was crawling with fleas. In the distance, fleas had also swarmed the starship in Red Dune World.


    I was pretty sure the fleas had dug up the alien cat man corpse. If the fuckers drank blood, they would be greatly disappointed. I had to laugh. ¡°Like getting blood from a stone. A dead stone.¡±


    Billie sat there, pale, sweaty, with tears trailing down her cheeks. ¡°My life was so good. I was the best CrossFit instructor on campus even before I got on the cheer team. This fall, I would¡¯ve been at the football games. I¡¯m pretty sure I would¡¯ve hooked up with Mike Westa over the summer. We were going to intern at the same place. I mean, I¡¯m with Scott Fullerton, and he¡¯s cute and all, but he definitely has a drinking problem. And there¡¯s a good chance he¡¯s cheating on me with Joyce Perry.¡±


    I went to interrupt her. We had so many more important things to talk about.


    But Professor Kroft put a hand on me. It was like she knew what Billie needed.


    The CrossFit queen kept on talking. ¡°No, Mike was going to be the better bet. Mike Westa is prime husband material. He probably wasn¡¯t going to go pro, though, but his dad owns all these car dealerships in Denver. They have a lot of money. If I married Mike, I wouldn¡¯t have stayed at Mesa. I mean, Mike would graduate next year, so why would I stay? I could get into Denver University, and his family could help me with tuition. I¡¯d definitely graduate from there, but maybe I¡¯d stay and get my master¡¯s there. I wanted a degree, but come on, it wouldn¡¯t be long before Mike and I started a family. Our kids would¡¯ve been so beautiful.¡±


    Then her eyes went to me. ¡°But that¡¯s all not going to happen now.¡±


    Then she lost it. ¡°Because I have to fucking fight giant fucking fleas and crawl up a slimy fucking mushroom tree into a skyscraper pine tree to save my fucking life from¡­once again¡­giant fucking fleas!¡±


    Not sure which I preferred, her crying or her screaming.


    Billie Lynn Kidd was kinda sexy when she was angry.


    Then she turned that anger on me.


    Oh, shit.

 Chapter Nine – Under the Many Moons

    I had glanced away to look up at the moons. I was a little higher in the tree than Billie and Professor Kroft, and I¡¯d found a pretty comfortable way to sit. I could sleep leaning forward on another branch. The wet pine perfume of the redwood smelled pretty good.


    Then Billie pointed a long, manicured finger at me. ¡°And you, you! You get to be a fucking superhero! How is that even fair?¡±


    I held up my hand to show her the ring. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m just a host. This fucking ring could be giving me cancer for all I know. Or maybe it¡¯s the Paraxen Multitool¡ªwhatever the fuck that is¡ªthat is going to somehow kill me.¡±


    My hand dropped to my side, and I was surprised to find the hammer hanging from a loop that had quite unexpectedly appeared on my side. I hadn¡¯t even remembered slipping it into the loop.


    ¡°Paraxen?!?¡± Billie shrieked. ¡°That¡¯s a made-up fucking word. This whole world is pretend.¡±


    ¡°I would¡¯ve come up with something cooler than giant fleas.¡± Why couldn¡¯t I keep my big mouth closed?


    Billie jabbed her finger at my side. ¡°So you¡¯re saying your hammer thing is an alien artifact?¡±


    ¡°Multitool,¡± I corrected. ¡°Not sure how to configure it though.¡± I didn¡¯t mention that my ring might run out of power at any minute.


    Billie stared daggers at me. Damn, one minute we¡¯re sharing a hot moment in the bus together, and the next, she¡¯s trying to chop me into sushi with both her eyes and her words.


    Professor Kroft reached out and took both of Billie¡¯s hands. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry this happening.¡±


    Billie continued to glare at me.


    The professor forced Billie to look at her. ¡°We¡¯re going to get through this. We¡¯re going to find a way home. Please, don¡¯t give up hope.¡±


    I kept quiet. I didn¡¯t see that happening, but no use throwing fuel on the fire.


    Then I realized something else about my jumpsuit. Not only did I have a new cool loop for my Paraxen Multitool, but I should¡¯ve been covered in gallons of hemolymph, a.k.a. bug blood. Instead, my jumpsuit was perfectly clean. The air was wet and cool around us, but I was rather comfortable.


    ¡°Look at your clothes,¡± I said.


    ¡°What about this dumb romper thing?¡± Billie looked down. She¡¯d zipped her outfit up to her chin. Professor Kroft, though, had hers undone, letting the girls breathe.


    Billie didn¡¯t notice.


    Professor Kroft did. ¡°Fascinating. The material is self-cleaning. Perhaps it uses the molecules of the stains to reinforce its structure. I¡¯m rather warm, or at least most of my body is. My feet, though, are a little cold.¡±


    That¡¯s when I realized that I¡¯d left my sandals on the bus, which at this point was flea central.


    Billie was also barefoot.


    I let out a frustrated breath. ¡°Okay, Billie and I don¡¯t have our sandals. What else did we forget?¡±


    Professor Kroft winced. ¡°The bag of crap is back at the bus. And another rifle. The toolbox is down at the bottom of the mushroom tree.¡±


    The news could¡¯ve been worse. We had three pistols, two rifles, our clothes, and our lives. Oh, and the hammer, which might be magical, or at least configurable.


    I was about to say something relatively positive when Professor Kroft burst forward, pointing. ¡°


    Professor Kroft then pointed. ¡°Good gravy, what is that?¡±


    Both Billie and I followed her finger.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Rising up in the distance, well beyond the spaceship dune, was a structure that caught the first rays of the red sun breaking over the horizon. At least that section of land and sky. It was a tall tower, irregularly shaped, and I knew what it looked like to me.


    ¡°Termites,¡± I whispered, my zoology class paying off once again. ¡°That looks like a termite tower, like in Africa, right? That¡¯s not manmade. That¡¯s bug made.¡±


    As the red sun rose, we saw that the tower was crawling with things, and though we were too far to see what they were, I could only guess they were either fleas or some kind of desert insect, maybe ants, or maybe giant termites.


    ¡°Could it be the fleas?¡± Billie asked in a whisper.


    Professor Kroft answered quietly. ¡°I don¡¯t believe so, but we are dealing with alien fauna. Termites on earth create their mounds out of soil, saliva, and dung. Their mouths are very different from fleas.¡±


    ¡°Ew!¡± Billie complained. ¡°Their dung or our dung?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they care.¡± Professor Kroft looked scared.


    Crossing the Red Dune World suddenly looked far less attractive.


    I was glad we¡¯d found a relatively safe perch when a roar echoed under us. We heard shrieks, screams, of the giant fleas, and the entire world under us was alive with activity. We couldn¡¯t see a thing because of the shadows and undergrowth. We could only hear the roars of some giant beast, the crunch of exoskeletons being devoured, the shrieks of the dying insects as they were eaten.


    Eaten by what, though?


    And there wasn¡¯t just one creature roaring under us, there were several.


    The spaces between the redwoods were wide enough for semi tucks to drive through, though a lot of that space was taken up by the mushroom trees, ferns, and other plant life. I¡¯d been too tired to explore the Rainforest World the before, but now, with my enhanced body, guns, and my multitool, I was curious.


    ¡°Should I go and see what¡¯s eating our flea friends?¡± I asked. ¡°It sounds like World War III meets Jurassic Park down there.¡±


    Neither the professor nor Billie could answer. The roars were too loud. As loud were the shrieks of the fleas. Those huge things were bashing through branches and ripping apart mushroom trees and flinging ferns left and right.


    Billie basically screamed, ¡°You are not going down there, Sid!¡±


    It all fell silent. Then the growling started. It was so deep-throated that I could feel the bass in my chest.


    ¡°What if I just go and take a quick peak?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No!¡± Billie hissed. She wasn¡¯t kidding around.


    I glanced at the professor.


    She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous. I think your time would be better served trying to understand the ring and how it might further help you. It certainly seems to be the key to our survival.¡±


    The apocalypse happening under this moved east, toward the Red Dune World. I thought maybe I¡¯d get a view of the monster but no. I did see the fleas leaving the forest, escaping back into the sand.


    A few minutes later, we heard sniffing and snuffling below us. I thought it might be a bear, or that¡¯s what it sounded like. Maybe a bear crossed with Godzilla. Then the ruckus moved away. The ground trembled with the footfalls of the monsters¡­there was clearly more than one.


    I hoped our toolbox hadn¡¯t been trampled, and long with it, my welding torch lighter, but chances were, both were lost forever.


    Now that we were safe, we found some water dribbling down from the branches above us to wash our faces, hair, and hands. I still wanted a shower even though my clothes were self-cleaning.


    After we¡¯d washed and drank the tree water, I went over our ammo situation. Two of the pistols were out of charges, thanks to Professor Kroft¡¯s panic and terrible aim. She must¡¯ve grabbed Billie¡¯s gun when she ran out. My pistol still had ten shots left. One of our rifles was empty, the other had five shots, and I was pretty sure our last rifle back on the bus had twenty-five shots left.


    I tried to get the ring to contact me, but no matter how much I swung the hammer, it wouldn¡¯t message me. There had to be a way to access the heads-up display, but I didn¡¯t know what it was. It was my first time with an alien ring on my finger.


    Maybe the ring would talk to me once it finished its evaluation. I hoped it hadn¡¯t completely run out of batteries. I needed to find another power crystal.


    Billie and the professor slept near the trunk of the giant tree while I climbed farther down the branch, since I was still amped up from the fight.


    The fleas had left both the bus and the starship, and the sands were once again calm, an ocean of serene sand, that held deadly secrets. The mound tower seemed to get bigger in the crimson radiance of the red sun rising, though it was so far in the distance, it didn¡¯t put out much light¡ªit only made the sky a darker shade of red.


    Would we be able to get to the bus and get our rifle and the bag of crap without the fleas coming back?


    Well, we knew they were now.


    I was more worried about our future. We needed a shelter away from those damn insects. However, the mysterious monsters in the Rainforest World might be even worse.


    Finally, I started feeling tired.


    I went back to the trunk and found Billie resting her head on Professor Kroft¡¯s shoulder. Both were fast asleep.


    Seeing them there like that was sweet, and yet, at the same time, I could only imagine them together. Normally, I would¡¯ve thought that would be pretty much impossible. But there was something about the strange world that was affecting our libidos. While else would Billie get so nasty with me in the bus?


    No. Something was going on.


    I could think all about it, since I was the only one awake. Guess I was taking first watch.

 Chapter Ten – Finding Privacy Rock

    I woke up the next day with a painful erection. God, I was so fucking horny, and the girls smelled good, even though their perfume was long gone. Something about their bodies made me crazy.


    I¡¯m sure the ring would say that it was their pheromones, and it probably was, but it was still weird. Normally, fighting for survival wouldn¡¯t make me aroused.


    My belly¡ªnot my new dick¡ªsolved the problem for me. I was starving, and that meant we needed to get down from the tree.


    Billie wanted to stay up there, but finally, Professor Kroft and I got her moving.


    The sun had risen both on the strip of Earth and in the Rainforest World, though we couldn¡¯t see it from our treetop perch. There was a dense mist, cold and wet, that would¡¯ve soaked us if our clothes didn¡¯t provide protection.


    Like with the stains, they absorbed the water and kept us dry. I was curious what would happen if we went swimming in them. I would imagine the material would get wet, but the minute we were out the water, it would be dry again.


    Climbing down was harder than climbing up, but we took it slow. We were soon standing on the ground, where looked like a slaughterhouse. Blood and bug parts were everywhere, crushed further into the soft soil by big three-toed footprints.


    I¡¯d watched the Jurassic Park movies. I had my theories.


    Then again, it might be the Jurassic period from another planet and not my own.


    Did the energy storm cut through time as well as space?


    On the way back to the bus, we found some purple berries, big and juicy, hanging in clumps on the limbs of a green bush.


    The professor warned us that eating random berries in a strange forest was a good way to end up dead. However, she had a method she used to test them. First, she said not to eat berries if they were a certain color¡ª green, yellow, or white. Next, she said we needed to avoid plants that had spines, bitter smells, or milky sap. Lastly, she used her fingernail to break open the berry. She licked the berry, checking for sweetness.


    Standing there in the forest, Billie and I were watching her closely.


    Professor Kroft¡¯s eyelids fluttered. ¡°Oh, yes, they are so sweet. Almost like a blackberry, but sweeter, without the hint of tartness. Now, I will eat one, and we¡¯ll wait fifteen minutes. If there is no cramping, and I don¡¯t think there will be, I¡¯ll eat another one. If I don¡¯t get sick or die, we have a food source.¡±


    Billie stood there with no expression on her face.


    There was no way I could guess what she was thinking.


    I knocked her with an elbow. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    She nodded, almost robotically. ¡°Yeah. I was, you know, just thinking. In class, I would¡¯ve memorized all that and forgot it ten minutes after I aced the final. Now? I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ll never forget Professor Kroft¡¯s berry-testing method.¡±


    The professor laughed. ¡°And that is why Homo sapiens were so very successful. Trauma reinforces memory. Finding safe food sources was of the utmost importance, and starvation is the ultimate motivator, without a doubt. The human mind evolved to remember what is edible and what is deadly. So far, I am feeling fine. This is very good news.¡±


    Billie was staring at Professor Kroft with a look of awe on her face. The day was warming up, and like always, she had cleavage showing. The water had misted on the luscious valley of her breasts, and she looked so good, her hair tied up in a bun.


    Billie was clearly looking at Professor Kroft with a look of lust on her face.


    Then she turned to me, staring into my eyes. She knew I knew she found our teacher hot. Her eyes sparkled with lust. It was like she was getting off with me knowing. For once, she wasn¡¯t glaring at me. Her eye contact meant only one thing¡ªshe wanted both of us, me and the professor.


    Then Billie closed her eyes. ¡°This is stupid. Okay. So, we need to come up with a system. We all know this place makes us¡­uh¡­tingle. Don¡¯t make me say it. So, I think we can all agree that we can¡¯t just have sex all day long. For one, I¡¯m hungry. For another, I don¡¯t want to have to transfer to a new college once we get back.¡±


    If we get back, I thought. I didn¡¯t mention she wanted to transfer to Denver University after she married Mike Westa, the football player.


    Billie continued. ¡°If we were to hook up, well, it would be so awkward. And I don¡¯t want to cheat on my boyfriend.¡±


    I thought about mentioning the football player, but no, I didn¡¯t want to use Billie¡¯s breakdown from the night before against her.


    The professor nodded. ¡°I agree. But we can¡¯t wander off. For now, the bus and the spacecraft aren¡¯t safe. Nor will I think they¡¯ll be safe in the future, since, like us, the fleas know that they found a potential food source, and they¡¯ll return to the bus to see if that food source returns. My solution? We find a private place, we take turns, and we deal with our desires that way.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Billie gulped in a breath. ¡°This is so embarrassing, but I think you¡¯re right.¡±


    Professor Kroft squinted. ¡°My eyes are not good, and I would kill for my glasses, but I think there might be a rocky outcropping beyond these bushes and those trees in the distance. If we are lucky, we might find a cave or an overhang.¡±


    While we waited to see if the professor got sick, we found a game trail through the undergrowth which led us to a pool surrounded by boulders piled against one another. That was why there was a game trail in the first place¡ªto help animals to get to the water.


    There was a little lip of rock that led to a cave-like overhang above the crystal-clear waters of the pool. I wasn¡¯t sure about drinking the water, not without boiling it first, but at the moment, there was plenty of leaves for us to drink from. The leaf water was fresh from the rain, and it was unlikely that anything had peed in it.


    Professor Kroft nodded at me. ¡°Stay by the sweetberry bush. I¡¯ll be with you in a moment, and no peeking, Mr. Marshall.¡± She said it with a wink and smile. That made me want to peek even more.


    Instead, I grabbed Billie¡¯s arm and led her away. It was like she wanted to stay and watch.


    We returned to the bush. The professor had the rifle, and she was only a two-minute run down the path. She¡¯d be fine.


    I tried not to think of her slowly unzipping her jumpsuit all the way, getting out of it, and then teasing her nipples while she rubbed herself.


    Billie shrugged me away. ¡°Okay, Sid. You don¡¯t have to grab me.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t grab you,¡± I sighed. This girl. What was I going to do with her?


    She brushed her hand over her arm. ¡°Okay. You didn¡¯t grab me. I¡¯m sorry I said that, but there¡¯s something I need to talk to you about.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± I said. ¡°We have some time.¡±


    I then remembered we might have a lot of time. I¡¯d waited for the professor a good half an hour the day before. Maybe she¡¯d be quicker today.


    Billie folded her arms across her chest. ¡°Last night, in the bus, before you were, uh, optimized, I¡­you¡­we.¡± She winced. ¡°This is so humiliating.¡±


    There didn¡¯t need to be that much drama. We¡¯d survived a giant sand flea attack and spent the night trying to sleep in a redwood, taking watches. ¡°I was there. I know what happened. Just spit it out.¡±


    Her worlds tumbled out of her. ¡°It was a one-time thing, okay? I was feeling insane. I probably should still feel insane. I¡¯m not going to cheat on Mike.¡±


    ¡°Scott,¡± I muttered.


    ¡°What?¡±


    I knew I was treading on dangerous ground, but I couldn¡¯t stop myself. ¡°Scott Fullerton. You¡¯re with Scott Fullerton, even though he drinks. Mike Westa is the better bet. You were going to hook up with him this summer.¡±


    She looked at me for a long time, and I wasn¡¯t sure if she was going to slap me or laugh.


    Turned out, she laughed. ¡°Right. Yes. Scott. He really is sweet most of the time, and he¡¯s trying to count his drinks and stop before he gets bad.¡±


    ¡°Gets bad?¡± I asked. She didn¡¯t scream at me for correcting her on the name of her boyfriend, so I figured I could keep going. ¡°He doesn¡¯t hurt you, does he?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said quickly. Too quickly? It was hard to say. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have said any of that last night. I kinda freaked out, but in my defense, I¡¯ve never fought giant bugs before. And then the roaring and the growling and the monsters. I hate this. Do you hate it?¡±


    I thought for a long time, and I knew I needed to say what she wanted to hear, but I kind of didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°You like it!¡± she hissed like the words most pissed-off snake.


    Wow. You can pack a ton of accusations into three words.


    She didn¡¯t let up. ¡°You love being a superhero on another planet with two magically horny women and a ring of power, or whatever. Ring of power. That¡¯s a thing, right?¡±


    I wasn¡¯t going to answer that. Warner Brothers didn¡¯t need my help promoting their shit.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a superhero, Billie.¡± I held up the ring. ¡°And this thing calls me its host. There¡¯s a good chance that it¡¯ll kill me. I have no idea what it is, and it could be fucking up my cells as we speak, but yeah, this entire situation is kind of amazing.¡±


    Billie¡¯s lip quivered. ¡°How can you say that?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re on another world. I bet you a million dollars that there are dinosaurs here, or something similar, and I¡¯m guessing that energy storm is collecting all sorts of things from around the universe. I stood on the deck of a spaceship, a real spaceship, with a real alien. And there¡¯s the possibility of cat girls.¡±


    ¡°But what about your family and friends back home?¡± she asked. A tear a slid down her cheek.


    ¡°I¡¯m not close with my parents. My aunt and uncle, yeah, but I can tell you that my Uncle Marty would think this if the fucking coolest. And I¡¯ve been thinking about my Aunt Kathy nonstop. They would be happy I was having this adventure.¡±


    I could¡¯ve kept going. I could¡¯ve said that I was being spared decades of work in construction, job sites, invoices, taxes. Fuck. At least the ring wasn¡¯t asking me about my W-2.


    And who knew? There might be a way back, but I didn¡¯t think so.


    ¡°I¡¯m close with my mom,¡± she said. ¡°She¡¯ll be worried. No one will know what happened. She¡¯ll think I¡¯m dead. My dad, though, definitely won¡¯t give a shit. And my so-called friends probably won¡¯t either. I wasn¡¯t really me around them. I wanted so much to be¡­¡±


    She closed her mouth. ¡°Never mind. We¡¯ll get home. We¡¯ll figure this thing out. I shot a lot of those bugs yesterday. Professor Kroft would shoot better if she had a pair of glasses. Maybe your ring can magic up something.¡±


    I laughed. ¡°The ring did detect an anomalous energy source. It could be magic. I think it tapped into it somehow.¡±


    Billie sighed and turned away. ¡°I¡¯m going to try my best to keep it together. I don¡¯t want to be a bitch to you, or to Professor Kroft. I also don¡¯t want to be that whiny, crybaby girl in horror movies. I hate that. And I know, I¡¯ve been that here, and it makes me feel bad.¡±


    I risked everything by going up to her and touching her back. ¡°Listen. I was here alone, in the desert, and it was hot as hell, and all I could think about was finding a way to start a fire. We are all handling this stuff differently.¡±


    ¡°I just wished I wasn¡¯t so hungry,¡± Billie said softly.


    I was so fucking surprised when she leaned against me. I put my arm around her, and she put her head on my shoulder.


    A couple of months ago, this was exactly what I had wanted. Then she¡¯d turned so cold.


    I now knew what she was capable of, and I had to be careful. Hurt me once, shame on you. Hurt me twice, shame on me. Aunt Kathy loved that particular phrase.


    We chatted more, but it wasn¡¯t long before Professor Kroft came walking up the game path, putting her hair in a bun. ¡°I feel so much better, refreshed, clean, calm. And the berries are perfect. I say we eat our fill, and then you two can take your turn at Privacy Rock.¡±


    ¡°Not together, Professor!¡± Billie said out of nowhere.


    The professor took the outburst in stride. ¡°Not together.¡±


    I only shook my head and chuckled.


    Billie Lynn Kidd was showing me more of her human side, and yet she could still be such a spoiled little brat. I didn¡¯t think that was ever going to change.

 Chapter Eleven – The AQUIA Device

    We picked that sweetberry bush clean.


    Most of them were sweet, like a cross between a blackberry and the ripest of strawberries. Every so often, though I got one that was kind of sour. It was a good mixture of flavors though. I made sure that we all had the same amount because I wasn¡¯t going to hog them all just because I could eat faster than the girls.


    After some berries and leaf water, Billie took a rifle and went to Privacy Rock.


    Again, I could picture her stripping, her nipples getting stiff in the misty rain, which had started to fall. Would she bathe before she got herself off? Or would she get all hot and sweaty and then dive into the perfect waters.


    I kept getting hard in the jumpsuit, but I had other things to worry about. So far, we¡¯d not heard any more roars, and we thought the monsters¡ªpossible dinosaurs¡ªwere sleeping in because they¡¯d eaten so many fleas the night before.


    Another worry was the ring. It hadn¡¯t messaged me in hours. Had it run out of power? And what was an AQUIA charging station anyway?


    What I really needed was another power crystal.


    I explained my situation to the professor, and then, incredibly, she pulled a red crystal out of her back pocket. ¡°Like this?¡±


    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s it exactly!¡±


    ¡°I found it at Privacy Rock.¡± She tossed it to me, but her throw was off. The professor was not athletic at all.


    But something strange happened. The crystal curved through the air and soared over to my hand. But the minute it touched my skin, it vanished.


    The ring messaged me immediately!


    <<<>>>


    Current circumstantial evaluation paused.


    Anomalous energy source detected! Utilizing. Charged to 6% of full.


    Paraxen Multitool Detected


    Configure settings? YES/NO


    <<<>>>


    ¡°Fuck yeah,¡± I whispered. That was what did it. The ring just didn¡¯t have enough juice. Only six percent wasn¡¯t good. We needed to find more crystals.


    Professor Kroft smiled. ¡°Your eyes flashed a little. Is it good news, Mr. Marshall?¡± One of her hands rested on the pistol in a loop on her side.


    ¡°Very good news. I¡¯m getting the prompt to configure the Paraxen Multitool.¡±


    Static appeared in my vision.


    <<<>>>


    From linguistical patterns, this appears to be an expletive matched with slang in the affirmative. ¡°Yeah¡± is very close to ¡°yes.¡±


    Setting configuration must be confirmed in a clear manner.


    Configure settings? YES/NO


    <<<>>>


    ¡°Yes!¡± My voice was loud.


    Did I hear Billie moaning from over by Privacy Rock?


    No. That was probably only my overactive imagination.


    <<<>>>


    Paraxen Pairing Protocols Initiated


    Scanning¡­


    Five items found!


    <ul>


    <li>Paraxen Survival Suit</li>


    <li>Paraxen Multitool</li>


    <li>Weeper X15 Plasma Pistol Detected (10 Charges Left)</li>


    <li>Weeper X15 Plasma Pistol Detected (Empty)</li>


    <li>Tormentor4 Rifle (Empty)</li>


    <li>Tormentor4 Rifle (5 Charges Left)</li>


    </ul>


    Settings Configuration Error


    AQUIA Setup Incomplete. Configure AQUIA? YES/NO


    <<<>>>


    ¡°Yes!¡± I said quickly.


    I thought I understood the message. I¡¯d have to configure the AQUIA before I could configure the Paraxen Multitool. I was pretty sure I was running into trouble because the ring¡¯s battery was so low.


    More static crackled over my vision as a message appeared, the message winking in and out.


    <<<>>>


    Arkadian Quantum Universal Intelligence Assistant


    HOSTNAME: Sidney Richard Marshall


    HOST Species: Primitive Primate.


    HOST Optimization: 51% successful.


    Input name of AQUIA?


    Verbal Commands ON/OFF?


    This unit¡¯s primary mission is incomplete.


    Menu Options Pending


    Error: This unit¡¯s power source is low. Please charge to at least 10% for minimal functionality.


    <<<>>>


    I was right. The damn ring needed more power crystals to work. Or should I call them magic crystals? That explained some of the weirdness.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Verbal commands on!¡± I said, rather loudly.


    Professor Kroft kind of jumped.


    I apologized. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m talking to my jewelry.¡±


    The menu option¡ªVerbal Commands¡ªflashed and was to ¡°ON.¡±


    I was on a roll. ¡°I want to change the name of the AQUIA to Opal. O.P.A.L.¡±


    Aunt Kathy¡¯s best friend was named Opal. She¡¯d made me a quilt when I was nine. I loved that quilt, and I still had it. For a second, I was homesick.


    The menu flashed, and I¡¯d set the name. ¡°Back to the main menu.¡±


    I went back, and I chose the Paraxen Survival Suit. It was self-cleaning, and there were any number of parameters, though some of them seemed broken. I could create boots, though, which would save my feet.


    The verbal commands were pretty intuitive. ¡°Short sleeves. Boots. Shorts. Capri pants.¡± Saying those words either shrank or extended the cloth, which seemed to be working like nanotech. I didn¡¯t need the sandals anymore, since the suit could provide me with footwear.


    ¡°Winter coat,¡± I said. And the material puffed out, like a heavy winter coat.


    I could reset it to the default, which is how we¡¯d put it on.


    Professor Kroft¡¯s face came into view. ¡°Good gravy, Sid. This is amazing. If Billie and I had rings, we could do that to our clothes, make dresses, create outfits. Are there any more settings?¡±


    There were.


    I could set the jumpsuit to different colors, different textures, and I could create camouflage. Adding a hood, I could blend into my surroundings. Basically, I¡¯d been given a magical cloak.


    ¡°Okay, Professor, let me try the Multitool.¡± I went to the menu options.


    <<<>>>


    Paraxen Multitool Activated


    New HOST detected.


    Primate¡¯s idea of tools questionable and limits of intellect detected.


    Arkadian Quantum Universal Intelligence Assistant in error state: 92% of normal functionality.


    Input name of tool.


    Limit Five


    Tool configurations:


    <ul>


    <li>Etrusca Roofing Hammer</li>


    <li>Add tool pending.</li>


    <li>Add tool pending.</li>


    <li>Add tool pending.</li>


    <li>Add tool pending.</li>


    </ul>


    <<<>>>


    The Survival Suit didn¡¯t give the error state message, so I could only assume that the Multitool needed more juice.


    I tried to create a rifle, but got an error message, something about too many moving parts.


    So I had to keep it simple.


    ¡°Input name, Betsy.¡± That was what Uncle Marty called his old lever-action hunting rifle. I always liked the name.


    Then I got to work. ¡°Add tool. Ax.¡±


    Holding the hammer, it suddenly lengthened, becoming a short-handled ax. It was the exact same size as a survival ax that my Uncle Marty had. The interface must¡¯ve been reading my thought patterns, which is why my suit turned into a winter coat I once had.


    That made sense. Language is based on our perception of things. A dog to one person might be chihuahua, while a dog to another is always a Golden Retriever.


    Since I couldn¡¯t make a rifle, I didn¡¯t try crafting a bow. We didn¡¯t have arrows, though I was pretty sure Professor Kroft might know how to make some.


    Up close, I had plenty of weapons. I needed a range weapon that was reusable. I knew exactly what I wanted.


    ¡°Add tool. javelin.¡±


    The ax lengthened into a throwing spear.


    I had to think. I only had two other ways I could configure the tool. I bet if the AQUIA device wasn¡¯t in an error state I might be able to make anything from a screwdriver to a plumber¡¯s wrench to a polearm.


    From reading through the menus, I was pretty sure I wouldn¡¯t be able to reconfigure the weapon, not if Opal didn¡¯t have more power.


    I¡¯d leave the last two slots blank until I needed them. Maybe on our travels we¡¯d discover a Home Depot, dropped on K¡¯Shaul by the energy storm.


    Professor Kroft watched, mouth hanging open. ¡°This is remarkable. Good gravy, that¡¯s programmable matter. You could do any number of things with such technology. This is a miracle.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an Arkadian Quantum Universal Intelligence Assistant, kind of broken, which sucks, but hey, I have an ax. I needed an ax. But watch this, Professor. Opal. Configure tool. Roofing hammer.¡±


    The javelin morphed into a hammer.


    ¡°Opal. Configure tool. Ax.¡±


    The tool changed, so I had an ax in my hand.


    ¡°No sword?¡± the professor asked.


    I shrugged. ¡°We need to have actual tools to help us survive. Besides, why would I need a sword when I have a gun?¡±


    I configured a holster into my survival suit and slipped one of the empty pistols in.


    ¡°This is a long shot, but maybe I can re-charge it.¡±


    I went to the menu option and was given a nasty message.


    <<<>>>


    Weeper X15 plasma pistol (Empty)


    To recharge, place in Weeper C13 Charging Station


    Suggested purchase: Weeper C13 Remote Charging Station with Wireless Charging


    <<<>>>


    ¡°Ugh.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but grunt in frustration. ¡°You don¡¯t happen to have a C13 Charging Station, do you?¡±


    The professor¡¯s laughter was musical. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡±


    ¡°Opal. Interface off.¡±


    There was a flash in my eyes, static, and then a final message:


    <<<>>>


    Evaluation of current circumstances resumed.


    Error: Power source low. 4% of full. Please charge to at least 10% for minimal functionality.


    This unit¡¯s primary mission incomplete


    Results of evaluation pending¡­.


    <<<>>>


    Billie walked up, looking clean, her hair combed, and a little glow on her face.


    ¡°Okay, people,¡± I said. ¡°We have to keep our eyes out for red power crystals. I¡¯m pretty sure they are magic. I need them for the ring. I named her Opal.¡±


    Billie rolled her eyes. ¡°Sure, guy. Magic crystals. Wait, you have an ax now? And boots? I want boots.¡±


    I flashed my ring at her. ¡°You need a magic ring.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not magic,¡± she said, snorting.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be too sure about that.¡±


    Taking them both in, I was struck by how sexy they were, beautiful, clean, and yes, I knew that both of them had just masturbated.


    Billie giggled. ¡°Did you just see the look he gave us, Professor? He¡¯ll be back in five minutes.¡±


    I wanted to protest, but she was probably right. My Paraxen survival suit was already adjusting to my bulge.


    ¡°Good,¡± the professor said, her eyes taking in my crotch. ¡°We have a lot to do. Don¡¯t dawdle, Mr. Marshall.¡± She seemed to catch herself. ¡°But still. Enjoy yourself.¡±


    I laughed. ¡°Not in the mood. I¡¯m just going to wash up a little. Be back in five. While I¡¯m gone, look for crystals. I¡¯m serious.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Thanks.¡± I hurried away. Would it have been better if we didn¡¯t talk about the strange effect K¡¯Shaul was having on our libidos? No. Then we¡¯d have to sneak away, find privacy on our own, not talk to each other. Our very lives hung in the balance.


    We needed to communicate, no matter how embarrassing, and we were all feeling the same thing.


    Why was that? We¡¯d learn.


    I walked along the edge of the rock and found the overhang. It was cool there, and it was nice to get out of the mist. I had the ax, though I could turn it into a javelin at a moment¡¯s notice.


    Unzipping, I had to take a minute to marvel at my new cock. I knew at some point, if we didn¡¯t find a way back, the professor and the CrossFit queen would eventually give into the temptation. I would as well.


    But I wasn¡¯t about to rush them.


    Just the idea of those two, in the overhang, rubbing themselves, had me hard as rock. I thought of them together, kissing. Their bodies were completely different, but so sexy.


    ¡°Fuck it,¡± I hissed.


    We needed to find more power crystals, and jerking off wouldn¡¯t help us with that.


    Also, the professor was right. Berries weren¡¯t going to do it. We needed to retrieve our stuff back on the bus and then find a good place to sleep that night.


    The overhang was probably our best bet, though I would bet any number of animals would be coming to drink at the pool, and that would include predators.


    No, I was thinking of building a real home for us.


    Diving into the water, I found it surprisingly warm.


    It must¡¯ve been fed by a hot spring, deep down.


    I floated there, on my back for a minute, relaxing. The morning mist was burning off, and the sun was out, bathing all the moons in a bright radiance. I swear, I could feel both the sunlight and the moonlight as the air got hotter.


    Then I heard the rocks skitter across the cliff¡¯s surface before landing in the pool.


    That jerked me out of reverie.


    Treading water, I looked up.


    There, above me, at the top of the overhang, stood a woman in a leather tunic with sandals that went up to her knees.


    She looked Asian¡ªlight brown skin and black hair tied back with a leather thong. In her hand was a short bow, and on her back was a quiver of arrows. At her side was an honest to goodness flint knife.


    We locked eyes for a second.


    At first, I thought her eyes were brown, but no, they were striking dark green. Freckles were splashed across her nose. Those freckles seemed to move. Impossible. It must¡¯ve been a trick of the sunlight hitting all those moons in the sky above.


    A second later, she was gone.


    It was my first time seeing the huntress, but it wouldn¡¯t be my last.

 Chapter Twelve – Luck & Conversation

    ¡°How beautiful was she?¡± Billie asked, scowling.


    Professor Kroft only smiled at me indulgently. ¡°Surely not as pretty as you and I are, Billie. I think that¡¯s what Sid meant.¡±


    ¡°Yep. That¡¯s what I meant.¡± I was grateful for the way out of the sticky situation. But why would Billie be jealous? She had her boyfriend, Mike. Wait. Or was it Scott?


    We stood by the sweetberry bushberries as I told the girls all about my strange encounter. Somehow, Professor Kroft had braided Billie¡¯s hair into long pigtails. Billie looked good, kind of sporty, and ready for the day. She still didn¡¯t have the greatest attitude, however.


    ¡°The point is,¡± I continued, ¡°that we¡¯re not alone. I saw her, she was human¡­or she looked human at least. This is good. Also, she had arrows. We need help with arrows because I might be able to configure Betsy into a short bow.¡±


    Billie stopped scowling but now she was frowning. ¡°But the professor can make arrows, right?¡±


    Professor Kroft put a hand on her chest. ¡°I have an idea on how to make the arrowheads, but the fletching is beyond me. We should save the feathers from the ravens just in case we do befriend the mysterious huntress.¡±


    ¡°Why does she get a cool name?¡± Billie asked. Then she caught herself. ¡°Okay. That was petty. I¡¯m just afraid. What if there is a tribe of Amazons, and they, you know, want to initiate us by having this huge lesbian orgy?¡±


    ¡°We should be so lucky,¡± Professor Kroft whispered under her breath.


    Did I hear that right?


    Before it could fully register, the professor had another question for me. ¡°Did you try and track her?¡±


    ¡°I tried,¡± I said. But up there, at the top of the overhang, there¡¯s only the limestone. I searched the game trails, but I didn¡¯t see sandal footprints. If she is a huntress, she would know to hide her tracks.¡±


    ¡°Drat,¡± the professor. ¡°Good gravy, this is worrying.¡±


    ¡°There!¡± Billie said loudly.


    ¡°Where?¡± I was searching all around. Had Billie seen the beautiful huntress? And she was beautiful.


    But leave it to Billie to freak us out for nothing.


    Billie lowered her voice. ¡°No. Not the huntress. This ¡®good gravy¡¯ thing. Who even says that? And drat? Did you really use the word ¡®drat¡¯?¡±


    Professor Kroft nodded. ¡°Yes, Miss Kidd, I did. As for the expression, it comes from a Medieval English saying that compares the normal parts of life to meat and potatoes. The luxuries are referred to as the gravy. Good gravy. I can say ¡®Good Grief¡¯ if you prefer. Mother hated swearing, and so I found a way to curse around her.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to say. Professor Kroft had never opened up to us like that, and I didn¡¯t know a thing about her past. To me, she was simply my hot anthropology teacher.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Billie said quickly. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just weird though.¡±


    The professor smiled. ¡°I¡¯m very strange, Ms. Kidd, but I¡¯ve learned to embrace it. Studying other cultures has helped. What is considered bizarre in one culture is perfectly accepted in another, and yet, there is a truth that pervades all.¡±


    ¡°What is that truth?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Cultures thrive when people work together. It is our evolutionary advantage. We don¡¯t have claws, we¡¯re not particularly quick, and our skin makes for poor armor. Even our teeth don¡¯t help us in combat. What we have is our intellect and our community. One man is easy to kill. A hundred men is harder. A thousand people, working together, is almost unstoppable.¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯ll work together,¡± I said.


    She nodded, her eyes soft on me. ¡°We are working together. And you, Sid Marshall, shall be our weapon, our protector, our provider.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan,¡± I agreed.


    ¡°I can do stuff,¡± Billie protested.


    ¡°Comic relief?¡± I had to laugh at my own joke.


    Billie narrowed her eyes at first. Then she had to smile. ¡°I do have a sense of humor, though you haven¡¯t seen much of it. And I¡¯m pretty. Your huntress might be a huge lesbian, and I can sweep her off her feet.¡±


    ¡°You know,¡± Professor Kroft started slowly. ¡°We also have your tribe of Amazons to consider. You leapt to the idea of an orgy rather quickly.¡±


    Billie blushed. ¡°Gosh, let¡¯s just continue our morning. What new horrors are we going to face today?¡±


    I switched my tool to an ax. ¡°Probably more giant fleas. We have to retrieve our bag of crap and the last rifle from the bus. And your sandals.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll find another ring, and I can get a cool pair of boots like you.¡± Billie grabbed my arm and pulled me away down the path that lead through the giant redwoods toward the bus.


    ¡°Above all,¡± I said, ¡°we need to look for more power crystals.¡±


    We¡¯d not gotten ten feet when a head popped up, making a fern sway. It was some kind of deer, or gazelle, with short antlers. Maybe it didn¡¯t need big antlers because it had tusks.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    The tusked deer was chewing on the fern, mouth working, looking at us with wary eyes. There were other deer beyond it, a whole little herd.


    I came to a stop, and Billie went to say something, but I managed to shush her with a finger to my lips, and she covered her hand with her mouth. This was our chance to get meat, and I was glad she wasn¡¯t ruining it.


    Professor Kroft was smart enough to stop, going rigid.


    The tusked deer could bolt at any minute. They were big, far bigger than I would¡¯ve thought, though everything in the forest was larger than normal.


    I reached back, and Professor Kroft handed me the rifle. It didn¡¯t have a scope, though it did have iron sights. Pushing it to my shoulder, I didn¡¯t waste any time.


    The deer retreated a little, but that was perfect for me.


    Its front legs were exposed¡­as was its chest.


    If these were like normal deer, they would have a heart right behind their front legs.


    I aimed right where the leg met the body. Gently, I squeezed the trigger without taking a breath.


    I couldn¡¯t miss this shot. If we could get such a big animal, we could eat for days.


    No pressure, though.


    My shot surprised me, which was good. My aim was perfect.


    The plasma sizzled through the tusked deer, right where I wanted. It dropped to the ground while the other deer took off in a storm of hooves.


    I quickly ran forward, wanting to see how good my shooting was. At less than a hundred yards, I should¡¯ve hit my mark.


    I did. I found the blast had eaten through the rib cage and through most of its lungs and heart. The meat was still sizzling. The plasma rifle wasn¡¯t the best tool for hunting, but I didn¡¯t trust myself with the javelin yet. I¡¯d need to practice. Ideally, I¡¯d craft a bow, which made me think of the huntress again.


    ¡°Meats back on the menu, girls!¡± I said in triumph. ¡°The bus is going to have to wait! Let¡¯s see if we can find ourselves a kitchen back at Privacy Rock. But first, I¡¯m hoping my new ax is sharp. Wish me luck.¡±


    Billie started clapping. ¡°Oh my gosh, that was so epic! I can¡¯t believe you got him!¡±


    Professor Kroft joined her. ¡°Bravo, Mr. Marshall. If only we had some salt for curing. We could try smoking the meat, though we would have to be quick. The flies will come to ruin the meat. With the hot desert sun, drying the meat might also be an option, though I¡¯m going to have to really try and remember some of my ancient meat curing class.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m wondering how lunch is going to work with our vegetarian.¡± I had to tease Billie a little.


    She made a face. ¡°I was scared yesterday. I know I have to eat meat, okay? It¡¯s just not that healthy for you.¡±


    ¡°Healthier than not eating, right?¡± Why was I needling her? This was a mistake, and yet, I couldn¡¯t help myself.


    ¡°We had the berries,¡± Billie said in her defense. ¡°That was our carb, and we got phytonutrients from them, but we need a protein, so yes, I¡¯m totally going to eat the deer. Don¡¯t tease.¡± Then she actually pouted.


    I kind of actually felt bad. ¡°I won¡¯t tease.¡±


    Thumbing the edge of the ax, it felt sharp.


    I got to work, slitting open the belly. I wished I had an actual knife, but I didn¡¯t want to use my last tool configuration on a blade just yet. Besides, the bag of crap had those little bits of metal.


    In the end, I didn¡¯t have to do that good of a job cleaning it. We didn¡¯t have a way of preserving the meat, and so we¡¯d mostly eat the big muscles on the animal¡¯s haunches.


    The ax was very sharp, and that helped me.


    Normally, I wouldn¡¯t have gone after such big prey, since it took a lot of energy to deal with the meat, and there was a good chance it would bring in predators. However, it had been right there, and we were hungry. It would take a bit for our bodies to adjust to less food.


    I remembered cleaning deer that I¡¯d shot while hunting with Uncle Marty. For them, we¡¯d cut out the butthole while being extra careful not to nick the intestines. I wasn¡¯t going to really worry about that with the tusked deer I¡¯d shot.


    I ended up quartering the deer. I might¡¯ve been able to carry the entire carcass, but it was big, massive. We were going to be able to eat meat for days.


    Turns out, I was far stronger than I thought. Muscles glowing, I hefted the haunches onto my shoulders and only had to make two trips. Sure, my survival suit got dirty, but those bloodstains would soon be gone, absorbed and cleaned by the material.


    Back at Privacy Rock, we found our kitchen. There was a flat rock, under a tall mushroom tree, next to a little stream that trickled away from the pond. It was the perfect place.


    It wasn¡¯t raining, but it still took a bit to find dry wood.


    Like I said, everything in the forest was big. I found a fallen tree, and when I shoved it aside, a centipede the size of my arm sped away on a million legs. I was pretty sure it hissed at me before it fled. And there was a spider the size of a cat with a web between two other smaller pines. The thing was colorful and easy to see, but something that big did get my arachnophobia going.


    I had the girls gather dry grass, so I could use it to start the fire. My welding torch gave me the initial flame.


    While I thought I would have a hard time skinning the animal with the ax, it was sharp enough and there was enough of an angle, I was able to take the hide off relatively easily.


    ¡°We need to hang the other pieces of meat, but we don¡¯t really have rope. There was some wire in our bag of crap, but not enough. And the elastic bands wouldn¡¯t help us either.¡±


    Professor Kroft found some massive reeds growing along the edge of the pond. Working the edges, she pulled off a length of plant. ¡°We could weave these together to create rope. Billie, while Sid cooks, come and help me gather the strands, and then we can work on braiding them.¡±


    ¡°Like hair?¡± Billie asked.


    ¡°Very similar,¡± the professor replied.


    I never would¡¯ve thought an anthropology professor would be so useful out in the bush, trying to survive. Then again, she¡¯d studied how our ancestors had survived long enough to invent microwaves and Costcos.


    Normally, Uncle Marty would hang his deer up for a day or so, to let the blood drain off it. That was a way of tenderizing it and adding flavor, but at the moment, I was hungry. The raven meat from the the night before wasn¡¯t all that filling, and the sweetberries were only going to hold back the hunger for so long.


    Like most Americans, I was used to trying not to eat too many calories, and so my intake on a regular basis had trained my body to expect a variety of food at certain intervals.


    I was missing intervals, and I felt it.


    I found two Y-shaped branches and with some random rocks, I was able to anchor them to create a spit. Then, I turned the meat, roasting it over the flames. The sizzling meat had me hungry, and I was overjoyed to see that Billie and Professor Kroft had woven us several yards of rope. It looked pretty rough, knotted together, but it seemed strong.


    But where to hang it? And where were we going to sleep that night?


    The bus had been so comfortable. The overhang at Privacy Rock didn¡¯t really give us an escape route if we found ourselves facing a predator. I didn¡¯t want to get boxed in, and I knew that the pool would draw both prey and predator.


    No, we¡¯d have to return to the branches of our redwood tree, though that wasn¡¯t ideal either. We didn¡¯t know if there were giant eagles or any other animals that might swoop down on us. Besides, at that height, if we did run into trouble, falling was a real possibility.


    I wanted to build us a shelter, but there were the monsters to consider. Part of me wished I¡¯d simply gone and done some recon during the Jurassic Park battle the night before, just to get a sense of what they were.


    We needed to do some hardcore exploring.


    First though, we¡¯d eat, secure our meat, and retrieve our gear from the bus, and then I was going to find us a good place to sleep that night. Along the way, I hoped we¡¯d find more power crystals.


    Like us, Opal needed to eat.

 Chapter Thirteen – Reclaiming the Salvage

    Our unexpected lunch tasted so good.


    I expected the meat to taste terrible, but no, it was delicious, juicy, a little crispy on the outside, and so good. Cooking the crows had taught me a little about using a fire for cooking. Also, I wasn¡¯t exhausted, and that helped, and I remembered any number of lessons I¡¯d learned from my uncle.


    My little vegetarian dove in with gusto, and soon her face and fingers were greasy from the meat. We all would wash in the pool after the meal.


    After we ate, the girls went back to weaving our rope while I cleaned up. I was surprised at how much rope they had made when I was done. Billie insisted it was because they¡¯d both grown up braiding hair.


    It was early afternoon when we hung our meat near our redwood perch. I used piece of our new rope to tie two haunches¡ªthe big back thighs of the deer¡ªtogether so they could hang off the top of the tree.


    I would be taking the third haunch with me. I had a plan.


    The flies had already found the meat, and it wouldn¡¯t be good for long. Too bad we didn¡¯t have the resources to smoke it, salt it, or dry it. Not yet. That would change. I was just glad there were so many deer left in that herd we encountered. If I could find them once, I could find them again, when we were more prepared.


    Climbing up and down the mushroom tree was a pain in the fucking ass. There was no way that the redwood was going to be our permanent home. I was dying to know where the huntress was living, and if she was from a big tribe.


    Another part of me wanted to massacre the monsters, and then we could live on the ground, build a shelter, maybe add some fortifications. First, though we needed to rescue our rifle and supplies from the fleas.


    Before long, we were standing at the edge of the forest. Rainforest World¡¯s sun was shining brightly through the various moons above. The sky above the strip of Earth was cloudy. The scarlet-tinged sky of the Red Dune World showed both suns heading toward a western horizon we¡¯d never seen because our Earth sky and the Rainforest World¡¯s sky blocked the view.


    So far, the red sands were still. The starship winked at us from the distance. There wasn¡¯t a giant flea in sight.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m betting that the fifteen feet of Earth is safe, but the bus is right next to the red sand. If I get close, I think that¡¯s when the fun is going to start.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s bigger,¡± the professor murmured.


    Billie rolled her eyes. ¡°We know, professor. Sid¡¯s dick is bigger. Gosh, can we not stop talking about sex for five minutes?¡±


    She was such a brat.


    The professor smiled patiently. ¡°No. The mound, in the distance, it¡¯s bigger.¡±


    Billie laughed and snorted like a middle school boy. ¡°You said ¡®mound.¡¯¡±


    Where was the ultra-cool CrossFit queen? She seemed to be relaxing a little, showing us her dorkier side.


    I¡¯d been so worried about the red dunes that I hadn¡¯t really noticed the termite mound, but she was right. It was rising up into the sky, way in the distance. We could see shapes on the tower, moving about. They didn¡¯t look like fleas to me.


    Okay. Then what were they?


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± I said, ¡°unless they come looking for trouble. Fuck the desert. We have our very own rainforest, and there¡¯s a reason why Brazil¡¯s population is so much bigger than New Mexico¡¯s. Let the bugs build their mound into the upper atmosphere, I don¡¯t care. I care about getting our rifle and supplies. And dammit, I would love to get those bus seats out. Sleeping on wood isn¡¯t very comfortable.¡±


    ¡°It was terrible last night,¡± Billie complained.


    The professor nodded. ¡°You¡¯ll get no argument from me. If this goes quickly, I am hoping for a nap. I hardly slept a wink last night between the flea attack, the roars of the monsters, and the precariousness of our perch.


    ¡°Well,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m considering our options. Let¡¯s get our supplies and the rifle first.¡±


    I had a definite reason for bringing the haunch of meat, since I was pretty sure that we wouldn¡¯t be able to get to the bus without encountering our flea friends.


    ¡°Billie, you¡¯ll have the rifle,¡± I said. ¡°We want to ration our charges, since we don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll ever be able to recharge it. I didn¡¯t see anything on the ship before, but Opal and I have come a long way in the past few hours. Just lay down suppression fire. Professor, you have the pistol as backup. Only use it for emergencies. We might all be running like hell back to the mushroom tree if things go south. We¡¯ll see.¡±


    Carrying the hunk of meat over my shoulder on some of our homemade rope, I started for the bus. In the distance, the red sands rippled but nothing came closer.


    I could leap away, or that was the hope. I was still getting used to optimized body. I did have to wonder what would happen when Opal¡¯s power levels got above 10%. Maybe I¡¯d get further optimizations. Also, she was still analyzing our current situation. Maybe once she finished, she could tell me everything I needed to know about the strange world of K¡¯Shaul.


    I approached the bus, getting closer and closer.


    That was when the first flea emerged from the red sand not five feet from the bus. Others joined it, popping their heads up out of the sand. Their eyes were only black dots on their weird faces.


    I wasn¡¯t going to mess around. I whirled the alien deer meat around on the end of the rope and then flung it out as far as I could way out onto the red sands. All of those fleas leapt for it, hundreds of them, all fighting each other to get to the meat.


    My first thought had been to grab the rifle and bag, but standing there, I noticed that the energy storm had cut the bus in just the right place for me to grab the edge.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Those fleas were fighting over the meat so well that I had a minute.


    But was I strong enough to pull the bus into the forest?


    I grabbed it and heaved it up. Those back wheels were working perfectly. My muscles glowed as I pulled it across the dust of my world. I tore up some sagebrush, ripped through some juniper, but slowly but surely, I pulled it across the ground. Sweat covered every inch of me. It was funny, but the more I needed my strength, the more strength I seemed to have.


    Then, I pulled it into the forest, down the path. Ferns caught it, and I let out a yell and pulled it through the undergrowth.


    Losing my grip, I found myself on the ground.


    Both Billie and the Professor stood on the side, their eyes wide and their mouth hanging open.


    At first, I thought they were impressed with me, but no, they were pointing out at something. They weren¡¯t saying a peep though.


    I grabbed the bus and hauled it another couple dozen feet through the rain forest. A few of the huge centipedes went running. One of those giant colorful spiders scurried away.


    Professor Kroft called to me in a whisper. ¡°Sid. You should come and see this.¡±


    I left the bus and pushed my way through some broken ferns.


    I knew why the fleas hadn¡¯t come racing to stop me from hauling away the bus.


    They were currently snacking on a giant rattlesnake the size of a dozen semi-truck trailers that had come slithering across the sands. I could see the tracks it had left behind, creating little mini dunes. It must¡¯ve smelled the meat. However, the fleas had overwhelmed it. Unlike with whatever monsters were in the rain forest, that giant snake didn¡¯t have the armor to survive. It was soon covered in the sand fleas, and they were all drinking it dry. It thrashed about, sending up clouds of dust, writing around, and then, it had lost too much blood and laid there as all the insects feasted.


    It was a pretty gruesome sight.


    Billie looked green.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said to her. ¡°Don¡¯t throw up. You can¡¯t spare the calories.¡±


    She swallowed hard. Yeah, she was trying not to throw up. ¡°That¡­that¡­that thing¡­it can¡¯t be possible¡­¡±


    The professor was pale as well, with dark circles under her eyes. We needed to find a safe shelter, and we needed rest. The women had been pushed to the very edges of their sanity.


    Professor Kroft licked her lips. ¡°The snake has brown and yellow markings, which isn¡¯t good camouflage, and so, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s from Red Dune World. It must be from somewhere else, but where? I don¡¯t understand. A creature that size couldn¡¯t have come from the Rainforest World. We would have seen evidence of its passing.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Billie erupted. ¡°Because our guns wouldn¡¯t do jack shit against it. We can¡¯t fight stuff like that. And we can¡¯t sleep in the bus on the ground. Because¡­because¡­because¡­¡±


    I waited for the explosion.


    Then I got it. she wailed one final word. ¡°Monsters!¡±


    Then Billie was sobbing into Professor Kroft¡¯s chest. The older woman stroked the cheerleader¡¯s blond hair.


    I didn¡¯t know how to respond. I did know one thing. We had guns we needed to recharge, and I wanted to check the starship, one more time, for anything we could use. Unlike the bus, hauling the starships back to the relative safety of Rainforest World wasn¡¯t an option.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± I said as I grabbed the empty rifle and two pistols away from Billie.


    I moved past them and then I ran as fast as I could across our little strip of Earth. Then I launched myself into the air. I went flying into the air.


    Up high, I could see the grisly sight better.


    The stink of that snake would be stifling by the end of the day because that was a whole lot of meat to be left out in the blistering sun. I thought about trying to get to the meat, but no, it was covered in fleas, and their bodies were swelling. If I approached, they might see me as dessert.


    With the wind whistling in my ears, I started to float toward the ground, coming up fast. I relaxed and then I struck the ground and went rolling across the sands. I was going to have sand in every crack and crevice.


    Rising to my feet, I went running again, my boots churning in the sand. Sprinting through sand wasn¡¯t so easy, so I launched myself again into the air. This time I tried to land more efficiently, using my speed to fuel my legs. That worked out better, and I hit a patch of hardened ground.


    I was close enough that I could sprint into the starship.


    Inside, I activated the ring¡¯s display with the new name. ¡°Opal, I need help recharging my weapons. Do you have news for me?¡±


    Static messed up my vision for a second. Then I was given the same old information. Unknown energy was probably magic. The ring needed more power. Opal was still evaluating our current situation. Blah, blah, blah.


    I was simply glad that I could pull up the HUD when I needed it.


    ¡°Opal, yes, I know all that. But I need to recharge you, and I need to recharge our guns. Can you help with that?¡±


    The message I got was bad.


    <<<>>>


    ERROR: Loss of bridge integrity due to Ravana Storm. AQUIA charging station not detected.


    ERROR: C13 Charging Station detected. Error. Main reactor offline. Power unavailable. Please start Paraxen Explorer J-Class Starship to begin charging.


    WARNING: Primary Misson Incomplete


    <<<>>>


    ¡°Okay, Opal, what is your primary mission.¡±


    I was then told, in no uncertain terms, that it was still evaluating my current circumstances, and that I should shut the hell up.


    ¡°Well, you told me,¡± I grumbled. ¡°Opal, how do I start the Paraxen Explorer.¡±


    Opal seemed to get testy.


    <<<>>>


    This unit is in error state.


    Error: Power source low. 3% of full. Please charge to at least 10% for minimal functionality.


    Paraxen Explorer was critically damaged by a Ravana Storm. Unable to bring the main reactor online.


    This unit cannot comply. HOST queries not prioritized.


    Evaluation taking priority.


    Results of evaluation pending¡­


    <<<>>>


    It wasn¡¯t all bad news. A Ravana Storm had brought us to K¡¯Shaul, and it had basically damaged the starship beyond repair. Opal¡¯s batter was under four percent. That wasn¡¯t good.


    I did a cursory glance around the starship but didn¡¯t see anything new. I was probably missing something, but if I didn¡¯t get back to the rainforest, I¡¯d be flea bait.


    Leaving the spaceship, I took three giant steps and then I leapt maybe fifty feet in the air. I came down a hundred feet from where I¡¯d jumped. A few fleas pulled away from the giant rattlesnake, clumsily coming after me. They were ridiculously swollen with blood.


    Three more jumps and I was back in the forest, my leg muscles glowing. My bones had to be stronger because landing wasn¡¯t all that painful.


    I spun and saw a few of the giant sand fleas digging around where the bus had been. They might¡¯ve eyed the forest, but they weren¡¯t coming in after us.


    Maybe whatever had eaten a bunch of them the night before had them rethinking about returning to our territory. Well, the mysterious monsters were good for at least one thing.


    ¡°Why did you bring the bus back here?¡± Professor Kroft asked, still holding Billie.


    ¡°Because we need those seats. I think there might be something in the toolbox I can use to take them out of the bus. Also, that metal might come in handy.¡±


    Billie blinked at me, mouth hanging open. ¡°You can like fly.¡±


    ¡°Jumping is not flying, Billie. But I do all right.¡±


    She kept stealing glances at me. If she only liked football players, well, I had become something far better.


    We talked more about why I¡¯d gone to the starship and how I¡¯d made it back. But for most of that afternoon, I worked on removing the seats. I did find a wrench-like tool that helped me with the bolts, and it was evening when we started back to your redwood, dragging three seats behind us by their seat belts. That bus was as much of a treasure trove as the starship had been.


    After all that running, jumping, and working, I was hungry. My optimized muscles needed fuel. Luckily, we didn¡¯t have to hunt. We still had at least a hundred pounds of meat hanging off the mushroom tree.


    Or we did.


    Only one haunch was there, wedged between another branch and the trunk.


    Professor Kroft frowned. ¡°An animal wouldn¡¯t have only taken one haunch. Nor would they have run off with our rope. No, it seemed your huntress is also a thief.¡±


    ¡°Not my huntress,¡± I muttered.


    ¡°That bitch!¡± Billie screamed. ¡°That fucking bitch stole our meat!¡±


    She went on and on, but I was too busy looking at the ground. Her sandal prints marked the ground, and there were long marks of her dragging the big hunk of meat. That was why she needed the rope.


    It was the huntress, and she¡¯d left a trail for me to follow.

 Chapter Fourteen – Chasing the Huntress

    I debated what to do next. I could move faster alone, but didn¡¯t want to leave the girls alone. Every minute I waited, the huntress was getting farther away.


    I made the command decision. ¡°I¡¯m going after her. You two, get up into the tree. I¡¯ll leave you two with the rifles, and I¡¯ll take the pistol and the multitool. I should be fine.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Billie shrieked. ¡°You can¡¯t leave us. What if you die? What if another giant fucking snake like eats you? If you die, Sid Marshall, I will kill you!¡±


    I laughed. ¡°I¡¯m not going to die. I have too much to live for.¡±


    Billie calmed down a little, but tears were still on her face. ¡°It¡¯s because you love this.¡±


    Anger threatened to take me over. I fought to keep calm. ¡°That¡¯s the wrong word. I don¡¯t love this. You two get up the in the tree, now. If anything comes, you have the rifles, and you yell as loud as you can. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    Then I was jogging through the ferns underneath the towering trees.


    ¡°Opal, give my suit some camouflage.¡± Raising an arm, the fabric went from light gray to various colors of green.


    Following her trail was easy, yet I couldn¡¯t go as fast as I wanted. I had plenty of energy, and yes, I could turn on the speed, but my control wasn¡¯t so great. I didn¡¯t want to accidentally sprint into a tree.


    At least all the spiderwebs were gone. It took a bit when I realized I was following a trail that was part trail and part road. Wait, was that broken asphalt under all the tree litter? I crouched down and brushed away some soil to find very old pavement with even some chipped yellow paint. When had the Ravana Storm dropped that down? It seemed like something from earth, though the mushroom trees were definitely not from my planet.


    And the redwoods were wrong. Maybe it was a version of my earth?


    Big three-toed footprints marked up the mud. I had found the main avenue the monsters had used to come through the redwoods. It was also probably why the huntress had chosen to bring the meat this way.


    She¡¯d been in a hurry, so she didn¡¯t try and hide her footprints.


    Then, I came to an abrupt halt. I found remnants of the rope, and then, some blood and muscle.


    She had abandoned the meat. But why?


    Only one reason.


    Suddenly, out in the open, I felt very exposed.


    Overhead, cloud cover threw shadows everywhere, and I stopped to listen. I didn¡¯t hear a sound at first, not even the wind through the tops of the trees. Then I heard cawing in the distance, from those big crows we¡¯d eaten the night before.


    Then. Breathing.


    The Tyrannous Rex came charging out of the trees and onto the road. It had been waiting for me, and If I¡¯d have taken ten more steps, it would¡¯ve snapped me up.


    The thing was different shades of green, like my own camouflage. It didn¡¯t have scales though, more like armor, thick plates that gave it a rough, textured appearance. It was almost like it was wearing a helmet on its reptilian face.


    Wait. The armor didn¡¯t look like its skin. Was it wearing armor? That begged the question¡ªwho had made the armor for his massive beast the size of a greyhound bus. It had a long tail behind, snaking out from between its enormous feet with claws like swords. More like daggers, the talons on its three fingers were attached to surprisingly muscular and long arms. Those claws would completely shred me if I gave the thing the chance.


    Most of the time, though, the armored T. rex probably used its mouth to kill its prey. It had a mouth like a woodchipper.


    It came forward, roaring. This was the monster we¡¯d heard the night before. Holy shit, but this thing was enormous. Yeah, part of me was shitting my pants. Another part was loving the fact that I was seeing a dinosaur in real life.


    I loved dinosaurs.


    It was one thing to see them in books. In real life? It was a different deal. The smell of the thing was a mixture of mold, bad breath, and rotting meat. The stink hit me like a hammer. It also reminded me that I didn¡¯t want to die being chewed up in the thing¡¯s stinky maw.


    There was no way I was going to go toe-to-toe with the thing.


    Running, however, would only get me eaten. I whipped out my Weeper X15 and fired right into the back of its mouth. The plasma lit up its maw, so I had a great view of its teeth, fangs the color of amber against the red of its gums.


    It let out a roar of pure agony but that wasn¡¯t going to stop it.


    No, but luckily, the adrenaline surge gave me an extra boost of power. My muscles glowed as I dodged it, and then, not quite thinking, I raced up the muscles of its powerful legs.


    The bright green stuff covering it was some kind of hard fungi.


    Now I¡¯d seen everything¡ªa T. rex with mushroom armor. What the fuck?If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I sped up the hard ridges and then I leapt off it, landing on half-buried pavement. I wasn¡¯t there a second before another T. rex came storming out, only this one was covered with a black fungus. It angled its head to gobble me up, but I was able to duck away, and then I was running, my quads like twin suns under the fabric of my survival suit.


    A third T. rex stormed out, this one bigger than all the rest. It too had the fungal armor, only this one was white. It snapped at me once, twice, three times, and I came within inches of being a tasty little snack for the big beasts.


    I dove and landed in a somersault, but my momentum carried me back to my feet. I had not planned that. The adrenaline was the likely culprit.


    For whatever reason, I immediately had names for them all. Jack was the white one, Reggie was the black one, and Green Albert was the dead one because as a rule of thumb, you should never eat plasma.


    I ran and leapt about a hundred yards and landed in ferns before stumbling. Bouncing into a tree, I was on my back, groaning and trying to breathe, though I couldn¡¯t. I¡¯d had the wind knocked out of me.


    With my diaphragm spasming, I managed to turn over onto my belly. I lay there, gasping, clawing at the soil. That¡¯s when I noticed a huge red crystal, the biggest I¡¯d ever seen, lying under some dried grass.


    Yes!


    I reached for it, and like magic, it ripped itself out of the yellow underbrush and flew right into my hand, where it disappeared.


    Opal was happy!


    <<<>>>


    Anomalous energy source detected! Utilizing. Charged to 8% of full.


    Evaluation speed increased by 33%.


    Results of evaluation pending¡­


    <<<>>>


    Opal¡¯s battery had jumped nearly five percentage points, which meant bigger crystals had more energy. We weren¡¯t at that magical ten percent yet, but we were getting there. I simply had to live a bit longer.


    I got up, ready to fight. But neither Jack nor Reggie were coming for me.


    The ferns dripped water on me, and I was a little chilly, since the sun had moved behind the clouds. My survival suit changed to better camouflage me. Was that why the T. rexes weren¡¯t chasing me down?


    I caught the whiff of a swamp. There was murky water somewhere close.


    Then I heard crunching and slurping and belching.


    I crept through the ferns and peaked out.


    Jack, the white one, was currently feasting on Green Albert¡¯s head while Reggie, the black one, was chewing on the dead dinosaur¡¯s long tail meat. Reggie slowly ate his way up to get to the haunches, but then Jack snapped at him, clearly telling Reggie to back the fuck off.


    I watched in wonder, my inner ten-year-old thrilled beyond belief.


    These weren¡¯t just dinosaurs, they were Tyrannosaurus Rexes, arguably the biggest, the baddest, and the best, and I was seeing them in real life, feeding off one of their own.


    It was a good choice. I was a bony little chicken wing compared to the twenty-two-ounce Porterhouse steak lying dead on the forest floor.


    Near me, the Rainforest World ended, and the Dinosaur Swamps began. In the far distance, above the treetops, a volcano was spewing lava down its slope. Between me and the volcano was a jungle of huge alien plants and black water and¡­more dinosaurs. The old name came to me at first¡­brontosauruses. No, that was the name of a species that didn¡¯t exactly exist anymore, since there was a mistake in reconstructing the skeleton. Another kind of dinosaur had been named first, and that was the name the scientists went with.


    ¡°Those are Apatosauruses,¡± I whispered. They were far away, but I could see their long necks reaching up to pull whole limbs off trees that bore a resemblance to the Louisiana bald cypress.


    There were all kinds of plant life, though, from huge flowering vines to massive trees with big flat leaves. It was an alien world, all right, but it seemed like the dinosaurs had found a way to live and thrive there.


    I stayed in the ferns of the Rainforest World to get a closer look, and soon I was standing on soggy ground. Not ten feet from me was a walkway, made from wooden planks, suspending over the water. Those weren¡¯t natural, but manmade like something you¡¯d find at a national park to keep tourists from getting their feet wet.


    Long serpentine shapes swished through the black water under that walkway. They looked far bigger than crocodiles. I had to remind myself they might be giant freshwater squid for all I knew. This was an alien patchwork world, after all, stitched together by the Ravana Storm.


    But who had made the walkway? It didn¡¯t look old¡ªfresh sap oozed out of the sawed-off edges of the wood. The planks had been awed off recently.


    I¡¯d told the girls that I¡¯d only wanted to catch the huntress and retrieve our meat. However, I couldn¡¯t resist the mystery of that wooden walkway. Turning, I saw that a trail had been cut through the forest, which would¡¯ve led to the main avenue where Jack and Reggie were currently feasting on Green Albert.


    I had a minute, and most likely, once the T. rexes finished eating Albert, they wouldn¡¯t be hungry for a while.


    The walkway held my weight, swaying a bit, ropes creaking. I could see where the rope supports were tried around spikes driven into the trees. Pistol in hand, I slowly walked across the planks. Above me, the sky had a strange orange tint to it, with a bright yellow sun shining through the haze. A single crescent moon hung on the horizon. Looking up and seeing the line in the sky, orange on one side and blue on the other made me smile.


    Billie had accused me of enjoying this. Fuck, I was trying not to but come on! I was in the middle of a dinosaur world, and I¡¯d just seen real T. rexes and Apatosauruses with my own eyes.


    The fun didn¡¯t end there. I was exploring a mysterious walkway, venturing into the unknown, with an Arkadian Quantum Universal Intelligence Assistant that still had a charge.


    I came to an intersection. To the left, the walkway took me to solid ground. To the right, the path snaked around more trees and disappeared into thick foliage, where vines hung down from mossy trees.


    There was no way I was going to trust those vines.


    Dryland would feel good under my feet.


    Still, I could feel the time ticking by. While the Dinosaur Swamps seemed to have plenty of day left, the light was fading in the Rainforest World. At least now I had a trail I could follow back, so I wouldn¡¯t get lost.


    Stepping off the walkway, I crouched to examine the stakes that had been driven into the ground. They were huge, with a big metal ring at the top¡ªthat was where the ropes were tied to.


    I shivered. The iron looked freshly forged. This walkway wasn¡¯t old, unlike the pavement under all the leaf litter in the Rainforest World.


    The trail cut through foliage, and I followed it through trees. Thorny weeds tugged at me, and I heard my survival suit rip. After pulling myself free, I watched as the fabric knit itself together.


    I ended up using my ax to cut a path because I didn¡¯t like any of the greenery touching me. We had poison oak around Grand Junction. It wasn¡¯t that common, but the itching had nearly killed me.


    Sweaty and tired, I was getting thirsty. I might have optimized cells, but I still needed to stay hydrated. Not bringing water with me was stupid, and there was no way I was going to go near that swamp water.


    I was about to turn around, but then the end of the path.


    A black obelisk rose up from the ground, dwarfed by the tall trees around it.


    I felt a dull thrumming in the air, like standing under power lines. Then I heard it, a deep buzzing, that set my teeth on edge.


    It was like the air around the obelisk was crackling with energy.


    There was no way I was going to walk away from such a mystery. Curiosity might¡¯ve killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back.

 Chapter Fifteen – The Obelisk

    Craning my neck, the obelisk was probably seventy-five feet tall, and black, like polished obsidian. Runes were carved into the side, invisible except for when the light hit them just right. The closer I got to the structure, the more the air seemed electrified. I could feel it in my teeth, and that thrum started to give me a little headache.


    I cut through a final branch and found myself in a courtyard in the middle of the jungle, surrounded by trees and more dark water. Under my feet were polished black stones.


    The obelisk sat on a square base at least fifteen feet tall and twenty feet wide. The main part of the obelisk rose from the base, four sides, with a pyramid type point at the top. Those runes seemed to change every time I looked at them, though it was hard to tell. It wasn¡¯t like I could read some random ancient alien language.


    There were archways, like there should be doors there, but there weren¡¯t. The sides were solid black stone, with moisture leaking down the sides. Was that normal jungle sweat or something else?


    The archways were ornate, like Celtic knots, with various indentations.


    I crept closer, keeping back, but ready for anything. Nothing leapt out at me as I circled the structure. The base seemed like it could be hollow inside.


    Something flashed out of the corner of my eye. I found a small red crystal, in the dirt at the very edge of the courtyard. Getting closer, the crystal leapt to my hand and vanished. It only gave Opal a little power, but we were getting closer to the magical ten percent.


    With another power crystal in me, I had a wild idea.


    ¡°Hey, Opal, I know you¡¯re busy with your evaluation, and that my queries are not being prioritized, but could you help me with something?¡±


    I was surprised to get an answer.


    <<<>>>


    Evaluation of current circumstances paused.


    Please input a query.


    <<<>>>


    This was hopeful.


    ¡°Can you tell me what your primary mission is?¡±


    I didn¡¯t get anything. The second message hung in my vision, unwavering, and so I got closer to the obelisk.


    ¡°Opal, I don¡¯t suppose you can tell me what the structure in front of me is. Or would you spend days evaluating it?¡±


    <<<>>>


    Evaluation paused.


    Error: Power source low. 9 % of full.


    This unit¡¯s functionality increased by 35%.


    Sarcasm detected.


    Auditory settings initiated for HOST.


    HOST¡¯s primate species has limited auditory abilities.


    Would you like to switch to auditory messaging for easier interfacing during more casual interactions? YES/NO


    <<<>>>


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said out loud. I was surprised I didn¡¯t feel like a moron talking to myself. However, my voice didn¡¯t seem all that loud compared to the buzzing of the obelisk.


    The display vanished, and then I heard a sharp whine in my ear, like feedback. I had to wince. Maintaining my hold on my ax and my pistol, I pressed the backs of my hands against my ears. It was so loud, so painful, that I thought if it didn¡¯t end soon, I might go insane. Or find myself with shattered ear drums.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    I heard static, and then a robotic, slightly feminine voice.


    Auditory messaging initiated. HOST primitive sensory organs calibrated. Visual and auditory input accepted. Analyzing structure.


    The Arkadian Quantum Universal Intelligence Assistant had a lot of benefits, but a fast response wasn¡¯t one of them. I found myself sighing. ¡°Opal, if this takes forever, I shouldn¡¯t¡ª¡±


    Analysis complete. Fodoron Obelisk detected.


    ¡°Fodoron Obelisk.¡± I said the words just to feel them in my mouth. ¡°Is Fodoron like forbidden?¡±


    Linguistic similarities are irrelevant. Suggest ending interaction so Evaluation can be completed. Primary Mission is incomplete.


    Opal sure was focused. She had that going for her. ¡°Can you tell me who or what the Fodoron are and what the obelisk is? Can I get inside? Who made it?¡±


    The Fodoron are an ancient, lost civilization with anomalous technology found throughout the universe. The Fodoron Obelisk is an anomalous structure. More input needed. Please charge to ten percent. Please allow for Evaluation to complete. Can I continue Evaluation? YES/NO?


    ¡°Yes, Opal. Thanks.¡±


    It looked like I had to wait. I did like the new interface, though, because in combat, I didn¡¯t want Opal¡¯s messages blocking my vision.


    I had to think about what she¡¯d told me. The Fodoron were an ancient, lost civilization, probably like the Mayans, but then who were the Arkadians and the Paraxen?


    I wasn¡¯t going to interrupt Opal again. The best thing I could do to move things along was to find more crystals.


    In the end, the obelisk was simply another mystery to add to the pile.


    Now, I had to get back to the girls without running into Jack or Reggie.


    My mind raced as I went through all I¡¯d seen that day. From eating the sweetberries, to seeing the huntress¡­from the giant rattlesnake to the T-Rexes. Lastly, there was the final mystery, the Fodoron Obelisk. My mind was whirling.


    Creeping back through the ferns under the giant redwoods, I made it back to the main forest road. The sun had set completely, somewhere in the sky, but all the different moons gave me enough light, so I could see the trail.  Jack and Reggie had only left Green Albert¡¯s bones behind. I was thinking like a scavenger, wondering what I could do with the bones or the big chunks of fungal armor that the other T. rexes had torn away. However, messing around with spores probably wasn¡¯t a good idea.


    I made it back to our home tree without anything else happening. I¡¯d pulled down a leaf along the way to drink my fill of water, but I was getting hungry. It wasn¡¯t too bad because I¡¯d had such a huge lunch, all the deer meat I could eat.


    The soft white mushroom tree led me up to the bottom limbs of the redwood, and then to our little home away from. I had a surprise waiting for me. The girls had pulled the bus seats up to the top of the tree and had lashed them to the branches. It must¡¯ve taken awhile. They¡¯d even used some branches and rope to create a shelf to hold our gear. That wasn¡¯t all. We had fresh water in our toolbox and more sweetberries.


    Billie let out a long sigh. ¡°God, Sid, I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re back. When the sun set, we got so worried! And like, where does the sun go anyway? The skies in this freakshow don¡¯t make any kind of sense.¡±


    Billie seemed normal, but Professor Kroft was oddly quiet. Why was she giving me the silent treatment? I would¡¯ve expected that from the moody cheerleader, not the grown-ass woman.


    I lounged back in my bus seat, right in the middle between them. My bed was the closest to the top branches of the mushroom tree. Damn, but we needed a better shelter. Maybe if we could get into the obelisk, we could live inside. No. The thought of that thrum hitting me for hours on end made me nauseous.


    I drank a little toolbox water, ate some berries, and told them about my adventures.


    ¡°Fucking dinosaurs?¡± Billie asked in wonder. ¡°Why am I not surprised?¡±


    Professor Kroft again was quiet. It took a bit, and then she said in a quiet voice. ¡°We should probably cut some meat off the haunches. Starting a fire so late is dangerous, but we should eat the protein while we can.¡±


    Then, without a word, she started down the tree with the rifle slung over her shoulder. She¡¯d also grabbed the welding torch.


    ¡°Wait,¡± I said.


    It was like the professor didn¡¯t hear me, but I knew she did.


    I turned to Billie. ¡°What happened while I was gone?¡±


    Billie grimaced. ¡°Like I know! Before you got back, she was her normal self, talking about all this ancient human survival stuff. She talked for like forty-five minutes about finding clay and making pottery. We could use it for the water. Maybe she¡¯s nervous about her basket weaving skills? I thought she was going to weave waterproof baskets.¡±


    ¡°The swamps in Dino World might have the right reeds for it,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know about clay.¡±


    Billie bit her lip. ¡°I hate seeing her like this. You should go talk to her.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Why was I thinking that might be a bad idea? Then I had an image of me pulling the professor toward me and feeling those big tits pressed up against me. We¡¯d kiss, but that wouldn¡¯t be enough.


    Billie pushed me. ¡°Yes, you. I could use a minute. I think we¡¯re safe up here. At least I hope we are.¡±


    I knew what Billie would be doing with her minute, and I felt my pants get tight. I had no idea what to expect from a conversation with the professor. I really didn¡¯t know her that well, and so far, she¡¯d been handling our exile on the strange world with grace.


    Part of me would¡¯ve rather faced the T. rexes again than deal with the emotions of the older women. What was going on with her?