6 Chapter 6 - New PED (2/2)

-”I'm going to relish the fact that I just killed your baby!The one thing you've ever wanted, other than a piece of ass, was a kid, and you ain't getting it from me!”

-”You!” He crumpled the paper, tearing it in his rage and grief.How could she?

”No!” Still the dream went on.

-She swung at him, landing a hit on his chin.Almost cracked it.Not getting enough vitamins.

-He swung back, just to return the favor.But he was stronger.She fell back.It was just a black eye.He didn't mean for her to die.He never wanted a fireplace anyway!

Dustin jerked awake, sitting up and hitting his head against the wood log above him with a dull thud.Laying back down, he curled into a ball, and held his head, waiting for the pain to recede.At least he wasn't bleeding.Why did that god-awful dream keep coming back?

He had his sneaky suspicions that they had implanted some kind of mental thing while he was in that temporary prison, to make him remember what had happened.Maybe they hoped that if he didn't die, he would go crazy.

As the ache faded, he was reminded of the pain he had felt before.It had faded, but was still there.The venom must have caused a lot of internal damage before he went through the evolution.Tapping on the PED, he tried to figure out what abilities he had gotten from the last evolution.It wouldn't tell him.Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the things that he had taken off the dead hunter.

The first thing he had grabbed, was a belt full of pockets.The things in the pockets wouldn't work for him anymore.They were various medicines, pills and herbs, for the Josagn, but his biology had changed so much with all of the alien material, he couldn't guarantee what would happen if he took any of it.The pouches themselves, though, would come in handy.

The next thing he had grabbed, was a bag.It would be just as handy as the pouches.Opening it, he was excited to see a variety of food stuff.Pulling a few things out, he immediately began eating it.After the first bite of bread, he stopped.It tasted wrong.Spitting it out, he looked at it in wonder.He had become a carnivore.Looking over the rest of the food, he found with disgust that none of it had any meat.The only thing with protein was a package of beans.

”Fucking birds,” he muttered, shoving the food back into the bag.Maybe he could use it for bait in a trap.

The knife he had grabbed, was still plenty sharp, and as he turned it to look at it closer, he saw the makers mark on the handle.If Shapirole made it, then it would take a lot to break it.They always incorporated the best materials into their items.He would know, his father had a knife made by them.

The last thing he had grabbed, was a bracer, much like his PED.He was hoping that it would help him understand his own, since the company stamp was the same.It didn't look damaged.Turning it over, he saw, to his amazement, it fit over the top of his own PED.What was a Josagn hunter doing with a PED?

Fitting it over his, he snapped it into place and turned it on.

(ACTIVATION SEQUENCE INITIATED.NEW HOST DETECTED.PERSONAL EVOLUTION DEVICE DETECTED. SYNCING TO EVOLUTIONARY DEVICE WILL TAKE 32 MINUTES.ALL PRIOR SAVED DATA WILL BE LOST ON BOTH DEVICES.CONTINUE?)

Licking his lips, Dustin realized this wasn't a PED.He didn't know what it was.Would getting this affect his sentence on this hell planet?He wouldn't be able to find out what traits he had acquired, if he did this, but it seemed to be some kind of upgrade.

He had to survive.This thing might give him an advantage, and he couldn't miss out on that.

”Continue,” he thought.