32 Chapter 32 Twenty Cycles (2/2)
Dustin paused again.He couldn't tell what was happening.As he sat there, the prey got ahead of him again.
(HOSTS INTELLIGENCE HAS DROPPED BELOW THE NECESSARY LEVELS FOR ACTIVATION.INCREASING HOST INTELLIGENCE BACK TO NORMAL.)
If he had eyes, Dustin would have blinked in confusion.He wiggled his forward bristles in an equivalent movement.What the hell?
Vibrations of something walking away from him, drew his attention.He was a little hungry and this body wanted to attack it.Could that be the prince?Was he really a tunneling worm?Chuckling in his mind, to himself, he kept his distance, moving slowly after the prince.
Something else, an above-ground creature, was stalking the prince, but when it got within a few feet, it paused.The prince never stopped walking, unaware he had almost been attacked.After a few moments, the creature moved off, possibly having lost interest in the prince.
Or had it.Could the prince have a weapon he was using on anything that got close, like a gun or something?He needed to know, for when he got close enough.Speeding up, he got within a few feet, when suddenly:
-His roommate was flushed, swinging a beer bottle at his head, but missing, and stumbling.Dustin watched his bright red hair, suddenly get coated in thick blood as it seemed to pour out of the wound.
What the hell?Where was the girl?Was there ever a girl?He paused, feeling the prince get further away again, and realized, every time he got close, he had a flash of dream.Could that be because this creature slept differently?
Rushing forward again, yet being careful not to leave a trail on the surface, he drew close to the prince.
-”We can't just throw him into a cell to rot.He's too important.We need his abilities.”
-”We need to cover the death of the non-human.It will be difficult to smooth this over in the public eye if we don't spin this right.”
-”I didn't kill him!It was an accident!”They refused to listen to him, continuing with their discussion on what to do with him, as if he wasn't even there.
This was a memory, not a dream.Excitement coursed through him.He needed to know more!It didn't take much to catch up, again, to the prince.
-”Twenty cycles, as payment for the death of one of your people, and he's returned to us, unharmed, none the wiser.”
-”Agreed.”