44 Chapter 44 Recap (1/2)
”We could try eating some of that,” he said, motioning towards the dead worm in front of them.They stood outside, in the stench of the dead worm.It was even worse than he thought it would be from the inside of the shuttle.
”No, thank you.” She made a gagging motion, then gagged for real when the stench got into her mouth.
”I have a smaller worm you could try?” he said, slyly, glancing at her innocently.
”As if, I couldn't find that worm with a microscope.”
Glancing down, he feigned horror, then grinned at her, when an honestly alarmed look came over her face.
”That's not what you said last time,” he said.
”Wait, what?”
”I could offer you a protein shake?”
”No, seriously, what did you mean by the last time?”
Not really wanting to go into that, he moved closer to the dead worm, stopping just at the edge of the water.Nothing should be able to survive in that sludge, right?On second thought, he moved back just in case.He didn't want to be wrong, and get pulled into it.
”The first thing we need to do, is make sure you don't die, the first time something hits or spits at you.”Dustin pulled off a scale and held it out for her.
”Don't think, I'm letting you go without an answer.You said you would answer all of my questions.What do you want me to do with this?” she asked, moving forward, taking it and holding it up.
”You know how the PED works,” he said, rolling his eyes.
”Yes, I do.If this is so important,” she said, waving it at him, ”Then, why didn't you give me one before we ran into the shuttle station?”
”I was in a but of a hurry, now do you want to go hunting for something, or not?”He turned around without waiting for a response, but only got a few feet, before a sound filled the silence of the cave around them.
Other than their voices, it had been completely silent.Not even the dripping of water off of the shuttle could penetrate the deep silence.However, as their voices died, a wet popping sound reverberated throughout the darkness around them.
The sound of one of them swallowing, was almost drowned out, as the sound of a splash was quickly followed by another.
Turning towards the dead worm behind them, they saw in the dim lights from the shuttle's exterior lights, white maggots the size of their legs, wiggling across the top of the scum in the water towards them.Dustin backed up, really fast, almost losing his footing, as he scrambled for the door latch on the shuttle.
Olivia, half evolved, was right behind him.It didn't take long for them to scramble into the shuttle and shut the door.
”So, we need to get out of here, right now.”
Nodding in agreement, Dustin moved a few things out of the pilot seat, and sat down.The shuttle shuddered for a moment before lifting off, and he wondered if he did more than just disable the antennae.
”You can tell me about what you meant, now,” she said, strapping herself into her seat, as she stared at the mess around her.
”Well, you know how I knew your name when you first popped out of the pod?” he asked, focusing on flying through the tunnel.He was looking for anything that might be worth hunting, or maybe a smaller tunnel that might lead to something edible.
”I remember,” she said.
”This isn't the first time you've been on the planet.This is actually my twentieth trip, and possibly yours as well.”
”How can that be?” she asked confused.
”They mess with our minds.While you were with the Josagn, did you notice anything like a survival television show?Something they would watch for fun?”