Chapter 133: At the fire temple.Ike kept himself conscious by listening to the Dagerstanteen that carried him. JP found the most boring things to list in Ike's head until he had to fight not to sleep. Although Ike struggled to stay awake, he did agree that JP kept his emotions and the fire calm.As the air got colder, the cooler air had him focusing. The six of them started to climb up a wide rock staircase on the closest side of a small mountain. The guards that had followed them stayed at the bottom. All around them was water, and there were no sides or railings to the steps. One move to the left or the right, and they would fall into the dark, murky moat.Ike lifted his chin and tipped his head as they marched. His heart beat a little faster when he spotted the Panchen Fire Shrine.This is where he would die.When they reached the end of the staircase, JP stepped onto smooth marble. Ike noted that the water lapped at the highest point and splashed like the liquid wanted to take ove
Chapter 134: Life after the fire.As soon as Ike had the sensation of being set on a cold table, his eyes opened wide. It had been a long time since Ike felt the sensation of cold."JP?""He is here."Ike looked into Keltrix's eyes and then pushed away from the tentacles holding him. He sat and swung his legs until he was on the edge of an exam table in a laboratory."Where am I?" Ike glanced at Keltrix and then at Octnavin. Next to him on a second table was JP. The alien looked burned from head to toe. He wasn't moving, and Ike felt panic. Did the fire kill JP? Why was everyone acting like it didn't matter?"JP?" Ike set his hand on his blackened skin. The hard surface was rippled and rough."What is that thing that Sloan likes to say?" Keltrix asked Octnavin."He bounces back fast." Octnavin crossed his middle tentacles over his chest."Yes," Keltrix agreed. "That's it.""Where are we?" Ike glanced at the leader of the Dagerstanteens. "Is JP dead?""This is our ship, and we are parke
Chapter 135: Taking the fire back.JP didn't make a sound after Lee's announcement, but Ike could see his thoughts moving in a whirl. JP was making plans. The alien was rigging up a way to pull him from the fire if he said yes. The alien was also simultaneously trying to figure out how to keep Ike alive for a long time if he didn't hold the fire and if they didn't get the lifesaving water. Ike was very old and his Dagerstanteen blood would only do so much. Plus, all the humans needed the healing water. It wasn't just his life they were talking about here."I…" Ike pictured going back to the rain planet. He would have to watch time tick by while he held the fire again. The loneliness would eat at him. "I will have to return to the sanctuary," Ike murmured."Never," JP snapped."You do know that you burned that to the ground, right?" Keltrix asked."I will forbid you from returning to your old home." Octnavin's sentence was unmovable stone. "If you were to take the ember and regrow the P
Chapter 136: The end of... Life and Death.Standing between his grove of apple trees and his rows of orange trees, Ike stopped and inhaled the blossoms in the wind. The bright star of the Dagerstanteen planet had him closing his eyes and sighing in delight. He'd never been outside this much, and he was addicted to the warm fresh air. He grinned. There were a few things he was addicted to now, one of which was the three humans laughing, chatting, and strolling toward him.Ike opened his eyes and smiled at the three men walking between his carrots."Ike," Chasm called. "We are here to learn.""Thank you for agreeing to take care of my plants while I travel with JP." Ike nodded."Caveman." Sloan approached him using the nickname he'd given Ike after they met. Sloan held up his hand, and Ike slapped Sloan's palm before his new friend jogged over to where the row of raspberry bushes was growing. "This is badass."Ike glanced at Chasm and raised an eyebrow."It means good," Chasm translated.
Chapter 1: Every day is the same.Place: City, Anywhere United States of America.The thrift store smelled of sweaty bodies, dust, and mothballs. The sunny weather had brought people out of their houses now that the snow had started to melt. Murry thought that the store was busier than usual for a Wednesday. He wrinkled his nose as he finished emptying his cart of books onto the empty shelves.When he was done with the final chore of the workday, he headed back to the stockroom. Passing the checkout stations and weaving silently through the shoppers, he noted the clock. His shift was over five minutes ago. Most of the time, the supervisor would yell at employees who stayed even one minute past their assigned shifts. But that never happened to Murry. Everyone liked to use the words special needs, or they said he had a handicap. Whatever the term they used didn't matter to him anymore. No one spoke as he put his cart away and then walked out of the little room where he could sign out of
Chapter 2: Caught.The muffled conversation brought him out of his sleep. Murry rubbed his eyes and sat up while lifting his head. His eyes scanned the strange room, but he was met with metal bars directly in front of him.Murry was in a cage. That wasn't good."I got one. Our leader said it was difficult, but he's getting old."Murry's eyes shot to the voice. A hair-covered creature was speaking to three others. Frozen with fear, the only thing Murry could do was let his eyes take in his surroundings. He wasn't in the house anymore. That was for sure.The cage Murry had been placed in was against one metal wall. The long room around him had rows of metal crates down both sides with an aisle in the center. The room smelled of metal and a stench he didn't recognize. He sniffed. Blood? But maybe the blood was dried and old. His eyes flipped to the floor. Near many of the pens, he noted colored patches of different dried liquid.Gulping down his panic, he scanned his enclosure and then hi
Chapter 3: Death would be better.Murry wasn't sure how long he was on the table with the strange aliens coming in and out of the exit. Finally, after what felt like years, the hairy creatures were back to leaning over him. Tears welled up at the corners of his eyes to then slide into his hairline. One stupid decision, and he was going to be dissected. Curiosity killed the cat. That's what his mom always said. Yes. He might be the dead cat soon."Welcome to our spaceship." The fat one returned to Murry's side and trailed a nail down Murry's chest. "This is your new home until you die, Earthling. Our language band will help you understand what we want." Saliva dripped onto Murry's chest from the enormous teeth. "We will only give directions once.""If you do not need us, Derbergurs," one of the creatures opened the door. "We will leave you with your human toy." Two of the monsters walked out of Murry's line of sight. The door closed with a final thud. As he shivered on the table, he tr
Chapter 4: Saved... or maybe not.Murry woke up to more terrible agony than he'd ever felt in his life. His eyes rolled to one side. A hairy creature was eating the layers of skin off the top of his forearm without the armband. His eyes widened at the horrible image. A long green tongue was licking and sucking his mangled flesh. Blood poured out of Murry as razor-sharp teeth scraped and sliced. Murry would never be able to get that image out of his head for the rest of his life.His body shifted on the glass table as the recruit alien bit at his calf. Fresh tears flowed out of his eyes. He had to die soon. The fat one moved closer, and his wide green tongue ran over Murry's cheek, lapping up the tears. The fat one's breath smelled like rotting garbage. The stench made Murry gag. He almost threw up and tried to keep down his stomach contents. A body couldn't take much more of this, right? He prayed he would pass out again.Gagging a second time, Murry wondered if he threw up in his mout