Hey guys, sorry this chapter took so long. I've been having musing troubles, meaning that my brain has transformed into a slug and oozed out my ear. But I think I'm over it now. Hopefully. Keep your reviews a-comin'! They are all that keeps me going!
He clawed his way out of the dark, dragging himself up walls of volcanic stone, broken shards of glass jutting out for him to use as hand- and foot- holds. He tried to draw breath to scream, sucked in fire instead of air. He gagged, spasms riding up his innards with borborygmus sounds. His eyes rolled and slowly cleared as the pain ebbed.
Gradually he became aware of his surroundings: he was lying on the mattress, surrounded by the blue and green glow of computer screens. Christopher crouched nearby, crushing several aspirin and dissolving them in a jar of water. He looked up anxiously when Wikus groaned. Upon seeing that the human had woken, the alien raised the jar to Wikus' lips. The hybrid swallowed as much as he could, some liquid sloshing down his chin and onto his bare chest. Glancing down, he realized that he was completely nude, stretched out under a thin sheet.
"Wha'appened? Ow long've I been out?" he rasped.
"You have been fading in and out of consciousness all day," Christopher clicked softly. "I believe your internal organs are transforming, but I cannot tell for certain which ones. My guess would be your digestive system."
"Why d'you think that?" Suddenly Wikus' bowels and stomach rebelled simultaneously. He vomited stomach acid and bile onto himself. "Oh." He looked down at the dark stain spreading under the sheet between his legs. "Oh, fuck, man, I'm sorry. Fuck, that's embarrassing."
"It's alright. It's your system purging itself. I think that is the last of it." The prawn quickly and gently wiped his semi-human chest off and removed the sheet, replacing it with a ragged blanket. "I am only glad that your pain seems to have lessened. I- had to send Oliver to a neighbor's house so he would not be frightened. He was very worried about you." Christopher reached out a timid hand and tenderly ran his fingertips down Wikus' right arm. "We both were."
It took every ounce of self-control Wikus had left not to jump the prawn right then and there.
After a few intense seconds, Christopher rattled his maxillae and stood up, his antennae bobbing and twitching.
"If—if you are feeling somewhat better, I will go and retrieve him now. I prefer not to leave him in the care of my neighbor for too long."
"Yeah, of course." Wikus absently rubbed his arm. "Yeah. You go get your boy, I'll be fine."
The alien nodded and made his way to the door, walking gingerly due to his still-painful injuries.
As the twisting in his gut receded, Wikus lay back and stared into space, contemplating the events of the past few days. His thoughts filled with the look Christopher had given him that morning… that expression of endless thanks underlined with something unidentifiable, something familiar. His eyes drifted shut as he held that image in his mind, and soon he slept once more.
~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~
He was woken with a start when the door slammed open and Christopher charged in, raging in a panicked growl-click. He was ranting so fast that Wikus couldn't understand him.
"Christopher—what happened? Slow down! Hey—where's Oliver?" The kid was no where to be seen.
"He took him! Edward stole my child!"
"What?!" The human leapt to his feet, ignoring the stab of pain in his stomach. "How?!"
"He broke into Marie's house, knocked her out." The prawn was hyperventilating now, the slits in his neck pulsing like beating hearts. "I have to save him. I—I have to do something, I have to…"
"Breath, Christopher. Keep breathing." Wikus pulled on his pants and reached for his shirt. "Did—did the fucker say what he wanted?"
Christopher inhaled and exhaled twice, eyes closing in worry and fear. "I must go to his home and explain in detail the manner in which we had planned to leave. Then he wants me to finish my work and take him with us in the ship. Once we are airborne, he says, he will release my son. However, I am well aware that he intends to use the information I give him to turn me in to the MNU once the ship is ready to leave. And he does not seem to realize that it will take a long time to get the ship fixed and get home. He expects it done in a week." He clenched his hands into fists, speaking bitterly. "He is a fool, but he is very dangerous and he has my son, so I must attempt to meet his demands."
Wikus thought for a moment before asking, "Do you think he's got any weapons?"
"Weapons? Nothing beyond the shovel that he attacked Marie with. No guns, but he would not need a gun to…to…" The prawn trailed off miserably.
"So," the human began to pace fervently. "So if we showed up with a shitload of guns and threatened to blast the crap out of him, we could get your boy back and make Eddie get the picture, ay?"
"But I am to arrive unarmed. He will know immediately if I am carrying a weapon."
"That's why I'll carry it. I'll sneak around back or the side. No one'll expect a human to have a prawn weapon or be able to fire it."
Christopher regarded him intensely, and Wikus knew that there was a turmoil of feverish thought going on behind the prawn's eyes.
"It…might work. But… we have no weapons. I do not approve of keeping guns; He will know this."
Wikus half-grinned in nervous inspiration. "It's okay. I think I know where we can get some weapons."