Chapter 6

"John!" Aeryn cried out from her bed "John!"

Zhaan who was in the room rushed to Aeryn side just as she shot up in bed.

"Calm yourself, Aeryn Sun. John is safe with D'Argo and Chiana. They're finding you a cure."

She felt Aeryn's forehead and cheeks.

"You feel hot"

She felt dizzy and disoriented, colours of the room merging together in her line of vision.

"I feel as if my whole body is burning up. Am I going to die?"

"I will not lie to you Aeryn. You only have a few more days to live and I can see how each day seems to sap more life out of you like a plant. I fear that if John, D'Argo and Chiana do not find a cure, you could die. My job until they come back, is to make you as comfortable as possible. In the mean time may the goddess be with you."

Aeryn offered a small smile of gratitude to thank Zhaan for caring for her needs.

"I'm going to remove your blanket and soak it in cold water. I am hoping this will decrease your temperature. I am extremely concerned that your fever may lead you towards experiencing the living death."

Zhaan smiled as she removed Aeryn's blanket and left the room.

Aeryn stared up at the ceiling of Moya. She had been lying there on her back since she had arrived. It seemed the only comfortable position to lie in since her arm was still quite sore. She thought back to when she was a Peacekeeper, when she killed the first Pilot on Moya. Was she afraid?: No! Did she care the pilot died?: No! At that time she was almost fearless. Serving Captain Bilar Crais was her duty. Now she was lying on a hard bed in a medical bay and she was scared, alone and worried she would die.

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A multitude of orange, yellow and red jumped vigorously in the heat of the flames. A steaming pot of some 'Trillx' delicacy stewed near the fire ready to be eaten. Outside the hut was a long bench and the crew were sitting on it, Goss curled up asleep on Chiana's lap like one of those Earth creatures; a cat. All the days excitement had gotten to him. After a short while Kendala returned from the hut, producing mugs with a hot liquid in them. She handed them each to the crew before going back to get herself and Amaz one. Chiana peered down into the mug and wrinkled her nose.

"This smells like Trat!" she whispered to Crichton who sat beside her.

"Come On Chi" he whispered back "Let's not piss off the locals."

Chiana shared a sickening look at her friend and she and John gulped down the mugs' contents.

The two aliens who sat across from them, smiled greatly at them to see them drinking the liquid.

"How is the 'Frozz'. It is a tradition to drink this before any meal. We use the finest of the ingredients at this planet: 2 parts urine, 1 part leaves from the 'Yem' tree."

Chiana thought she was imagining it. 1 part leaves 2 parts urine. Frell! She nearly lost the contents of her stomach. John began to explain why they were here.

"You say she has been bitten by a 'Jarred Scappernite'?" asked Amaz.

"Yes, she is seriously ill" replied D'Argo, worried.

"I see. What symptoms does she have?"

John answered "Fever, dizziness, Vomiting. You know all the stuff that makes you feel ill just by looking at it."

"Yes. I have heard of this creature and from what you say she is clearly showing some of the signs of this fatal illness. You have come to the right planet. We have many holes here and inside we mine for certain crystals to make medications. Unfortunately no-one in the last three cycles have been bitten by a 'Jarred Scappernite' so we have no medication on hand to give you. You may however mine the holes and see if the crystals are there. You will need the purple coloured crystal for this illness. It is getting dark so I suggest we eat, sleep and I shall show you in the morning."

"Thank you, Amaz" said John.

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It was quite a cold night and the three crew members lay side by side inside the left side of the hut. The right side, Amaz, Kandala and Goss slept. John was restless in his slumber and tossed and turned from side to side. The nightmare began

"Aeryn where are you?" John frantically ran through Moya calling out her name.

"Aeryn!, Aeryn!"

He rounded the corner and his heart leapt into his throat. He felt like his was being strangled. He couldn't breathe as tears started to well up in his blue eyes.

"Aeryn" he cried "How did you get down here to the floor?" He bent down, picking up her limp form but let out a shriek of horror. Blood began to pour out of her mouth, running down her chin and dripping onto the floor. John held her close to him, rocking her back and forth.

"Please don't die" he sobbed. "I love you"

He felt Aeryn's body go dead cold in his arms, signalising the end.

John shot up from his bed. Sweat had drenched his body and with his bed sheet he dabbed himself dry. His hands were shaking so he clasped them together to try and stop them. John was glad he hadn't woken the others. He didn't want them to see him like this. He had to be strong for Aeryn because she was sick, very sick. He tried to get back to sleep but the nightmare kept playing over and over again in his mind.

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"Wakey, wakey old man." Critchon heard a voice say. He opened his eyes and came face to face with Chiana, a grin plastered on her face.

"Come on Critchon. Time to get up. We've gotta go get the cure, remember?"

John rubbed his eyes of sleep "Yeah Chi, I remember. Just give me a microt okay?"

John arrived outside, feeling like crap and met with Chiana, D'Argo and Amaz who would show them to the hole where the cure was kept.

"John, I heard you cry out last night. Are you alright?" D'Argo said

"yeah, fine D. Just woke up on the wrong side of the bed that's all."

"Shall we head to the hole?" Questioned Amaz, interrupting their conversation.

"Sure thing" Chiana replied, excitedly

John, Chiana and D'Argo followed Amaz to the hole.

"Are you sue you are alright John?" D'Argo inquired on the way, noticing his friend's quiet form.

"It's Aeryn. She died in my dream last night. I thought she was lost forever, that the dream was so real."

"We're going to cure Aeryn. Don't fret John. I had many nightmares when Lo'lan died. I couldn't face the fact that she was indeed not coming back. I faced up the nightmares and just got on with life. John, you have to be strong for Aeryn. You may feel sad but think how she is feeling. She must be enduring a lot of pain up there on Moya. The stronger you are, the more easily it will be for us to get the cure and go and save her."

"Thanks Heavy D. You talking to me really means a lot. Thanks for the advice." John wiped a small tear from his eye, hoping no-one would notice.

They had arrived at the hole and Chiana's eyes were wide.

"Frell me dead!" she cursed "That's one big hole!"

"Sure is" added John.

They followed Amaz down the ladder to the bottom. It was quite dark down inside but a row of lights shone down the opening to the mining tunnel. John noticed Chiana stay close to D'Argo, spooked by the shadows. They reached the end of the tunnel and Amaz stopped, picking up some shovels from the ground.

"Chiana, D'Argo and John. He are some shovels for you to mine for the cure. Remember it is the purple crystal. I will need to go back to my hut to tutor Goss with some new skills he needs to learn. I will check on you later."

"What is the hole caves in?" Asked D'Argo.

"It shouldn't as long as you don't mine away at it too much. Just be careful. Alright?"

"Oh great, how encouraging" John mused, sarcastically "Why do I always get in danger saving Aeryn's ass!?"

D'Argo nodded and as Amaz left the three of them began to mine.

"Hey Chi, you found anything yet?" John asked.

"Nope."

"D'Argo what about you?" He then asked.

"Nothing."

About half an arn later Chiana stopped "Hey, Guys, Guys I think I found something." She carried on chipping away to reveal a purple looking crystal.

Suddenly the hole began to give way and the top came crumbling down on top of them like breadcrumbs. All that was to be heard was Chiana's cry and then silence. Would they be able to save Aeryn in time?
To be continued……

AN:/ Hiya Scapers! I hope you enjoyed reading chapter 6. Sorry I haven't updated for ages but coursework has gotten in the way. I have a new beta reader so I'm going to be amending chapters 1-4 but not drastically. Anyway I hope you will stick with this fanfic and read the rest.

Coming up: Areyn sees a Scarren and will Chiana, D'Argo and Crichton escape the mine?