Chapter 2

Dr.X woke up with a splitting headache. He groaned as the pain got worse. He was sitting, leaning against something. Trying to get up, he felt resistance on his arms, a kind of tight sensation…

"Crap!" he muttered.

Tied to a pole. Not a way he wanted to start the morning…how did he get here again?

He did not remember getting drunk…or a female for that matter…

"So…Mr. X is finally awake." said a voice somewhere in the darkness.

X refrained himself from killing the other person. "That's Dr. X. And you are?"

"Names Zeke." The tent was suddenly filled with the reddish glow of a fire. X saw the face of a bearded man, somewhere between his thirties or late fifties.

"Well, Zeke, why do you have me tied up here? What's your motive? Where is the rest of my council? What happened?"

"Not to worry, X. To answer a few of your questions, your airship crashed here on a deserted island. Sorry. Most of your council should be wondering around the forest, trying to find means of survival. Unfortunately if they get too close to our campsite, we will be forced to kill them. The boy on the other hand…" Zeke paused, "Possesses some 'certain qualities' that we may find of some use to us."

X squirmed a little, tugging on the ropes.

"And don't bother trying to escape; we have your tent guarded." Zeke continued, "And also, we disabled you arm, so now it is useless to you, sorry."

"You ass!"

-

Rikki was now sleeping under a fallen tree. He shivered, but not from the cold. He whimpered and opened his eyes. He looked around, hoping that it had all been a bad dream. The forest was still there. He looked back. He was now quite far away from the damaged plane. He rubbed his eyes. What if his team-mates were still alive and were looking for him? He looked back at the plane. Maybe he could just wait…

-

"Alex, what are you doing?" said Fidget.

"Getting some supplies together." Alex placed the bread on the table.

"Why, are we moving?"

"No. It's just in case. We're on an island you know. I don't think there are any people here so we will have to try to survive on our own."

"Hey Alex!" Grinder called from the hatch in the back of the plane, "You know where a flash light is?"

"No…why?" said Alex.

"I'm goin' to find Rik. He's out there somewhere."

Alex was a little unsure about Grinder's idea. "Ok, but where going with you."

"Nah, it's fine mate. You stay here…"

"No!" Alex interrupted him, "No-one goes alone. It's dangerous. We don't know what's out there!"

Grinder stepped back a little. Alex had never snapped at him like that before…

"I'm sorry Grinder…" Alex said, "But we are coming whether you like it or not!"

"You're right Alex…"

It was still dark. They weren't sure what time it was, but they still went out.

"How are we going to find our way back?" asked Fidget.

Alex and Grinder paused. He hadn't thought of that…

"Fidget…why don't you stay here with a flashlight?" Alex handed her one of the lights that they had just found somewhere in storage. "We'll just look for you when we need to go back."

"What if I get in trouble?"

"Flash it on and off or something…"

"Alex…what's wrong with the trees?" said Grinder.

Alex looked where Grinder was pointing. The trees on the side of the hill opposite were swaying.

"It's just the wind." He said.

"Oh, the wind?" said Grinder, "Sorry, I didn't realized that because, there is no wind!"

Alex looked up again. The trees were moving very strangely. Some of them even fell over!

"Alex, what's going on?" said Fidget.

"I…I don't know…" said Alex.

There was a sudden sound, like a low pitched whistle. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.

"Guys…" said Alex, "Get away from the plane!" he pulled Fidget and Grinder away as there was a sudden roar and the plane was lifted high in the air, and dropped again, causing it to fall down the cliff onto the ground on the bottom. There was a sound, like some sort of type writer, and the 'thing' disappeared.

Alex was now holding Fidget in his arms.

"Alex, what was that?"

"I don't know…" said Alex, "I don't want to know…"

-

Rikki got up. They were not looking for him. Maybe he could go to them. Just as he stepped forward, there was a loud crash. He looked up. The plane was now on the ground under the cliff. He stood there…silent for quite some time. There was no chance they would have survived that. He sniffed. He was alone…

-

"What are you in here for?" said Tempest.

He was tied to the same pole as a young dark-skinned boy.

"I don't know. I think it's because I'm 'special' or something…" said the boy, "What are you in here for?"

"I think I'm in here for the same reason…" said Tempest, "What's your name anyway?"

"Walt." said the boy, "You?"

"Tempest. Tempest Storm." He pulled at the ropes. No luck. Besides…there was now a dull pain in his shoulder…

"Do they stick needles in you?" said Walt.

"Yeh, why?" Tempest winced from the pain.

"They do that to me too."

-

Rikki spent the night cowering in his fallen tree that served as a shelter. He hardly got any sleep, being constantly tormented by the sounds of the animals and birds that came out at night. He whimpered and shivered from the cold. He jumped as the wind blew a few leaves from the ground. The wind made a strange hissing sound. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. The wind was still hissing. Then the hissing started to sound like someone whispering. He sat up, hearing voices whispering in the trees.

"W-who are you?" his voice sounded so small, "What do you want from me?"

The voices got louder, and then suddenly stopped.

Rikki whimpered as there was a loud sound in the sky, like thunder, then the soft tapping of rain. The fallen tree didn't help with shelter as much as he had thought. He was now colder than ever and also wet from the rain. Rikki got up and tried to find a better place that could shelter him from the rain, his clothing now sticking to his skin. He ran over a tree root, causing him to loose his balance and fall right into the side of the mountain. His hands hit the side with a hollow 'clang'. He blinked a few times. This 'mountain' was hollow? Through the vines he could make out something red painted on the wall behind it. He pulled the fines away. Behind them was a red octagon shaped logo with the word 'Dharma' printed on it. It was some kind of hatch. Rikki didn't care what was in it; he just wanted to find some place dry. He yanked the hatch open and ran inside. There was the soft hum of some kind of super computer.

"H-hello?" he called, "Anyone…"

Something moved behind him. He turned, but saw nothing. He felt something clap over his mouth.

"Don't move. Just tell me who you are and where you came from." said a voice.

-

The next morning, Fidget was woken by something touching her face.

"Ick, Grinder!" she growled.

Grinder was sitting on the rock beside her, "Hehe, sorry couldn't help myself."

"Where's Alex?"

Grinder pointed to the damaged plane. There were a few crashes before Alex appeared out of the hatch at the back (or what used to be the hatch). He was carrying something.

"Alex, what the hell are you doing?" Fidget said as she got up.

"Looking for things that aren't too damaged." He said, "I also found something for you."

Fidget sighed, not in the mood for one of Alex's pranks, "What is it?"

"Guess."

"A giant snail?"

"No." Alex held out the green thin in his hand.

Fidget gasped. "Vinnie!"

The lizard grunted. He didn't seem to be too bothered about what had just happened.

"I don't know how, but he survived." said Alex.