XIV: Stranger Strange Land (III)
The few hours after had the man completely, 'shucked', of his outer skin. Each time a sheet of dead skin cells was removed and the under skin washed, it revealed perfectly healthy flesh- pale but now with large blue veins tracking across almost like a web. His skin was flawless, the muscles underdeveloped, but nothing had atrophied. His muscles were weak, but supple, and his bones wholly mixed and thickened with calcium and carbon. His body alone was combining both elements in a natural way, not a scientific man driven way. Through the mysterious power of life, and not directed by any physical connection to Eywa, the human body was being molded into something greater than its parts. His muscles and organ's streamlined, his rib cage dipped and curved giving him an elongated appearance, but otherwise completely caging his organs from harm. Points in his shins, forearms, and shoulders were knotted with loose sliding plates like shoulder blades. A natural armor beneath his skin.
His lungs folded, creating a four pair, half filter, half engine. His heart changed the least, but strengthened considerably. His nervous system had doubled over itself, creating a network that was twice as fast, and his spinal column had elongated to allow for his tail. Pandora had some hand in the forging of this new flesh, and there were organs within him that only appeared in Na'vi and a few that appeared in neither. His skull hardened but formed two points, flares just where his neck met his spine, a protective shield. Muscles tripled in density, around his throat, his groin, and the base of his spine. It was speculated he could take a sledge hammer to these most vulnerable of areas without internal bleeding. His eyes and nose broadened slightly and another layer existed to cover his cornea and sinuses, his inner ear had two separate chambers added to the first. There was so much changed about him it seemed only his face remained human.
Jake had grown tired in the time it took for the stranger to be fully 'probed'. By then so many doctors had been and gone Jake couldn't remember who was who anymore. Only Yawne remained a constant face, watching in fascination and sometimes nearly nodding off. Jake had begun to worry about what it all meant again. He felt obligated to do something, as if this occurrence was a problem he had to deal with, but he had no idea what needed to be done or how to do it. For hours he simply stared and marveled with the rest over each new discovery. There was no telling what would happen next and Jake's fatigued mind couldn't deal with speculative fantasies anymore.
Finally Jake turned and left the room, it felt a little like giving up, but he knew it was pointless to stand there and worry. Jake crossed the yard, mindlessly, entering the cabin he remembered from long ago. There were a few Avatar's sleeping there and a few Na'vi as well but Jake managed to find an empty bed and roll into it asleep. His dreams were, rushed, confused. He imagined he was soaring through space in a glass coffin with certain death inches away and then falling toward Pandora feet first. He saw himself being carried by pirates, men in costume complete with parrots and two wooden legs with hooks for hands, burying him like a treasure chest. He went from the extreme to endless expanse of open space to the claustrophobic sensation of being buried alive.
…
With a start Jake jerked his head up. There was no sensation of being glad to live, no sensation of enjoyment of this new life, he felt only confusion and massive terror. Jake launched from his bed, the morning light dappling through the leaves. There was danger everywhere here, danger he couldn't see, couldn't fight- Jake whipped his head around, ears flashing in circles and tail lashing wildly. Everyone was gone. Jake realized his position and the training kicked in. With forced breathes Jake set off into a low run across the compound, slamming up against the wall beside the door; he checked left and right, hand itching for the assault rifle that wasn't there. Slowly Jake opened the door, the pervading feeling of impending doom thickening almost like a cloud. There was no one in the hall, no Na'vi, no Avatars, no people. Jake crept along the corridor silently. Head on a swivel. He moved like a snake, twisting cautiously ready to leap away at any sign of danger.
His heart was pounding, sweat falling off of him in droves. His nostrils flared taking in every scent and eyes taking in every detail. Suddenly Jake's ears pricked forward, he thought he heard a murmur of voices. Jake slid into all fours and neared the bend in the wall. Every fiber of his being screamed danger, absolute utter danger of the worst kind his mind could possibly imagine but Jake pushed through it. Around the corner, to Jake's shock, he saw figures in white bio suits. Like ghosts, they slowly moved around the room, speaking to each other. There wasn't a single person not inside one. Jake bared his teeth, was it the RDA? Jake pulled his knife, staying low- a necessity with the low ceilings. He moved slowly trying to get close enough to hear. Not a step in and he clearly heard Norm's voice. Jake's eyes flash, he checked a growl in his throat- they had Norm? Was Norm working for the RDA now? One of the figures turned and saw Jake. She dropped what she was holding and screamed, all heads turned to her, Jake set a wide stance!- "Jake!" Norm's voice again, "Jake! Oh no, Jake stop!"
Jake turned his head, trying to find the voice among the white figures. "Norm?"
"Here Jake, Calm down buddy, it's just the pheromones, there nothing wrong!"
Jake heard the words but couldn't make sense of them, "Pheromones?"
"Yeah, we triggered a defense mechanism, in his throat, a spray. It had the double effect of blinding the target and releasing fear pheromones, it induces a panic attack." Norm said calmly. Jake's hands were shaking. "Here put this exopack on." a white figure slowly held out a mask, Jake stared at it, paranoia telling him it was a trap, a trap he should run from NOW. Jake forced himself to take the mask and put it on. The oversized mask adhered to his mouth and nose, a filter hiss, and Jake took slow deep breaths. Norm, the figure in front of him, watched him closely. Jake starred back, making himself calm down and slowly put away his knife. Once the weapon was gone many of the figures visibly relaxed. "Man Jake, you scared the crap out of us. But I should have known if anyone could withstand that kind of fear it'd be you." Norm's voice smiled.
Jake breathed deeply, feeling the sense of impending doom slowly fade, "What, the hell, happened?" he gasped.
Norm shrugged, "Like I said, we found a unique gland with dual- er, I mean, okay it's like a spitting cobra's venom sac, but all it does is release this kind of white powdery substance in a cloud, like he's coughing flour. This stuff clings to everything in the area and spread- begins inducing a fear response, we had no idea what it was at first until we tried boiling it in water. That made the stuff airborne and suddenly everyone went cr-razy." Norm made a wide gesture. "The few of us paranoid enough to grab an exopack because we began to fear we couldn't breath found the effects slipping away, but by then everyone had pretty much cleared out. Then you showed up all, battle ready and scared us."
Jake slowly caught his breath, "Yeah, sorry about that."
"Don't be, you should have seen what happened to the Na'vi who got the powder in the face." Norm half heartedly smiled, Jake narrowed his golden eyes;
"Yawne." they said in unison.
"He flipped out, literally, and I swear to you I saw him run across the ceiling and then pass out." Norm tried to hide his smile.
Jake hid his own, "Is he alright?"
Norm nodded enthusiastically, "Oh yeah, just fine, a little uh… okay there's this third um, side effect, but only from the powder and we don't' know if it only works on Na'vi, but its- its well, euphoria; Yawne's been laying in a daze and um, pawing at the air all morning."
Jake couldn't hide his smile this time, "So you're telling me this guy breathes Pandoran Cat nip?"
Norm shrugged, "It looks that way. We haven't uh, tested it, on, anybody… you know. I mean, come on."
Jake shook his head, "No, I understand, but what about the guy?"
Norm straightened, "Oh him, well we've kept him mildly sedated, honestly we're all still a little buzzed ourselves from the fear- I mean, you know, that stuff is rough."
Jake nodded, "Well I need to talk to him as soon as possible; we have to know why he's here and who sent him."
Norm nodded in understanding, "Okay Jake, but I think the first thing you need to do is go outside and make sure there isn't an army of Na'vi coming to storm Hell's Gate, you know, just in case." he shifted nervously.
…
Jake stepped outside; the morning was silent, very, very silent. Jake turned his ears in each direction. Apparently the airborne version of fear in a bottle had cleared out most of the jungle around Hell's Gate. Jake had a light bulb ping over his head. It would certainly be a perfect defense against some of the more dangerous intruders to Hell's Gate… the boiled version even worked on people. Jake couldn't help his smile now and he began to slowly stroll through the compound, it was odd not having to be on your guard on Pandora, but as Jake went further into the Jungle it was true- there wasn't any kind of life about. Pure silence reigned. It was kind of nice to be honest… and kind of creepy. Jake checked the desire to look over his shoulder. Jake exited Hell's Gate and paused a moment before the eerily silent jungle. He must have been feeling the after effects of the fear pheromones too because there was a low kind of hum, like the opening chorus from Jurassic park or something. Jake half expected a T-Rex to come stomping through th- the alarm blaring not four feet from him made Jake jump, literally, six feet back.
Warning lights flashed, sirens screamed. Jake took several short gasps of air and turned a full circle, he had no idea what was happening or even if it wasn't some kind of delusional- illusion. Jake turned back to the compound, his sharp eyes caught the sight of glass shattering outward and a white object speeding out into the forests over the fence in a flash. Jake cursed under his breath and set off into a run. At his best guess, he knew exactly who… or what, was escaping. Jake dashed back across the yard and into the compound. "Norm!" Jake called, so help him if anything happened to them while he was gone…
"Jake, here!" the confused voice shouted from behind a desk.
"What happened?" Jake yelled unnecessarily.
"W-we stopped sedating him, and he went berserk for some reason" Norm stood.
"A man travels six years with a Trojan virus to destroy the RDA and he wakes up, alive, surrounded by people in white bio-suits clearly unaffected by the virus- what did you think was going to happen?" Jake said a bit too harshly.
"Well, I guess, we felt bad and we tried to wake him up so we could talk to him like you said and…" Norm said sheepishly, then shrugged.
Jake frowned but realized his overly accusing tone and took a deep breath, "I'm sorry Norm, I'm still feeling on edge too. Is everyone alright?"
Norm stumbled around the desk, "Y-yeah, but more importantly, you need to get after him! We can't follow, you have to track him Jake!" Jake sighed through his teeth and nodded once, then he was speeding out through the same hole. Jake moved with all the grace his years as a Na'vi earned him, he leaped over fallen logs, dead climbed a tree trunk and took to the high ground. He had another advantage as well, the stranger was weak from years in a pod, his new muscles were hardly used. He was probably running purely on adrenaline, but Jake still didn't want to take any chances. There we things he still had to know and Norm was right, he definitely knew it was a bad idea to leave a new life form free on Pandora. Jake had been more right then he knew, it was easy to find the stranger bumbling through the leaves and grass at a dead run, mainly because he was huffing and puffing and talking to himself.
The strange nearly nude… "man", was stumbling fumbling, and meekly trying to make a break for it. Climbing the fence in his mad dash had been the limits of his strength, but it was saying something to suggest he'd done as much after so many years of inactivity and through sedation. Jake caught up to him, but remembered the defense mechanism worked on contact, so he kept his distance. He didn't know how the stranger would react to seeing a Na'vi appear in the jungles. It was clear he had wanted to only meet RDA or rather, humans, and he hadn't shown any fear at meeting the Na'vi nurse. Jake found himself stealthily stalking the new being out of curiosity and fear- fear he would get hurt, and it suddenly dawned on him this must have been how Neytiri felt. A brief moment of nostalgia struck Jake and he allowed a grin to spread wide across his face, he began to rethink how he was going to approach the man.
Several feet more into the jungle the stranger paused in his wandering escape and knelt low, breathing deeply. Jake was high enough in the canopy by now to only make out a tan outline. His physique was that of a swimmer, but his winding tail was twice as long as a Na'vi and far more mobile, he looked almost simian from this distance. Jake licked his lips and settled into the crook of the tree he was in; the stranger had stopped and was now examining the jungles around him. He had plopped down, weeping and rocking himself for a long while, then silenced and looked up. Jake quietly watched the spectacle of the stranger and decided to give him a bit more alone time, Jake figured if he calmed down enough, he'd be more than happy to see a Na'vi after a while. The Stranger first took in his surroundings growing quiet and, Jake knew, overwhelmed. All manner of vegetation, grasses, trees, and hanging vines surrounded the man. All beautiful.
The plethora of Pandora flora was as amazing a spectacle to Jake now as it had been his first day in his Avatar. He remembered the cramped, poisoned conditions on earth and seeing the world through the eyes of someone just experiencing it filled Jake with a second wind appreciation of the world he now lived in day after day. Jake realized he felt like a native. He was unconcerned, and had nearly taken for granted the beautiful jungles surrounding him. Pandora was his home now and this newcomer marveling at the simplest things, like he was now bending down to touch a single blade of grass in utter reverence, made Jake stop to think about where he was. Jake twirled his ears, taking in all the sounds of the world. The quiet, the peace… he reached out and felt the texture of a tree which had been and would be there far longer than he himself. His existence was still a speck in comparison to the cosmos and for the first time since he first landed on this moon, he felt small and insignificant. Jake knew exactly how the stranger felt.
Jake was so focused on the textures and perceptions around him he did not notice the form slowly approaching him on the tree branch. Silent, ghostly, impossibly so. Jake felt the oddest sense of presence, his eyes flicked downward -the stranger was gone?- Jake's head whipped around- not gone- THERE! Jake leaped backward as the stranger starred not two feet from him. Jake's leap however, was followed almost in perfect form. The stranger kept in his shadow, Jake clutched the mask to his face; but he knew if the white powder touched him he'd be running in blind panic regardless. Jake threw out his hand, forearm dragging on the bark as he caught hold of a loose vine and painfully pulled himself around. The stranger somehow followed, precisely, intuitively on his heels. Jake kicked his legs up, back flipping virtually in mid-swing to the branch above him. The Stranger was winding around the tree, toes clutching as expertly as his fingers, eyes focused on Jake like a spotlight.
Jake only then remembered he had a voice and called out, "Wait! I am not your enemy! I don't want to hurt you!"
"LIES!" the stranger roared and his voice rattled like a Thanator's heat sensing spines. The stranger leapt again, closing the distance with uncanny maneuverability. "YOU'RE AN AVATAR! YOU HAVE FIVE FINEGRS! YOU WORK FOR THE RDA!" he was screaming, his voice reverberating through the four chambers of his lungs in a deep bass bellow under toning his normal voice. Jake had not heard anything like this since a few horror movies on earth. Jake tried to keep his distance, tried to stay just out of spitting range. He truly didn't want to have to try and disable the stranger, he had no doubts he could crumple the much smaller and weaker being like wet paper- but it was about as risky as trying to stomp on a spitting cobra.
"You've been asleep for years! Much has changed! The RDA are no longer on Pandora!" Jake shouted, back pedaling and trying to keep the fast as a whip figure in his line of sight. He really had no idea how far he could release the venom.
"LIE LIE LIE LIE LIE! IMPOSSIBLE! THE RDA WOULD HAVE NUKED ANY HOSTILES FROM ORBIT!" The man swung unnaturally, his tail aiding in his balance without thought and adding an eerie unpredictability to his motions. Jake felt like he was trying to avoid stomping on a spider running across the floor.
"I AM NOT YOUR ENEMY!" Jake shouted, then to prove his point he turned completely and ran a few paces to dive into space. With a grunt of effort he was falling across a massive gap, and landed heavily with his abdomen against a tree branch. Jake scrabbled to get up, the wind knocked right from him. He whipped his ears around as the thrashing branch and falling leaves distracted all of his senses. His peripheral vision caught the slightest sight of a pale form scrambling up the opposite tree, spiraling around it with the speed of a squirrel and then leaping. Jake finally nailed the odd mixture of feelings running through him and the odd sense of familiarity- it was like fighting a face hugger. Jake snapped to as he began to heft himself and the figure landed in the foliage above him. Jake got to his feet as the figure dropped to his level and closed the distance with his whipping tail behind him in a blur.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?" his scream came out a reverberating roar like something from the poltergeist, followed by a white cloud. Jake dove backwards in a desperate move, the white powder was like getting a face full of flour, but it was sticky and Jake knew instantly there was no way to avoid it. Jake squeezed his eyes shut as his body fell backward into the gap he'd just crossed. The sensation of falling and a kind of pasty muck on his forehead and hands told him he'd been hit. But. Just as his mind began to speed, and every terrible fear he'd ever had began to make his heart beat as unbelievable speeds, Jake met the ground. Hard. Fears surrounded his thoughts, a tidal wave of screaming terror slowly, inevitably swallowed by dark unconsciousness.