They made the rest of the trek in silence, the alien mulling over his fate, his human companion stunned at the revelation that the Raxxians were even more brutal than she had already thought.
“This will suffice,” he said when they reached a rocky outcropping nestled in the trees on the ridge.
Bodok looked up at the sky. The sun was dipping low, the shadows long as the day slid into night.
“Everything okay?” Maureen asked.
“Yes. But it is getting dark sooner than I anticipated. Remain here and gather wood for a fire. I am going to the nearest water source to see if I can acquire us some game for dinner.”
She looked up into his silver eyes, her hand resting on his arm purely out of her caring instinct. “Be safe.”
He nodded once, then turned and strode off into the woods.
Well, this has been a day, Maureen mused as she began her search for dry wood. Fortunately, under these trees there was an abundance, and she amassed a respectable pile in no time. She wiped her hands, satisfied as she surveyed her work.Okay. And now I wait.
It was a short time later that Bodok returned. At first, it looked as though he had come empty-handed, but then she saw the two small animals skewered on sticks. They were each the size of a large rabbit, but with six legs rather than four.
What they looked like normally she had no idea. They were already prepped for cooking, gutted and cleaned, their pelts long gone. He had apparently managed to catch and clean them, washing himself in the nearest creek before returning to camp. He would not be attracting any predators if he could help it.
He rested them against a rock and took some wood from the pile Maureen had stacked.
“You did a very good job,” he said. “Well done.”
“Thanks. Seems your outing was a success too.”
He nodded. “We will eat well tonight. I look forward to replenishing our energy with something other than Raxxian feed balls.”
He bent down and began striking his flint.
“Yeah, those things suck,” she agreed. “Though the purple ones weren’t too bad.”
Bodok’s shoulders shook a little as he let out a little laugh. Gallows humor among survivors of horrific events.
“Spoken like a woman who has not spent very long eating nothing but Raxxian slop. Believe me, it gets old quickly.”
“Yeah, I suppose even sushi would get old eventually if I ate it every day.”
“Sushi?”
“Raw fish and rice. It’s a delicacy of sorts.”
“Raw?”
“Yeah.”
“And this is considered a treat?” he asked, striking his flint harder.
“Well, yeah. I mean, when you say it like that it doesn’t sound all that great, but trust me, it’s actually really good.”
Bodok flashed her a bright grin. “I will take your word for it. I prefer my meals cooked.”
The kindling must have heard him, the spark leaping into a flame which he quickly tucked into the wood. A minute later they had a respectable fire going.
Bodok placed their meal over the fire. Soon it was sizzling, and whatever these things were, Maureen thought it smelled amazing. Far better than the leeches for sure, though that wasn’t saying much.
“Here,” he said, handing her one of the thick skewers. “Eat up. Build your strength. We will sleep soon. Our travels continue as soon as the sun is up.”
She dug in. “Wow. This is really good,” Maureen said, any apprehension about eating a six-legged alien critter gone with the first bite.
