Episode 4: Savior Soul

Early to bed, early to rise, makes everyone leery of a boy his size. Brain size that is. With daylight looming James Ian Pryce and a rested medic Elle Franklin prepared Colonel Jack Ramse for surgery. Having lost his arm in the crash landing of their military transport the incredibly determined to live Colonel awaited a miracle. No God approved miracle, he was hardly a believer, let alone any saint. He broke well over half of the ten commandments on a daily basis but let’s face it most humans did. His idea of miracle was belief in himself, maybe that was why his blood flow hadn’t left him hanging. Now that he was in a gravity well the pod maintained that flow, perhaps that in itself was his miracle. All Jack knew in his feverish mentality was that he was still alive. That, or there was a hell, and he was reliving this nightmare over and over. No sweat! Fuck the devil! Words to LIVE by.

Outside the medical lab that they were prepping in stood Colonel Ruby Goddard, Pilot Cameron Scott, and Sergeant Malcolm Brand all yawning but none the less worried for their strongest leader. Ruby might not like to hear that as tough as she was but even, she knew how accurate that statement was. She had crossed paths with Jack more than a few times over the years, even found him intriguing if he weren’t so damned grim all of the time. Not even his marriage tamed that fucker down. Divorced not long ago, his wife cheating repeatedly, he was back in rare form, until now. That missing arm was the one he used to choke his wife during sex. Wedding finger arm at that. Maybe it was a sign. No, that would mean believing in God.

“Is this going to work Colonel?” Cameron Scott shared his skepticism, “The kid there may be smart but is he that smart?”

“Brain surgery at age 12 on his telepathic pup. You tell me? And it’s Ruby, I told you two that. If we’re stuck here, wherever here is, whenever here is, we should all be on a first name basis. Got that? And I don’t know. James is probably the third smartest man on the planet. Kid that is.”

Malcolm diligently rubbed his gently fuzzy chin then puckered his opinion, “I got faith.”

“I got Vodka. Enough faith for me at the moment.” Cameron sighed.

“Ease up on that stuff. Even though we are in a safe environment ... well, actually we’re not.” She takes his bottle away from him and sets it aside. “There’s something you guys should know. The General’s daughter has gotten herself into some trouble. You guys were passed out when I got back so I let you sleep it off.”

“What’s wrong with her? Paddle her ass too hard and she can’t sit down on it?” Cameron smirked, almost proud of his treating her like an adult. Ruby in response closed her eyes, prepping her words and how exactly to ready them for the unknown.

“About that. You might not ever want to do that again. Your hand might not make it out alive. Of course, if this insect James and Elle are going to introduce Jack too, we could use one on you to put your hand back on, well, what hasn’t been eaten away.” That jarred the pilot, his face turning pale, “She got stupid last night and showered in what she presumed was a simple shower stall. Alien containment it seems, back flow if you will. Parasitic rain James called it. Anyway, she’s fine physically but those microscopic parasites bonded with her flesh. They eat anything that comes into contact with them. Organic that is. Like wool, which also means from a living creature. Sadly, she might just be doomed to be a nudist. Clothing dissolves in seconds of touching her. We don’t know for certain what human contact might do. So! Hands to yourselves Uncle Cam. No paddling the infant.” Both men stand expressionless. Disbelief in general. “Yeah, I know. Sucks to be her.” Seeing Cameron speechless Ruby decided to bring the bottle of Vodka back. After a healthy swig of her own she passed it around.

Within the surgery bay Elle marveled at the ease of which James handled the Colonel’s severed arm. Holding it into position with the use of mechanical tendrils provided by the ship’s assistance guides, thankfully minimal power to utilize them, he was able to perfectly introduce the Weaver bug into Jacks upper bicep where the cut was still gently bleeding. Taking to its environment a second nature, the bug strolled amid the meaty tissue. The mechanized tendrils positioned the fleshy arm back into its nearest puzzle piece interlocked position. Daylight lost to the insect the bug took control after that. Amazed by the swiftness of the bugs maneuvering within the bones, delicate nerves, and muscle tissue, an hour later they were all once more united as if it was never missing. And there, Mister Ramse was your miracle.

During the process time James did more research on the procedure, while Elle monitored vitals and pampered his fever with a moist cloth, water bottle friendly water. In his studies he discovers to his hidden regret that there were two types of Weavers. This particular Weaver did its necessary mending, however this breed offered more than bargained for.

“Oh, Boy.” He mumbled, eyes growing enough to concern his lab partner. Elle eyed his behavior with stunning brown orbs. “I guess I was right. Like I said, we can rebuild him, we have the technology! Seven mill Colonel! Seven mill!” Thoughts barely audible made the lovely black woman take pause.

“Are you alright?” Eleanor creased her brow, dabbing her own forehead with the cloth.

“Never better. Just like Jack here.” He turns away and bulges his eyes at the prospects of his unidentified mistake. Reading more in depth he discovered that this particular breed of beetle not only heals but strengthens its patient. Its enzymes used like an adrenalin steroid. As the bug eventually dies inside the patient from overtaxing itself in its mission, its enzymes multiply, fed by the body’s nutrients and courses throughout the bloodstream, fusing into every muscle. Goranthian trials in the past realized the strength increasing it tenfold. Jack Ramse was going to be a regular Captain America. Stronger, faster, sturdier. The more James read the more he smiled. He would keep this surprise to himself and play dumb. After all Jack deserved it. He was a true American hero anyway. G.I. Jack!

With an almost diabolical facial feature he realized between Jack and Sophia’s potential it was like he was building his own superhero team. Thoughts raged through his mind, until Elle gripped his shoulders from behind.

“Earth to Super Genius. Come in Super Genius. I think our bug is done. Jack’s vitals are almost perfect. No, make that perfect. Amazing!”

James smiles warmly, “Awesome. Now I can focus on Sophia.” Elle of course, was still in the dark over the General’s stunning supermodel daughter.

“Sophia? What’s wrong with her?”

“Ask Ruby, she should be the one to fill you in.” He decides to do his own set of vitals and confirms her results. Satisfied the bug was now a part of Jack in memory he then opened up the door to the room outside. By now Ruby had sent Malcolm and Cameron outdoors to dig graves. After a brief prognosis report James went off to rest, leaving Goddard to explain Sophia’s condition to Elle. Again, James Ian withheld the enhancement factor. To the boy, he wanted to see the evolution for himself before stressing Ruby out any further over his error in judgment. Once awake and on his feet, Jack could realize his gifts on his own to share with the others. Alive and soon to be gripping, Jack Ramse was as good as new.

Elle shocked by Sophia’s plight led her to gather up food and water to take to the girl. Whether or not that was necessary, Ruby warning that the girl might never need sustenance again, it was the thought that counted. In her isolation Elle knew she needed a friend to get her through this. Ordered to keep a good distance Elle knew the risk. That just left Ruby who entered Jack’s room, nervously peering down at him resting peacefully. “Looking good Soldier.” Was it odd that the blanket covering his Gentelia rose high and mighty?

Cocking a curious brow, she was tempted to lift the blanket and get a long-fantasized look at Ramse the Great. No! Respect sent her clouds of judgment away. She couldn’t even palm his chest, fearing the gravity change within. “Damn Jack! You been working out?” Veins were rippling, skin tightening up in areas that would normally take years to develop even living in a gym. Sighing over his physique Ruby turned away to take a walk. Three steps toward the exit she froze in step. Walking backwards she narrowed her eyes at that monstrous erection hidden away. “That man was certainly blessed. Third arm! Salute me with that when you wake up.” Grumbling over her desire to lift that blanket she forced herself out of the lab. Old friends do that kind of thing.

Outside of the Goranthian airship!

On the ground lay the covered bodies of six deceased aliens. Beside them rested the corpse of Madigan Ridge, Sophia’s mother, General’s wife. It was unfortunate that she was made to stay outside, but decay does a number on the nostrils. Luckily, there were no beasts nearby to feast on them. The terrain seemed lifeless as far as the eye could see, silent for the time being.

As Malcolm Brand shoveled a large crater for the passengers of their downed airliner, he stopped long enough to look up from the hole at his digging partner Cameron Scott.

“Are you going to help or site see?”

The lank pilot turned his ball cap backwards on his brow and nodded, “Sorry Mal! I figured we needed a lookout for critters after that pterodactyl did a number on us yesterday.”

“It’s like a crypt out here. Nice day and all, I’m pretty sure we could hear anything big sneaking up on us. Grab a shovel and we can get this done faster. I for one don’t want these folks any riper than they already are.”

“True that. Respect.” Cameron puckers then drops down into the pit beside Malcolm.

After a few shovels of soil each Malcolm stops to wipe his forehead of sweat, “Any thoughts on where we go after this all settles down?”

Cameron shrugs, “As much fun as living in an interstellar condo is, unless that kid can fly this boat I’d say were going to have to move on. I doubt we get any rescue parties from another time or dimension. Safe to say my black box on the Herc is as useless as the plane itself. Transponder died in the lightshow on the way here.”

“Wonder what else is out there? Aside from every ship and plane that ever vanished from the planet.” Malcolm ponders then hoists a few more scoops of dirt over his shoulder.

Cameron Scott added to the dirt pile then stops just long enough to look around them, the spaceship blocking everything left only where they came from and a short path of visual to the East, going by the sun in the sky. “Mountain range to the East. Looks like desert to the Southwest. Hell are we even on Earth anymore?”

“If not, at least the atmosphere is life sustainable. Good enough for me.”

“Yeah, breathing is good. Fresh air even. No pollution, unless we count the decaying bodies here.”

“I think that’s the first time I’ve ever noticed a difference. Does taste good, doesn’t it?” Malcolm responds. The two agree and fall silent their dig commencing.

Within the starship, Elle Franklin managed to follow directions and locates young Sophia Ridge. The girl was found sitting calmly Indian style on the floor.

Carrying in bottled water and rations while appearing curious as to the girl’s remarkable peacefulness and change in skin coloration, Elle could not help but admire her perfect glossy curves. Bisexual, Elle did have a roving eye like anyone else.

“Miss Ridge? Are you okay?”

Sophia smiles almost euphorically, “I’m good. Just listening to my new residents. They’re singing to me. It’s kind of cool, almost like whales or dolphins. I never gave it much thought until now. The world is a beautiful place. Meditation works!”

Caught off guard Elle looks stunned, “Singing? You can actually hear them on a microscopic level?”

“Oh, yeah! Soothing for sure. Almost like they are of one mind.”

“Do they acknowledge you? I mean do you share in the communication?” Elle sits her supplies on a table near Sophia and cautiously moves closer to kneel beside her.

“Still learning that. I think they respond to my emotions. I can feel them agitated when I get fearful or angry. Yet when I sat here singing to myself to calm my nerves they chose to sing back. I think they want me to remain calm and relaxed.”

Elle begins to raise her hand toward Sophia’s forehead to check her for a fever making Sophia shift away.

“I’m not sure you should touch me. It might not be safe. The dufus said it was unwise until he can do more research into the parasites.”

Elle frowns at Sophia, “Relax! Tell them I’m harmless. It’s my risk to take after all.”

“I know. But I can’t afford to lose anybody else in this crazy place. Please, just don’t.”

Understood! Pulling away Elle nods, “Alright.”

“James says they eat anything organic that touches my flesh. That’s why I’m naked. Everything dissolves away and absorbs into my pores like a sponge. I literally suck!” Her eyes bulge as she expresses hesitance, “What if I don’t feed them properly? Will they eat me?” Within her the singing parasites go silent. Suddenly, Sophia reacts as if listening to an inaudible voice, then reaches her hands up to both of her temples.

“Oh, my God! They spoke to me.”

Elle sits back on her boot heels and looks shocked, “You understood them?”

Sophia giggles, “Yes! Like a tickle inside my head, well, my whole body.” Elle examining Sophia saw the girl’s nipples reach out to their fullest potential. Yummy! Nope, not going there Elle diverted her gaze toward the humongous tank of water behind them. Reflection in the glass Elle sighed, she looked exhausted. Strangely, bubbles formed in the water as if a current and followed Elle’s features in the reflection. It was like artwork attempting to show her that the parasites, symbiotes, whatever they were a kinetic friendship. While she did not have a smile, her reflection did thanks to them. Wow!

“They just told me not to fear them. They will let me know when they need fed. They promise me no harm to myself or anyone around me. Now that we are as one, they will honor my decisions.”

“Crazy!” Elle expels then leans forward, “Let’s see how true that is.”

Sophia witnesses Elle’s fingertips again reaching for her forehead. This time she grits her teeth and tells her new friends to not hurt her. Her thoughts create peace. As soon as Elle touches skin she feels a very light electrical shock. Tingly to the nerves Elle smiles, “I’m not turning into a puddle of goo. I guess that’s a good thing.”

Sophia’s eyes tremble in their sockets, “You used to have an afro as a child.”

Elle winces, “How did you know that?”

“Your touch. It was like I fed on your memories. I saw you as a young girl. Like age 5 or 6.”

“Try 10. I looked young for my age. Tiny gal here in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t touch me anymore. I might learn something you don’t want me to know.”

“Not that many secrets really. But we did learn a couple interesting things here.” Her reflection goes turbulent in the tank as the inhabitants created a watery afro on Elle’s features. Pointing it out Sophia shifts to look behind her. She already knew of course but kept it to herself.

“My friends are gentler than was predicted.” Sophia grins. “Playful even. Cool AquaFro!”

“Adorable I’ll say that much. Thank God for that. I needed my hand.”

“What does this make me? A gypsy fortune teller?”

Elle chuckles, “You should ask them to let you wear clothing safely.”

Sophia smirks, “Not yet! I want to see the faces on all the others when they think I can’t wear anything.” Suddenly, her smile fades. A look of haunt expands over her face.

“Miss Ridge?”

“Piper. Sophia is really my middle name. I only use that amid family and business. Modelling name.”

“I like Piper. That’s a very nice name. Why the look of worry?”

“They like the freedom I give them. They asked me not to cover them up.”

“Not to try wearing clothing?”

“Yes. Air on my flesh feeds them as much as organic material. They are willing to compromise with me though. For short periods I can get dressed but they can’t predict how long before they hunger, and I might not even get a warning to take them off.” She smiles to herself thanking them internally for her next request. “Scratch that! No go on the clothing, they changed their minds.” Only because Sophia liked being naked. They were giving her what she truly wanted. A risky promise asked of them she begged to remain naked forever. Silly girl, lustful girl!

“Well, that doesn’t sound good. Thank them for at least not harming me.”

“They offer their friendship. Any friend of mine is a friend of theirs.” As a second thought Sophia asked her roommates for a short reprieve on the no clothing request. She thought it would be hilarious to have her clothing eaten away right in front of Cameron Scott, just to torture the poor man’s hormones. “I just begged them for clothing. They offered to try and contain their appetite. Thing is I don’t have any clothing down here.”

“Wonderful! Let’s find something and get you out of this creepy chamber?” Looking about Elle realizes there were no options. Finally, she sighs and begins unbuttoning her uniform shirt. Stripping down to a lacey black bra she offers the shirt to Sophia.

Before claiming it, Sophia squints her eyes in thought, “I asked them to give me an hour and I’ll remove it. Okay?” This was going to be hilarious. Claiming Elle’s shirt, she dons the garment and smiles. Winking at her Elle grabs her arm and escorts her out of the lab and into the hallway. It was good not to fear normalcy again. Sophia couldn’t wait to taunt the middle-aged pilot. The parasitic rain within her found her hormones delicious. Appetizer at best!

Jack Ramse regained consciousness far sooner than expected. Unknown to everyone the Weaver bug had replenished his blood loss and rapid healing in record time. Amazing creatures! Waking up was the easy part. The gravity bed he was floating in made his limbs exceptionally heavy. Including his newly attached arm. Even his eyelids had a struggle to lift open but tough guy pulled that off. In his struggle a warning light outside the room alerted anyone paying attention. Groaning at his prisoner status he couldn’t even speak. Luckily, after checking in on Malibu and Cameron, Colonel Ruby Goddard made her way back to the operating room to see the dim light blipping above the door. Pepping up at the hint that he was either awake or there was a problem she bolted to his bedside.

“I’m here Jack.” She felt compelled to reach for him as she had earlier but drew back. The gravity bed was back in mode so her hand touching him while active might have done more harm than good. From the outside moving in, the bed automatically ceased function, but the second foreign activity moved away it turned back on. She wasn’t truly aware of that function, touching him earlier didn’t seem to be a hassle. Alien tech was just unpredictable in the end. What she didn’t know was that his physique was resistant to harm unless it was far stronger than Ruby here, thus no harm done prior. “Take it slow. I’ll get James to shut off this bed. Be right back.”

Minutes later Ruby returns with a bedhead from hell version of kid genius James Ian Pryce. James at first peered into the gravity crib finding Jack sneering at him with a creased brow.

“Welcome back RamboSe, that’s Rambo combined with Ramse. Sorry! Good to see you awake Sir. Decreasing the gravity field now but I need you to remain calm the tech might make you woozy.” Meaning the aftereffects of the Weaver beetle. Ruby instinctively smiled down at Jack wanting to plant a hand on his chest until James pulls her back by her fiery red hair. The tug made her look at him all sorts of weird. “Sorry, again! I’m not replacing a lung today. Your added weight might crush his chest. Just wait a minute. Nice hair, better than mine.” Nerves took over his speech. He had never pulled a woman’s hair before. Only in pornos, which even at his age he enjoyed whether told not to or not.

Frowning at James as his elbow rubs against her breast accidentally in his prevention she recalled his groping of her when capturing the Weaver bug. This kind of treatment was becoming a habit. The boy hadn’t even realized it, for once he was more concerned with the full recovery of Colonel Jack Ramse. Ruby simply let it go. As the pod returns to normal gravity Jack was able to form words through a dry throat.