Crunchy

Kortock frowned. It felt like hours, but he seemed to be silently placing different pieces of a puzzle together and making sense of what he had just heard.

"Your father…he seems to know too much. I don't think they are going to dare to do anything to your mother. They would have killed her already if it wasn't such a drag to cover the tracks."

Ian was mortified by the ease that Kortock had while speaking of the possibility of a murder. It didn't help things that the intended victim would have been his mother.

"She told me she is going on the run as well," Ian said grimly. "You don't seem too upset."

"I don't have time to make you think about what a great empath I am," his mentor said. "Someone has to have a cool head in this situation. Might as well be me."

"I don't think I can sleep right now," Ian said. "I will keep watch for a while."

"Wake me up before your eyes shut themselves, then. Try to stay alert."

Their makeshift camp was soon ready. Lilac had a tent all to herself, while Kortock and Aiden slept in the same one. The buff guy slept in his own tent. He was way too big to share one.

Ian didn't remember his name and at this point it would have been way too awkward to ask.

The remains of the jungle were quiet. There was a deer nearby, and it did not seem to be upset, which was good, for prey animals were easily upset by leaves falling, not to mention what happened if they sensed an actual threat.

Ian thought about how fun it would have been if the deer had received a system from the humanoids, too.

Then something made a noise in the woods and the deer ran away.

Ian was now completely awake and alert. He pointed his flashlight towards the source of the rustling of the dead vegetation.

He heard heavy breathing. The leaves that the flashlight was illuminating turned from pink to turquoise.

Ian had no idea what the colors meant.

Into the light came a humanoid, but this was not the Outcast, rather, this specimen had to be one who had spent way too much time among humans. This humanoid was frighteningly obese, with a luminous double chin engulfing what had once been a neck, and its girth rivaling the trunk of the greatest tree in the entire jungle.

Ian had rarely seen fat humans, and to be face to face with an actual overweight alien was somehow absurd enough that he had to suppress a chuckle.

"What do you seek from me?" Ian asked.

"Nothing but to assist you." The humanoid seemed to be out of breath. "I have heard that there are traitors in 13. I can give you their names if you give me that flashlight."

"No," Ian said calmly. "I don't accept that. You try to pass off a trade as charity. Please, make another offer. I might need this flashlight later."

[INTELLIGENCE IS NOW 15]

The humanoid glanced towards the tents. One of them, the one where Kortock was sleeping, was moving in a way that suggested the awakening of its inhabitants.

The fat humanoid turned around, and with great effort, its pendulous gut slowing down its movements and slapping against its legs, ran back into the jungle, bouncing and jiggling on its way.

Ian was mortified, confused and upset about this interesting encounter ending too soon.

Lilac came to him.

"What was it?" she said with a yawn.

"A fat humanoid just asked me to give up my flashlight."

Lilac laughed. "Did it say why?"

"No. But it did say that it would have given me some names…"

Ian began to ponder whether he had made a grave mistake. Surely there was a reason his intelligence had shot up the moment he had refused the offer. It was also suspicious that the humanoid had not wanted to meet Kortock. Maybe there was something dishonest going on.

"And you didn't give it the flashlight?!" Lilac shouted at him. "Are you stupid or something?! We could have made progress!"

She raised her hand, but suddenly Kortock was there, and he grabbed her arm before she could strike Ian.

"We do not hit friends here," the mentor said, with such calm, cool rage in his voice that Ian got scared, even though he was not the target of said rage.

"He just missed an opportunity to trade an item for the names we need to go back!" Lilac protested. "You can't possibly think this is all right!"

"You scared of the jungle?" Kortock glared at her. "That's all right. We still do not hit friends here. If I was less of a gentleman, I could snap your arm in two."

The commotion had woken up everyone. Aiden was observing the situation from a safe distance. The tank was chewing something that smelled quite strong.

"I have to explain myself," Ian said, thinking that Kortock was being a bit hypocritical. The mentor had attacked him before.

Ian told Kortock the entire event with the obese humanoid, but the older man merely frowned.

"Humanoids do not get fat like that very often. They are not doing very well."

On the very edges of Ian's consciousness an idea was forming, but it was too nebulous, too threatening to even think of it now.

He felt something in his left foot, a sudden sting of pain that was bone-piercing, terrifyingly acute and sudden.

[HEALTH POINTS NOW AT 90/100]

He had been rhinoed. A cobra had taken a big chunk out of his left foot, his boot was now ruined and he was bleeding badly from the injured foot.

Lilac ran up to him.

"Geez! What – a cobra?! We must wash that immediately! I will take some alcohol and -"

"This hurts!" Ian exclaimed, as if that hadn't been obvious.

The pain felt stinging enough that it got into his head, clouding his vision.

[HEALTH POINTS NOW AT 86/100]

In his anger, he punched the ground, and a terrifying crunching sound was heard.