# JIH Chapter 8: Point the Way

Author: Dextrose Overdose
Tags: Adventure, Alien, Amphibian, Bug, Fantasy, Female, Human, Insect, Isekai, Magic, Male, Mountain, Sword, Trouble, kaiju, poo

Jack, an unassuming holiday traveler, makes a solid first impression.

"Zoe!"

 

I sloshed through a mire with the consistency and color of old, runny pistachio pudding.&nbsp;&nbsp;The stench was overwhelming and I concentrated on keeping my stomach down. The wide space between several of the ancient fallen trees had become a pool that was filling up fast.&nbsp;&nbsp;On the other side of one of them the pressure of twenty feet of liquid dung was finding its way through.&nbsp;&nbsp;Every second it got deeper and I tried not to think what would happen if the old rotten tree burst like a shoddy dam.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Zoe, can you hear me?"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

She had to be underneath, otherwise she would call out to me.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was desperately searching, feeling around blindly with my feet and poking with a long stick.&nbsp;&nbsp;I didn't want to abandon her, but the longer this took the more bleak my chances of finding her were.&nbsp;&nbsp;In a few more minutes this place would be buried, her along with it.&nbsp;&nbsp;My foot hit something hard and I turned my face away as I reached down to grab it.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was rewarded with a rock.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

The flood reached my hips and I unlimbered the baggage from my back and set it on top of a large piece of floating mushroom cap. I pulled Zoe's sheath out of my belt and put it on top.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pushing the makeshift boat along I continued to hunt.&nbsp;&nbsp;Bubbles, a glow, anything at all that could give me some idea where she was.&nbsp;&nbsp;There were disturbances everywhere as air escaped the ground and currents of fresh sewage rushed through the barrier.&nbsp;&nbsp;I happened across something moving and pulled it out, finding a small boulder-bug about the size of a softball desperately swimming for its life.&nbsp;&nbsp;Seeing no reason to let it die in such an undignified way, I put it on the mushroom and kept going.&nbsp;&nbsp;It wandered around, finding the edge and turning around only to find another edge.&nbsp;&nbsp;After a few moments it gave up and just rolled into a ball.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Damn it, Zoe!&nbsp;&nbsp;Where the hell are you?"&nbsp;&nbsp;The sick feeling that this was futile was starting to settle in; that I had lost her and any chance I had to find her was diminishing by the second.&nbsp;&nbsp;The deeper everything got the harder it was to move through.&nbsp;&nbsp;The ground under the muck was sticky and had already stolen my shoes.&nbsp;&nbsp;If I didn't escape soon I wouldn't be able to escape at all.&nbsp;&nbsp;As it reached up to my chest I promised myself that I'd make one more pass.&nbsp;&nbsp;I wouldn't give up just yet.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

But I found nothing.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

Immense, sickening guilt swept over me as I started to nudge the mushroom toward the edge of the pool to climb to safety.&nbsp;&nbsp;I had lost my only friend in this entire damn world.&nbsp;&nbsp;I should have done more.&nbsp;&nbsp;I shouldn't have let go of her when I fell.&nbsp;&nbsp;She needed me and I failed her.&nbsp;&nbsp;I'd be dead already if it wasn't for her and now she's gone.&nbsp;&nbsp;What was I going to do now?&nbsp;&nbsp;Xog could eat every bit of what I was struggling through and then fornicate itself.&nbsp;&nbsp;As I reached the edge of the pool I glanced at her sheath with regret... and I thought I saw something on it move.

 

I hadn't paid her sheath much mind.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was just a battered old wooden thing that she slept in.&nbsp;&nbsp;I picked it up.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sure enough there was something under the layer of filth that shifted.&nbsp;&nbsp;I quickly wiped it off on my shirt.&nbsp;&nbsp;I could make out barely visible markings in the ancient, worn surface of the wood.&nbsp;&nbsp;Most of it illegible runes that meant nothing to me, but there was a faint circle with an arrow that looked like a compass.&nbsp;&nbsp;The arrow pointed directly at me.&nbsp;&nbsp;I turned it and the impression of an arrow magically continued to point at me.&nbsp;&nbsp;I turned my whole body and the arrow stopped pointing at me.

 

It was pointing where I had come from.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

I abandoned the mushroom boat and splashed toward the direction the arrow indicated.&nbsp;&nbsp;The thick muck was getting up to my armpits and the currents were starting to gain strength, pushing at me.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I could barely get traction so the going was slow.&nbsp;&nbsp;I held up the sheath in front of me and paddled with one arm, watching the little arrow dance back and forth.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was up to my neck when the arrow suddenly spun around and pointed back at me.&nbsp;&nbsp;I shifted the sheaths position around to find exactly where it was pointing.&nbsp;&nbsp;I felt around with my feet and there was nothing.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just soft mush below me.&nbsp;&nbsp;That couldn't be!&nbsp;&nbsp;It's pointing right here!

 

I took several deep breaths to prepare for what I was about to do. Then I closed my eyes, squeezed my mouth shut and ducked into the filth.&nbsp;&nbsp;Fighting my buoyancy and using the sheath as a shovel, I reached down and dug into the muck.&nbsp;&nbsp;Nothing!&nbsp;&nbsp;Nothing!&nbsp;&nbsp;Nothing!&nbsp;&nbsp;As much as I dug it just kept filling in.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

I came back up gagging, coughing and spitting.&nbsp;&nbsp;I wiped my eyes and checked the sheath again.&nbsp;&nbsp;Still below me.&nbsp;&nbsp;Down I went and again I found nothing.&nbsp;&nbsp;I had to hold my head high to keep my mouth above the "waterline" to catch my breath.&nbsp;&nbsp;The fatigue was burning through my body like a fire but I refused to give up when I was this close.&nbsp;&nbsp;I went down one last time, digging frantically.&nbsp;&nbsp;My lungs felt like they wanted to pop and my stomach was on the verge of mutiny when the sheath hit something solid.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just before I ran out of air I reached into the sludge and grabbed a metal blade.&nbsp;&nbsp;Fortunately was not very sharp.&nbsp;&nbsp;I burst through the surface and held Zoe up victoriously.

 

"EEEEW!&nbsp;&nbsp;This is SO gross!" she shrieked.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

I wheezed and retched.&nbsp;&nbsp;"H-hey, Zoe."

 

"Master!&nbsp;&nbsp;You found me!"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"I couldn't leave my sword behind."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

I managed to grab a fragment of floating mushroom, but it was too small to offer much in the way of a life preserver.&nbsp;&nbsp;My vision was trying to blur and safety looked so very far away.&nbsp;&nbsp;I had been through too much.&nbsp;&nbsp;Every part of my body was in full revolt and in need of recovery.&nbsp;&nbsp;My legs didn't want to kick and my arms didn't want to tread. I was never a strong swimmer to begin with, and it wasn't like I was in water anyway, more like quicksand.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was at the mercy of the currents and movement of the sludge.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

I had seriously screwed up.

 

"Zoe, I can't... I can't reach the bottom anymore and I don't have any strength left in me.&nbsp;&nbsp;C-can barely move."

 

"You can make it, Master!&nbsp;&nbsp;I know you can!"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"I think..." sewage tried to get in my mouth and I spit.&nbsp;&nbsp;"I think I might be done for."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

She grew cold in my hand and flits of light danced over her.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Master Jack, you can't die!&nbsp;&nbsp;Not yet!&nbsp;&nbsp;If you do, I'll never forgive you!"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"It's o-okay, Zoe.&nbsp;&nbsp;When you wake up y-you'll have a new master."&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"No!&nbsp;&nbsp;Please don't give up!&nbsp;&nbsp;I N—" her final comment to me lost as I slid her into the sheath.&nbsp;&nbsp;I tucked her into my shirt to keep her safe.&nbsp;&nbsp;At least if someone ever happens to find my body they'll find her.&nbsp;&nbsp;A magical talking sword found with random dead nobody that was too stupid to survive.&nbsp;&nbsp;I had a lot of close calls since I arrived on this world, but you can only flirt with death for so long before it claims you.&nbsp;&nbsp;Given a choice, I'd probably go with getting eaten by a monster over drowning in excrement.&nbsp;&nbsp;Not for the first time I cursed Xog for being such a stupid, backward, senseless world.&nbsp;&nbsp;Turns out it wasn't for the last either.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

As I vainly struggled to keep my head out of the filth, something slapped me painfully in the face.&nbsp;&nbsp;I took it as yet another indignity that was heaped upon me, brushing away what had struck me before I realized it was something like a rope.&nbsp;&nbsp;In fact, a thick vine.&nbsp;&nbsp;It extended away from me all the way to the edge of the pool.&nbsp;&nbsp;Through the murk clouding my eyes I could make out someone there, holding the other end.&nbsp;&nbsp;They appeared to be shouting something, but I couldn't hear with all the fluid blocking my ears.&nbsp;&nbsp;With a weak hand I grasped the vine, but it slipped from my fingers and the current carried it away.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was having trouble keeping my head up and became disoriented.&nbsp;&nbsp;I could no longer see the person anymore, nor the vine.&nbsp;&nbsp;For a moment I considered that I had simply imagined it in fatigued delirium.&nbsp;&nbsp;My mind attempting to give me hope where there was none.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

Then something splashed down next to me.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was the vine again.&nbsp;&nbsp;This time the end of it had a loop knotted into it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Hands that seemed to no longer be connected to my mind grabbed it and an arm slipped into the loop, then the other.&nbsp;&nbsp;The vine cinched down on my chest as it was drawn taut and I was getting dragged through the slime.&nbsp;&nbsp;I didn't have enough strength to assist whoever was pulling me, barely able to keep my head turned upward to breathe.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was hauled out of the sludge and dragged bit by bit up the steep slope.&nbsp;&nbsp;All I could do was struggle to recover my breath.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

I was dragged on the top of an ancient decayed log and someone was over me, leaning down to examine what they had found.&nbsp;&nbsp;I gazed wearily at a strange blue face with markings that glowed brightly in the black light.&nbsp;&nbsp;The skin was glossy and smooth.&nbsp;&nbsp;It had a wide mouth and two large, jet-black eyes that blinked at me curiously.&nbsp;&nbsp;On top a tall, spiny fin stood up like a mohawk.&nbsp;&nbsp;It had similar fins on the sides of its skull where ears should be.

 

Oh good.&nbsp;&nbsp;Instead of drowning in shit I get to be eaten by the Creature from the Black Lagoon.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Ch-chirp shir chirp," the creature said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"What?"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Chirp?"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

I shook my head.&nbsp;&nbsp;"I'm... I'm sorry, I can't understand you."

 

The creature didn't appear to be threatening.&nbsp;&nbsp;Which was good because my body had the consistency of jelly and I was in no shape to endure yet another danger.&nbsp;&nbsp;The fin on top of its head dropped down and it pressed a hand over its nose, clearly offended by my smell.&nbsp;&nbsp;Only a few hours earlier seeing something like this thing standing over me would have caused a bladder malfunction, but it wasn't even in the top ten crazy things I've seen on Xog.&nbsp;&nbsp;It appeared to be a person that was a cross between a frog, a fish, and a spider monkey.&nbsp;&nbsp;Two arms and two legs like any other person, but it had large webbed feet and hands, each possessing one less digit than I did.&nbsp;&nbsp;Behind it swayed a whip-thin tail over twice as long as it was tall. The tail ended with three finger-like tips with webbing between.&nbsp;&nbsp;The creature's glossy skin was dark blue and had glowing spots where the blue reacted in the black sun. It was clothed in a loincloth made from animal skin, and a furry, lavender wrap around its shoulders.&nbsp;&nbsp;A wide sash of intricately woven patterns of assorted colors was wrapped tightly around its belly up to the armpits.&nbsp;&nbsp;Tucked into the sash at the hip was an odd weapon akin to an oversized ninja star with three curved prongs.&nbsp;&nbsp; The creature had a metallic blinking tag in the center of the chest in a similar position to mine.

 

"Um... I guess thank you?" I said.

 

It's cheeks momentarily inflated as it gagged and it gave a series of clicks and chirps, which I assume was revulsion.&nbsp;&nbsp;The creature's gaze fell upon Zoe's hilt sticking out of my shirt.&nbsp;&nbsp;It made a shrill whistle of excitement, forgot its disgust and snatched the sword from my clothes.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Wait! No, give her back!"&nbsp;&nbsp;I reached for Zoe but what I had assumed was a furry shawl on the creature's shoulders suddenly came to life.&nbsp;&nbsp;I recoiled as the fur sprouted a toothy mouth that snapped and hissed at me.&nbsp;&nbsp;It wasn't an article of clothing, it was one of those striped ferret/snake animals I had seen before.&nbsp;&nbsp;This one purple instead of green.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

The amphi-person turned Zoe over in its hands, examining her.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Ch-hir shir chi–" it drew Zoe from her sheath, "–ake this as payment."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"—EED YOU, MASTER JACK!"&nbsp;&nbsp;Zoe shrieked.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

The creature's reaction to a talking sword was much like mine, dropping Zoe like she was molten.&nbsp;&nbsp;It made an astoundingly long leap backward, landing in a crouch twenty yards away.

 

"That thing talks!" it blurted in shock.

 

"You can talk!" I observed.

 

"You can talk?" it made the same of me.

 

"I was talking the whole time!"&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"You were only grunting at me!"

 

"You were tweeting like a bird!"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"No I... What's a byrd?"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Wait, what's going on?&nbsp;&nbsp;Who's talking?&nbsp;&nbsp;Master!&nbsp;&nbsp;You're okay!"&nbsp;&nbsp;Zoe cried out.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

It dawned on me.&nbsp;&nbsp;So _that's_ why the robot and Rockie had inexplicably spoken English.&nbsp;&nbsp;I picked Zoe up. "Why didn't you tell me you could do that?" I asked.

 

"Do what?"

 

"We can understand anyone that touches you."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Really?"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Yes, really."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

There was a pause as she processed that.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Neat!"

 

The amphibian eyed me warily with one of its hands resting on the weapon at its side.&nbsp;&nbsp;The furry snake coiled around it had grown agitated by the situation, growling with flattened ears.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Quiet, Charea."&nbsp;&nbsp;It stroked the snake and it appeared to calm down.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Who's the blue woman?" Zoe asked.

 

I frowned.&nbsp;&nbsp;She's been saying everything is female and I'm starting to think she couldn't tell any better than I could.&nbsp;&nbsp;"That's not a woman.&nbsp;&nbsp;It doesn't have breasts."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"I'm a woman and I don't have breasts," Zoe pointed out.&nbsp;&nbsp;Which unfortunately put me in the position of being educated by a moron.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"You there!" the amphibian—who I had no reason to presume wasn't female—called out.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Are you a jambi?"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

I propped myself on an elbow, wiped a hand across my face and flicked away the gunk.&nbsp;&nbsp;I didn't know what a "jambi" was or if it was good or bad to be one.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Not so far as I know.&nbsp;&nbsp;My name is Jack."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"I've never seen your kind before. What tribe are you?"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Um... American?"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Are all from your tribe able to speak with knives?"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

Zoe vibrated sharply. "Knife?&nbsp;&nbsp;I'm not a—"

 

"Shush, Zoe.&nbsp;&nbsp;I, uh, can't say it's common," I admitted, groaning as I sat up.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Where did you come from?"

 

I pointed up the mountain.&nbsp;&nbsp;"There."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"It's dangerous to be in the mountains."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Yeah, we noticed.&nbsp;&nbsp;The cave wasn't a picnic either."

 

"You were in the caves?" she said with dismay.

 

"Not by choice, I can tell you that."&nbsp;&nbsp;I hung Zoe on a convenient branch of the shrub next to me.&nbsp;&nbsp;"You know, in my tribe, usually when we tell someone our name it's considered rude for the other not to do the same."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

The amphibian appeared shamed by the accusation and its hand fell away from the weapon.&nbsp;&nbsp;"I apologize, Jack of Tribe Ummerican.&nbsp;&nbsp;My name is Sei'la."

 

"And uh, your tribe?"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"I don't have one."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"You're alone?" Zoe asked.

 

Sei'la pet the snake around her neck.&nbsp;&nbsp;"I have Charea."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Charea is soouper cute!" Zoe fawned.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Look at that little face!&nbsp;&nbsp;And she looks so pretty on you.&nbsp;&nbsp;We have to get one, Master.&nbsp;&nbsp;Or maybe two?&nbsp;&nbsp;One for both of us.&nbsp;&nbsp;Do they come in pink?&nbsp;&nbsp;That's like my favori—"

 

"Zoe!"

 

"Sorry, Master."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Are you from here with all the snails, flying eels and underground octopuses, or were you brought here by demons?" I asked Sei'la.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

She shook her head in confusion.&nbsp;&nbsp;"I don't know what you mean by any of that."

 

"I just thought since you had a run-in with the robot, maybe you came here the same way I did."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Row-butt?"

 

I pointed up.&nbsp;&nbsp;"The box from the sky?&nbsp;&nbsp;A big red eye and lots of arms?&nbsp;&nbsp;It came down and had its way with me before pinning this on."&nbsp;&nbsp;I opened the front of my shirt and indicated to the device on my chest.&nbsp;&nbsp;"You have one too."

 

She touched her tag and I notice an elaborate tattoo on her chest that accentuated it.&nbsp;&nbsp;"I've had the holy mark my whole life.&nbsp;&nbsp;Everyone has one."

 

"It's new for me."&nbsp;&nbsp;I loosened the vine looped around me and pulled it off.&nbsp;&nbsp;If she had it her entire life it's reasonable to assume she was born here. If she's native that means she knows how to survive and her expertise could be invaluable. I should do what I could to make friends with her.&nbsp;&nbsp;This was surreal.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was engaged in a conversation with an extraterrestrial being on an alien planet.&nbsp;&nbsp;It wasn't like I had expected.&nbsp;&nbsp;Although I wasn't sure what I expected.&nbsp;&nbsp;Maybe brain-melting or face-huggers.&nbsp;&nbsp;I suppose those parts might come later.&nbsp;&nbsp;She was keeping a respectable distance, so perhaps she had the same reservations about me.&nbsp;&nbsp;Either that or it was my smell.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Well, Sei'la, we're grateful you and Charia came along when you did to pull us out of that mess, we owe you one."

 

"The debt is accepted, but I had hoped you would be one of my kind," she confessed.&nbsp;&nbsp;That made sense.&nbsp;&nbsp;Splashing around in feces I was likely to be recognizable as any particular creature.&nbsp;&nbsp;I tried to stand up and grunted when I failed.

 

"In that case, thank you for not dropping us back in when you realized your mistake."

 

"I couldn't.&nbsp;&nbsp;Your mark was calling mine.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ar'kivist sent me to find you."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Ar'kivist?"

 

She pointed up.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Ar'kivist who lives in the sky above Kalkal."&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

I assumed "Kalkal" was the thing that took a kaka on me.&nbsp;&nbsp;Godzeela was still visible heading toward another mountaintop to make a run for more plankton.&nbsp;&nbsp;Not surprising, considering how fast they run through her. I examined the tag on my chest.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was blinking a particular sequence of lights.&nbsp;&nbsp;The tag on Sei'la's chest was blinking an identical sequence.&nbsp;&nbsp;I didn't care for what that implied.

 

"You mean these things can control us?"

 

She blinked dully, perplexed by my dismay.&nbsp;&nbsp;"We have to obey.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ar'kivist protects us."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

I grumbled: "I could do without that sort of protection."

 

"You kinda did need to be rescued," Zoe quipped.

 

"Zoe..."

 

"Right.&nbsp;&nbsp;Shush."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

I managed to get to my feet even though I was still jittery from fatigue.&nbsp;&nbsp;I wiped my face and hands off on the large pink and blue spotted leaves of a nearby shrub.&nbsp;&nbsp;They were inadequate for the job.&nbsp;&nbsp;Searching around I found my baggage was below still floating on the mushroom in the pool.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was caught up on the edge in some of the bushes.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Great," I sighed.

 

"I'm concerned your mark is still calling mine.&nbsp;&nbsp;I don't understand why."&nbsp;&nbsp;Sei'la paced and the serpent/ferret thing on her shoulders slithered around her neck, keeping its mistrustful eyes on me.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"I don't hear anything at all."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"It's not a sound, it's a feeling."

 

"Yeah, I'm not getting that either."&nbsp;&nbsp;I gathered up the vine that had been used to rescue me, contemplating how I could use it to get my baggage back.&nbsp;&nbsp;I wasn't feeling up to rappelling down for it.

 

"It's only that I don't know what Ar'kivist wants me to do.&nbsp;&nbsp;I had assumed I was supposed to help you, but why is it still calling?"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Look, this is interesting and I don't mean to be rude," I said, "but this is literally the most disgusting I have ever been in my entire life.&nbsp;&nbsp;I just want to get my luggage, find someplace to take a bath, and brush my teeth about 800 times."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"What's a luggage?"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"My baggage."&nbsp;&nbsp;I pointed down into the pool.&nbsp;&nbsp;"The white bag."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"I can get it."&nbsp;&nbsp;Sei'la scrambled down the slippery slope of the log with ease.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her large hands, feet and prehensile tail effortlessly grasping any handhold.&nbsp;&nbsp;In a few seconds she returned with my baggage grasp by her tail like a third hand.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"I brought your food too."&nbsp;&nbsp;She said as she gave me the small curled up boulder bug.

 

"Oh... thanks, but—"

 

"Aww, don't eat the baby Rockie!"

 

"No!&nbsp;&nbsp;Zoe, don't fall in love with this one," I warned.&nbsp;&nbsp;"I'm not going to eat it, I was just rescuing it."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Her."

 

"Will you stop that!"

 

Sei'la cocked her head.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Rescuing?&nbsp;&nbsp;It's just a di'mirk."

 

"Seemed like the right thing to do.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was helpless."&nbsp;&nbsp;I turned the small creature in my hand.&nbsp;&nbsp;Under the mire covering it there was a blinking tag.&nbsp;&nbsp;A "di'mirk", huh?&nbsp;&nbsp;I think I prefer "boulder-bug" even if it didn't fit in this instance.&nbsp;&nbsp;I put it down to set it free.

 

"And dee-marks are cute," Zoe insisted.

 

"Di'mirk," Sei'la corrected.

 

"That's what I said!"

 

Sei'la's tail handed over my suitcase and I opened it up.&nbsp;&nbsp;Despite the hole that the snail had bitten into the bag it had done a good job of keeping the contents clean and dry.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sacrificing the socks on top to wipe myself off as best I could, I dug to the bottom to retrieve my dress shoes.&nbsp;&nbsp;The previously polished black shoes were bleached back to natural leather and ruined, but still something to wear.&nbsp;&nbsp;They were slip-ons without laces which were worse for the situation I was in than the shoes I had lost were, but I wasn't going to go digging for the other pair nor go barefoot.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"That is an interesting bag.&nbsp;&nbsp;How did you make such material and that closure?"&nbsp;&nbsp;Sei'la asked.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

I closed the luggage and slung the belt over my shoulder.&nbsp;&nbsp;"I bought it.&nbsp;&nbsp;It's just nylon and a zipper."&nbsp;&nbsp;I considered taking the vine since a rope was probably useful, but the vine was just another thing that had been in a pool of crap. Sei'la didn't seem interested in recovering it so it must not be much of a loss.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Since you're from here, do you know where I can find some water to get cleaned up?&nbsp;&nbsp;Water that's safe to drink maybe?"

 

"There's water not far away.&nbsp;&nbsp;I could lead you to it."&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"We're not leaving Dee-Dee behind, are we?"&nbsp;&nbsp;Zoe fretted.

 

Aw, jeez, she named it.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Dee-Dee" was wandering around my feet, her thin antennae prodding at my legs.&nbsp;&nbsp;I carefully stepped over the creature.&nbsp;&nbsp;"She'll be fine," I assured as I took Zoe off the branch and picked up the scabbard.&nbsp;&nbsp;"And if you start crying again I swear I'll put you in this stinky sheath."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

She sniffed but stayed composed. "I wasn't gonna cry."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"You two are the strangest things I've ever come across," Sei'la said before motioning toward the jungle.&nbsp;&nbsp;"This way, and hurry, Tro-Brinma is drying me out."

 

"Tro-what?"

 

She pointed to the dark sun in the sky.&nbsp;&nbsp;"You're lucky Tro-Sular is hidden behind Ja'kar-sil-ko or it would have been too hot to come out here at all."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

Okay, yeah.&nbsp;&nbsp;I'm not going to be bothered to remember those names.

 

I trotted along the top of the log, my feet squishing into the rotten old wood with every step.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sei'la hopped ahead but kept her pace low.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even if I wasn't sore and exhausted I would have been incapable of keeping up with her and she was irritated by my lack of speed, wanting to get out of the sunlight.&nbsp;&nbsp;On her shoulder Charea's head bobbed as she kept suspicious, cat-like eyes on me.&nbsp;&nbsp;We zigzagged along on top of the tangle of ancient dead trees.&nbsp;&nbsp;Occasionally Sei'la had to help me climb where trees had fallen over each other, letting me grasp her long tail to be pulled up.&nbsp;&nbsp;The tail felt odd and was more like a tentacle than a tail.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was cool to the touch like a three-fingered, boneless hand wearing a rubber glove, and had an incredible gripping texture.

 

"Your skin is hot," Sei'la noticed, "and your face is leaking.&nbsp;&nbsp;Are you unwell?"

 

"I'm fine.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is all normal."&nbsp;&nbsp;Perfectly normal for someone that's out of shape.

 

We made it close enough to the jungle that the canopy was shading us and Sei'la slowed her pace.&nbsp;&nbsp;The trees that had fallen hadn't been lying as long, and were less decayed into the ground.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was easier and safer for me to switch from walking on them to walking under them, picking our way through the gaps where they propped up on each other.&nbsp;&nbsp;Some only a few feet high and some large enough to sail a yacht under.&nbsp;&nbsp;Knee-high hairy blue ferns and giant mushrooms grew throughout, and small balloon-like jellyfish fluttered around in the sheltered calm within the fallen trees.

 

Sei'la periodically hopped to higher vantage points to keep a lookout for trouble. "We have to be careful when going under."&nbsp;&nbsp;Sei'la warned.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Gholts sometimes use them for an ambush.&nbsp;&nbsp;Usually I go over to avoid them."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Gholts?"

 

"Big and ugly with lots of teeth.&nbsp;&nbsp;I could escape, but since you can't climb or jump..."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Right.&nbsp;&nbsp;I'll keep an eye out for big and ugly," I promised.

 

Satisfied that there was no imminent danger, Sei'la walked nearby, although staying upwind from me.&nbsp;&nbsp;Charea had grown accustomed to my presence and was snoozing, her head tucked under the alien's chin.&nbsp;&nbsp;Walking wasn't an ambulatory state Sei'la appeared suited for, the large feet were better for hopping and climbing so she was forced to walk on her toes. I took the opportunity to observe her closer.&nbsp;&nbsp;She was almost as tall as I was, but much thinner.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her black eyes were expressive, but the rest of her face didn't appear to have much articulation.&nbsp;&nbsp;She couldn't smile or frown.&nbsp;&nbsp;Or at least she hadn't felt the need to do either so far.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her mouth didn't have lips and I could see small, needle-sharp teeth when she spoke.&nbsp;&nbsp;The mouth movements didn't correspond with the words spoken, like watching a dubbed foreign movie.&nbsp;&nbsp;I expect that was due to the limitations of Zoe's translation magic.&nbsp;&nbsp;The fins on the sides and top of her head raised and lowered in relation to her mood, but I hadn't deciphered the positions yet.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her tail moved constantly and apparently without her conscious thought.&nbsp;&nbsp;The fingers grasping and touching what she walked by, always seeking a handhold.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her sleek skin lacked any pores or hair, and in the shade the spots nearly disappeared, only to burst brilliantly when black sunlight managed to stream through the treetops.&nbsp;&nbsp;The coloration reminded me of those bright, South American frogs.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

She caught me examining her.&nbsp;&nbsp;"What?"

 

"Sorry.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was just wondering if you were poisonous."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

Her eyes narrowed.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Why?&nbsp;&nbsp;Were you planning on eating me?"

 

I chuckled.&nbsp;&nbsp;"I wouldn't do that.&nbsp;&nbsp;You're the only friend I've got besides Zoe."

 

She stopped in her tracks.&nbsp;&nbsp;"No, no.&nbsp;&nbsp;We are _not_ friends," she stated firmly.&nbsp;&nbsp;"I'm only helping you because Ar'kivist wants me to."&nbsp;&nbsp;With that she walked past me and stepped up her pace.

 

I jogged to catch up.&nbsp;&nbsp;"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

 

"I'm not uncomfortable.&nbsp;&nbsp;That's how it is."

 

"What is Ar'kivist anyway?"&nbsp;&nbsp;Zoe piped up.

 

"Ar'kivist is... Ar'kivist."&nbsp;&nbsp;Sei'la was mystified by the question.&nbsp;&nbsp;"We are all connected to Ar'kivist because we come from Ar'kivist.&nbsp;&nbsp;I don't know how else to explain that."

 

"But we have seen Ar'kivist," I insisted.&nbsp;&nbsp;"It's a robot.&nbsp;&nbsp;It's made of metal and circuits."

 

She shook her head.&nbsp;&nbsp;"The "row-butt" as you say was just a herald.&nbsp;&nbsp;There are many of those—more than can be counted.&nbsp;&nbsp;They watch and protect us.&nbsp;&nbsp;I've had... contact with them many times.&nbsp;&nbsp;They are simple servants, no more Ar'kivist than Zoe is you."

 

"I'm not simple!"&nbsp;&nbsp;Zoe objected.&nbsp;&nbsp;I had to resist the retort to that.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"I wonder why Ar'kivist is interested in protecting me?"

 

"I've never seen anything like you so that means you're rare," Sei'la speculated. "Ar'kivist takes more interest in less common creatures."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"Are your kind rare?"&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"I'm going over."

 

"What?"

 

Sei'la pointed to a tangled wall of vines which marked the edge of the jungle.&nbsp;&nbsp;"There's no way I'm going through there and you're too heavy for me to carry.&nbsp;&nbsp;I'm going over."&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

I balked at the wall of foliage.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Shouldn't we look for an easier place to get through?"

 

"This _is_ the easy place," she said as she sprang to the top of a fallen log.&nbsp;&nbsp;"There's water on the other side and this is the only way to get to it. I'll meet you there."&nbsp;&nbsp;She hopped up to the top of a towering root that had been torn upright when the tree fell.&nbsp;&nbsp;From there she jumped to a standing tree that made a sequoia look like a sapling, clinging easily to the bark.&nbsp;&nbsp;She scurried around and jumped to the next tree and was gone.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

"I don't know if she likes you," Zoe said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/pnG8W9j1
Part of the series Jack's Incidental Holiday
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