Prodigy Returns (book 3)

Chapter Two

Nodding off, Alex's mind returned to the most recent event in her life. She was standing over her father's dying body when his eyes suddenly popped open. Unsure if the eternity hack had worked, she watched on helplessly as Maxim Morrison clung to life.

"You're going to be okay, dad," Alex said. "Stay with me." Then she heard a succession of noises that sent chills down her spine.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Something was on board the ship with them, something very large. With each dense step, Alex felt the vibration rumble through the ship. Alex was absolutely terrified and the mixture of emotions she was feeling caused her stomach to churn.

Maxim was breathing and appeared to be in a stable condition, but he was unresponsive. His eyes closed and he slipped into a comatose state. Alex desperately tried to drag her father's body to safety, but the dead weight was too much for her. The only option was to stand her ground and fight. Alex heard a primal roar and heavy footsteps closing in. What soon followed was an intense fear that consumed every fibre of her being. She tried not to let it become too debilitating, but some internal processes are beyond her control.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The noises grew louder, reverberating throughout the hollow ship and down the hallway that led to the main cabin. The snarling breaths of some kind of beast were now just beyond the entrance. Unsure what was coming for her, Alex's heart raced violently. She tried communicating a thought to whatever was approaching, but she was unable to conduct herself with the proper focus. Time was running out. She had come so close to saving her father's life and now they were both likely to suffer the same fate.

Looking around frantically, Alex searched for a spot to hide. She spotted a small storage closet on the far side of the room and dashed toward it, leaving her father laying defenselessly on the floor. Alex wedged herself into the closet and peered through a tiny opening. Clutching her stick tightly to her chest, she waited.

With her eyes peeled wide, Alex's gaze never left the entrance. Emerging through the doorframe and into her field of view was a beast unlike anything she had seen before. She stood frozen with fear as the large mammal roared ferociously. The beast was huge. It looked like a big hairy ape covered in white fur. At ten feet tall, it walked upright like a person, but that's where the similarities ended. Its long bushy tail swayed around like a snake. Atop the broad muscular frame sat a head that looked like it belonged to another animal. The face closely resembled that of a primate, but it had a mane like a male lion. Two large fangs protruded from the upper gums and poked through the dense fur.

The beast approached Maxim slowly with a long-striding gait. After only a few paces, it stopped, looked in Alex's direction, and then sniffed. It knew she was there. With the element of surprise gone, Alex had no other hand to play.

Facing an inevitable encounter, Alex confronted her destiny and leaped from her hiding spot, waving her stick aggressively. She had no intention of fighting the beast, but figured she should at least try to scare it off. With her arms raised high, Alex let out a roar of her own. The beast snarled and lunged at her, covering the distance between them in a single bound. Alex barely had enough time to react, but managed to hold her stick straight out, plunging it into the thick muscular chest of the beast. The stick snapped in two and appeared to have no effect. The beast swatted at Alex, sending her flying across the room and crashing into some equipment. Upon impact, Alex smashed her head and sustained damage to her forearm, head, and ribcage.

Alex awoke with a jolt and immediately felt the pain rush through her body. She was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. The stiffness in her body was made worse by the uncomfortable night's sleep in the ratty captain's chair.

It took a moment for Alex's brain to recognize her surroundings once again and process where she was — alone and afraid on a distant planet very far from home. All her loved ones were completely oblivious to her whereabouts. She then thought about the time dilation. If what Maxim had said was true, one Earth year was equivalent to sixty years on this planet. Alex made the calculations in her head — for every hour on this planet, one minute would pass on Earth, two and half days would be equivalent to one hour, two months would be one day, and five years would be equal to one month on Earth. She immediately thought about Milo. She could stay an entire week on this planet and could return home before Milo even woke up and noticed she was missing.

As far as she knew, the transporter was in full working condition and she could travel back to Earth at any time. That gave her comfort, but that was not why she had come. In hindsight, it had been a foolish move to come here by herself without notifying anyone and without any supplies or preparation. In her naiveté, she had failed to consider the possibility of a time difference and the dangers that lay ahead. She figured she would just teleport to the ship, have a quick chat with her dad, and then come back. Now she had landed herself in a much different situation than what she was prepared for.

Alex felt vulnerable and anxious as she was completely out of her comfort zone. She felt if she gave any serious thought to the people she cared about back home she would begin to get homesick, so she tried not to think about them. Leaving that door open would only make her emotionally weak, and in her present situation, she could not afford to be weak.

To help settle her nerves, Alex rose from her chair, walked over to the window once again, and gazed out at the cluster of stars that scattered across the dark sky. It was just as beautiful even without the moon since she was unfamiliar with the constellations.

The stars were bright, but not enough to illuminate the forest floor. Without a proper light source, she had no choice but to remain inside. If night time on this planet lasted for any significant period of time, Alex would have to light her torch once again and scavenge for whatever food she could find.

Alex decided she was going to try to stay awake for as long as she could, but after only a few hours, her eyes became too heavy to hold open. She tried to fight it as much as possible, but inevitably she fell back asleep.