Prodigy Returns (book 3)

Chapter Ten

Without even knowing it, Alex had dozed off. She was curled up on the ground lying next to the fire. As much as she tried to resist it, her body desperately needed sleep.

The fire continued to burn through the night and by morning it was reduced to a pile of smoldering ashes. Alex awoke a little after sunrise and was grateful she had survived the night. This gave her confidence that she could do it again if needed, although she would rather not make a habit of it. Now with a full day ahead of her, she had a little more time to prepare.

Stretching out the kinks in her sore muscles, Alex was relieved that her body was healing. She felt vastly better than the previous morning. She checked her right forearm by applying pressure, and she no longer felt any pain. That was a good sign.

Alex ensured her fire had been fully extinguished before proceeding about her day. With her long walking stick in hand, she set off. Obtaining food, water, and shelter remained the biggest priorities of the day, but staying alive during that time would surely be no small task. With danger at every turn, she needed to navigate through the jungle and find some sort of civilization. It was clear her father hadn't been living on the ship so she concluded he must have a camp set up nearby. If an old man found a way to survive for the past sixty years, many of which on his own, then Alex was confident she could do the same, at least until she figured out more about the history of what happened to her father and his crew.

Her morning started out much like the previous day, only now she did not have her machete to carve a path and use as a weapon for self-defence. As she manoeuvered through the tall trees and large leafy plants, Alex came across a rather unusual plant. Along the ground appeared to be little brown sacks. She had inadvertently stepped on one of them, causing a cloud of particles to explode in the air. She was careful not to breathe in the mist and stepped around the strange plant to avoid any further contact.

Eventually she found herself back where she had encountered the beast and that elusive adversary. She saw the large skid mark in the dirt where the enormous animal had crashed and slid to a stop before her feet. Feeling as though she was being watched again, she looked around in all directions. Aside from the typical indeterminate croaks and squawks, every indication suggested she was alone.

Treading softly, Alex traipsed through the jungle and found a spot to rest. The humidity made the trek extra grueling and she often found herself trying to slow down her heart rate and catch her breath.

Resting by a tree, Alex wasn't in view, but her cape extended passed the edges. The same droid that she had encountered the day before was now hovering amongst the tree canopy, looking down on her. The droid had been hunting her since daybreak and when it finally found her, it gently floated down from the trees with a silent descent. With its eyes transfixed on the cape, jutting out from the periphery of the tree, the droid made its attack. Swooping in, as if gliding on a pocket of air, the droid went to apprehend its target. When it circled around the tree, it discovered the cape had been hung on a small branch and Alex was nowhere in sight.

Just then, Alex dropped down from above where she had been perched and drop kicked the droid in the head. Both she and the droid fell upon impact, but Alex was quicker to return to her feet. Now standing over the fallen droid, she began to hit it with her stick.

The droid's all-black armour and full face mask were very intimidating, but she stood her ground and fought with all she had, which was not much. Despite her technological inferiority, she had her wits and was well-versed in hand-to-hand combat.

Returning to its feet, the droid reached behind its back and pulled out some kind of object that was concealed in its hand. Alex backed off as she had no idea what she was up against. The droid extended its hand, and for a moment, Alex thought it was a peace offering, but she could not afford to make that assumption. The droid opened the palm of its hand to reveal three small metallic-looking orbs. Like magic, the orbs began to defy gravity. They rose from the hand and floated in midair. The spheres then spread out and began to orbit the droid, spinning like electrons around the nucleus of an atom.