NOVEL NEXT Chapter 79 - Poison and Paste
"Luca!" Emily cried, rushing forward as his body hit the ground, limp and unresponsive.
Danny crouched beside him, checking his pulse. A frown creased his face. "He's alive, but… damn, he's not looking good."
Joey pushed his way forward, hands moving with a forced calm as he adjusted his med scanner over Luca's chest. A bewildered look spread across his face.
"His vitals are all over the place," Joey muttered. "I can't figure it out… his chest wounds are... wait." He froze. The bleeding cuts were taking on an ominous green tint, spidering out from each gash in sickly veins. "That's not normal. It's like poison."
Poison?
Luca could feel the fear radiating from them, a raw panic that cut through their usual confidence. They were scared. Fuck, he was scared.
Then Ryan grasped the vibrant purple flowers still clutched in Luca's hand. "The herbs!" he shouted, breaking the heavy silence. "They're supposed to be medicinal, right? Maybe they can counteract whatever this is."
Maybe? The word echoed in Luca's fading consciousness.
Joey shook his head, his fingers pressing against Luca's wrist, feeling the pulse weaken. "Maybe, but I don't know a thing about field herbs."
Without hesitating, Ryan stepped forward. "I'll do it."
He grabbed a small handful of the herbs and shoved them into his mouth, chewing roughly, his face scrunching at the bitter taste. He knelt and spread the chewed paste into the angry green lines on Luca's chest, pressing it firmly into each cut.
What the fuck is he doing? It felt like he was rubbing dirt into the wounds. When did Ryan become a fucking druid? Luca wanted to protest, to tell him to stop, but he couldn't muster the energy.
They held their breath, watching as the mixture settled. Within moments, the green hue began to fade, retreating under the paste. Luca's breathing grew more regular.
Holy shit. It's working.
Emily knelt beside Ryan, her eyes wide with relief. "How did you know that would work?"
Ryan, arrogant and now confident, gave her a sheepish smile, still clutching Luca's hand, unwilling to let go. "Call it a classic move. Seemed worth a try." He held his hand a little tighter, his expression softening. "Come on, man. Wake up. We're not letting you go that easy."
Fucking Ryan. Luca's mind reeled. He owed him. Owed him his life, probably.
A groan escaped him as he forced his eyes open. The rays of whatever star was shining over them pierced the canopy and stabbed him straight in the face. Between the spores and the sun, his eyes were leaking like a busted pipe. He squinted up at the blurry mess of faces around him.
What a sight.
Ryan laughed, sweaty, dirty, and still clutching his hand like he was the one dying. He looked like shit.
Luca coughed. "You kissed me while I was out?"
"Not yet," he said, grinning. "Didn't want you to wake up and get the wrong idea."
Emily snorted, wiping her eyes. Danny let out a breath like he'd been holding it the whole damn time.
Ryan squeezed his hand. "Don't scare me like that again, asshole."
"Wasn't my idea," Luca groaned, his chest still in pain and bleeding freely. "Next time, you get the poison spores to the face."
Ryan grinned, brushing hair from his forehead with a hand still stained with blood and chewed-up flower paste. "Deal. But only if I get to hang upside down and scream like a little bitch, too."
The next thing Luca knew, he was lying in the med pod inside the Peregrine.
Why didn't I get the bed with Emily cuddling next to me? A major injustice.
A nano-bandage was wrapped tightly around his torso. The wound, though fresh, felt numb, and the medical pod chirped with an accompanying green light. He sat up with a groan, the scent of antiseptic thick in the air. Joey glanced up from his terminal.
"You're good to move. Don't overdo it."
Ribs still aching, he sat up the rest of the way, and Joey helped him climb out. The room swam for a moment as he steadied himself.
Luca's eyes were blurry, and he was tired. Everyone was gathered around and in good spirits. "Any loot drops from those fucking flying mobs?" he asked, as he made his way to the small bench.
Ryan, standing near the dinette with a ration bar half-unwrapped, smirked. "Just a helmet."
[Item acquired: Centauri Guardian Mk-64 Tactical Helm]
"One piece away from the full Medium Armor set," he added, eyes gleaming like he'd won the damn lottery.
Luca stared at him.
Emily nearly slapped him. Her hand even twitched. But she stopped herself, eyes flicking to Luca's chest like she could see the wounds under the wrap. She wasn't crying, but her voice was definitely quivering.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"Is that all you care about?" she snapped.
Ryan's grin faded. He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.
The squad had gathered around the small dinette, sitting on the cramped benches around the small table.
Ryan was watching the external scanners. "We're good for now. No movement. Raptors are gone. The shield's holding, whatever that's worth."
Joey nodded, sliding into the booth across from me, still glancing at my vitals every few seconds like I might suddenly drop again.
Emily leaned against the wall, her arms crossed. Danny sat beside her, sipping something that looked like hot chocolate but smelled questionable.
Ryan tossed me an MRE. "Chicken tikka."
Luca opened it and sniffed at it. "Liar."
"Okay, it's probably beef stew."
"It's definitely wet cardboard."
Chris walked in last, freshly showered and recovered from his fall. No concussion, claimed Joey. "Y'all look like shit."
"Eat a Vireling," Luca muttered.
He grinned. "Nah, I let them do the eating."
Luca leaned back on one of the cots, a fresh bandage wrapped over the claw marks across his chest. He'd be fine; the wound would heal, leaving a scar that, Emily insisted, would add character. And probably make me even more irresistible, Luca thought weakly.
Across from him, Zoe sat quietly with a cup of tea, leaning on Ryan, her usual humor softened by the recent ordeals. She wasn't quite ready to step back outside, not yet. The close quarters and the warmth of the crew must have given her the comfort she'd been missing.
For a few blessed minutes, they just… existed. Breathing. Eating. Sitting. The adrenaline had crashed, and in its place was the creeping ache of everything... the weight of being alive, barely, and knowing the mission wasn't over.
"I got five percent of what we need," Luca said quietly.
"Well," Ryan finally said, lifting his plate in a toast. "Ninety-five to go."
"We're not doing that tonight." Luca pushed himself up from the cot with a wince. "We're done. You hear me? Everyone. We're shutting down for the night. You, me, Chris, Zoe, hell, everyone needs a damn break."
Chris nodded, already rubbing his temple. "Not gonna argue."
Everyone shut up for once and looked at me.
Danny shifted in his seat. "I'll take first watch."
Ryan gave a little nod, standing and stretching. "Wake me in four."
Joey was already packing up his medical kit, moving slowly. Emily hovered nearby but said nothing. Her silence said more than a whole lecture ever could.
Luca made one last check on the external sensors; it was still quiet, then stumbled into bed.
He crashed hard. No dreams. Just black.
A distant bird-thing screamed overhead, loud enough to rattle the hull. Luca blinked awake to the faint scent of burnt coffee and something charred that might have once been protein cubes. His chest was on fire, and his ribs ached, but the numbness from the med gel had held through the night.
He sat up, glancing at the remains of his scout suit strewn beside the bed. The chest piece was torn clean through, ripped open by that Vireling's claws. The edges were scorched and jagged, fraying at every seam.
He had a spare, sure, but it was... an older set packed away in his locker. Switching into it now? That would be stupid. This one was already half-dead; he'd rather destroy it completely than ruin the only backup he had. His mobility was still intact, and the suit's systems flickered to life with a low whine. No stealth or damage resistance. Not like their version of camouflage even worked against these high-level portals.
He nudged the wrecked chest piece with his boot. From the kitchenette, Ryan noticed the movement and shook his head.
"Don't even think about it. I already checked it while you were out," Ryan said, his voice low. "The claws tore through the primary fiber weave and fused the circuitry. It's a total loss. My kit can patch holes, not rebuild from scrap." He took a sip of what passed for coffee. "Besides, I had to use the last of the good stuff patching up Chris and Danny after their tumble. We're running on fumes here."
The helmet was intact, and its heads-up display would still work, taking power from the power cell on the suit; the electrical nodes ran through the back of the chest piece anyway.
Luca wondered... The power cells were backward compatible with his shredded TL8 scout suit. Would the TL9 pieces integrate into their TL8 suits?
He put on his Dione Vanguard boots, gloves, and shin Guards, still muddy, dirty, scratched, but still intact. Finally, he put on his still-working Helmet. Here goes nothing, he thought.
Grabbing the Centauri Phantom Mk-64 Tactical Vest and plugged in the Power Cell... and nothing.
"What are you doing?" said Ryan, as he stared at him from the kitchenette.
"Just trying something," Luca replied, as he fidgeted with the vest.
"You know it won't work," Ryan said, shaking his head. "The sets have never been interchangeable."
"I know... I was hoping, you know?" Luca said as he pulled off the tactical vest and picked up his shredded Dione Vanguard vest.
Luca zipped it up, adjusting it around his bandage, and hoped for the best, as the power cell clicked on.
Outside, the jungle looked exactly the same as the day before, just as dense, wet, green, and completely uninviting. It would have been nice if there were a nice waterfall and a lagoon. The air was thick with mist and the low whir of insects that sounded almost mechanical.
They searched up high, looking toward the canopy, trying to find that damn purple again.
No more flowers.
No luck.
Danny sighed, kicking at the dirt. "These are the same damn trees."
Ryan yanked a vine. "Maybe the flowers only bloom where the birdies nest."
"We need to make a decision." Emily interrupted, sounding a bit irritated. "We can't stay in one spot forever."
This is not how I imagined this scenario would go, Luca thought.
And she was right. They couldn't keep treating the Peregrine like a bunker.
Luca glanced at the power readout again, the vehicles' batteries were running low. The red dwarf hadn't given them nearly the recharge window they needed. They could either run the ineffective energy shield or the obsolete turret, just not both.
So they ran the shield. Thin and flickering, but better than nothing. If anything came at them, they'd have to handle it with their own plasma weapons, up close and personal. Danny and Ryan would draw aggro. Meanwhile, Luca would do what he always did and use his abilities: duck, hide and kill.
If things went to hell, at least he could fall back into the Peregrine. That was the plan.
Luca exhaled hard, the weight of it all pressing down. "No… we need to move."
Chris powered up the Peregrine, the engines cutting through the morning's tension.
"Which way?" Danny asked, his visor already lighting up.
Luca looked around. Jungle in every direction. Overgrown and thick enough to hide anything. Virelings were probably watching them from somewhere.
Luca swallowed, the bandage tight around his chest, and said, "I don't care. Let's just go somewhere."
Ryan looked over. "You alright, man?"
"Yep." Luca lied, not meeting his eyes and focusing on the jungle around them. He had fucked up yesterday. Zoe got separated, Chris got knocked out, and Luca didn't clock the flying mobs. That's on me. All of it. Now they can't even find the damn flowers.
Luca sighed, pulling the rifle over his shoulder. "Let's just keep moving."
Zoe, who had stayed back in the Peregrine, looked at him as they passed. "I'll be okay. Just… let me rest a little longer."
Luca nodded. She, too, had her spare armor and just needed to get back in the game. Luca needed her back.
Chris glanced out from the driver's seat at the dense forest. "Well, here's to whatever direction we just picked."
Ryan and Danny flanked the large reconnaissance vehicle on either side as they started forward. Luca struggled to climb up to the ceiling with his sniper rifle. The nano-bandage was working, sealing his wound, but the uncomfortable rawness was rising to the surface below the numbness of the anesthetic properties.
Once he reached the top, he climbed to the front and sat by the turret, scanning the treetops, the vines, and branches as Chris maneuvered them through the rough jungle floor.