Apex

Chapter 6

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(End of note. Enjoy the chapter!)

•Zoryne•

Thankfully, the forest surrounding the facility was dense with Homeworld plants. The trees of the original forests only reached up to our thighs at most. These new plants created canopies of leaves and branches, providing plentiful shade. We'd also released our animals into these wilds and, while we tracked them to the best of our ability, we let them roam free. It would have been illogical to force them to adapt to both being in captivity and being released into the wilds. It was in our best interest to allow them freedom.

However, Tsosyrans typically didn't roam these newly grown wilds unless they were soldiers or on special research expeditions.

There would be time to explore and enjoy the fruits of our labor after the work was complete. Now was the time to prepare this world for others.

My boot crunched over rocks and snapped twigs. Yellow leaves floated down gracefully from tree branches high above. Bushes sat low to the ground, some of which bore varieties of fruits. Though the sky was blocked by the dense trees, the temperature and the fading light alerted me that night was approaching.

I glanced down at the R3. She hadn't moved since I'd started my trek. My arms longed to stretch after being stuck in the same position for hours, but couldn't bring myself to move the female more than necessary. I didn't have enough supplies to accurately tend whatever injuries she's suffered.

I also worried that if she woke up in pain, I would be hesitant to continue moving forward. After my episode at the wreckage, I didn't want the curious little creature doing anything else that might affect me in such a debilitating way. Since the idea of her being in pain or dying caused me to act illogically, then for the time being, I had to make sure she remained unharmed. Perhaps at the new facility I would be able to tell my collogues about such behavior and see if my sudden psychological distress could be rectified before the female is inevitably killed.

I flinched at the thought.

The sounds of water reached me. I licked my chapped lips. Syrans were far more equipped than R3s to endure severe amounts of thirst and hunger. However, deprivation of such necessities was still uncomfortable.

It took another hour to reach the stream. The fresh water drifted over colorful rocks. My planet's equivalent to "fish", swam with the current, their luminescent scales reflecting the light.

Finding a patch of grass a few paces from the water, I gingerly lowered myself to my knees. I placed the female on the ground and shrugged off my coat. After folding it, I transferred the female onto the makeshift bed.

She'd yet to wake, but her heartbeat had grown stronger throughout the walk. Her shirt rose over her stomach revealing her soiled bandages. I reluctantly left her side to watch my hands in the river before kneeling beside her again. With steady fingers, I slipped the shirt over her head. The bandages were bloodied and covered in filth. R3s were very prone to infection. If she grew ill there wouldn't be much I could do for her.

I pealed the soiled bandages from around her. The cut down her middle had stopped leaking blood though most of her skin was stained with it. The patch of gauze on her shoulder was completely red and still damp.

I pinched the padding between my fingers and pulled it off. It stuck ever so slightly.

The R3's winced in protest.