Page 8 of True As Steel

The sun had almost reached its zenith, and the heat was becoming quite brutal. Not dallying any longer, I placed my backpack in the small carriage under the seat, sat down, then started the engine.

“Off to Satos we go then,” I told my companion, confirming I wanted to travel with him.

“Follow me,” Jarog said with a nod.

It took us a little over two hours at high speed to finally exit the inferno of the desert. While the temperature on Xyva was always hot, the first patches of greenery came with less scorching heat. It became more and more bearable the further we traveled and the bushier our surroundings became. It wasn’t until we reached a woodsy area that we found true relief in the shade of the trees. And then, it started feeling cool with the wind rushing past us as the sun began to lower on the horizon.

However, by then, I couldn’t decide which indisposed me the most: my back and legs cramping, my bladder complaining, or my stomach growling. I’d hoped Jarog would have called a break first so that he didn’t think me weak or feel I was slowing him down. But I wasn’t that much of a masochist to continue enduring this level of discomfort.

I pulled up closer to him, drawing his attention. Right this instant, I would have given anything to know what thoughts were crossing his mind.

“Can we call a break?” I shouted to him.

“Can you hang on ten more minutes?” he replied. “The snitch has found a small cave up ahead. We can set camp there for the night.”

“All right,” I said, feeling a strange mix of relief, surprise, and worry that my bladder wouldn’t last that long.

It wouldn’t be full night for at least two to three more hours. Breaking for the night this early struck me as odd. Then again, I suspected the Cyborg had other logical reasons for this decision. I’d ask him later. For now, I focused on silencing my countless discomforts and reaching our destination.

After an eternity and a half, the tree line suddenly opened up on a small clearing with a rock formation that marked the beginnings of a mountain range. I could have wept with relief when Jarog pulled up next to a wall of rocks. I stopped next to him, slightly confused as to the location of that cave he’d mentioned. Every muscle from my neck down to my calves complained when I straightened and tried to dismount the speeder with a modicum of grace. And let’s not mention my bladder... Jarog hopped off, looking fresh as a rose. However, seeing him stretch his neck, roll his shoulders, and kick his feet made me feel much better.

While retrieving the backpack from under my seat, I watched Jarog head straight for the stone wall and suddenly disappear behind it. My jaw dropped, and I walked up to where he had vanished to realize the cave opening was set at an angle, creating the most amazing optical illusion.

“Brilliant! How the fuck did you find this?” I asked, following him inside while pulling out a light stone from my backpack.

“The snitch did,” Jarog explained casually. “It’s not just a camera, but also has a short-range scanner.”

“Perfect for scavengers,” I mumbled. Still stretching to release the knots torturing me, I held up my hand, the light stone flooding the dark space with light.

Jarog grunted his assent while taking a look at the small space that would shelter us for the night. The Cyborg hadn’t been kidding when he called it small. More or less leaf-shaped, the cave ran about four meters deep and no more than two meters wide in the largest section in the middle. The uneven ground made of a mix of packed dirt and stone would be painful to sleep on. The uneven edges of the walls, with stone jutting in all kinds of weird angles, wouldn’t allow for a comfortable way of leaning against it.

“I’m going to hunt for food,” Jarog said. “I spotted a couple of creatures on our way here. I shouldn’t be long. See if you can start a fire.”

“There’s some food in the backpack I took from the buggy,” I argued.

Jarog smiled as if I’d said something cute.

“I’m a Cyborg,” he said as if that explained everything. “It takes a lot of energy to fuel all of this. Save that food for breakfast. Or do you think it will spoil?”

“No, it will last,” I replied with confidence. “It was properly packed to withstand Xyva’s heat.”

“Perfect. I’ll be back soon.”

With that, he walked out. I made a beeline for some of the bushes, relieved myself, and kicked some dirt over it. With the crazy temperatures during daytime, finding dry wood to start a fire took no time at all. I rummaged through the backpack and retrieved a flint lighter. For a split second, I considered starting the campfire inside the cave but then decided against it. Although the opening allowed for oxygen to come inside, it was too narrow a space and too low a ceiling. The heat could cause the rock to expand. The last thing I needed was to have sections cracking, breaking, and crushing me in my sleep. I didn’t survive that transport ship just to die like this.

I built the fire right outside the cave on the packed dirt. That task completed, I went back inside to try and clean some of the sharp little rocks that would have a field day stabbing the fuck out of us tonight when we tried to sleep. Once done, I considered bringing the speeders inside the cave to avoid drawing attention to them should anyone come sniffing in this area, but the odd angle of the entrance would make it too difficult. Plus, if we needed to haul ass away from here between now and morning, we didn’t want to have to navigate that extra challenge of getting them out.

After being gone barely thirty minutes, Jarog returned carrying a big creature that vaguely resembled a capybara, except for the longer ears and tail. In his other hand, he was holding a large, flat stone. He looked at the fire approvingly and settled the stone partially over a section of it. Next to him, at a safe distance from the flames and the heat, he placed down a square object that resembled a small tablet. It took me a second to recognize the display screen linked to the snitch that had been hooked to his speeder. Jarog then immediately went to work skinning and cleaning his catch.

My stomach knotted with hunger, but my stupid ego insisted I wait to eat at the same time he did rather than dig into the food inside the backpack. Instead, I went to grab the right type of wood to improvise a primitive spit. It took a while to set up, but by the time I got it sturdy enough, Jarog was ready to get the meat cooking.

The offal he had kept was sizzling on the now hot stone, the smell of meat making my mouth water.

“I’ll be back soon,” he said, rising to his feet.

In his hand, he held the non-edible parts of the creature wrapped inside the largest section of fur he’d managed to skin in one piece. He wasn’t gone very long, but enough that I had to turn the offal on the stone using a knife from the backpack.

When he returned, he turned the creature on the spit and started cutting some thin slices from the meat that had been cooking, putting them on the burning stone to finish cooking. I gave him a questioning look.

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