The day eventually came when John couldn't sit up on his own. It was so rainy nobody could see past arm's length, and the sound of thunder and water against the leaves kept the wildlife hidden. Charrack stayed close to John as they huddled under a tree to keep dry.
Off in the distance, they heard a slopping sound. Charrack, unwilling to take any risks, shouldered a rifle and aimed in the direction of the sound. A couple more seconds and a human voice cursed the mud.
Charrack glanced at John, apparently he hadn't heard anything and lay in a feverish daze. Either shoot now or call for help, Charrack couldn't decide. The fact another human was on the planet worried him, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Hello!" He called out. The instant he did he regretted the decision. How was he going to explain what was wrong with John, and would the human even be able to help?
"Who's there?" The human nearly screamed.
"John, and... Charrack!" Came the reluctant answer.
The human began approaching through a more direct route, "Well I don't know any Charrack, but John I might know. What unit?"
Charrack froze. Had John ever to tell him which unit he was from? He shook John to wake him out of his stupor but to no avail. "Um, John is sick, and I'm a Valk."
The human stopped in his tracks, "What's a Valk?"
Charrack sighed in exasperation, "Nevermind, just get over here. I'll be holding my hands in the air, so don't shoot."
"Okay," the hesitation was more than evident in the man's voice but he continued to make his way towards Charrack.
Charrack lifted his hands into the air and waited, "Is there anyone else with you?"
"Maybe, maybe not." The human got under the cover of the tree and shook some of the water off. Upon making eye contact with Charrack, the man froze for a second. His hands began to shake and he snapped his rifle to his shoulder and aimed at Charrack's head. "You're a lizard."
Charrack groaned, "It's, Valk."
"Why should I help you?" The man asked.
Charrack rolled his eyes, "Not me, you imbecile," he pointed at John, "him."
The man nodded and slipped his pack off of one shoulder, using his other arm to keep the rifle trained on Charrack. "What's the matter with him?"
"Snake venom and a missing leg, maybe a couple broken bones." Charrack sat as still as possible, of all the times for his nose to start itching, this was not ideal. He managed to ignore the sensation until it ebbed.
"How do you speak English so well if you're a lizard." The man searched his bag with one hand, keeping the rifle pointed at Charrack with the other.
"It's Valk," Charrack muttered, "and that's not important right now. If you have any antivenom, that should stabilize him."
"Sarge, you might want to come see this." The soldier called out into the storm.
A moment later another man, in uniform approached, "What seems to be the problem private?"
The younger man pointed at Charrack and John, "This lizard has a hostage, he says the man is sick."
"He's not a hostage," Charrack insisted.
The sergeant stared at John for a moment,"What do you know about this man?" He asked Charrack.
Charrack didn't know much about him but he started with the basics,"His name is John Doe, he was trained in the military as long as he could remember, and he really likes chewing gum. Right now he's suffering from a snake bite and desperately needs help."
The sergeant grunted, "Alright, we'll help you. Donnie, give the man your antivenom."
The private hesitated, "Are you sure Sarge? The lizard could bite my head off."
The sergeant rolled his eyes, "If you lose your head it would be no great loss. Now grab the antivenom, that's an order private."
"Sir, yes sir." The private stiffly pulled the antivenom out of his pack and eased his way forward. With one last glance at his captain for confirmation, Donnie began administering the treatment.
"What now?" Charrack asked.
The sergeant closed up Donnie's pack, "Now we wait."
The downpouring rain and the crash of thunder did nothing to ease the tension. The drearyness of the weather hung heavy on Charrack's shoulders. One by one, members of the squad joined their sergeant until eight soldiers stood under the tree, waiting for John to wake up.
At long last he began stirring, "What did I miss?" John's head pounded and his ears were ringing, he felt as if a bomb had exploded mere inches from his face, its deafening roar splitting his skull wide open.
"Welcome back to the land of the living private Doe, did you find your visit to the other side restful?" The sergeant showed no evidence of sarcasm in his voice, which confused Charrack.
John saluted from his back, "Yes sir, sergeant,sir. You'll excuse me if I don't stand at attention, sir."
The sergeant saluted back, "At ease private. Do you vouch for this lizard?"
"Yes sir, the Valk's name is Charrack, sir." John affirmed.
The sergeant turned his attention to Charrack, "Well boy, are you a deserter?"
Charrack finally lowered his hands, "I suppose so."
"How did that come to be?" the sergeant asked.
Charrack paused for a moment in thought, "I shot another Valk in self defense, sir."
The man smiled, "Then I guess we'll have to take you back home for a debrief."
Even though the present situation was not ideal, it was slightly better than going back with the Valk would have been. So far, the humans had shown more fear than aggression, although that could be just as dangerous. Add the fact that John was on the brink of death and they had no other option, Charrack would just have to go with them.
The sergeant stood up straight and began to bark out orders, "Get those packs open, assemble the portal. I want connection established with home base in two minutes! Is that clear?"
"Sir, yes sir!" The soldiers all responded in unison.
Two minutes later, on the dot, and a portal was assembled with power generator hooked up and running. The sergeant typed a passcode into the console on the portal's exterior and it came to life.
He pointed at John and shouted, "Someone pick that man up and let's bring him home. Corporal, tell HQ we got our man, mission accomplished."
Missing accomplished? Were they here strictly to rescue John? This forested deathtrap was the most dangerous planet Charrack had ever been to. If the humans were willing to risk men in an attempt to rescue John he must have some value he was unaware of.
Charrack picked up John and started to walk towards the portal, two men flanked him and tried to take John, but Charrack shoved them off. Just who was John? Why would the human commanders want him back so badly, better yet how did they know where to search for him? Charrack stepped through the portal that led to earth and, hopefully, answers....