Sea. Salt. Stroll.

*Blegh*

Jack's stomach wasn't doing him favors. At first, he thought he'd quickly get used to it but it seemed like seasickness would be a more fearsome enemy than he expected.

His human transformation was no more. Being in his alien form seemed to do better at neglecting the pain. He could've, in theory, reconstructed his stomach to stop the vomiting but he didn't dare to.

Reconstructing the body was dangerous work. Without a reference, it would be like a toddler drawing a dog from memory, it wouldn't end pretty. Even with a reference and physical contact, it would have immense risks. Jack had to go through extended supervised training on the ways of copying the human body before getting the hang of it.

Two hands on the wheel and two hands on something else. Phones, wallets, maps, anything to distract his mind.

He found the US dollar in their wallets, and a map, lying in a weathered and slightly damp storage compartment under the bench he stood on.

The map was worn out, its edges yellowed and damaged with age. The map only indicated the surrounding Islands, their names written in faded text. The Galápagos Islands stood out more prominently.

"An island..? Oh yeah, land surrounded by water, of course. The USA seems...relatively close," Jack said, remembering that Earth wasn't just one big piece of connected land.

To be able to activate the radio and his device, he'd need to travel to Nevada, where a communication transmitter was long ago sent as a means of trading information.

Jack tried unlocking one of the phones.

[Enter PIN or use fingerprint to unlock.]

"Shoot, let's just try that young human's phone."

His molecular reconstruction could copy even the tiniest of the details of the victim, from the denture structure to the fingerprints and tongue pattern.

Jack transformed back into human form and started attempting every finger, from the thumb to the pinky until it unlocked, on his last shot at that.

*Blegh*

He was still not used to it.

"Let's see... Pictures, pictures, more pictures. Oh, that's a revealing one, oh god... How do I get out of this?" Jack said, disgusted, that was the last thing he wanted to see while feeling so sick.

"Damn phones, they come in so different variations. I was only taught how to use the one with the green goblin.

'They got one with the symbol of an apple as well. My favorite fruit, got a taste of it when-' Mongrel's voice echoed in his mind.

"Oh, a video. Looks interesting."

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." Resonated through the speakers. That would keep Jack's mind occupied for the rest of the trip.

[5 movies later]

It was now dark, the land close, the trip nearing its end. End? This was just the beginning.

Jack was now used to his biological flaw. Adaptive as his species was, seasickness was no permanent obstacle. He felt powerful, his greatest weakness was now gone. He felt fine even in human form.

Jack got the young man's phone and papers (where he read Antonio Torres) and jammed them in a backpack he had found, along with his multitool, device, radio, and the two compact alien nourishment boxes.

Jack stepped onto the shore of the Galápagos Islands. He took a deep breath, savoring the cool ocean breeze. Before him stretched a panorama of volcanic terrain, crooked cliffs rose from the shoreline, dotted with vegetation.

"No one round this time of day, better for me," Jack said.

He walked and walked like a lunatic searching for the moon. What was he searching for? Something that would get him to Nevada as quickly as possible. Preferably a plane.

He walked until the sun peeked out of the horizon while replaying in his head the movies he had seen while on the boat. He licked them.

And then he arrived. An airport, so fascinatingly inferior to his spaceship, but it would suffice.

A woman was rushing behind him, probably late for her flight. He tried walking inside, pushing on the door that read "Pull" on it, and suddenly, he felt a thumb in his back and the sound of papers falling.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," the woman behind him said.

'Oh, an English-speaking human. Splendid,' he thought.

"No, it's fine," Jack said, almost surprised by the near fluency in his voice. Practicing the phrases in the movies aloud helped him oil his tongue.

She was a tall woman. Long messy, curly hair like wet spaghetti. Sparkly as dark amber. Her accent was of a melodious British. That pleased Jack. It made him think of one of the singers on the radio.

"Let me give you a hand," Jack said, helping her pick up the fallen papers.

"Damn me, forgot to set up the alarm. The pub can get you to forget all kinds of stuff, innit?" The woman asked rhetorically.

Jack did not know what she meant so he just smiled back.

"I doubt I still have time unless they delayed the plane for over 30 minutes," she spoke.

"I see," Jack replied. He did not know what else to say.

"So where you going? Hope you didn't miss the plane like me," she said after having picked up all the remaining papers and getting to the door.

Jack let her open it and then responded: "Nevada, USA."

"Oh, then we got the same destination. Are you also running late?"

"Yes, running late..." he replied, forcing a smile.

"Oh, that's a bummer. Doubt our plane's still here. Let's go ask for some tickets together. Oh, my name's Isabelle by the way, what's yours?" she asked.

In her eyes, Jack seemed like a nice guy her age. A good-looking fella with deep dark eyes and a nicely groomed beard. His clothes seemed kind of worn and a touch too casual but she didn't pay it much attention.

"Name's Jack, nice to meet you, lady." and 'She could be useful,' he thought.

The two of them walked to the reception desk. If no seat was available, they'd have to wait for the next day. Isabelle figured there should still be some left at that time of the year. Not many visitors came there in the fall.

"Yes, there are still some seats available you could ride on the next plane departing three and a half hours from now if you'd like," the reception girl said.

"Fine by us, right Jack?"

"Right."

"All right, you can give me your documents and I'll book them for you." The girl said.

Jack handed his document first.

"Antonio Torres. Ok, everything's looking good," the girl said.

Isabella seemed visibly puzzled, to which Jack responded with "Jack's my middle name. That's what my friends call me."

"Would you like to pay by cash or card?" The receptionist asked.

That question came to Jack's mind as striking lightning. He had little under $200 in cash from the cruise's total wallets and he didn't know his card's PIN, he didn't even know how much the ticket was and if he had enough.

"How much would the ticket be?" Jack asked.

"Oh! My apologies, it'll be $911 each. Is that fine with the two of you?"

'That's the damn emergency call number, not a ticket's price," he thought, frowning.

Should he ask Isabelle for some spare hundred bucks? No, who would in their right mind let a stranger borrow that much? Jack thought - aware of the human currency value - while rummaging through his wallet, '7942' was written on a small piece of paper next to his credit card slot.

"Heh," Jack chuckled.

"Everything okay, Jack?" Isabelle asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine," he replied while placing his card and introducing his PIN

[Transaction complete]

'Thank god he wasn't broke,' Jack thought while breathing a sigh of relief.

After Isabella presented her documents as well, the reception girl spoke out: "All right, you two can go on that line right there and get your baggage checked."

"All right, have a nice day, and thank you," Isabelle said.

"Wait, get our baggage checked?" Jack asked while once again breaking into a cold sweat.

"Of course, dummy. You're acting like it's your first time on a plane," she chuckled.

This was no laughing matter for him.