41 Time Crunch

After several hours, Troy leans over the side and throws up. I gag and look away as I struggle not to throw up myself. Conner and Thane even look a little green! Conner bangs the top of the truck, signaling Cruz to stop.

Cruz and Titus find a good spot to stop and as soon as the truck rolls to a stop, Troy jumps down and runs to a tree to throw up again. It's not like he has a whole lot left so I can only assume he's dry heaving.

I stay far away and ease my way down off the truck. I stretch and turn to see Cruz helping Titus over. Troy's leg only suffered a few minor burns but Titus was still having issues. If it wasn't for the antibiotics in the medical kit, he would probably be dead by now.

Titus looks over to Troy before turning back to the rest of us and asking "How's everyone holding up?" I keep my mouth shut as Thane says "We're all a little queasy but we're fine." Titus nods and says "Let's take a short break before going at it again."

Secretly happy, I walk over to a large tree and sit down. I watch the others setting up a few things for lunch as I question my life decisions. A small part of me still disbelieves that I'm out here in the Void... like some kind of disassociation with the whole thing.

As I see Troy making his way over to the campsite, I can't help but think about my brother. My Dad said they traced him as far as the Void so that idiot might be out here. I find myself chuckling darkly as I think about his ass being stuck out here but it's short-lived.

Shit... I run my hand through my hair and lean my head back against the tree. I'm worried about the idiot... Hopefully, he isn't really out here. When I hear something above me, my eyes snap open to see a familiar figure.

The monkey! He gives me a toothy grin and jumps down the tree and onto my lap. I tense a little but when I see him trying to dig in my pockets, I can't help but lightly laugh and say "I don't have anymore."

He doesn't understand and continues his search but once he's done, he looks up to me with a glare. I smile at him and say "I told you, I don't have anymore." He yells at my and pulls at my vest, catching the attention of the others.

Thane and Titus quickly pull out their guns causing me to panic! I throw my hands up and say "Don't shoot! He's fine. He just wants suckers." Thane looks at me like I'm insane while the others look at the monkey with curiosity. He's pretty small and cute looking so he doesn't look threatening.

Troy walks over and says "Awwww he's so cute! Come here, little guy. I have some candy." The monkey turns to glare at Troy as I say "Yeeeeah, I wouldn't get too close." Troy ignores me and moves closer with a few hard candies in his hand.

The monkey stays in my lap and looks to the candy with distrust before glaring at Troy. Troy reaches out to pet him so I quickly say "Don't" but it's too late. The monkey's entire face transforms into a nightmare before lunging at Troy.

Troy screams like a little girl as the monkey lands on his face and starts pulling out tufts of his hair! I panic at first but when I see that the monkey is only pulling his hair, I rise to my feet with a smirk on my face.

Troy runs around, much like I did before, trying to rip the little thing off his face but it's not easy, I know. It's freakishly strong... Thane walks up to me and hands me two suckers before asking "How do you call it off?" I snort in laughter and say "Whenever his anger subsides, I guess."

When Troy trips over a stump and falls face first, the monkey jumps off and quickly makes his way back over to me. He climbs up my leg with ease and doesn't stop until he reaches my shoulder. He fusses a little more before I lift up a sucker and open it.

His anger completely disappears as his eyes lock onto the sucker. He grabs the sucker and then looks to me. We make eye contact for several seconds before I sigh and open my mouth. The others all watch on in shock and disbelief as the monkey puts the sucker in my mouth.

At least he's being gentle this time... I close my mouth and then open it. He looks to the sucker to make sure it's wet before popping it in its mouth with content. Instead of running off like he did last time, he continues to chill on my shoulder like it's a normal thing.

Feeling defeated, I decide to leave him as I turn to see Conner helping Troy with his bloody nose. I struggle to keep the smile off my face and to not laugh but as a result, I look like I'm having a miniature seizure.

Thane looks away to keep from laughing as Titus says "Okaaaay... Valen, you can keep the little guy as long as he doesn't cause any issues. Who knows, he may be able to help us out here. Troy! Stop acting like a little girl. Toughen up, boy."

Thane clears his throat and turns back around just in time to see Troy glaring at me and the monkey but when the monkey flips him off, Thane loses his shit. Everyone, including me, is laughing at the whole thing. Well, everyone but Troy.

After a while, we all sit around and eat the dry rations as we talk about finding the next base. Because we're taking this route, it's going to take us twice as long. Titus sighs and says "We need to get there as soon as possible... If we don't make it within a certain time period, the city will assume we're dead and will destroy all the bases to keep our information from slipping into the hands of our enemies."

Oh, no pressure...