(INITIATING EVOLUTION)

Dustin burst out of the ground, covered in crystal plates like before. Except this time, he wasn’t a lizard man. He sported four legs, long and thin, like a bug. Each ended in claws that could grab and hold on if he wanted to run up trees or rocks. His body was relatively small, giving him greater aerodynamics. His head was large and flat, almost like a kite, and covered in eyespots. His mouth could open into a maw with several long, needle-covered, thin tongues, capable of darting out and injecting his prey with the special toxic mix he had already created.

Giving himself a shake to dislodge any bits of dirt that clung to him, he darted off towards the station. Thanks to the directional trait from the worm, he knew exactly which direction to head in. His PED was encased in crystals on his back, forming a type of ridge along his spine.

(EVOLUTION COMPLETE)

At this speed, he should be able to reach the station in under two hours. Just as he expected, creatures started coming out of the woodworks, after him. Most he just ran by, ignoring them. Others he took the time to shoot his tongues at, and kill, before continuing on.

He was halfway there, with a long line of dead or angry creatures behind him, when he heard a loud crack. Above him, he saw another pod rushing towards the ground. Should he check it out, or continue to the station? After only a moment of hesitation, he decided to check it out, because he would never forgive himself if it were Olivia.

“Initiate evolution: Wings to fly.” He knew it wasn’t a cool name, but it worked, and he could remember it.

(INITIATING EVOLUTION: WINGS TO FLY.)

Huge wings that looked like pearlescent dragonfly wings erupted from his back. He was expecting the pain, so he was able to ignore it. Flapping them, he hurled himself into a tree, and ran up as fast as he could, launching from the top branches and taking flight. Flying was faster than running, but he had wanted to make it harder for the Josagn to attack him, so he used the trees to block him from their sight. Since he wasn’t going to the base immediately, he needed to check out the pod as fast as possible. If it wasn’t Olivia, he was going to head back to the station.

The pod landed in the same marshy area he had, splashing water and muck everywhere. As the pod door opened, he saw a figure fall out, and scramble for something. Shoving it into the port, the figure collapsed.

He swallowed. Isn’t that what he had done? Looking towards the water, he could see a tentacle from a small squid work its way across the mud to the prone figure. Diving, he got close enough to see that it wasn’t him laying in the mud, and gave a sigh of relief.

He couldn’t tell if it was Olivia, but it was definitely a girl. Landing next to her, he stabbed the tentacle with one of his legs, and picked her up with his small arms. They weren’t really strong enough to hold anything for long, so he flew back towards shore quickly. Being careful to avoid the trees, he lay her down and examined her.

Olivia had brown hair, and this woman had red. It was the only difference he could see. As she opened her eyes, they grew wide in fright, and he realized he probably looked like a monster about to eat her.

“Olivia?” he managed to say. It was more growl than speech, but she seemed to respond.

“What are you, and how do you know my name?” she asked in confused horror.

“I’m Dustin.” His mind raced with everything he wanted to say, but couldn’t in this form. Glancing up at the sky, he saw that it was getting late. It would be dark soon. Looking around, he spied a stump like the one the stick person had opened for him to hide in. He went over to examine it, hoping it might lead to another hidden room, but no such luck. He could get to the station before dark if he flew, but he wasn’t sure he could fly with her.

It suddenly occurred to him, how convenient it was that she was throw at him right as he was rushing towards the station. It was obvious they were trying to slow him down again.

“Initiate evolution. I need to have weight bearing muscles and structures implemented throughout my body, to be able to carry Olivia. I also want a small face, without eyes, on the back of my head so that we can talk.”

(INITIALIZING EVOLUTION)

His legs got thicker, and he could feel muscles stretching along the back of his body. An itch on the back of his head grew till he felt like he would go mad, since his arms couldn’t reach it to scratch.

(EVOLUTION COMPLETE)

Olivia had scrambled to her feet, and was staring at him in confusion and terror.

“Get on,” he said, turning sideways so she could climb on his back easier.

“Like hell!” she cried, turning and running away from him.

He scrunched his face in confusion. She had done this same thing before. Then it dawned on him, she must have memories they had shoved into her head, that made her act like this. With a sigh, he followed her.

It didn’t take long for a predator to jump out, pinning her to the ground. It saw him, though, and turned tail to run. She jumped up, shooting him a scared look, before running again.

This was taking too long. He would have a hard time making it to the station before dark now. Why was she so scared of him? Even if she didn’t have her prior memories of him, she should still be able to realize that he didn’t intend to hurt her?

Movement to her right, caused her to turn left, which in turn led her straight into the trap, the giant spider had wanted. Dustin froze when he saw the size of the monstrosity heading for her along its web.