A warm orange glow pressed against Adlai’s closed eyes. He cranked them open slowly to see a woman, dressed in a ripped white scientist’s coat. Her hair was a golden brown, and slightly frizzy, contrasting with her rounded face. The feature that scared Adlai the most were her eyes, wide and wild. Those eyes filled with a crazed wonder when she saw he was awake.

A slightly skewed grin appeared on her face. “Oh good, good you’re awake. I was worried there, thought the needles got to ya. That would be pretty funny, but not in a funny way, in a sort of sad funny way. Ya know what I mean? Man, I always hate that happening, you’re so excited, and then something gets in the way, ya know what I mean?”

Adlai tried to push himself off the ground, but his arms lacked any strength. The lady laughed, her crooked grin growing larger.

“What, are ya tryin to run from me? Am I that ugly? Hah, Stacy, are you seeing this?”

A pause, and the researcher began to laugh. “Stacy, you’re killing me! Jeez, we’ve got to set up a comedy routine.”

She looked down at Adlai now, the crooked grin fading. “I saved your life kid, you should be thankful. The light saw you, so you should be double thankful. Double thankful? I think that works. It probably works. But I saved your life. Those needle worms probably would’ve eaten you if I didn’t get to you, and yes your friends are okay. The little redhead has been asking about you. About talked my ear off too. The other one, she was feisty, nearly got me with that pokey stick of hers!”

Adlai croaked out a question. “Who are you?”

“Oh me? I’m…who am I again Stacy?”

The woman turned away in deep conversation with someone Adlai could not see.

She turned back with a big smile. “My name is… Nire! But anyways, we’ve got to get ya home now, back to the light. You’ll be safe in the light.”

Grabbing Adlai by the collar of his shirt, she dragged his limp body towards a glowing light in the distance. The flat stone floor scraped against Adlai’s boots in a pattern that was irritatingly repetitive. Nire would pull him a good five feet and pause. Scraaaaape… scraaaaape… scraaaaape. The numbness was beginning to fade thankfully. Adlai mustered enough strength to twist his neck to where the researcher was taking him. What was that light she was talking about? A campfire?

In the distant deep dark, he could make out a shape melting out of the shadows. Nire sighed and dropped him to the floor. The instant he hit the ground, an incomprehensible feeling of overstimulation filled his body, like hundreds of thousands of pins and needles suddenly jabbing into his back. It took everything he had not to shout.

Nire looked back, genuine worry on her face. “Oh sweetie, I’m so sorry, didn’t mean to drop ya. Just forgot I was dragging ya. There were a few others, lot heavier than you. Stacy didn’t like em much though.”

She tousled his hair and grabbed his shirt collar again, dragging him closer to the form in the dark shaping up to be some sort of hut. Something caught Adlai’s eye in the distance, a quick glimmer of blue. He shivered at the thought of more of those needle worms coming. What had happened anyways? How was he still alive? With each jolt of movement, the pins and needles feeling came back, but was fading in intensity. Subtly, he moved his hand down to where his hatchet should’ve been. That comfortable rubber handle was gone.

Nire, still dragging Adlai, slammed the ramshackle door open. “WE’RE HOME! I BROUGHT YOUR FRIEND!”

The hut was dark, lit only by some sort of orange fungus growing on the walls seemingly letting loose glowing particles. In that sickly orange glow Adlai saw Averi. His sister was lying on the ground, apparently sleeping peacefully. Nire dragged him next to Averi and dropped him again, albeit with a little more care.

The researcher smiled her crooked grin. “Alright, you two play nice, ya know what I mean? No roughhousin, no bitin, no kickin. None of that. An’ don’t touch the lights! They’re very expensive.”

Adlai pushed himself to a sitting position, the dust from his unceremonious dumping sticking to his arms. “Where’s Shawna?”

Nire pouted almost comically. “The feisty one? Well, Stacy got a little jealous, so she hasta sleep outside. Sorry, but thems the rules, ya know what I mean?”

“What rules?”

“The rules that say ‘if someone bites you, they have to sleep outside.’ Those rules. Ya girlfriend is fiery, ya know what I mean?”

“What?”

“Forget about it, what’s your name?”

“Adlai.”

“Oh, that’s a sweet name. What about the little one?”

“Averi.”

“And your girlfriend?”

“She’s not my girlfriend. Shawna.”

Adlai’s mind was racing now. Who was this woman? What was wrong with her?

“How are you still alive?” Adlai asked.

“Huh? Cause my hearts still beatin!” Nire laughed at her own joke.

“The worms should’ve eaten us. How are we alive?”

“Oh! Oh yeah, those lil worms don’t like orange light much. I have a few toys that give off a lot of light, ya know what I mean?”

“Why orange?”

Nire’s eyes flickered for a moment. “Something biological, not sure myself.”

Adlai thought for a moment. “Which ship did you come on?”

“Ship? Ship… When did I get here… Stacy? Stacy, when did I get here?”

Nire’s eyes grew frantic. “I don’t remember. I can’t remember. That light, it’s special. Stacy! Don’t touch that light!”

Her face relaxed suddenly, the crooked grin reappearing. “What were ya asking again?”

Adlai was wary now. There was something very, very wrong with this woman.

“...What ship did you come on.”

“Oh, I’m a researcher, part of the original crew! I worked under Dr. Alexis! Dr. Nire, head of xenobiology. Nice to meet you…”

“Adlai.”

“Adlai! Well you and Averi make yaselves at home, I’m gonna need ya help in a little bit.”

Before Adlai could ask what she needed help with, Nire rushed out of the dimly lit hut, her ragged coat flowing behind her. Averi began to stir, eyes opening. Her eyes widened with relief at the sight of him, and she ran towards him, wrapping him in a warm embrace.

“Adlai! You’re okay! I mean, she told me you were okay, but I wasn’t sure cause she’s here but also cause she’s kinda crazy. Are you okay?” Averi pushed a loose strand of hair out of her face.

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Okay good, I was getting worried, but man I was so tired after the poison wore off. Did you get that tingly feeling too?”

Adlai nodded.

“Also Shawna has to stay outside cause she bit the lady, I heard the doctor lady screaming outside.”

“I know.”

The door was thrown open again, Nire carrying something wriggling on her shoulder. With a grunt, she tossed the bundle to the ground.

“Brought your girlfriend back first.”

“She’s not-”

“Yeah yeah, whateva ya say stinky boy. Just try not to let her bite me, I think I got her angry, ya know what I mean?”

Nire rushed out again. Adlai was miles away from comprehending anything that had just happened, be it a furious Shawna with her arms and legs tied together or him being called “stinky boy”.

Averi apparently found it all hilarious. “STINKY BOY!”

Adlai shot daggers at Averi, but she only laughed harder. “I don’t even smell.”

Shawna swore furiously, her vehement cursing muffled by the dirt floor. The time outside had apparently done little to quell her rage. He took pity on her, pulling her up to what could be called a sitting position.

“Adlai, that woman is crazy. She’s a lunatic. What did you say to her?”

“We’re just going to help.”

“Are you crazy? Did her crazy infect you?”

“No.”

“I swear, if this ends up going wrong I am going to dig you your own grave. You understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good, good.”

Shawna seemed to calm a little bit as Nire walked in, carrying an armful of assorted weapons.

That crooked grin of hers spread across her face. “Brought the tools! Help yaselves stinky boy and tiny girl! Angry girl, ya don’t get one. We’re gonna be doing some pest control, ya know what I mean?”

Adlai began picking through the assorted weaponry, from crude stone axes to what looked like an orange rock with a fuse. When he held it up questioningly, Nire just laughed.

“That right there stinky boy is what saved ya life! It’s a biological flashbang.”

“A what?”

“Allow me to demonstrate!”

Adlai followed Nire outside, the smell of musty moisture filling the air. There wasn’t much to see in the dark, formless shadows melding into one another. Nire held one of the orange balls high in the air, a worn lighter in her other hand.

She smiled, a wild light in her eyes. “Y’all ready for a light show?”

She lit the ball on fire, and tossed it into the air. For a moment, it disappeared into the darkness, swallowed up by the murky black. Then it became light. It was as if the sun had risen inside the cave, lighting up every dark corner and crevice for just a split second of absolute bright, and it was gone. Adlai’s eyes burned with the after image, and everything returned to a shade of black even darker than before.

It was terrifying but also exhilarating. How did she even figure this out? As his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, Adlai quite literally saw Nire in a new light. She wasn’t just a crazy woman, she was a crazy smart woman.

Nire’s voice jumped at him through the slowly fading darkness. “You remember those needle worms doncha? Well, they’ve been causing me a lotta trouble so we’re gonna deal with them using my toys.”

She had another flashbang in hand, tossing and catching it over and over again. Nire never seemed to sit still, every part of her had to be in some sort of movement.

“Only flashbangs? Or do we have other ‘toys’?”

“Well, we’re gonna build a big ol barbeque! One of you three is gonna be the bait, and then we’ll light up the barbeque and cook em all up.”

“Bait?”

“Oh don’t worry, ya won’t get hurt. I don’t think.”

Nire yawned loudly. “But for now, let’s hit the hay, ya know what I mean?”

Adlai’s mind churned over the possibility of one of them being used as bait. What exactly did she mean by that? He followed the scientists' ragged off-white coat into the hut, the dim orange glow filtering out into the darkness. Averi sat in front of the weapons poking and prodding, and Shawna sat sullenly in a corner, her hand wrapped around something.

Nire stretched her arms out wide. “Good night ladies and stinky boy! We have a long day ahead of us. Is it day? Stacy? Stacy, is it day or night?”

Nire turned away, speaking quietly and rapidly. She turned back smiling brightly. “It’s day! Good day! Sleep well!”

She walked into another smaller separate room and slammed the door shut. The trio stared at each other in the dim orange light.