How I met Boston
#1 of Boston
Author's Note: So this is the first part - well, more a teaser actually - of a new series I'm working on. I've always wondered / wished to be friends with a humanoid dog, and this allows me to live out my world. There will be minimal sex in these stories, so if you're looking for a quick paw, you should probably find another story.
My name's Nick. I'm from planet Earth. You might or might not have heard of it, it's little bit trashed. Slight fuck up from my ancestors. And because of that, we've decided to head off into the wider galaxy to hopefully try and find a new place to live. It hasn't been going well. Most of the time we're just trying not to die from landing on inhospitable planets, and that's assuming the natives are friendly. Most often, they aren't.
Unfortunately, oftentimes we have to land and find resources to replenish our ship in the midst of hostile natives. Most of them do leave us alone, though the air of hostility can make work really disconcerting at times. Then there's times where they try to run us off, which means I run back to the cockpit and try to take off - fast. Can you believe there's thousands of sentient species out there? A lot of them are still in the Stone Age, which kind of explains why we've never found mention of life back on Earth. Unfortunately that means less planets for us to move to. I really wish I could just find a planet that's peaceful enough for me to settle down.
Roughly three weeks after I set off - I assume it's three weeks, could be months for all I know without a sun to keep track of time - I located a lush jungle planet in a nearby star system. First glance seemed to suggest there was no sign of civilisation, which was good because maybe I could finally not have to worry about natives while restocking. Thus, one less-than-smooth landing later, I was at the surface of this celestial body and I began exploring. The atmosphere was breathable with about 30% oxygen, so I decided to risk it and just run out for a first analysis. Bad idea.
The instant I stepped out I was hit with some of the hottest, most humid air I've faced. Seriously, it had to be like 35 degrees out there. That was the least of my problems though, since in addition to the jungle there were a lot of animals looking at me menacingly. Not just normal animals, either; they looked a lot like the creatures one would find on Earth, but quite a bit larger. Probably the oxygen.
Ten minutes, some armour and a firearm later, I stepped out of the ship for the second time. A lot of the animals seemed to have gone away, in search for an easier meal I guess. Spaceship metal isn't exactly easy to bite through. This isn't the time for me to wonder where they've slinked off to, though; I need to get what I need before night approaches.
A hundred metres later I encounter may second obstacle. Apparently this planet wasn't devoid of people, unless your definition of people referred only to humans. There was a small village in front of me populated with what looked like canines; two guards standing at the entrance. They were armed only with spears and I bet a shot from me would take care of them, but I would prefer not to shoot unless I had to. Lasers take a long time to recharge.
A new plan was needed. Can't very well start demolishing the jungle with those people around, can I? I wanted to head the opposite direction and away from the village, so I turned around and started walking. I hadn't even taken two steps when someone laid a hand on my shoulder.
"Who are you?" said the guy behind me. He was one of the guards at the gate. Great, so they didn't just look like dogs. They had noses like them, too. In hindsight maybe I should have thought about that. How could I have been so careless? Not the time to worry about that now, I had biggest problems to think about. Like the spearhead which was much too close to my neck for comfort.
"Eep..." I don't react too well under pressure. "I don't mean any harm. Just looking around." The guard stared at me questioningly. He'd probably never seen a human before - doubt anyone in the village has. "Whoever you are, you're coming with me." The guard growled. I wanted to protest but before I could say anything he had grabbed me by my shirt and was dragging me somewhere. This journey was not going off to a great start.
That "somewhere" the guard was taking me turned out to be the village chief. I disliked him the minute I saw him - there was just something about it that gave me the creeps. I didn't appreciate being handled so roughly by the guards, either. It wasn't like I was sneaking around inside the village.
"So, you're the 'oreigner I've 'erd about, heh heh heh." The chief eyes me up and down, like he was wondering if I would make a tasty snack. "What brings you 'ere? Where did you come from, anyway? Your face looks bizarre. Some sort of talking monkey?" Why, why do people always assume we're monkeys? I tell the chief my name and my planet of origin. The chief looks thoughtful. "Earth, ay? Never 'erd of the place. You seem like a rather interesting creature. 'owever, unless I am sure you're not a threat to my people I'll 'ave to exterminate you. Guards, kill 'im." Things looked rather grim. They hadn't confiscated my gun, though, and as much as I hated using it, I really would like to be alive.
Two shots, two stunned guards and an enraged chief later, I was out of the village and running for my life. It wasn't too long before there were a whole bunch of guards chasing me. To my dismay they seemed to be much faster than me. They were dogs, what did I expect - but maybe I could use that to my advantage. I kept my fingers crossed that they couldn't climb trees. Finding a tree wasn't the hard part - I needed to find one that I could climb easily, and quick. Oh, and also away from my spaceship, lest they locate it and take it.
After what seemed like hours but was probably only a few minutes I saw a tree with some low lying branches that seemed easy to shimmy up. Luckily my gamble paid off - the guards couldn't reach me from up there. Of course, they might just stay there until I was forced to come down, but if I was silent and careful enough...I should be able to move across the thick jungle along the treetops and reach my spaceship. To hell with restocking supplies. As carefully as I could, which wasn't easy with what I was wearing, I slinked across the branches of the treetops, trying to avoid making a sound as well as any deadly animals that I might accidentally disturb. Oh, how I wish for a grappling hook. Looking up at the sky, I didn't have much time before sunset either, so I got to hurry.
Finally, finally, after goodness knows how bloody long, my spaceship was within viewing distance. (By viewing distance I mean I could reach it with my arm, the jungle was thick.) Unfortunately the sun was quick setting below the horizon and it was getting dark. The guards were probably returning to the village, so going back down on the ground and running the last leg of the journey couldn't hurt. I need to locate a tree that I could climb down before anything happens.
Alright, I can do this. Carefully, carefully - wait, what's that? Some sort of light, just visible in the distance. But the spaceship was so close, and I really wanted to leave before anything happened. It's probably some reflective surface. It didn't look like a reflection of light, though. My curiosity got the better of me and I went over to have a look. Still on the treetops, awkwardly - haven't found an easy tree to climb down yet.
Eventually I reached the source of the light. It definitely wasn't a reflection, I could tell now - the sun had long set and there was no moon on this star system. Just in case it was hostile, I looked down carefully at the scene below.
Well, it wasn't hostile, kind of. Turns out, it's one of those villagers, but he couldn't have been much older than 15 or 16 - just a few years younger than me, actually. Not more than a kid, assuming they had a similar lifespan to us. Honestly not much more than a kid. You might be wondering why a 18 year old is piloting a spaceship. It's a long story, but we're pressed for time to find a new place to call home soon and right now, age is not a top priority to consider.
So, back to the situation at hand. The kid was under attack by a giant spider. Geez, that sounds so ridiculous when you write it down, but giant spider. I can't control what's in this jungle, and it's clear the guy can't either, because he's terrified out of his mind, paralyzed with fear or maybe spider venom. Whatever the case, he was going to die if I didn't do something.
Okay, I'll be honest. I didn't want to do anything at first. I hate spiders, especially if the spider is almost my size. Plus, it's getting really dark and who knows what other creepy crawlies might appear later on. And then there's the risk he might yell for the guards once the danger's over. I turned around to go, but in my haste doing so I forgot to be silent with that dratted armour.
Clink.
The spider turned to look at me, as well as the villager. Both were silent, but I could tell from their facial expression alone what they were thinking. The spider was considering my threat, wondering if I wanted its "meal". And its meal, uh I mean the villager, looks relieved that someone has come to rescue. Ah, great. Now I'm going to have to battle a giant spider. Could this day get any - no, no, don't finish that sentence. That's just asking for trouble.
Speaking of trouble, the spider was almost directly below me. Hmm, that gives me an idea. Snapping off one of the branches of the tree I was in, I leap down and directly on top of the spider. The branch pierces right into the arachnid, pinning it to the ground. It tries to escape, but to no avail - the thing is rendered immobile, for now. My gun has but one charge left, and I put it to good use on the spider. It drops to the ground, dead. Okay, a tad anticlimactic, but I got the job done.
I walk over to the villager and offer a hand to help him up. "You alright?" I ask. He looks at me warily, possibly wondering if this was a trap. I give a slight smile and wait for him to take my hand - probably a better idea if I don't make any forward movements.
"Th- thanks for saving me." I help the villager up, but just as soon as he stands up he scrunches over from pain. I catch him before he falls so he's leaning on my shoulder, but he swats me away, not wanting my help - still rather distrustful of me, I guess. Looking down I can see some deep scratches in his hind leg, from the spider or something - there was no way he'll make it to the village alone.
"I'm not going to hurt you," I say gently, "You're severely wounded. Let me help." The kid looks at me in hesitance, but eventually he lets me help him up, leaning on me for support. Slowly, step by step, we hobble back towards the village. The sun was already well below the horizon, but what else was I going to do?
We had not taken ten steps before he collapses again. His paw feels hot to the touch and he was shivering all over. The kid must have gotten bit from the spider and its venom was quick to work. There was nothing to it, I'll have to carry him back to my ship. He struggled a bit when I picked him up, but he had not much strength left and soon just gave up. Despite being nearly my size, he was a lot lighter than I assumed, and we made much quicker progress than before.
After many, many distractions, I had made it back to my ship, though it was past midnight and I had a passenger on board. While I would have loved to lie down and take a rest, there were urgent matters to attend to and I took him to the medical bay. Fingers crossed the venom was one I had an antidote for. The kid was pretty much out cold and I didn't know if he would make it.
The medbay injected him with a chemical which slowed down the flow of his blood, which should buy him some time. It then started analysing the venom inside him, deciding on the best medicine to use. Meanwhile, I worked on the wounds on his leg - I don't know why, but the medical unit doesn't do physical injuries.
The venom turned out to be a fast acting poison which could kill its victim in an hour. With the right antidote, though, it was harmless, and once the kid was injected his life signs were back to normal - at least, normal according to what the medbay's files on dogs are. He had cream coloured fur and seemed to be some sort of Labrador - a little bit cute, actually. There was just one more thing I had to take care of - the kid also has a broken leg, and that meant he was going to need a cast and three weeks to heal. Sigh - in this age of technology, we still need to wait for bones to heal naturally.
It was going to be a while before he woke up, the medbay informed me; so in the meantime I took off my armour, put my gun in the recharging stand and took a nice shower. Ah, finally. Heading back to the medbay, the kid was already up and looking around in wonder.
"Where am I? Who are you, anyway?" he asks. It probably isn't a good time to tell him he's on a spaceship and I'm an alien - no idea how he'll react to that - I choose my words carefully. "You're in my house. I'm an explorer, I like to find new places." (It wasn't entirely a lie - my ship is technically where I live.) "What's your name?"
"Bos...Boston."
"Boston, huh? My name's Nick."
"Why did you save me?"
"Huh?"
"The chief at my village told me not to trust anyone outside. All they want is to eat you. Are you going to eat me?" (Talk about paranoid - no wonder the kid was so distrustful of me.)
"No, Boston. Not everyone wants to eat you. Some people, like me, do want to help."
The kid - Boston - gets off the bed he was lying on, but then he noticed the cast on his leg. "What's this?"
"It's a cast. You broke your leg and it's going to need some time to heal."
"Broke it? What do you mean I broke it? It looks fine to me."
"I mean, your leg bone."
"Bone? " His tail starts wagging. Right, dog. Keep forgetting.
"The point is, you're going to need some time to heal and then I can take you back to your village, okay? I'm sure your mom and dad are worried sick."
He looks down sadly. "I...I don't have any parents. They died while I was young." A few tears well up in his eyes. Can dogs cry? Apparently, this one could.
"I...sorry to hear that." I wanted to comfort him, but I wasn't sure how he'll react to that.
"Nah. It's fine, I never knew them that well." He sniffed. "Can I stay here until my leg heals?" The question took me by surprise; firstly, I hadn't expected him to want to stay and secondly, it was a rather direct question to be asking someone you just met. Wasn't he worried I wanted to eat him just moments ago?
"Uh, no, I guess you can stay. I've got a spare bed in here anyway..." I trailed off as the reality of the situation hit me. If he was going to be staying here for three weeks, then that meant I'd have to delay exploring the cosmos and stay in this jungle. And with an angry village chief nearby, I wasn't sure that was such a good idea. Despite all this, I couldn't bring myself to say no.
"Thank you! I won't be a bother, I promise." He tries to get off the bed again but I stop him. Better not have him walking before his leg is fully healed. Lying down, Boston eventually drifted off to sleep. I looked outside the window, and a small, soft glow on the horizon told me that the sun was about to rise. It's much too late to catch up on some sleep, but I needed the energy. Hopefully I could get a snooze before the sun properly arose.