47 BULLETS

I sure didn't think I was sleepy but next thing I know it was more than an hour later. Yawning, I spoke to myself. "Guess I did need that." I turned to glance up at Thann, but he wasn't at his watch. Sitting up and scanning around a bit, I smiled to realize he was stretched out in the truck bed, feet dangling over the gate, asleep himself. Guess he needed it too.

We'd need dinner soon, so I hopped out to go pick some potatoes when I realized big guy Thann probably needed more calories than some root vegetables and rambutans. I did have two packets of freeze dried meals left, but those were small helpings even for me and Jia.

I wandered through the forest to my snares and had no luck, but I did know where there was a big wad of meat. The dragon. Would it even be edible? It had that weird blue blood. And what about time? I looked up to the sun. I'd be cutting it close on light hours if I headed back there right now.

But coming upon Thann's still sleeping form in my truck made me think it was worth it. Maybe a big roast would be a good thank you for saving me from the beast and for washing the burn from my arm. I looked down to the bandage and realized it was not hurting at all now. I pressed on the material and grimaced. The wound was still tender at least. But it wasn't burning and after living with a scorching arm for a week, tender was awesome.

Thann my man, I love you.

Deciding to go for it, I grabbed supplies and started down to the lake.

Looking over the sparkling water I knew my timing was getting better, and I should be able to make it back to camp before the sun even hit the horizon level.

Taking out my hunting knife, I cleaned the skin from the dragon's meaty back thigh and cut a significant roast away. Placing it in my collapsible bucket, I then walked to the lake edge and cleaned the blood from my hands and tools. The blue disappeared into the water like the eye above the waves.

I still wasn't sure if the dragon was even edible. Maybe the blue blood indicated some toxin or something. Looking over my hands, I expected to see the red sunburn like the deathberry water gave, but saw no such marks. I'd at least take the meat back to camp and Thann could tell me if we could cook it.

I started for the path, but realized with the language barrier, would I be able to tell him this was dragon meat? But then I had an idea. Digging my phone out, I climbed over to the creature and took a picture. I could show Thann the picture and sign eating and see if it's okay that we eat it.

So with my picture and thoughts decided, I headed back to camp.

But Thann was still sound asleep in the back. He was breathing, so the injury hadn't killed him, yet at least. Figuring I better just let him sleep, I sat my phone out to charge and waited.

I had drawn the monster as best as I could from memory in my notepad when the sky was darkening. The bucket of fresh meat would probably be a homing beacon to us, so I figured I'd need to cook it with or without Thann's permission. So I started a small fire and cooked the roast in a pot of boiling water. I set the pot into my thermal unit and let it keep hot until Thann woke up.

But the skies darkened and the fire burned to coals and still he hadn't woke. Figuring he wouldn't wake until morning, I ate a potato and went to close myself into the cab. I pulled the sleeping bag over me and realized that being out in the open Thann was going to need it more. The enclosed truck cab could keep me warm. Quietly I backed out of the car and spread the sleeping bag over him instead. He didn't move a muscle in recognition of the warm gift, so he was still out cold.

The headlamp showed his softened sleeping face and I smiled looking him over. He certainly was one handsome alien. I didn't know what I expected, little green men or octopuses or something maybe, definitely not some hot muscled dude. On Earth I never would have looked at someone so built, but I had really enjoyed the scenery with him.

"Goodnight. Thanks for helping me out today." I whispered and hopped back in the cab.

I was prepared for cold, but dang. Even covered with Jia's too small scrubs, it was cold. Not completely unbearable, but it was crispy. I'm glad I gave Thann the sleeping bag now. If I was this cold in the enclosed cab, he was probably freezing out in the open.

It was a long night, but I did end up getting some sleep. When I woke up with the hazy morning, I twisted to see Thann, but shocked awake when he was gone. The sleeping bag was tossed to the side, there looked to be no struggle, so I guess he was awake and roaming the woods? Taking a leak? Hmm.. maybe I needed to follow his lead.

Quickly I did my business and then began to wash my hands back at camp when Thann strolled through the trees.

"Morning," I said holding the rest of my water bottle to my lips and drinking. I almost spit my water out taking in his chest. The hundreds of cuts he had dashed in his skin that I had cleaned, just yesterday, were completely healed over revealing fresh perfect skin. "Holy Dothraki! How did you heal so quick?!"

He ignored my question and held his hand out. Six silver dollar sized speckled eggs sat in his overly large hands. "Eat."

I grinned up at him. "Aww, you brought back breakfast. How adorable."

He put three in my hands, but I put two back in his. "Thann eat. Thann bigger."

"No. El Eat." And he placed them back in my hand.

"Thank you."

He grabbed one of the daggers from his belt and cut the top of the shell off, pouring the contents into his mouth. All three eggs were probably just one gulp for his tall frame. I held out my three and he looked at me and commanded. "No. El Eat."

"Maybe I should cook them." I put the eggs down on the tailgate, not sure if I could just drink eggs right from the shell.

"El eat!" He commanded.

I tried distraction. "Are you still hungry. I made dinner last night and we never could get to it." I grabbed my thermal pot and opened the top. The food wasn't boiling hot anymore, but thank you manufacturers it was actually still warm. Probably not food safe warm after all this time, but I'm not complaining.

Pulling tongs from my kitchen tools container, I lifted the roast. "Eat?" I asked.

He looked at it and then back to me. "Meat."

"Oh, you know meat. Yes. This is meat." I let the roast fall back into the broth, then grabbed for my phone. "You'll have to tell me if we can eat it. It's the dragon from yesterday." I unlocked my phone and held up the picture with the pterodactyl thing.

"Cellphone! Cellphone!" Thann lit up and stole the electronic from me.

"Whoa. Be careful with that Dothraki."

He started flipping the phone over and over again and then finally got a good look of the dragon pic. "Indizayo." He started shaking the phone, like something would drop out. He looked to me again and then pointed at the screen. "Indizayo!"

"Is that what the dragon is called? Inndezzahyo?" I signed butterfly like it was a flapping bird in the sky. Yeah, like that thing was some sweet dancing creature. But I didn't know the sign for monster and the bird sign was pinching at your lips like a beak. That wouldn't be helpful.

"Indizayo." He grinned at my connection.

I laughed. "It's just a picture. Here. Look." I took the phone from him and turned on the camera, putting us in focus of a selfie. Then I opened the pic and showed him. "El. Thann. Picture."

"Inhloboni yobuthakiathi le ntokazi?!" He stared in a wide horrored eye, but gradually softened, looking back and forth again and again from me to the picture. "El. Cellphone."

"Yes. That's El."

He was quiet a minute until the screen went dark in his hands. I turned it back on for him. He looked to me, confusion coloring his tanned face. "Thann cellphone. Yes-No."

"Yes. That's a picture of you. That's a picture of Thann." I pointed to him and then picture him.

"Yimi lowo." His words spoke to himself like he couldn't believe it.

"Good looking guy, right?" I laughed. Very good looking guy. Then I took the cellphone back and flipped back to the dragon picture, oh the Indesyo... was that what it was called? I giggled to myself calling it a butterfly again. I zoomed in on its chopped-up leg and signed putting in my mouth. "Eat. Yes or No?"

"Eat?" He questioned, looking back to the dragon. Then he nodded to me. "Indizayo. Yes. Eat." He stood and grabbed his dagger.

"Oh wait," I called and opened the cooker back up. "This is indezahyo." I pointed to the leg pic and then the roast. Then signed butterfly again. "Indezahyo. Eat."

A smile brightened his face, white shiny teeth glowing. His word began loving, "Usuphekile isilo? Ungowesifazane ohlekisayo," but his language stopped roughly and his air changed to fear. His glance darted to the perimeter. Did he hear something? My eyes followed a hand reaching for the rifle at my back, but then his hands were holding my biceps a little too hard. A heated glance bent to mine. "NO! No El meat! No safe! Earth female safe. NO!"

"What?" I asked confused at the sudden turn.

"No. Meat. Earth. Female. Safe. El car. Thann meat." He stared me down.

"You're mad I went to get meat?"

"No meat. El car."

I put my hands up in surrender the best I could with a pot lid in one fist and fingers wrapped around my biceps. "Okay. Okay. No El meat. Sorry."

He released me and stood tall, again checking the surroundings.

I chuckled. "But I'm not always staying in the truck like some prisoner or something." When he was satisfied no pandas were going to jump out and eat us, I pointed to the roast. "Okay, now that we have that cleared up. Indezzahyo. Eat. Yes?"

"Yes. Eat."

"Good." Then I cut a big portion for him and a small one for me. I giggled as he chewed it like rubber between his teeth. Guess he wasn't used to eating dragon. But he pointed for more, and so I smiled and gave him the whole pot. He ate the rest of the roast and even slurped all of the broth, so he must not have thought it was that terrible.

I did wish I at least had some barbeque sauce. A dash of fish sauce was a good salt substitute, but not exactly what I was craving for flavor. I hadn't tried those peppers yet. Maybe I'd start on testing them today. Oh! If Thann was here, maybe he could help me with what's edible. Looking over my soothed arm I already knew it was a good thing bringing him back with me, but it was looking better every day. Just wish I could talk with him.

"So where are we?" I asked the air. I twisted on the tailgate to him. I tried to figure out how to ask. "El female, Earth. Thann male, ____."

His lips formed my words and then he lit. "El female, Earth. Thann male, Indawo."

I looked around at the trees and sky. "Indawo." So it was finally confirmed. Not Earth. I guess I was still holding out hope for some time travel, caveman Earth timeframe or something.

"So you know a few English words. What else?" I started trying to think of all the words he had said. "Thann: Male. Female. Car. Hurt. Yes-No. uh... oh, Cellphone. Meat. Eat. Night." I moved my hand out from my mouth asking for other words he knows.

He just stared.

Shoot. Now what.

"A-B-C?"

Nothing.

"1-2-3?"

"Um... animal, vegetable, mineral? Anything sounding good yet? Red, yellow, blue?" I looked around trying to name things. "Leaves? Grass? Sky? Sun?"

At sun he immediately looked up to the ball of light. "Sun."

I sat up straight. "Yes! Sun!"

"Day."

I lit. "Yes! Sun is in the day. And you know night. What about moon?"

He nodded. "Moon. Night. Stars."

"Stars too! Yes!"

"Food? Fruit? Berries? Uh.. Oh! Water! Water!" I reached back and grabbed a bottle with the liquid sloshing inside.

He nodded. "Water."

"Lake? Fish? Rock? Bird? Tree?"

"Tree." He pointed around the space. "Tree. Tree. Tree." Then he seemed like something was clicking. He pointed down. "Plant. Dirt."

I clapped in happiness. "Plant! Dirt! Yes! More!"

"Cellphone. Car. Microwave. Fridge. Computer."

"Whoa. You know a lot of electronics. Are there electronics on your planet? Washing machine? Oven? Uh. Hair drier?"

He looked completive and then started to gruffly sing. "Head. Shoulders. Knees. Toes. Knees. Toes. Knees. Toes."

I started to laugh and sang the last few measures with him. "Head, shoulders, knees and toes. Eyes, ears, mouth and nose."

He grinned pleased.

I smiled back for a moment. "How do you know all this? Where did you learn all these words?"

He then started swearing up a string of swearwords so racy a blush reddened up from my chest and flooded my cheeks. He grinned and smoothed a single finger over my blushing cheek. The soft feel swirled heat around my center.

Trying to laugh it off, I glanced up. "So you learned English from some naughty sailor then?"

"Cellphone. Car. Fridge. Microwave. Eyes. Ears. Mouth. Nose. Earth female Molly. Uyafundisa."

"What!" I startled. "Go back a thought there boy. Earth female Molly? Earth female Molly! There's another Earth person here?! Where?! Oh my gosh. Let's go!" I hopped off the tailgate and pantomimed. "Go! Earth female Molly!"

"No."

"No? What do you mean no? Yes!" I grabbed his hand and started tugging, pointing the path to the lake like that's where she was. "Earth female Molly! Go-go!"

"Female El. No."

"No?" I leaned back wounded. "Why not? Oh. Oh! Oh no. Is she gone? Molly's dead." Like Jia.

"Earth female safe. El hurt. Thann hurt." His other large hand held over his side wound.

I dropped the hand I held and looked over my wrapped arm. "We need to heal?"

"Day. Night. Day. Night. Day. Earth female Molly."

My smile lit again. "Does that mean in a few days we can go? Day-day-day Molly? Yes or No?"

"Yes."

I practically bounced on my toes singing to the sky. "Earth female Molly! Earth female Molly!" Then I gave a startlingly loud version of head, shoulders, knees, and toes while he boomed a laugh.

"Yes. Yes." He patted my shoulder.

"Sorry. I'm just happy." I signed happy with an upwards flick at my heart. "Another Earth person."

"Earth female Molly. Mathe."

"Molly Mathe," I echoed cheerfully. I wondered about her last name. Mathe didn't ring any bells about country of origin, but she must be American if she taught Thann English.

"Earth female Molly. Mathe. Earth female Lissette. Kayo. Nabazalwane abaphethe iphakethe."

"There's a Lissette too! Oh my gosh." I wanted to go now. "No hurt. No hurt." I tapped my arm. "Go Molly. Go Lissette." I pointed the path.

"No. No." He pushed my hand away. "Hurt. Hurt." He palmed softly over our injuries. "Earth female Molly. Day."

"Day-Day-Day." I conceded and flopped back down on the truck. "Okay. You win."

"Kuhle." He stood holding out a dagger in an innocent fighting stance. "Thann meat. El car."

"El car? You serious? I could help." I asked annoyed and then put a thumbed fist on my flat hand to sign. "Thann hurt too."

He started walking away, a step over the fence and pointing to it. "Hurt. Safe. El car."

He disappeared into the trees, big steps already taking him away and I yelled to him. "I know to step over my own fence, Dothraki!"