Eddie was aware of every single nerve point in his body. He felt a continuous buzz of electricity similar to a slight static shock coursing through him and found it to be invigorating. His senses, something he had taken for granted for so long, were intensified by the experience. He could smell the dampness of the cave, make out every rock and crag that jutted from the cave walls, and at the same time admired the congruity they projected where once it had seemed chaotic. He could hear the music created by the echoing condensation falling off the cave ceiling.

“Fantastic,” Eddie said, but he wasn’t sure if he was saying it or thinking it. His “voice” had an almost electronic edge to it.

He looked down at his arm and marveled at the way he could see the thin hairs on the back of his limb standing up, moving back and forth like a field of grain on a windy day. He lifted his hand and intensified his stare. He squawked in surprise as he was able to see beyond his skin to the blood pulsing through his veins beneath.

FANTASTIC.

Eddie looked around the cave nervously. He could make no one out. “Who said that?”

THAT.

Eddie could hear his heart pounding, could feel it beating against his chest.

“Who are you?”

Eddie felt a ripple of electricity course through him. His body stiffened slightly as electrical blue sparks arched across the top of his head.

“Stop!” Eddie said excitedly. “Please.”

PLEASE. STOP. WHO ARE YOU?

The surge diminished and Eddie felt his limbs under his control again. He took in a deep breath.

WHO ARE YOU?

“I’m not imagining it.” He looked at the glow surrounding him. “You’re alive. You exist.”

WHO????

“Take it easy,” Eddie said, feeling the voice in his head getting louder and more insistent. A mild headache began to form. “My name is Eddie Johnson. I’m from Earth.”

EARTH?

“Yeah, Earth. It’s a planet like this one.”

PLANET?

“Is this all you can do?” Eddie asked. “Are you just going to keep parroting me?” His only answer was silence. “All right, how about we try this. What’s your name?”

NO NAME. NO PLANET. NOBODY TO CARE.

“Care? Are you plucking words from my mind?”

MIND FULL OF IMAGES. FULL OF IDEAS. FULL OF THOUGHTS. LEARNING. BECOMING…

“Becoming? What are you talking about? Who are you? Where are you from?”

NEED TO EXAMINE DATA. ESSENTIAL. It paused for a moment. THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE.

Eddie felt a rumble in his stomach. He was getting hungry. He wasn’t sure how long he had been in the cave, but he knew he had to get something to eat.

HUNGER.

“You’re hungry too?” Eddie asked.

The being pulsed and Eddie felt his senses expand again. This time he was seeing beyond the walls of the cave. The skies were beginning to grow dark as evening was approaching.

“Uh-oh,” Eddie said. “My dad’s going to kill me.”

DAD? KILL?

“My father. He’s not really going to kill me. But he’s going to be upset that I’ve been away so long. But this wouldn’t have happened if he had come to the caves with me like he said he would.”

The being appeared to rumble as it pondered what Eddie was saying.

FATHER. MOTHER. PROGENITORS. It said each word slowly. UNDERSTAND. MOTHER ABANDONED. FATHER ABANDONED.

“Well, I wouldn’t say my mother abandoned me. She died a few years ago.”

MEMORY IS STRONG. THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE THERE. CANNOT UNDERSTAND IT.

Eddie felt a tear falling from his cheek. “You’re reading me wrong! I’m not mad at my mother!” Eddie tried to change the subject. “Look, you said you were hungry. How about getting something to eat?”

Eddie’s vision spotted several flyers flitting about in the skies above. With his enhanced senses, he could make out the energy that surged through the crafts.

YES. HUNGER.

“Uh-oh,” Eddie said as the realization of what the creature was about to do dawned on him.