After a quick breakfast of sweetberries and grilled toad, the first thing I needed was some building materials. I had found those pines on the trail connecting Privacy Rock to Beachcliff World. My chainsaw stick was ready, though I was going to have to use it with both hands. It definitely didn’t have the weight or the length of the saws I was used too.


    There was something else I didn’t notice right away.


    I cut down three trees, and then started buzzing through the limbs. My strength really helped, but it wasn’t long before I grew lightheaded, then dizzy, and then I had to sit down. I was completely exhausted, and I’d only being sawing for like five minutes.


    Holly saw it. “It’s the chainsaw, isn’t it?”


    “I think so.” I was sitting on a stump underneath another set of pines, trying not to pass out. I remembered when I’d done a little cross country in high school, how tired I would get when I really pushed. It was like I’d run a mile in under four minutes.


    The professor was frowning, clearly worried about me. I didn’t blame her. I was worried about me as well.


    I was surprised when Billie was the one to come over. “Turn your thingy into an ax. I’ll hack through the smaller limbs. You want like a big log, right?”


    “Yeah,” I said, wiping the sweat off my brow.


    Billie got to work, hacking through the limbs.


    The professor got me a leaf of water, and it hit the spot. I’d never been thirstier in my life.


    Holly knelt next to me. “I would imagine that…like anything else…you’ll build up a tolerance the more you do it. Don’t feel bad.”


    I laughed. “I’m using my body to power a chainsaw. I’m glad we have the ax because look at Bilie go.”


    And Billie was working her ass off. It was impressive. She clearly needed to burn off some extra stress.


    Then Holly surprised me even more. “An obvious solution is more power crystals. I will go and search for some. You stay here.”


    I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t. I was having trouble staying off the ground. What I really wanted was to curl up into a little ball and go to sleep. Well, Opal warned me that I could die if I used the chainsaw too much. She wasn’t wrong.


    With Holly gone, and Billie stripping off the limbs, I figured I might as well distract myself by trying to get some answers. “Hey, Opal, so who are the Arkadians?”


    The Arkadians are an advanced civilization of galactic explorers. They are hominids, as you are, though much more advanced. Their research into quantum mechanics allowed them to bend time and space. They jealously guard their technology from other more war-like species. Many Arkadians prefer to stay anonymous because of the advancements they have made. Some have become victims of violence.


    “Could Khanna be an Arkadian?”


    Khanna shares genetic material with Arkadians. More data needed. Given this unit’s knowledge of the Arkadian language, a Lexicon will be easier to generate.


    I was getting used to Opal simply talking to me, but this time, I was given a warning message.


    <<<>>>


    Warning!


    Current error state is 92% of normal functionality.


    Error: Power source low. 4% of full.


    Please charge this unit to 100% for optimal functionality.


    <<<>>>


    That made me sigh. “Yeah, Opal, I know. We’re working on it.”


    The sharp drop in power had to be from the chainsaw. She’d lost ten points of power from that little bit of sawing. No wonder I felt like hell.


    “Opal, what about your former host. He wasn’t Arkadian, I don’t think. He was a Foiros, right?”


    The Foiros are a Felinid race from a distant planet. This unit has knowledge of his race, but Arkadian privacy laws dictate discretion.


    “What about Paraxens?” I asked.


    The Paraxens are a race of merchants providing equipment and weapons to a variety of customers, which include both explorers and conquerors. Paraxens are a Reptilid race, advanced in nature, and very adept at providing their customers with the best products and services possible.


    I had to take a minute to appreciate the fact that I was being given proof of alien life. Humans weren’t alone in the galaxy, or at least in one version of our universe. I never would’ve known any of that if the Ravana Storm hadn’t come through Grand Junction.


    I had to ask. “Opal. You’re not giving me cancer or whatever, right? I mean, I know you have a Primary Mission, but I’ll be okay at the end of it, right?”


    Primary Mission incomplete. HOSTNAME: Sid Marshall must be kept functional to complete Primary Mission. Cells optimized to 53%. No cancer detected.


    Opal needed me. That made me feel strangely good.


    Holly returned, holding a big power crystal over her head. “I found one! I hope it’s a big one.”


    Billie wiped sweat off her brow. “That’s what she said.”This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    The minute I was given the crystal, I immediately felt better.


    <<<>>>


    Anomalous energy source detected! Utilizing. Charged to 16% of full.


    Power for Paraxen Multitool confirmed.


    <<<>>>


    “Wow, that was a big crystal,” I said to the professor. “Opal is up twelve points, and she has some extra for me.”


    “I do like a big, hard crystal when I’m working,” Billie joked.


    Holly smiled indulgently. “Yes, I do agree. I also like a big hard…something. But let us keep our focus. I will return to our perch up in the redwood to retrieve our toolbox and supplies. I will then continue to forage for crystals, while you two work. It’s not unlike searching for berries, though the crystals feel more random.”


    I was able to take down another tree with the chainsaw, but then I helped Billie strip the limbs.


    Resting helped me feel less exhausted, but it was clear every time I used the chainsaw there was a price. Cutting through the fallen trees, I was able to get eight long planks from each tree, but I only cut up two trees for a total of sixteen planks.


    Holly returned with our rope and the toolboxes and another power crystal. Thank goodness. I was down to below 3%, and I needed the magic. Opal wasn’t back above ten, but I felt better.


    After shaking off the exhaustion, I could do normal work.


    We retrieved the bus seats from the redwood perch, and then I carried them back to what we started calling Lonetree Ridge. It was kind of ironic, since there was a town named Lone Tree in Colorado, near Denver.


    We kept our eyes on the ground, searching for more power crystals, as we made the trip, back and forth, carrying our stuff to our new home.


    The trees were way too heavy for the girls to help with, so we created a harness for me, and I dragged them down through the forest and out onto the cliff tops above the beach. It was raining in both the Rainforest World and the Beachcliff World, though the rain was so different. In the forest, the rain was misty and a bit chilly, but on the Beachcliff World, it was far heavier and as cold as fuck.


    But my survival suit changed depending on the environment, and while I wasn’t warm, I wasn’t freezing either.


    I had to make several trips, but I soon had enough trees for the entryway. That would include the door I was planning. At the same time, I wanted to lay down on the floor of the main house as well. There was no way all of that was going to happen on the same day, but I could get something in place.


    While we worked, I told the girls everything that Opal had told me. Billie hadn’t asked about my encounter with the huntress that morning, but Professor Kroft wanted to know.


    I kept it relatively tame, but I did make it clear that Khanna and I had been intimate.


    This time, both girls took it relatively well. The professor even made a joke that she might ask for the huntress’s services herself.


    Billie had laughed nervously, but I had the idea she might have the same idea. I didn’t see that happening though. Fooling around with the huntress would be cheating, and Billie didn’t want to cheat.


    Holly and Billie found rocks we could use to prop the logs up on either side of the ridge. I didn’t trust the rocks completely, and so I used rope to lash the boards together. Our rope was wet, but that was good. It would tighten as it dried.


    The professor went looking in the swamp for more crystals and came back with one, a big one, which would allow us to cut more trees. She’d also found some reeds she thought would work well for baskets. Holly was overjoyed that the pines trees we were cutting down had a ton of sap. The sap would provide us with both glue for our planks and also a waterproofing agent for her water baskets.


    We returned to the pines in Rainforest World, and while I sawed, Holly started weaving a basket, though what she was working on certainly didn’t look like a basket. It was a squarish object of a million reeds all sticking out in opposite directions. But what did I know? I’d hardly ever left Colorado.


    Then I was forced to take a break. Dammit, we needed more crystals.


    After resting up, I went to get my secret weapon.


    When I started east, Billie stopped chopping limbs. “Where are you going?”


    “To get the bus.”


    Holly was sitting on our pile of pine logs, weaving away. “Why are you getting the bus?”


    I exhaled and wiped sweat off my brow. “Because it’s going to be our front door, or maybe a temporary home if we can’t get the floor finished today.”


    Billie made a face. “How are you going to get the bus all the way to the Lonetree Ridge?”


    “I’m going to pull it. I pulled it into the forest. It’s not easy, but damn, it’s easier than using the chainsaw.” That made me laugh. “Never thought I would say that, but it’s the truth.”


    Holly frowned. “Don’t hurt yourself, Sid. The emergency room is like a million miles that way.” She pointed to the south.


    For all we knew, there might be an ER there, but would there be people there? We still had the skyscrapers out in the ocean to explore. That could all wait until our home was finished.


    I tried to make the professor feel better. “I won’t hurt myself, Holly. I’ll be back before you know it…as long as I can pull it through the narrower sections of the redwood forest.”


    Billie came over to me. “We can help. Come on. You can’t do this alone.”


    “I really can,” I said. “You’re not going to be able to do much.”


    “Except keep watch,” Holly said. “I can go while Billie continues to cut off those branches.”


    Billie made a face. “There’s no way I’m going to be left behind. Or maybe the huntress might come for me.” She grinned. “On second thought, I’ll stay in hopes that will happen.”


    “Really?” Holly asked.


    “No,” the cheerleader said quickly, “just kidding. I’m totally going with you guys.”


    In no time, we were making our way to the bus. I had to wonder if the fleas were still out there, or if another giant rattlesnake had come slithering across the crimson dunes. I didn’t think our future would take us out there, but then I remembered the giant yellow mounds we’d seen in the far distant.


    We already had my rope harness I’d used to pull the trees. We hooked it up to the bus, and soon I was walking through the rainforest, pulling the bus after me. The girls were very helpful, pointing out the best paths through the trees. They also helped by ripping away ferns or other plant life that caught hold of the bus.


    Billie got in front of me, chopping away plants with the Paraxen ax.


    I doubted I could’ve moved the bus an inch without the wheels in the back. Most of the weight rested on the tires, but I had to keep the front end from digging into the dirt. Holly helped a little with a little guidance here and there. If the front dipped, she’d tell me, and I would take a fresh grip on the ropes and pull some more.


    I was sweaty, grunting, and it was hard, hard work, but I managed to pull the bus past Privacy Rock and to the road I’d cleared on the way to Beachcliff World. Once there, the way was easy, but I had to avoid the sand traps. Keeping on the thick grass helped, but a few times we got mired.


    I pulled the bus onto the platform I’d created using the logs.


    Like I’d imagined, the bus became our front entrance, complete with a door we could swing open and closed. Also, we had extra benches for our beds. I was tired of trying to fold myself in half to fit on a single bench.


    Once I got the bus in place, and once I cut more logs, I let out a sigh.


    I was exhausted, but I still wanted to saw more planks out of the logs, so I could create a base for the home under the lone cypress tree. However, I wasn’t sure how I was going to attach the boards to the logs underneath. What I really wanted were nails, but I had no idea how to make a forge. I thought maybe we could use sticks because the pine was such a soft wood. I also thought about making stone nails, but that was unlikely.


    I figured we could use pine sap and rope for now. Maybe the Ravana Storm would leave behind an Ace Hardware or a Lowe’s.


    What was equally frustrating was that we were going to have to hunt the next day for our food. Yes, we had sweetberries, but we needed protein. And after the Swarm Toad invasion, most, if not all, of the big crows had been eaten.


    I wanted to get my house done, and I wanted to make sure we had rope ladder down to the beach. Hopefully, then we could add fish to our diet. If Opal could make a chainsaw that was attached to my cells, she could manage a fishing pole.


    The real question was if we would survive that night in the new place. We really didn’t know how safe Beachcliff World was. The night before, we’d been attacked by giant flying toads. Maybe giant flying fish would be next. At least we could eat them.