Page 13 of My Tiny Giant

“No, you won’t,” I said through the reinforced fabric of the pod. “You’ve put out enough sensors to ‘watch’ for us, not to mention my suit’s alarm system that would alert us of anyone approaching. We both need to rest.”

His misplaced, obsessive overprotectiveness was getting on my last nerve. The only thing that had changed was him learning about my gender. And just like that, Agan had turned from my comrade into my guard.

“Get some sleep,” I muttered, making myself comfortable in the pod. “I’m not carrying your tired ass all the way to the base tomorrow.”

Chapter 4

B RIGHT LIGHT FILTERED through the fabric of my sleeping pod, waking me up. It was well into morning, I realized, rubbing sleep out of my eyes.

Climbing out of the pod, I found Agan munching on a long piece of meat by the dying fire.

“How long have you been up for?” I asked.

“For about a half-hour. Breakfast?” He pointed with his thumb at another long piece of meat roasting nearby. Draped over a stick, it looked very much like a skinned snake.

“Um, no. Thank you. I’m good. I’ll have this.” I took out the last of my ration bars and had my tasteless but highly nutritious breakfast. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

He finished the meat and put out the fire.

“You needed to rest. We have a long trek ahead of us.”

My suit that I’d left in a sitting position nearby caught his attention. He crouched by it and inspected the surrounding ground, tugging at my curiosity.

“What are you looking at?” I lowered into a crouch at his side.

My knee accidentally bumped into the suit with a dull noise.

“Back!” Agan suddenly grabbed me around the waist, hauling me away from the suit.

“What are you doing? Let me go!” I punched him in the massive bicep. As shocked and confused as I was, I hated the fact how easily he dragged me away, as if I were no bigger than a cat.

“Qhuk worms.” He tipped his chin at the suit.

Long silvery creatures slithered from the long gap on the back of my suit where the left wing used to be. They scattered along the ground, quickly slinking toward the trees at the edge of the clearing.

“But they aren’t dangerous.” I said, puzzled by Agan’s reaction. “Not deadly anyway.”