Drinking and its consequences

It’s been several more hours before Amos gave up his attempts to clear the entrance. The stalactites he used were either too weak or too heavy to be used efficiently. He was incredibly thirsty and the temperature had risen near the entrance, forcing him to remove the top of his suit. He was relieved to see that Howard and Jill were fine despite their obvious use of the alien fruit. Jill was humming quietly while wandering in the large cavern, occasionally scratching her arms or her back, smiling as she saw Amos.

“I can’t move any of these damn rocks,” he said with a tired voice. “Guess we’re stuck here until the others found us. Are you okay Jill?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, Howard was right, the water is good, you should try some.”

“Amos sighed. He knew it was against all basic safety rules to eat or drink alien food that wasn’t tested. But he was terribly thirsty and knew he didn’t have any other choice. They might be stuck here for a while and their rations were depleted.

“Did you notice any side effects?” he asked as he suspiciously grabbed a pierced fruit that was still full of water.

“Nah, I’m all good, just a little dry skin but it’s probably because the air is too dry,” she answered. The faint light coming from their torchlight enabled them to notice the effects of the fruit’s juice on Jill’s skin. Her usually light skin had taken a darker tone as if she was an adept of sunbathing. It was also drier and tougher although it was still supple. She was also strangely calm for someone in such a grave situation. Amos didn’t react; he was enjoying a much-needed gulp of water, well a large gulp of water… several in fact since he drank the content of three fruits in a row before following Jill’s instruction about Howard.

He found him in an adjacent tunnel, kneeling near a fumarole. Unlike Amos, Howard didn’t seem to be affected by the sulfurous steam coming from the small hole.

“Why are you so close of this Howard? It’s boiling hot and smells like rotten eggs” he asked while casually sipping more water, damn it was refreshing he thought.

“Nah, it’s good, though it was hot too but it’s okay and I guess I got accustomed to the smell,” Howard answered. He was unusually calm, almost relaxing near the scalding vapour. Unbeknownst to him, the fruit’s juice he had drunk almost non stop since he started had a pronounced effect on him. First, he was now incredibly resistant to the hot temperatures, the 200 C° felt pleasantly warm for him. His lungs were also more tolerant to the toxic gasses that were escaping the depth of the planet. But the major effects of the fruit’s water was more subtle. His usual anger was gone, for now, replaced by a calmer, more carefree set of mind. It forbade him from realizing the dangerous situation or the changes coming affecting him. Howard’s Afro-American complexion was also hiding the changes affecting his skin, who was now thicker and tougher like leather. Amos mind wasn’t as foggy as Howard’s but it was enough to block the alarming thoughts he had before. He was about to say something when a loud growl reverberated in the air.

“What? Is that the volcano?” he asked.

“Relax man, it’s just my stomach, didn’t realize it before but I’m starving. I could eat a horse!” Howard said. Another loud growl could be heard, this one coming from Amos’s empty stomach. He groaned as he massaged his belly.

“Guess you’re hungry too,” Howard said. “I wonder if the fruit’s pulp tastes as good as the juice?” Both of them walked back to the main cave while Howard took a bite of the fruit tender red flesh, not noticing how his eyes began to change colour, the iris slowly becoming redder.