In the ruins outside Storm, Stella sought the item Don Warren sent her to find in exchange for Del’s life. Again, she had put Del in danger. It started to rain, true to the location’s namesake. As the ground moistened, so did the dung of whatever small animals lived here, making the whole place reak like a trash heap.

“It will present itself to me?” She puzzled over the Don’s cryptic instructions. She cursed and felt a headache coming on. Ancient ruins dotted the landscape. Reminders that others had come before Bug-Kin. Generally, any ruin near a settlement was picked clean. So, what did the Don think was so important here? Her head started to thump harder.

The ground was barren near the outer perimeter, but Stella spied grass further in. “Better than mud and the smell of feces with a headache,” she muttered to herself, heading toward the greenery.

A faint voice? From where? Stella blended into the shadows at the corner of two old walls. She flittered deeper toward more of the brush that would more easily conceal her.

“Oh! Finally. It’s been so quiet.” Stella twisted about cautiously, trying again to determine where the sound came from, her antenna twitched anxiously.

“Who’s there?!” she shouted.

“Come closer.” she glanced around, spying only shrubs, fallen walls, and a single large heap of rubble. “Yes,” the voice disclosed, “There.”

Stella could feel her head pounding as she edged closer to the heap of rubble. I guess something is about to reveal itself to me.

The mound she moved toward was surrounded at the base by dense clover, a brilliant green with little white and pink orbs. Its smell was intoxicating. Just before she collapsed, she noticed two long-decayed exoskeletons.

“Finally compatible Kin! Don’t worry; the swap should only take a day, and then no more pain.”

When Stella awoke, a crystal medallion was dangling in front of her face.

“This one has wanted out for some time. Did you offer yourself?”

“What’s…?” She struggled to form words as things came back to her.

“It is trapped in the crystal in the crypts below the rubble, waiting for one such as yourself with the right frequency.”

“I… I think it’s what I was sent here for. That bastard probably knew.” Stella cursed. She knew then that Don Warren likely wanted to free whomever or whatever this was, killing Stella in the process. But would he let Del live if she did so?

“Did you offer yourself?” The blurry figure standing above her asked again.

“No!”

“Shall I stop it?”

Stella stammered a moment, considering. There had to be another way. “Stop it,” she finally struggled out.

“This one’s not for you.” The figure said as Stella’s pain started to subside. Whoever just saved her was also dragging her out of the ruins. She could feel something building in her. Del was still in danger, but she’d see him safe and that Don Warren got what was coming to him.