The Prospect's Deal

09

Ezra led me away from the group, he led me back to the shack located by the landing zone. Ezra was not taking any chances, he did not want any of his partners to overhear him talking to me. Ezra closed the door and quickly spoke to me in his softest tone yet. "How badly do you require oxygen right now? I can tell that you need oxygen desperately, but I need to know exactly how bad it is."

I showed him my oxygen tank.

Ezra inspected my oxygen tank, he looked closely at the readings that were displayed. Ezra's tone of voice became even softer as he saw how low my oxygen levels were. "You're running dangerously low on oxygen. How long do you think your oxygen will last?"

"Ten minutes..."

Ezra frowned and spoke quickly. "You're only going to last about ten minutes with the current amount of oxygen that you have? You need more oxygen, I need to find you a new oxygen tank."

I nodded slowly.

Ezra quickly got to work. He walked over to one of the storage lockers that were in the corner of the shed. Ezra opened the locker and began rummaging around inside. After a while, he found what he needed. Ezra walked back over to me and spoke in a rushed tone. "I found some additional oxygen tanks. We'll use this temporarily while I find you a higher-quality oxygen tank."

Ezra held out an extra oxygen tank towards me. He spoke quickly but calmly. "Quickly put on this oxygen tank, you need to get some oxygen back into your system as soon as possible. Once you've put on this temporary oxygen tank, I'm going to go find you a new permanent one."

I put this oxygen tank on as I felt a little more at ease.

Ezra noticed that I was starting to feel at ease now. Ezra kept an eye on me carefully as I was taking in my oxygen. Ezra spoke softly towards me. "How do you feel now? Do you feel any more at ease now that you have more oxygen in your system?"

I nodded slowly.

Ezra breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed that I was starting to feel more at ease with the higher amount of oxygen in my system. Ezra spoke softly once again, he was careful to keep his voice as gentle as possible when speaking to me. "Good, now once I find you a permanent oxygen tank, we'll be all set for the rest of the hunt. Please try to conserve as much air as possible, okay?"

I nodded again.

Everyone was now walking back to the base with the alien stones that they had found. Ezra kept a watchful eye on me throughout the walk, he was making sure that I was not getting tired or out of breath. Ezra walked alongside me, he didn't dare leave me behind or get too far ahead of me because he was concerned that my oxygen might run low again.

I kept walking as I stayed quiet however the other men were talking.

The other men were chatting amongst each other, they were joking and laughing as they made their way back to the base. Ezra didn't join in with the conversations, he was more focused on me and making sure that nothing happened to me. Ezra watched to observe my body language and he noticed that I was starting to get a bit tired. Ezra quickly spoke up and addressed me. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Tired..." I said quietly.

Ezra was starting to notice how tired I was, it was clear to see now. Ezra knew that I would soon become exhausted, which would not help with my oxygen situation at all. Ezra spoke softly once more. "I can tell that you're tiring out a bit. How long do you think you can keep walking for?"

"I can walk to the base... I am fine." I kept walking.

Ezra raised an eyebrow as he noticed that I was still able to keep walking, despite my tiredness. "If you say so..." Ezra continued to walk beside me, he was now keeping an even more watchful eye on me. Ezra was still worried that my oxygen might run low but it seemed like I could keep walking for now. Ezra was walking close to me as the two of us kept moving towards the base.

After a bit more walking, I and the rest of the partners were now near the base itself. Ezra knew that they would finally be close to getting my new oxygen tank soon. Ezra continued walking beside me, this time he was keeping a close and watchful eye on my body language and the way I was walking. Ezra's tone of voice was still gentle, he didn't want to alarm me at all. "Just a bit more to go and we'll be back at the base. Then you can sit down and rest."

I nodded slowly as we all kept walking, some of the men were boasting about the alien stones.

Ezra overheard some of the men talking amongst themselves about the stones and all the money that they would be worth when they returned to Earth. Ezra's tone of voice was still gentle as he continued to walk with me. "Keep going, the base should be close now." Ezra sounded more reassuring and calm than before. Ezra was hoping that this would help calm me down a bit more.

After a bit more walking, I and the partners were now at the base and inside it. Ezra led me into the base and towards an empty storage room. Ezra spoke once more, his tone of voice was still gentle. "Sit down here for a bit. I'm going to grab a new oxygen tank for you."

I walked over to the bench and sat down.

Ezra walked away from me and left the room. Ezra was heading to the storage lockers in search of a new oxygen tank for me. Ezra spent several minutes searching for a proper oxygen tank with the appropriate amount of oxygen required. After a while, Ezra found what he was looking for. Ezra walked back into the storage room now and spoke to me. "I've found you a new oxygen tank."