Disclaimer: I don't own Trek or the song "Eighteen Days" and I don't make any money off of this.

Eighteen Days

Summary: It's been eighteen days since Jim was taken hostage on a strange planet, now he's got to make it back so he can deliver a very important message. Spock/Kirk loosely based on the song "18 Days" by Saving Abel

Grammar Revision 3-20-10 – So sorry, I thought I had caught them all.

It's been eighteen days since Jim Kirk was last aboard his Enterprise. He has been kept in a cell with a dirt floor, alone for the past seventeen of those days. The two Ensigns that had beamed down with him had died during the struggle when the natives had overpowered them and brought Jim back to this dingy camp. Jim was alone, tired, dirty and hungry but his will to survive has never been greater. There was a ship that was still probably orbiting this planet that needed her captain. Friends, the first true friends he had ever had, were awaiting his return, planning their rescue mission and worrying about him. Though most people thought of him as selfish, Jim was very compassionate and he was determined to get thru this hell to get back to the ones who loved him the most. For the first time, Jim was sorry that he had leapt before looking.

Suddenly one of the guards opens his door. "Stand, Kirk, and come with me." His order is growled.

Kirk did as the native ordered. Two other guards each grabbed an arm and nearly pulled him behind the leader. Jim had long since decided that the inhabitants of Ranum III looked like a cross between an Andorian and a Klingon with the manners to match, but they smelled even worse than the Klingons Jim had encountered. They had dragged him down a long hall way lit up with old-fashioned torches. It was more like a horror film of old than a real planet. The long tunnel finally gave way to a domed room with tables sporadically filling the open space. Several other military looking males (or at least Jim thought they were males) were eating at different tables, fighting with each other. There was a huge bon fire in the middle of the room sending smoke curling towards the top of the dome. As it had no outlet, Jim's eyes burned with the ash and he choked on the fumes.

The guards marched him up to what must be the throne of their leader. The male had long hair that was unkept and was dressed in the same militant looking armor only it was a tad bit cleaner. The man-thing was snarling at Jim as he was pushed forward on his knees to bow. "I am D'Vanik." He snarled. "You are the proud Captain Kirk." His voice was getting closer. Without warning he kicked Jim in the mouth while his guards held the human down. "You won't be so proud by the time I get through with you. It will be a pleasure since you are so beautiful by human standards." He yanked back Jim's head with a handful of hair. The look in his eyes was enough to turn Jim's stomach. "If you ever make it back to your precious ship you will be nothing but a shell of a man, but I would not count on you making it off my planet alive. You are to be my new play thing." His next kick was to Jim's stomach. "I will break you, human."

Jim's mind reeled with the pain. These things, whatever in the hell they were, were even stronger than Spock. He grimaced at the thought of his first officer, he had been able to keep all thoughts of Spock tucked safely in the back of his mind. Red hot anger at being stuck on this stinking asshole of a world for eighteen days away from his crew and First Officer surged through him. Jim flung his head up in defiance. "I won't give you the damn pleasure of taking my life, you asshole." Using the guards as leverage, he heaved his legs up to land a solid kick on D'Vanik's chest with his right leg and a bone-crunching kick to his jaw with his left. The guards, shocked by his movement, loosened the hold on Jim's arms so he was able to flip right out of their grasp.

It only took a second for the room to realize what had happened. In that small time frame, Jim had landed several feet away and was running in the opposite direction of the tunnel he had been down already. He might have no clue where he was going, but any where had to be better than where he had been. This was the first chance Jim had been given to make a run for it, and he was going to take advantage of it. There was another tunnel that appeared to be illuminated with natural light. That seemed to be just as good of a choice as any, so Jim barreled down it. He had learned during his stay with the filthy natives that they were not the quickest of creatures. So, he was running at top speed. The hallway was short and opened into what looked like a courtyard. There were several more guards who had even longer reaction times than the ones following him that just watched him run past. Had he not been running for his life, Jim might have thought the situation was comical.

Running across the courtyard and into the field of red grass, Jim was trying to take in his surroundings. It had been nightfall when they had been captured so there was no way for Jim to tell from which direction they had been brought into camp. Of course, he thought as pushed his legs faster, that is just my freaking luck. He had put several meters between him and his captors in a very short amount of time but if he was going to keep that distance, he was going to have to find some cover. The only 'cover' he could spot was a dense pocket of strangely colored trees to his left. That would have to work. Slightly altering course, he pushed himself faster to reach his sanctuary. He would need all the extra time he could get to climb one of those trees to a safe distance and hide until they grew bored looking for him. Another thing he had learned about this culture, they didn't like heights at all and they got bored really easy. That's why after only seventeen days they had decided to finally let him out of his cage, their look-alikes would have kept him locked up for atleast three more weeks to drain his resolve.

Jim raced into the purple forest. He foraged ahead several meters until the bright sunlight was filtered through the shade giving him more cover. Ducking behind a large tree, he listened for foot steps. Finding it strange that he could not hear anyone chasing him, he peered around the tree. There was no one behind him. Ok, that is weird. Jim thought to himself and he slid down to rest on the leaf covered ground. They don't like heights, they can't run and now they don't like trees. So how in the hell did they manage to create a warp engine?! Jim slammed his head against the tree and huffed. There were days it really sucked to be him.

Well, if they weren't going to follow him, he could take his time and explore a little of his oasis. He got up and dusted off his pants. The leaves shaded the hot sun creating a protective cocoon around the young blonde. If he ignored the colors it was like he was back in southern California. A small smile spread across his lips. He had promised Spock they would go on an excursion when they were back on Earth. Spock wanted to learn more about the indigenous life forms on Earth and the best way to do that was to go camping. Jim's heart leapt at the thought of his rock-steady First Officer. He really had missed Spock while he had been stuck on this God-forsaken planet, even more than he had missed Bones. His cheeks puffed out of his breath as he squenched his eyes shut trying not to think about Spock. It was very unprofessional and very distracting.

In the distance Jim spotted a small stream with emerald water. His throat ached at the sound of the gentle babble. Knowing that Bones would kill him if was here and Spock would give him a ninety minutes lecture on how un-intelligent his action were, Jim raced towards the water. If he was going to die on his dumbass planet, it was not going to be from dehydration. He dipped his hands into the water and brought it to his mouth. It was cool against his throat. It was on his second gulp that he tasted how sweet it was. He drank several more fists full before submersing his whole head in the refreshing stream. He took once last drink before moving to sit against a tree. This place was beautiful; Jim couldn't understand the native's aversion to such a place.

As Jim was musing, lost in his own thoughts of how much Spock would have liked to see this place and explore it with him, a low sound, like a growl, brought him back to the present. Jim's eyes scanned the clearing for whatever in the hell was making that noise. On the opposite bank, nearly directly across from him, crouched an animal that looked like a Vulcan Sehlat mixed with an Earth Rhinoceros. It clearly only had eyes for Jim. He scrambled to stand as the huge beast began to charge across the small stream.

A/N: Thanks for reading.

Review and tell me what you think, pretty please. Is it worth continuing?