Terrineia

by Brian Whiting

  “Jat!” The woman yelled, and her beast took off at a sprint. Alex quickly followed suit, accidentally dropping the sheet to keep the tank stable as they raced off towards the mountain ridge again.

  Alex looked back at the dying juntard. He was sure he saw no less than three of those things tearing the beast apart.

  After a few moments his beast started to slow down so he grabbed the lobe again and squeezed lightly, the beast roared and picked up speed, nearly overtaking the woman as they approached the thicker vegetation near the mountain. Alex gazed at it in wonder.

  The trees looked a little like massive, tall bonsi. The leaves were tiny but numerous, the trunk was twisted like a knot of roots that grew both up and down. Then there were numerous strings of moss hanging from the branches. The strings often times locked together and curled down with precise, tightly packed curls.

  Instead of rushing through under the cover of the vegetation, the woman turned her beast to run parallel with the edge of the woods, deeper into the valley. The beasts continued until they crossed over the tiniest of streams and quickly turned back on their own accord. With their thick but short tongues they drank heavily. The woman jumped off her beast and drank the water as well. Alex’s mouth felt like it was void of moisture of any kind, and water had been on his mind since the previous night. He watched the water trickle down from the mountain. Not even a good flow. The beasts used their tongues to dam the stream, and when enough water accumulated they curled them up and retracted them into their mouths.

  Their method of drinking water forced Alex and the woman to drink the water a bit further upstream. Alex stared at the water inches away. Warnings from Gloria long ago rang in his mind as he considered the wisdom of drinking water with unknown pathogens in it. In the end his thirst won over reason, and he drank heavily.

  The water was cool, and tasted much like what he expected stream water to taste like. Alex glanced to his left as he drank, and realized a large, fuzzy animal was drinking next to him. He had been so focused on satisfying his thirst he had been completely oblivious to its approach. It had an unnaturally tiny face with beady eyes, very short and thin fingers, and it appeared to drink through its nose. He judged it to be the size of a large fat cat. Unsure, he looked to the woman for guidance. She barely looked at the animal and continued drinking, apparently unconcerned.

  Still, Alex cautiously moved around the animal and moved to drink upstream from it, attempting to limit possible pathogens, he reasoned to himself. Moments into drinking the water again another thing caught his attention. Just feet away from his face a large branch had descended into the stream.

  He looked at the branch and wondered how trees could survive with such a crude drinking method. He followed the branch up high into the trees, then he started stepping backward. Accidentally he stepped onto of the fat cat looking animal and fell over. The animal screeched like a hawk and took off. The woman was watching him the whole while and began laughing hysterically. When she calmed he pointed up into the tree where the largest phasmid he had ever seen was just at, still as any other object.

  “Brainal… va iso.” The woman said as she resumed drinking.

  “Yeah.” Alex replied still not understanding.

  When they had their fill of water they continued on. The roar of another beast was faint on the wind behind them. Alex assumed the hostiles got themselves trapped by the underground monsters. He smiled inwardly as the woman finally turned her beast to enter the wooded area. They rode for another hour, the ground inclining more as they approached the base of the ridge. Without warning, the woman got off her juntard and began removing the items off its back. Alex looked around, but the area didn’t seem important and almost felt like the stop was random. When its back was finally emptied of their belongings, she slapped its lobe and it took off further into the valley.

  She helped Alex remove the tank and he took a few moments to unwrap himself from the cables. He reattached the transmitter while she looked on curiously. Finally, Alex reactivated his special headset.

  “Greetings, Alex, I hope your journey has been well.”

  “It was touch and go there for a few minutes, truly terrifying.” Alex looked around .

  “Yet the primitives seem to do ok. I can no longer connect with the Hermes, what is our approximate distance from the crash site?”

  “About ten to fifteen kilometers, I’m not sure really.” Alex tried to find the crash site but there was too much sparse vegitation in the way.

  “How goes translating the local language?” Symboli asked.

  “To be honest, I haven’t even thought about it.”

  “This should be our top priority. The ship is beyond repair and without assistance we will not be returning to Earth.” Symboli said.

  Suddenly, and without warning, Alex vomited forcefully. It was lucky there wasn’t anything in front of him to get messy as Alex continued to be sick for a couple more minutes. When he finally stopped, the woman wrapped him in a blanket and pushed him down to a seated position against a small tree.

  Alex started to unwrap himself and stand up.

  The woman forcefully pushed him down again and held his head still.

  “Ha nip pasht, dornt swayva olk pas pideo.”

  Alex tried to get up slowly.

  “Dornt.” Her steely look gave him pause.

  Suddenly his head started to spin and he no longer wanted to get up anyway.

  “Fine, whatever.” He said as his stomach started to cramp something terrible.

  The woman started looking around the area and walked out of his eyesight.

  “What do you think she’s up to?”

  “I calculate a high probability that she is attempting to be helpful.” Symboli said.

  “You’re useless.”

  “I am offended you would say such a thing.” Symboli feigned being hurt.

  “No you’re not.” Alex said with attitude.

  “You know me too well. How about you describe your symptoms.”

  “I feel dizzy, my stomach is cramping pretty bad, my lower back hurts, my shoulders are sore and I have a slight headache.”

  “Do you think you have a fever?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “It’s possible your involvement in the recent crash could be the result of all those issues, not to mention the possible radiation exposure, drinking foreign water, and several hours of juntard riding. Without proper medical equipment, I don’t see how we can properly diagnose your problem.”

  “Even if we knew, we don’t have access to medicine so it’s pointless anyway to figure it out.”

  The woman came back into his field of view holding a half moon mushroom looking thing and a few nuts or seeds, Alex couldn’t tell which.

  “It appears you’re about to receive some local medicine.”

  “What are the odds this will make things worse?” Alex asked looking at the mixture of ingredients.

  “Your anatomy seems very similar, your physiology is the unknown, based strictly on your anatomy there is a greater than equal chance that local medicine of any kind would provide some kind of benefit to your health.” Symboli commented.

  “Greater than equal… doesn’t sound reassuring.” Alex mumbled as he watched the woman break the gathered objects into small pieces then crushed them with two rocks. Moments later she left and returned with a large leaf of some kind that was very shiny and brittle, and was full of water. She handed Alex the leaf, and then dumped the crushed ingredients into the water.

  “Salop… Salop.”

  For a brief moment Alex was thinking of several nice ways to decline but then there was a fresh wave of abdominal pain, it was by far the most pain he had ever experienced, and without further thoughts he drank the entire contents of the leaf.

  “Uuuugggggg,” he began moaning as he doubled over on himself and curled into the fetal position on the ground.

  The woman sat down against the tree and pulled Alex to her. Brie
fly, Alex noticed an odd, terrible smell he assumed was coming from the woman. The smell was quickly trumped by another wave of intense pain.

  The woman began to rub Alex’s back and hummed a soft tune while Alex, either medically induced or from sheer fatigue, fell asleep in the midday hot sun under the shade of the mountain ridge.

  CHAPTER 3

  TUNNEL RAT

  ALEX SLOWLY OPENED his eyes. His mind was clear and the pain was gone. He couldn’t tell if the sun was coming up of going down. All manner of insects and other things were making noise in many of the trees and bushes nearby. Alex was laying on his stomach near a small fire that was only smoldering embers. He tried to roll over but noticed his companion was laying right next to him. It seemed to him she tried to share the dirty blanket with him, but to Alex’s dismay he had hogged it all.

  Sitting up, Alex removed the blanket and placed it on the woman and inspected himself. He panicked when he couldn’t find his headset and carefully stood up and looked around. He shuffled his feet in the dirt, being careful not to lift them too much and accidentally step on the headset in the faint light.

  Not finding anything on the ground, he looked inside his boots, it wasn’t there either. The Juntards were nowhere to be seen, but all of Alex’s possessions were in a pile in front of the green tank, which was largely covered with mud and grass. After fumbling around with his gear, he realized it wasn’t there either. She must have stole it, he thought to himself as the light of the sun grew stronger.

  He carefully approached her and looked in her hands, he saw nothing. He removed the blanket he put on her. Perhaps I inadvertently covered it up. He stepped closer and looked over her garment for pockets, but found her attire was loose and seamless. He stepped much closer and he noticed there was something in her hair. ‘Perhaps it got tangled in that mess.’ A twig snapped.

  The woman turned quickly to face Alex, who was admittedly in an awkward position over her body. He expected her to get enraged, but instead she finished rolling onto her back and simply laid flat without saying anything. He tried to read her face but it was expressionless.

  Then he saw it, she was wearing his headset. With his hand he slowly reach for the headset. She didn’t move while he removed it from her head.

  “I need that.” Alex said knowing she wouldn’t understand but hoped his tone would convey his peaceful intentions.

  The moment he put the headset on he was greeted by Symboli.

  “Good morning, Alex. I am most pleased you are well. You have been asleep for nearly thirty-nine hours.”

  The woman watched Alex closely, somehow Alex knew that she knew he was listening to Symboli.

  “You’ve spoken with her?” Alex asked quietly as he began to back away from the woman.

  “Speaking implies fluency, I would say that we have been communicating for much of the time you were unconscious. Her name is Alesti, she is very clever and intuitive.”

  “Alesti.” Alex mumbled while he continued to look at her. She stared back at him with a blank stare that began to slowly shift to a smile.

  “How did she come to wear the headset?”

  “You went into seizure shortly after you took the medicine, she removed the headset by placing it around her neck, and then I got her attention audibly. How do you feel?”

  Alex reached up and touched his head.

  “I feel good actually, a bit hungry even.”

  “Excellent, you’ll find a few dried strips of meat about thirty feet left of your current sightline. I presume she saved that meat for you.”

  Walking over, he grabbed all three stiff pieces of meat, all were flat like sheets of paper about five inches wide and a foot long. He walked back towards the woman and sat down next to her and she sat up continuing to watch him intently.

  “Did Alesti eat any while I was out?” Alex asked as he handed her a piece of the meat.

  “Yes she did eat.”

  “Thank you.” Alex said with a slight smile. The woman returned a genuine smile as she accepted the meat and they ate together.

  “I assume you have learned much since I have been asleep.”

  “Not as much as you might assume, most of my knowledge I have gained has been of your local surroundings. Until she is exposed to other objects and situations, translation will continue to be slow.”

  “Well we can fix that easily enough.” Alex stood up and walked over to the green tank and opened a small compartment on the side where he had stashed the three datapads. Pulling one out he activated it and handed it to Alesti.

  “I have connection with the pad, if you would give her the headset. I’ll begin school right away.”

  Alex removed the headset and knelt before Alesti. She didn’t display any fear or concern which surprised him. He quietly placed the headset on her head.

  “Valla Asti Symbollie.” Came audibly with Symboli’s voice from the datapad.

  “Valla Asti Alesti… Was va?” A picture of a fruit she gathered and ate yesterday appeared on the datapad.

  “Tsssst!” She exclaimed with a bright smile. “Buti.”

  “Buti all?” Symboli asked.

  “All.”

  “Was va?” A picture of a generic mountain appeared.

  Alex stood up knowing how long this process generally takes and went to check on his gear. He reclaimed the handgun which after checking still had four rounds left. The sun was rising but, unlike the last sunrise he remembered, the sky was now colored green. Looking at the sun directly revealed it was partially covered by clouds which was the first time he had seen any since his crashing into the atmosphere.

  Alex pulled out another datapad and activated it. He tried to think of how the datapad could help him in his current situation, but nothing came to mind.

  “Greetings Alex, I believe Alesti is concerned about a coming storm. She is packing her things.” Said Symboli from the datapad.

  Alex turned and found she was doing just that. “How are we going to get all of our stuff to a shelter who knows where, without the Juntards?”

  “I suggest you leave behind the sleeping gear, as they will get wet or ruined in any weather event.”

  Alesti didn’t have much in the way of possessions and tried to grab Alex’s arm to get him to go quickly.

  “Relo… Relo.” She tugged on his arm towards the sharply inclining terrain.

  “I believe she wants you to come with her.”

  “Yeah, no kidding.” Alex pulled away and grabbed one end of the tank with his right hand and with his left he carried the wireless transmitter and power supply. He stood patiently waiting for her to help him with the other side of the tank. She quickly got the meaning and lifted up the other end. With the two of them the tank wasn’t all that burdensome.

  Alex had his datapad back in the compartment attached to the tank and they made an awkward climb going up at an angle above the vegetation line higher up on the mountain.

  * * *

  The rain was furious and was slightly acidic with a slight smell of sulfur, he could barely see his hand in front of his face and couldn’t tell where they were going. They trudged along the inclining mountain ridge, Alex’s boots were soaking wet and, if that wasn’t bad enough, the wet dirt of the mountain was clinging to everything like a mixture of tar and mud. There wasn’t a clean inch of space on his entire body despite the heavy rain. The entire ordeal was most unpleasant.

  Alex wished he was wearing the headset right now, but he didn’t want to stop moving to simply retrieve it from Alesti, so he trudged on. As they continued their trek, he kept coming up with new things to complain about such as the dropping temperature, or that the dirt was so fine it had worked its way between the fibers in his pants and was now starting to rub his legs raw. A cloud of depression began to form over his head as realization began to sink in that he was doomed to never leave the planet.

  Still completely unsure as to where they were, it was a surprise when suddenly the rain stopped as they entered a small cav
e. As they entered, they had to lift the tank over their heads to avoid a few protruding rocks, but once they cleared the obstructions near the entrance the cave seemed to open up into a spacious, dark interior. After a few moments Alex’s eyes managed to adjust, most of the light was given by the tank they brought with them and a little from the outside doorway. The sounds of the heavy rain echoed within the cave.

  After dropping the contents on the ground, Alesti took time to remove all the clinging dirt on her body by hand. Using her hand like a squeegee, she slid it all across her body removing clumps of dirt and tossed them near one of the corners of the room. Then without asking she began to remove dirt from Alex’s back, butt and legs. When she finished she turned away from him and stood still. Knowing what was expected, Alex did the same and removed mud from everywhere he could.

  They removed as much of the mud as they could, but the rest was properly smeared across their bodies and their skin felt slick with a oily residue. He watched as Alesti went back outside and allowed herself to get wet in the rain again. He followed and watched her. In the rain she was able to remove a large majority of mud and dirt from her hair.

  As soon as she reentered the cave she picked up one end of the tank and waited for Alex to do the same.

  “Oh, we are going?” Alex said as he picked up the gear again.

  Alesti began to lead him deeper and deeper into the cave. It soon became apparent that the cave was man-made as they proceeded through a straight and narrow tunnel. All the while Alex had to listen to Alesti talk to Symboli in her language via the headset she still wore. If Alex could understand the context he might be able to learn himself. Several words already began to feel familiar to him. He felt a spark of humor as he realized he felt a pinch of jealousy over his friend Symboli.