by Devon Loos
“A life… gem?”
“Yeah.” she nodded happily. “Anyways, those berries are toxic. We’ll have to find something else.”
“Wait, hold on. So, there’s a rock in your chest, which allows you to eat anything?”
“Well, not literally. I still get full, and I can’t eat indigestible stuff… and it’s not just a rock.”
“And you said it can do other things? Is that how you learned my language instantly?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “It does a lot of stuff I don’t understand. Can we move on now? I’m still starving.” She turned and walked off, her tail brushing against the bush as she left.
The next day we finally salvaged another large food container that had survived the crash. It rained the day after, giving us enough water to match the food. Our luck continued when we traveled through our forest and discovered fruit filled trees on the other side of a large field. The fruit was large and yellow in color, but incredibly watery and sweet. Each day was the same for the rest of the week. We would journey to the distant fruit trees and fill bags full of the fruit, then carry our spoils to the camp. While we ate I would tell Sapphire about the human world. Its history, its cultures, its art, its war, and the humanity itself. She would always listen eagerly, occasionally using her tail to brush away leaves behind her. Every conversation would end abruptly when she got sick. The life gem allowed her to eat fruit, but she would always eat too much. Since she was a carnivore, her body could only take so much fruit before it started rejecting it. Her life gem allowed her to consume a small amount of fruit, but when it became obvious that she needed meat, I began to worry about her health. By the third week we were well fed, but she continued to weaken. While she napped I would search desperately for signs of animal life. I knew there had to be some, the berry bushes would not have an evolutionary need to be toxic otherwise. I crossed through the field and eventually discovered a stream. The stream led into the fruit filled forest, before emptying into a large pond. Large amphibious creatures surrounded the area, darting into the lake as I approached. I walked to the edge of the lake and pulled out the bread I had been saving. Taking one last bite, I threw the bread into the water. A large fish soon appeared, snatching the bread before disappearing again. I laughed in excitement, then ran back to the camp to get Sapphire.
The walk to the lake drained her of the little energy she had left, so she sat idly by as I searched for a creature. After forcing a group of vibrantly colored amphibians to scatter in her direction, she immediately pointed out the toxicity of the strange creatures. The only remaining food source was the fish. I tore a large stick free and fashioned it into a three pronged spear with my knife. I then spent several minutes wading through the water. Occasionally a fish would swim by, easily avoiding the bite of my weapon. Each time I swore, then waited. I continued for roughly another half hour.
“You’re doing it wrong! The fish see the spear!” Sapphire protested, with newfound energy from a moment of rest.
“This works all the time where I’m from.” I missed again.
“Then there’s something wrong with your Earth fish.” One fish bit into my leg in retaliation, then swam off before I could strike it.
“Move!” Sapphire stood in the water next to me, the legs of her pants rolled up so that they would not get wet. I reluctantly handed her the spear and silently shuffled my feet as I returned to the edge. The spear sliced through the air, landing several meters ahead of me. I flinched at first, then turned to watch. Sapphire bent and hung just over the surface of the water, her arms disappearing in the murky soup. She looked as if she was trying to catch one.
“How’s that supposed to work?!” She stared harshly into the water, ignoring my disbelief. A minute passed by. Two. Three. Four. The lake jerked, and a roar of splashing erupted. Sapphire sprung upwards with a large fish in her arms. The fish had many fins, two pairs of eyes, and at least six gills. It flailed its tail around and struggled for freedom. Sapphire began shouting at it, commanding it to be still. The fish slowly submitted, its movements faded, until not even its gills twitched. I wondered if it could have died in her arms. She thanked it, then walked towards the shore. She watched over it, as if carrying a child, but there was no smile on her face. Before I could say anything, Sapphire raised the head of the fish up to her mouth, and bit down hard. There was a small crack as she broke the upper spine.
“Wait!” It was the only word I could muster. It came out as an awkward shout. Sapphire looked up at me, with droplets of blood flowing from her mouth down the side of the fish.
“You… We… need to cook that first.” Without a word, she released the fish and handed it to me, then walked away casually towards the camp, occasionally stumbling from exhaustion. I recalled her unsettling predatory joke from earlier and wondered if she would have really eaten me if she was hungry enough.
[Chapter 14: The Storm]
As the days went on I discovered that Sapphire knew a lot about Anth culture, despite her strange amnesia. Each day she taught me more and more. According to her, Anths were the first sentient species to exist, excluding angels. This was a rather interesting claim, since Rovanekren records would say differently. They often called themselves “people of life,” much like how humans often refer to themselves as “man” or “mankind.” They lived in large individual clans on obscure planets all over the galaxy, and negotiated resources with each other through bartering and reason. Though peaceful, they remained isolated and distant from each other, only unifying in times of peril. From what I remembered from my research, slaver raids were a common example. The clans were run much like ancient human tribes. The strongest, most respected male worked as the chief, while the other men and women would gather resources and maintain the village. This simple lifestyle left little room for technological advancement, which meant that most Anths spent their entire lives oblivious to even the most basic forms of electricity and tech, let alone the sub-atomic fusion energy that powered most ships. I pondered their lifestyle for some time. They were guaranteed freedom from the burden of safeguarding their planet’s health, but at the cost of their own. Anths lived an average of eighty years, but medicine could double that. Also, these Anth tribes are bound to their planet, meaning that should the planet die on its own, they would all die with it. It is a horrifying fate that humanity has been battling for centuries.
“Oh, and one more thing!” Sapphire took another bite of her fruit. I limited her to five fruits a day, to keep her from getting sick, with the promise that she would have as much fish as she’d like. “The guys in most Anth villages wear long kilts with no shirt. And the women, well, I’m supposed to have much longer sleeves than this.”
“Why?”
“For the guys? I’m not sure. Pride, maybe? The bigger is the alpha shark?”
“Sharks don’t usually travel in packs.”
“You sure? I thought they were the ones with the ears and tail like mine.”
“Those are wolves!” I laughed. I was surprised she had bothered to memorize such a thing.
She waved away my correction and continued. “Anyway, I just think its weird, though.”
“What do you mean?”
She paused. “How to put it… Anths are very modest, or at least the women are. Most would condemn me for showing just my arms.” She took another bite. I looked away as she ate. I wondered if Sapphire knew what the word “manners” meant.
“Hmmm… There are some humans like that. Roughly a fifth of the population, I think.”
“With that said,” She finished her meal and stood up, “if you touch me while I’m sleeping, I’ll carve the word ‘shame’ into your chest.” She turned and walked off.
“Where are you going?”
“The ship! We need more supplies, don’t we?” I rose from my spot, doused the fire, and followed. I estimated that another three month’s worth of supplies were hidden in the wreckage of the ship. We had already picked the surviving crew’s quarters c
lean, and half of the cargo hall had collapsed. The other half, however, was still intact. If we managed it carefully we could make it last for an entire year. I took advantage of the trip to recharge my armor’s battery. The ship’s engine was gone, but much of the energy still flowed through the ship. As long as the ship didn’t turn into a nuclear bomb, I would have enough energy to power my armor for five years. I also kept a radiation scanner with me during the trips. Luckily, we haven’t found a leak yet, but I didn’t want to take any chances. We returned to our camp, carrying a week’s worth of food, medicine, tarps, blankets, lanterns, and water purifiers.
Sapphire began storing the food while I sorted the other supplies. The blankets were sent directly to the shelter, while the medicine was put in a small, watertight container. Sapphire placed the food carefully in the crates on the ground. The planet’s fauna didn’t seem capable of reaching our camp, so our only worry was contamination.
“So what’s so important about charging that armor, anyway?” Sapphire sealed the crate and began climbing the ladder to our shelter.
“Well, the helmet helps me keep track of movement, see in the dark, improve my aim, provide oxygen if there’s not enough in the air, and a lot more.” I followed her up the tree and fished the armor out from a fork in the branches. I then began connecting the armor to the mesh. There were several thin wires embedded in the suit that ran electricity from the cuirass’s battery to the armor pieces. “It also plays recordings, including music. I only have a few songs on here, though.”
Sapphire sat quietly, and began to play with her tail. “Why don’t you have communication equipment?”
“Our handheld communicators are more reliable, harder to break, and easier to use.”
“But apparently not waterproof…”
“Why does it matter? There’s no one to contact out here.”
“You don’t know that! What if a ship flies by?”
“The communicator doesn’t have enough strength in itself to break the atmosphere. That’s why we need to find that beacon in the ship.”
“Well, let’s go get it then.” Sapphire crawled past me and jumped to the ground. I grabbed my knife and followed. The sky was terribly dark for this time of day. A storm was approaching. Thunder could be heard in the distance. We made it only half the distance before the wind began to fight against us. Abandoning our quest, we turned back for sanctuary of our shelter. The wind was soon reinforced with a downpour, and lightning flashed all around us. We lost our trust in both the shelter and the tree it was in, and instead huddled amongst the crates, like frightened children. Sapphire threw a large tarp over the crates and tied it down. I grabbed my armor plating and made sure it was all tied tightly to the tree. Our new shelter kept out the wind and most of the rain but did nothing to keep the ground from becoming cold and saturated. We tried to cover the ground with a tarp at first, but it only allowed the water to collect. My armor mesh was waterproof and insulated, but Sapphire was completely exposed, making her vulnerable to hypothermia. The storm raged for another hour, and Sapphire began to shiver. I was starting to freeze, myself.
“Was the last storm this bad?”
“No, this one is worse. The last one was pretty bad, though.” She continued to shiver. Her hair had only just finished drying from when the storm first started. “Do we have any lanterns?”
“They’re all in the shelter.”
“So we have no way of keeping warm?”
“Well…” I thought about body heat, and when she slept next to me the first night to keep me warm. I knew she hated sleeping like that, so I hesitated to bring it up. Sapphire glared at me, as if she had read my mind.
“The ground’s wet.”
“Two of these crates are empty.” I climbed out of the shelter and began opening the crates. “If we take the lids of these two, and set them like mattresses,” I pulled them into the shelter. “It should be high enough to keep us dry. We’ll use one blanket to cover the lids, and the other to cover ourselves.” I set the lids accordingly.
“Fine.” She pouted while waiting for me to finish the makeshift bed. I took the side closest to the crate. Hesitantly, Sapphire joined me. “Don’t touch me.”
“I won’t, but you have to get closer for this to work.” Slowly, Sapphire came closer. We were now well within arm’s reach of each other. Eye contact became nonexistent. Thankfully the cold began to recede, and the storm grew peaceful. After awhile, Sapphire curled up into a ball, her knees almost pushing into my stomach. The rhythmic sound of the rain was hypnotizing. I looked at Sapphire, who was now sound asleep. The strange little Anth seemed very peaceful when she slept. Her mouth hung slightly open, and a fang peeked out. I caught myself smiling. I wondered what the smile was for, and doubted all answers that came to mind. Eventually the question carried me to sleep.
I slept for a long time. The rain was soothing, the warmth was pleasant. Slowly I began to realize that it was well past morning. The storm no longer threatened us with its fury, but had continued through the night. I opened my eyes to find Sapphire still curled up in her little ball only now her head now rested against my shoulder. She slowly opened her eyes. The peaceful look on her face was immediately replaced with one of disgust. She drove her feet into my stomach with all her strength, forcing me into the wall of a crate. I curled up in pain while her body extended beyond the lid we slept on, causing her to tilt head first into the water. Immediately she shot upwards from the shock of the cold, catapulting droplets of water into the air. Both her ears stood straight up, as if frozen in place. I looked around our small shelter. The ground was completely flooded. I crawled out of our flooded shelter to see what was happening. The whole area was flooding, and the storm wasn’t showing signs of letting up anytime soon. The knee-deep water flowed eastward, towards the cliff. It was likely a waterfall twice the size of Niagara Falls by now. Sapphire exited behind me, her tail wrapped around her so that it would not sit in the water. I listened for thunder, but only the rain was audible. Sapphire had already climbed back into the tree, and lit one of the lanterns.
“We have to bring the food up there, then tie the crates to the tree!” I shouted over the roar of the water.
“Then you do it! I’m done with water!” She replied. I shook my head and began carrying the packaged food up in small amounts. Anything wet was thrown out. The remaining food was placed in smaller containers and wedged between branches and the trunk. I used our remaining rope to tie the larger crates to the base of the tree, forming a crude, makeshift dock. Finally I climbed into the tree, exhausted. Sapphire sat in the corner, silently glaring at me while she wrapped her arms around her legs.
“We’re not going to be able to scavenge much in this storm.” I rested against the trunk and removed my helmet. “We’ll have to work with what we have, and try to fish if its necessary.” Sapphire continued to stare at me.
“Look, I didn’t touch you. You’re the one who used me as a pillow.” I argued. Sapphire only huffed in reply, then turned so that I was out of her line of sight. I gave up and began working on organizing our supplies. As the day drew on, the rain continued steadily, preventing us from working productively. The water rose another three feet then tapered off. We were trapped in our tree, with no high ground to escape to. Sapphire remained care free, with the exception of her intolerable boredom.
“Would you like to hear the song I have on here?” I pointed to my equipped helmet.
Sapphire sat upright. “Sure, why not?” She crawled towards the ladder and descended to our new dock, allowing me to remove my armor mesh in peace. I quickly did so, clothed myself, and set the armor out so that the helmet could be audible. Sapphire climbed up just as the song started. It was my favorite one; slow, yet emotional. Sapphire was disinterested at first, but quickly became transfixed on the song. She listened intently to the words, and their meaning. Memories of the last time I heard this song darted across my mind. I listened to it while driving to the theatre. I smiled. It was
almost funny, how such a simple decision led me to this moment. I wondered where I would be if the power had not gone out, and I continued playing my video game. The song burst into a fast paced bridge to the final chorus. Sapphire twitched slightly in reaction. The song then settled down again, before finally ending.
“Well?”
“Mmmm, I like it.”
“It’s a good song, isn’t it?”
“It’s ok, but really I just can’t remember the last time I even listened to music.” She laughed. It was surprising how much she enjoyed the song. While I prepared our next meal, Sapphire asked me to replay the song. The helmet sang out over and over well into the night. I grew tired of the song, yet Sapphire insisted that it continue. She never even bothered to listen to any of the others. I let it play three more times before I finally had enough and turned the system off. Sapphire protested, forcing me to lie about the battery dying. She reluctantly accepted the excuse, then curled up to fall asleep. I lied down to rest as well, but the song echoed in my mind, keeping me awake for some time.
A few more days passed by. It has been a month now, I think, since we crashed. Time has become difficult to measure in this eternal storm as day and night were indistinguishable from each other. Nothing changed during the storm. We could only keep track of time by the dwindling of our food. Sapphire slept often, while I spent most of my time on the dock, observing the world we were trapped on. I wondered, as I examined the plant’s resiliency to the water. I saw the amphibious creatures taking full advantage of the storm, exploring new areas, searching for pockets where the water would eventually settle. I marveled at the similarities and differences between this world and my own. This thought reminded me of home. I found memories of a life that now seemed alien to me. I could not even remember what direction I wanted to take my life. Now, however, it seemed as if life had chosen for me.