by Mark Stewart
THE TRIO jogged back to the shuttle. Josh tied the end of the parachute material around the bounty of food, and with Florian, in the lead, they climbed. Safely off the ground and standing on the lowest branch, they carefully hoisted the bounty of food from the ground and carried the lot into the shuttle.
Josh pushed the button to close the hatch. They sat on the floor eating until they were full.
Eventually, Florian sat back against the wall. “I’ve eaten enough.”
Clay joined her while Josh finished off the remainder of the food. Breakfast consisted of tomatoes, zucchini, corn, several pods of peas, and an apple each. The feast will be worth waking up to in the morning.
“I’ve been scrutinizing the plan I thought up. Now we know the medical building is a spaceship, I’d like to put forward my idea,” announced Clay.
“Okay,” said Florian. “Let’s hear it.”
“I need both of you to have an open mind.”
Josh and Florian gave him their undivided attention.
“I know this shuttle is a safe place to live, but it’s only temporary. We can’t stay here indefinitely. If the wind increases, the shuttle might dislodge from the trees and crash to the ground. I also believe it might be a matter of time before one of us falls out of the tree.”
“The shuttle is a bit cramped,” added Florian.
“Not to mention we have to climb down each day to walk to the other ship for food,” added Clay. “Now we know there are more dangerous animals out there it’ll be a matter of time before one of us gets hurt.”
“I didn’t think of that,” said Florian.
“I think there’s a more sustainable idea,” continued Clay. “I vote we find a fuel rod in the other ship, bring it back here, fly this shuttle and land it on the roof of the Piper so we can be closer to our food source. Once we’ve accomplished the move, I think we should call the Piper our new home.”
Florian immediately tried to think of a way to add improvements to the plan.
Looking around the shuttle Josh nodded in agreement. “I love the idea. I vote yes.” He stared at Florian. “What about you? We need three yes votes.”
“I think we should consider a slight improvement.”
“I can’t see any way to improve the plan,” growled Clay, sounding skeptical.
“Me neither,” said Josh.
“I vote we do what you two have already agreed on, but I think we should move the Piper towards the sea. Before you start yelling; hear me out.”
The two boys closed their mouths, deciding to sit back and listen.
“The Piper is massive, great for privacy. It has plenty of food and room. However, long term we need more food and we need a water source. We have to find a river, maybe a small lagoon where we can have a bath, wash our clothes. We have to consider the real possibility we might never be rescued. I think we need to find ground somewhere which is flat so we can grow food. The clothes we are wearing will quickly wear out. Once it happens, we have to find something to wear. If we find the lambs again, we can shear their wool to make clothes. To do everything I’ve mentioned we can’t stay here in the forest. Judging by the clouds, it must rain. If it didn’t, there’d be no trees. Before you answer, maybe we should sleep on it.”
Clay nodded. He walked to the viewport to look out at the fading late afternoon sky. He sprinted to the hatch, sliding it open. Climbing the rungs of the ladder to the roof, he stood watching the clouds. Josh and Florian scrambled up to the roof to see what happened.
“It’s a beautiful sunset,” Clay confessed, pointing.
The three watched the sun reach the horizon before dipping behind the black clouds. In a couple of minutes, it vanished, and the stars came out.
DAY THREE