She heaved herself up and lumbered forwards. She moved in a daze. There was two of everything in her vision. A new smell of death and ash filled her lungs. A chunk of her visor's glass was missing too. The visuals went haywire and eventually turned off. The usual blue sky was now dark with smoke. A blazing chunk of metal crashed only a few feet from her. She needed to move quickly.
Along with the smoke, it would only be a matter of time before the storm clouds would engulf the sky. A slight pang in her heart corrected her course. She still didn't know where she headed, but the pang continued like a compass. She walked, and then broke out into a run. The pain in her side stung continually, but she had to go where the pang directed her. There was no time to grieve for the lost or cry from her pain. She had to go.
She ran through the dark foliage brushing anything out of her way. After only a brief time in the jungle, she turned around to see the base again, but the trees were so thick that the base was no longer visible to her. She turned forward again. The pang in her heart confirmed that she was going the right away.
She flew through the jungle, hitting bushes and any other obstacles to the side. She looked up at the thick canopy. Barely any light shone through; only the smallest beams penetrated through, and the light quickly darkened the farther into the jungle she traveled. As she got farther into the jungle, drops of rain also started to patter against her. The storm was here.
A loud thunderous boom roared above her. The slow drops of rain turned into heavy rain. Her visor no longer protected her and guided her. She held her hand above the helmet to block the rain from hitting her face. In this jungle with this storm, it looked like it was night. The only light she had were the rhythmic lightning strikes that struck through the canopy. She continued to run.
She noticed an opening up ahead. She ran through it and realized that it wasn't a clearing at all, but a downhill slope. Before she could reach for anything solid to catch herself, she fell. Her body rolled down the hill like a rag doll. She tried to grab anything on the ground to stop herself, but any root or grass she latched on to simply ripped out of the ground at her grasp.
She hit a bump on the hill, before she hit the bottom. Her body was launched into the air and then was slammed against the bottom of the hill, before rolling a few feet. She wheezed as she propped herself on her elbows, determined to get up and travel further. She couldn't die in this jungle. She had to reach the city. The pang in her heart tugged her forward, but she couldn't get up. Physically exhausted and defeated, her elbows buckled, and she fell to the ground.
While she was out of danger from the base, she was hardly safe. Bloody and beaten on the ground, in a jungle on a foreign planet to her, she cried now. Though she could blame the rain for her tears, there was no mistaking the emotional pain that coincided with the physical. In one fell swoop, she had lost her friends, and family and she was alone. She closed her eyes and drifted off into unconsciousness.
Chapter Seven
A low, pain-filled groan escaped Jennifer. Face down in the grass, she turned over to face the sky. The morning suns warmed her face. If her visor hadn’t been totally broken and useless before, it was now. It would be more of a burden than anything, so she slowly removed her helmet. She tugged it off and threw it away. She still felt weak, so it didn't travel far. How long had she been out? The suns were still up, was it the afternoon? Whatever that meant here. If there was still time before nightfall, she would need a camp, food, and water. She surveyed her surroundings.
She struggled up. Luckily her rifle was still near her where she lay. She propped herself up using the gun as an aid. She was correct in her assumption that she had found a clearing; full of small plants, and tall grass before the thicket of trees began again. It abutted the large hill she almost died falling down. Vines hung from the large dark purple trees. The foliage only thickened the deeper she ventured into the jungle.
A strange cry howled from behind her. In a fluid motion, she swept her gun up and instantly aimed it up, ignoring the quick pain of moving quickly. The creature held a round fruit about the size of its torso. A vocal sac on its throat ballooned from behind its fur as it opened its mouth and howled loudly again.
She could only equate this strange creature to what an Earth lemur would look like, that she had learned about as a child. The lanky, dark-furred marsupial blinked its bright beady eyes at her. The creature dug its tiny hand within its food and removed a fistful of mushy white fruit. It stuffed the flesh in its mouth and chewed openly, as it watched her as if she was a show while it ate its lunch. It didn't even seem to register that Jennifer had a lethal weapon pointed at it. Jennifer’s vision dizzied again, and even though she didn't move, her world did. She needed to fix her wound before it killed her.
She fell to her knees. She grabbed her head to make the world stop spinning. The little marsupial hopped up, at her collapse. Unlike a lemur, which would walk, it hopped in front of her. Something she couldn't understand happened, the creature rolled the fruit over to her. Like a concerned parent, it shoved its hand in the fruit again and without warning, shoved the mushy fruit into her mouth. She choked down the mild but sweet fruit that reminded her more of a pear than an alien plant. It did taste refreshing on the way down though. The creature tugged at her strand of hair and pointed straight at them. Then it ran off through the small clearing, into the trees, howling with its vocal sac.
"Thanks, I guess," she called out. What a strange creature. She picked up the gift from the beast. This would help. She sat where she had woken up and devoured the contents of the fruit. It filled her more than she had expected. She started to wonder if she had really ever known anything about this place. She walked over to a nearby tree. Some of its giant leaves had fallen to the ground. She ripped part of one from the whole piece. She took a deep breath, preparing for pain. She fit the piece of leaf in the ripped part of her suit on her side. She stifled her cries as she out pressure on the wound and covered it like a bandage. It would hold for now. She ripped off another chunk of the thick leaf for a new purpose. The inside of it looked clean, so she took a few minutes to carve the fruit to act as a canteen. After lining the fruit with the leaf, she broke off a piece of tree bark to serve as the cork. A little rough, but survival was the game, and she had to make sure she had the tools to get to the city.
Water. She needed water now. If the little marsupial – which she had given the name, luniki, was to be trusted she would head in the same direction it had taken. It had given her food; maybe it could lead her to something important such as water. The pang in her heart still directed her northwards, so she could just correct her path if she got lost. She gathered her helmet and worked it on to her rifle's sling to carry. She would need a pack of some sorts also. If she found suitable materials, she would make one, but she didn't hold her hopes high.
She headed towards where the luniki had hopped off. After thirty minutes of walking, she began to feel as if the path was taking her nowhere. She leaned against the tree and wiped the sweat from her brow. The increasing temperature and high humidity made travel difficult. The temperature regulator in her suit must have broken along the way too. If she didn’t have to worry about the threats of the jungle, it would have been easier to travel without the suit. She looked towards the ground. Sea-green colored vines grew on the tree she was leaning against. She searched her mind to remember what that meant. She recalled an instructor saying that in a jungle, those types of vines means a dependable water source was close.
Another gift from the luniki. She walked for another ten minutes before her ears twitched. She stopped and closed her eyes. She focused intently on what sounded like rushing water. She took another moment to confirm it before she headed that way. The closer she got the louder the sound became.
Soon she approached what she supposed was another clearing. The sound of the rushing water was clear now. Not wanting to somehow fall down another hill, she poked her head out of the trees to observe. Sure enough, when she loo
ked out, she saw a rushing stream. While there was no clearing, a bed of rocks at the side of the river held enough ground for her to use it. She managed her balance as she walked forward on the of rocks.
As soon as she got to a safe spot, she submerged the fruit canteen under the surface of the water. Bubbles floated up while the air escaped the canteen. She thought the fruit skin itself wouldn't hold, but it proved durable. She removed the knife from her waist again and took some time to carve the tree bark cork to resemble a smooth, better-crafted cork. After she finished, she took a long swig of water.
The fresh water itself had a tinge of sweetness from the fruit shell. She filled the water again before corking it again. She dipped her hands below the surface of the water and splashed her face. She cleaned her face and rubbed her visible skin. It wasn't enough for her. She brought her head to the surface and dipped it under the water. She let the flowing water rush around her for several seconds before flinging her head back up. She strained her soaked hair and brushed it back behind her. Now that the easy part was done, she groaned as she removed the piece of leaf blocking her wound.
Like a resilient Band-Aid determined to stick to her skin, she peeled it off slowly. She cleaned the leaf first, then cupped some water and let it flow on the wound. The blood didn't stop flowing, but it slowed to a trickle as the leaf helped to keep the injury sealed. After all, she'd been through so far, dying from an infection didn't suit her.
She cleaned the wound and sealed it again by sticking the leaf in the open area of her suit. She padded it to make sure it was sealed. This would be a dependable water source for her, and she ate, she would make camp a little ways away from here because if this was a good source of water then other-
She froze.
A low growl grew closer from behind her. She had thought that she was alone; she hadn’t thought about predators stalking her. She didn’t hear or sense it at all during her journey. She only moved her eyes to her rifle, which was out of reach. She remained perfectly still.
“Oh, come on,” she said as the prowler lunged at her.
Chapter Eight
She rolled out of the way and narrowly dodged the prowler’s claws. The sleek indigo fur caught her as the light glared off it. The feline panther-like prowler recovered after its failure and bared its razor-sharp fangs at her. She raised her rifle at it and unloaded. It roared at her, while darting around, dodging most of the shots. A couple of rounds clipped it, but the prowler didn’t fall. It lunged at her again. This time she was prepared, she held up her rifle at it.
She couldn't handle the full weight of its tackle and fell to the ground. It planted its feet on each side of her head with its jaws clamped on the rifle. That could have easily been her face if she hadn't blocked it. Though the gun was durable, the jaws of the prowler proved stronger than the metal. The frame of the rifle caved under the pressure of the bite, and it finished by biting the gun in half. It shook its head as if it had a toy in its mouth, sending parts of the gun flying around the clearing and into the river.
Jennifer kicked the animal away from her. She unsheathed her knife and pointed it at the prowler, ready to fight. They orbited around the rocks, waiting for each to make a move. The prowler growled at her. She thought of different avenues of attack. One wrong step could end her life; she had to be precise. She could dive into it, but that would expose her to its claws. She couldn't run, there was no way to outrun it. They paced around to her back facing the river. Its patience was wearing thin; she'd had to make her move. She could make it jump in the river, but she wouldn't have any food. She took a deep breath.
She opened her arms to it. It didn't hesitate and leaped at her. Once it jumped, she ducked down and waited for it to go over her. She stabbed up with all her might. Her knife dug deep into its soft underbelly. The last sound she heard was its death cry as it fell to the rocks behind her and fell lifeless. Its blood splattered across the rocks and continued to drain from its body. She dragged its corpse back to where her other supplies were. She sighed as she looked around at her dismantled rifle. She recovered the rifle’s sling and wrapped the ends of it over the paws of the prowler, to hold the animal better. If she retrieved materials for a backpack, she'd use the sling to for a strap.
Only having her sidearm and knife would make this journey even more perilous. She had encountered two animal species so far, how long before she ran into something even more deadly… or another Nulani? While she ignored the pang in her heart during the fight, she felt it pang again - north. Before she could celebrate her kill, she heard more growling from the trees. She unholstered her sidearm and held her knife out ready for another. Three more prowlers, with similar sleek indigo fur, crawled out of the trees, their teeth bared. Her heart raced, and adrenaline pumped, she could take one, but not three. She prepared herself; she wouldn’t die without a fight.
Chapter Nine
The fierce faces of the prowlers edged closer and closer to Jennifer. She fired a shot near it, from her sidearm, but it didn’t deter them. Then, before they reached her, they slowly turned and walked away. They jumped past the tree line and vanished into the jungle, leaving a confused, and relieved Jennifer standing there. She fell to knees and let out a deep breath. She gathered her supplies and prepared to march north. With the prowlers skulking around, she wouldn’t be safe to camp near here.
She hoisted the surprisingly lightweight prowler corpse over her shoulder. She turned around to go up river only to see why the prowlers had left. Standing there, on the other side of the river, was a massive, dark-scaled reptile with a long tail. It slipped into the river and swam toward her. No doubt scenting the corpse of the prowler, it climbed onto the shore of rocks. The water belied its true size. Four massive, stocky legs held it confidently as its tail flailed, excited at its upcoming meal. It opened its enormous snout boasting rows upon rows of jagged teeth. The only color this creature had was a deep pink inside its terrible mouth.
She unwrapped the sling from the prowler and flung it at the creature, thinking it would leave after it took her prize. It snatched the prowler corpse out of the air and devoured it in only a few bites. She realized that it was not done feasting as it focused the dark slits of its deep yellow eyes on her. It stomped towards her, letting loose a high-pitched hiss with every step it took. She backed up towards the tree line, but not before the trees of the jungle trembled and a sonorous, almost bestial war-cry resonated through the air.
She covered her ears at the sheer volume of the sound. How many monsters were in this jungle? Whatever it was, it sounded big and close. The reptile snapped at Jennifer over and over. She dodged over and over again, but she wouldn’t be able to evade it forever. It opened its enormous maw for one final bite at her.
Before it could clutch Jennifer’s body in its jaw, a spear pierced through the tree line. The spear lodged itself into the roof of the beast’s mouth. It recoiled and hissed loudly in pain as it shook its head and spit out the spear. She looked over her shoulder to see a light-blue, seven-foot-tall Nulani leaping out of the tree line to her defense.
He balled his fists together and brought them down with full force on the head of the creature. He smashed down on the reptile's head, but it would take more to bring the beast low. With his fists still balled together, he swung at its side, knocking it over. He released his fists and balled each separately. He roared at it with another war cry. This time she could recognize it came from him. Though she had learned the Nulani’s language had a melodic tune, it seemed their war cries were devoid of such a thing as music.
He bombarded the beast with a fury of blows. Against its tough hide, it didn't seem to be enough to do any lasting damage. The Nulani jumped over the massive body of the beast towards his spear. He grabbed the spear and prepared himself for another onslaught of attacks. He leaped up in the air at it. He brought his spear down and thrust it down into the beast. Like his fists, his spear didn't have much impact. It didn't even penetrate the thick hide and broke as it ma
de contact. The spear was built for defense against the jungle cats and possibly fishing, not fighting something of this magnitude. He threw the broken shaft the spear away.
She couldn't sit idle and let him risk his life. She removed her sidearm and aimed it at the only soft spot she thought the beast had. She aimed for the eye, but it moved faster toward the Nulani than it did at her. Something told her that it was savoring her fear before it ate her but clearly knew the Nulani was an actual threat. It snapped over and over again at the Nulani. Fortune favored his speed and strength, however. At each snap, he smashed the maw of the beast to the side. He counter-attacked when he could, but they were at a stalemate. She aimed carefully at the reptile, waiting for the perfect moment to fire. She took a deep breath to hold her steady.
She pulled the trigger. A loud boom echoed from the sidearm as the bullet embedded itself in the scales by its eye, but she had failed to hit her mark. The reptile whirled toward her and lunged at her with its maw wide open. She froze; she didn’t think it would move so quickly. She closed her eyes and embraced the end.
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