by Jessica Cole
“I’ll get her some water.” The air around her stirred a bit as the person kneeling beside her got up and walked away. She smelled something odd, rich.
“She doesn’t look so good.”
“Well you wouldn’t either. Jana, what happened?” the voices of those around her sounded muffled and wobbly, like they were a mile away down an underwater tunnel. “Come on, please answer me.”
Once again, everything went black.
Jana opened her eyes. This time it was dark out, and the only light source was a cool, pale white glow from the moon. She felt the cold on her face, but nowhere else. Jana lifted her head a bit and scanned the area. A number of blankets covered her. A meter away there were a few shadowy shapes framed in a bright orange backdrop. What the hell happened?
“Jana? You awake again?”
“Where am I?” she managed to ask, voice weak and hoarse.
“We’re on E-1, don’t you remember?” Memories flooded her brain. Ship. Crash. Fall. Blood. Gun. Metal. Bodies. Darkness...she bolted upright, gasping. Pain shot through Jana’s body like an electric shock.
“Take it easy, Jana. Look at me.” Doubled vision made it difficult, but she managed to make out Gordon’s image. “How many fingers am I holding up?” she squinted, trying to count.
“Three?” she guessed.
From somewhere else, another voice sounded. “Wow. She’s really messed up.”
“Yeah, thanks Lexi.”
“What? I’m just saying...”
“Be quiet.”
“Jana, what happened?” Her vision started to come into focus. The others stood around her.
“Aeronth?”
“He’s in the ship.”
Oh no. “Alive?” she whimpered.
“Yeah, he’s alive. We’re all alive.”
Gordon pressed a cool, wet rag against her forehead. “Why does it hurt so much?”
“You’re pretty banged up.”
“How bad?”
“Well you’ve got a bad concussion, you cut your head and your leg, and from what I can see, you have at least a few broken ribs. You’re lucky you didn’t puncture a lung, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation. What happened?”
“Thirsty.”
“Get her some water.” Gordon handed her a canteen. She tried to grasp it, but her hands were largely unresponsive. I am pathetic. “Let me help you,” he said, holding it for her while she drank.
“We weren’t where we were supposed to be. We came in hot. I put the flaps down. There were just trees everywhere.” She swallowed and licked her lips, tasting a hint of blood and salt. “We landed in the treetop, but the weight shifted and we fell to the ground, belly side up.” Jana started to lose focus again. Her eyes fluttered, and she fought to stay conscious. “I tried to pry open the ramp because the door was blocked. I did all I could.” The last sentenced was mumbled, head down.
“It’s okay, Jana. Everyone’s okay. Go back to sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning.”
“Okay.”
15. Trudging On
The sun’s light was barely creeping over the horizon. Standing up was a challenge. Her limbs were sore and stiff. Jana’s legs gave out, and she fell onto her hands and knees. Around her, the others slept around a burnt-out campfire. A hundred yards away lay the wreckage of the skiff. She made it to her feet once more and approached the ship warily. A lump rose in her throat, and Jana leaned against a tree a comfortable distance away. There was no way they’d be able to salvage it. I’m in for it when we get back.
“You should be lying down.”
Jana looked over at Aeronth. Though she’d heard them say it earlier, seeing him alive and well eased her mind. “Hey,” she said as he stopped beside her, not taking his eyes off the ship. Her voice was raspy and weak. She cleared her throat.
“So what happened?” he asked cautiously. “It wasn’t your fault,” he said after she’d explained, following a rather long pause. “It sounds like you did everything you could.”
“I guess,” she replied offhandedly. Sympathy? That’s a new one for him.
“Look, about what happened before we boarded the speeder—“
“I’d rather not talk about it,” Jana said quickly.
He nodded curtly. “Okay. Then what DO you want to talk about?”
“I don’t know,” she murmured. “You know...when I was pulling everyone out of those stasis compartments...I started thinking about this poem I really like.”
He eyed her skeptically. “What?”
“This poem...by Dylan Thomas. He’s a Pre-Fall poet. He wrote this piece called ‘Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night’; it’s to his dying father. It’s telling the old man to ‘rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means that you can’t just give into death. You have to fight it. You have to want to live, and live life to the fullest.”
“So...it’s about death.”
“No,” she corrected. “It’s a poem about life and what you make of it.”
“Is that your favorite poem?”
“No,” she replied, “my favorite is by John Keats. It’s about a knight.”
They returned to the remnants of last night’s fire. The smell of wood smoke hovered in the otherwise crisp air that made the hair on her arms stand up. So strange. Jana sat with her arms wrapped around her knees. Unexpectedly, Aeronth brought over some kindling and a lighter. She watched him start it.
“Geez, you look like you’ve never seen a fire before...”
“Not a real one,” she admitted. “But I did manage to get my cover caught in an incinerator door. I was always losing it, so I glued it to my belt, since we’re always inside and never need it on anyway. It didn’t end well for the cap.”
“Well, there’s not much to it,” Aeronth paused. He wore a look as though he were thinking about something of great importance; his brows were furrowed and mouth tightened into a hard line. “How about what you said to me?”
“What?”
“You said you wanted to know me. Here’s your chance.”
Jana smiled. “You’re just doing this because you feel bad for me.”
“Maybe I am,” he admitted, sitting across the fire from Jana.
“Okay.” Jana scrunched up her nose and thought. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“What did you do before you joined SOFT?”
“I was a special forces member at another station.” That made sense. He was rather suited to the task
“Can I ask you a question?”
“You just did.”
Jana groaned. “Fine, have it your way. I have a question.”
“I have an answer,” Aeronth replied cheekily.
“Do you...” she started, taking a breath, “do you like me?” Jana immediately regret asking at all. She’d been staring at the ground, but now looked into his eyes. He looked at her, too.
“No,” he said flatly.
She broke their gaze. “Okay.” Idiot. This isn’t some primary school bullshit. ‘Do you LIKE ME?’ Are you kidding me right now? The voice in her head screamed at her. Minutes of painful silence passed. Then, she asked, “Do you have a knife on you? I don’t know where my belt ended up.” Aeronth nodded, reaching into his own belt and pulling out a pocketknife. Jana grabbed it from him. She attempted to reach about and unzip her suit, but her arm was too stiff. “Would you help me?” Aeronth eyed her suspiciously. “I can’t reach. My arm is too sore,” she seethed.
She could see the muscles in his arms tense up, fists clenched. He sat still as a marble carving for a moment. Aeronth stood and walked away. Bewilderment filled Jana, and she knew her face showed that, too. He crouched a few meters away next to the sad little fire, poking it with a short stick. It flared up and crackled.
Gordon woke up shortly after. “You shouldn’t be up and about,” he told her. “But it’s a relief to see you’re able to be.�
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“Yeah, I know.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Fine.”
“Stop lying,” he grinned. “Honestly, how do you feel?”
“Sore,” she offered with a shrug.
“Come on, Jana. Be more specific, be normal. Be Lexi!” He quickly righted himself, “On second thought, don’t. EVER. But you need to be honest.”
“Fine.” Jana did her best not to grin, instead planting an exaggerated grimace on her face. “Well I’ve a pounding headache, my brain feels all foggy, I can’t remember things, my neck hurts, my arms are stiff and sore as anything, my chest hurts, I feel like I’m running on one lung, I have a sharp pain here—“ she pointed without pausing. “I have bruises everywhere, my legs hurt, my ankles are killing me, I feel weak as hell, and I’m freezing cold,” she finished. “Better?”
“Well...your motor skills are okay.”
“You asked for it,” she shrugged.
“That I did. Remind me not to do that again.”
A thought struck her. “By the way, why isn’t anyone wearing their helmets?”
“I screened the air for toxins. Besides, we were all exposed anyway.”
Right...that was my fault. “We’re moving out in an hour. We’ve wasted enough time here.”
“But you really shouldn’t—“
“No. We’ve wasted enough time because of me,” she insisted. “I can keep up. I’ll be fine,” she assured him. Jana found David curled up in his bedroll, mouth open, snoring gently. It almost made her not want to wake him. It was so adorable. Gently, Jana poked him on the shoulder; he didn’t move. Next, she tried shaking him awake. That wasn’t the best idea for her, either. A stab of pain tore through her body. Idiot. You’ve got bones floating around in you like you’re some giant snowglobe. Finally out of ideas, she sat on his back and smacked him on the head. He jolted awake. Jana’s arms flailed as she fell backwards onto the hard ground.
All the air was forced from her lungs in one big woosh. “Owww,” she whimpered as he sat up, rubbing his skull and frantically canvasing the area.
“Ohhh my God, I’m sorry!” he scrambled to his feet and held out his hands, face bright red.
“No, no, that’s quite alright,” she replied, wincing in pain. Definitely broken ribs. “I do believe I brought it upon myself. Anyway, can you get in touch with the ship?”
He yawned and stretched, hair sticking out at odd angles. “No, not unless they’re within range; there aren’t any satellites to bounce the signal off of, so we have to wait until they’re over us.”
“As soon as you can get in touch, inform them of the situation. We’re moving out in an hour. Wake Lexi up, will you?” she asked sweetly.
David groaned. “You just don’t want to wake up sleeping beauty yourself.” Jana smiled devilishly. “Fine. FINE, but only because you’re an invalid.”
“Hey!” Jana cried out. He ducked out of the way of her fist, and it swung wide. “Jerk!” she squealed, laughing.
Before fifteen minutes had passed, the five of them gathered around the fire. David was nursing a large, red welt on his face in the shape of a handprint. Note to self...Lexi is NOT a morning person.
Gordon chewed thoughtfully on a nutrition bar; Lexi gnawed on hers like a rabid rabbit. Aside from destroying any feelings of hunger, it made Jana want to laugh, but knew she’d pay for it in the end. David had given up on trying to ease the soreness out of his wound, which now looked like war paint. Aeronth was being anti-social. What else is new...
“Jana looked at her watch. “Twenty minutes,” Jana told them. “David, how far away are we?”
“Roughly...” he trailed off purposely, double checking the readings with a grimace. The little black locator box from the ship took a bit of finding, but they’d managed it. David had spent most of the night trying to get it to work, and then calculate their position.
“Just tell us already!” Lexi screeched.
“Thirty kilometers.”
“Are you serious?!”
“Are you serious?’
“Positive. I’m sorry.” He looked it, too.
Lexi spat out the bit of nutrition bar she’d prized off the whole. “Don’t be sorry, Donnie. It’s not your fault we’re in this mess. It’s hers.” Lexi nodded in Jana’s general direction.
“Hey!” David started.
“NO. I’m tired of keeping quiet!”
“You’ve been quiet?”
“She’s crashed us onto this planet because she miscalculated our position and can’t admit she was wrong!” Lexi spat.
“There is no way I could have miscalculated it! I followed the coordinates exactly. There was something else wrong.”
“Yeah, that’s really likely. The military intelligence messed up, not the pilot!”
“It’s not her fault,” Aeronth interjected. “She’s right. She was working off of old data.”
“How do you know that?” Gordon asked.
“Because—“Aeronth continued, sounding positively perturbed at having to explain himself, “there has been no interaction with Earth in five hundred years. No satellite mapping, no photographs...nothing. All of the information they have is just as old. A lot of things change in five hundred years without human interaction.” He spoke as though talking to a bunch of five year olds. Jana wasn’t sure if she bought into his story, but it made enough sense and hopefully got people off her back about it.
“Okay, so maybe that wasn’t her fault, but look at the ship!”
“It’s because of her that you’re still alive. If she hadn’t pulled you out of that stasis compartment, your ass would be dead.”
“Enough!” Jana yelled, fed up with the arguing. “Let’s get going.” Lexi opened her mouth to protest, but Jana silenced her. “Now.” She tried to hide the little smile that played at her lips. Aeronth? Defending me?
The fire was doused, and the area cleaned. Jana double checked to make sure nothing was left behind. David and Gordon both offered to carry Jana’s pack, but she refused. I’ll not be anyone’s burden. I can pull my own weight. Negative thoughts clawed at her. We’re in so much trouble. No...I am in so much trouble. What a mess.
It was hard to be unhappy with so much beauty around, so these thoughts were quickly pushed from her mind. The sunlit forest was positively alive with sounds. The smells of flowers, dirt, dew, and clean air mingled together to form a single, lovely scent that permeated the air. The terrain was cluttered with rocks, twigs, and roots that were all covered in a layer of autumn leaves that hadn’t quite decomposed, though the trees were in full bloom now. Jana brushed a hand against the rough bark of a pine tree and felt the sticky sap on her skin. When she pulled away, the extra resistance from the tree’s gooey kiss pulled at her as though not wanting her to leave. Five hundred years is a long time. What was it like before that? She opened and closed her hand a few times.
How could people have wanted to destroy all of this? She found herself thankful for the Government stepping in and enacting the Planetary Restoration Acts. I’m so lucky to be here at all. Jana knew this mission would be her little secret, a reminder of why she fought against those who wanted to hurt all these beautiful things around her.
16. The Lagoon
They encountered wildlife that Jana had no names for. She was in the lead with David, followed closely by Lexi, then Gordon. Aeronth kept his distance, staying a few meters back from the rest of the group. As the morning wore on, it grew very hot. Two hours into their trek, Jana felt faint. Her chest felt like it was going to explode, but she wasn’t about to let anyone know that. By the time they found a quiet, peaceful little lake, she nearly collapsed. Breathing came with difficulty. Jana sat on a rock, hands clenched into fists, waiting for the pain to subside. The others were cooling off in the warm water of the lake.
After a few minutes she felt a bit better. Jana grabbed the knife from her belt and unzipped her uniform. The tank top she had on underneath was plastered to her back a
nd chest with sweat. With the knife, she cut the sleeves off the tactical suit at the shoulder seam and tossed the scraps into her pack. Across the way, Lexi was in her bra and underwear jumping from the top of the little waterfall in the back.
Jana pushed herself off from the rock and stood shakily. She knelt at the edge of the milky, sage-colored water, and splashed some in her face. It felt divine. She yanked the ties out of her hair and let it fall around her shoulders, then focused on pulling the uncomfortable tactical suit off. It makes me feel like a sausage in a casing. Stupid suit. It wasn’t bad normally, but they weren’t designed for this kind of heat.
Unlike Lexi, Jana had a modicum of modesty to her name. Beneath her tactical suit, she wore knee-length lycra shorts and the black tank top; she’d never been comfortable showing people more than they needed to see. Jana waded into the water and relaxed in its calm depths. The lakebed was fine sand, and the feeling of it between her cramped toes was absolute heaven. She dove beneath the glassy surface, coming up somewhere near the middle. Jana pushed her hair back and away from her face, and managed a smile.
The next instant, she felt something wrap around her ankle. She tried to tug it away, thinking maybe it was Lexi playing games. Panic flooded through her; Lexi was on the other side of the lake shaking water off herself on the shore. Jana tried swimming away, but it held firmly.
It jerked her under the water.
Opening her mouth to scream, a gush of water filled Jana’s mouth and lungs. What is going on?! She used all of her strength to kick—the surface of the pool was only a few painful meters away—but it was no use. Broken rays of sunlight undulated on the surface and pierced the slightly opaque water. So close! Jana reached down to her ankle and felt something slimy, but couldn’t yank it away.
Everything was growing darker...the distant sound of a splash echoed across the pool. Maybe it was just the roaring of the falls. Seconds later she was being pulled upwards from under the arms, but only so far. Through the haze, she could just barely make out one of her teammates below her struggling to cut her leg free. Another joined in, holding some metal object that glinted in the sunlight that filtered down through the water. Before everything went completely black, they tugged her upward again and the water around her stirred.