"What?" she turns her head to look at me.
"While the aliens are distracted arguing with each other." I nod towards the arguing aliens.
"And so what if we do escape on this planet?" Julie asks. "Even if we find food and water and shelter, what do we do then? Wait for some passing ship to come and rescue us?"
I know she is right, but I can't just wait here and meekly accept that I am going to be sold as a slave, especially not a sex slave. And the arrival of corrupt cops does not give me hope of getting rescued by the authorities.
"And just how long do you think you will survive in an alien wilderness?" Angela asks. "You don't even know if there are edible plants, never mind how to recognize them."
"Hmm," I reply. I know she is right as well. But I feel like I should be doing something other than just waiting passively for my faith. "Well," I say, having made a decision. "There's definitely one way of finding out." I turn around and start to run, ignoring the calls from both Angela and the aliens as I head straight into the alien forest.
Chapter Six
Those big, long leaves are not as soft as they looked. As I discover when I run straight into one of them, expecting to brush it aside like the branches of some scraggly bush back on Earth. Instead, it feels like I have run straight into the side of a canvas tent. A wet canvas tent that is securely tied to the ground and which sends me recoiling back with a wet smack to my face that leaves me sprawled on the ground.
I moment later I hear a cackle of shrill screams from the new aliens. I look around at what I presume is alien laughter. The aliens are all looking at me and crackling and hissing to each other. I don't look at the other captives.
Instead, I pull myself to my feet and wipe some of the wet mud from my hands and face.
One of the aliens snarls something that must be amusing to the other aliens as the cackling and hisses increase in volume.
Taking a deep breath I count slowly to ten. Then I duck under the leaf and start to run again. Well, run for two or three steps before ducking under the next board leaf that blocks my path. But moving as fast as I can even as I am constantly benign over to duck under leafs.
The shrill cackling is instantly replaced by silence. Then moments later by high pitched snarls and screams that echo around the trees as I continue to duck under the alien plant leafs and run away from my captors.
The snarls and screams become louder and more insistent. But I continue to ignore them. Soon I am surrounded by trees and the aliens are lost to my sight. I can still hear them calling out. And I hear the electric whine of a blast from what must be some kind of energy weapon.
A tree to my left explodes into fire.
There are more snarls and scratches as the aliens start to argue with each other again. Obviously, someone doesn't want me dead, but I'm not too comforted at the thought of why they might want to keep me, a valuable slave, alive.
But I am running downhill now, moving to my right and doing my best to keep on my feet as I run over patches of slippy moss and lots, and lots, of loose stones. The moss and stones cover the entire ground, at least as far as I can see. There is not a single blade of grass or any kind of undergrowth beneath the alien trees. So I guess I had better get used to running on it as I duck under leafs.
Soon there is a big crash and the sounds of the aliens running into the forest behind me. They are much too far back for me to see, but I can easily hear where they are as they hack their way through the forest in pursuit of me.
They seem to be swinging around to my right, so I start to angle around to my left, trying to put as much distance between them and me as I can. For the moment I just keep on running as best I can, putting all my attention into moving as fast as I can without slipping, or making too much noise.
Although I've been dodging back and forth, varying my direction to throw off my pursuers, I have been traveling more or less downhill since I started running and soon I come to a small river. Barely more than a stream really. I turn and start to run along side it, where the vegetation is thinner. I still have to duck under those large, board leafs, but they are spaced much further apart and I hope I can make better time. Under my feet is some kind of soft, sponge like orange stuff. A mold or moss or something I'm sure. But whatever it is it is quite slippy. Even more so than the stuff that grows under the trees.
After a couple of near misses I start to jump from the weathered rocks that protrude from the orange slime, like stepping stones. But while this slows me down I guess it is better than slipping and breaking a leg. But between having to hop from rock to rock and still duck under those damned rigid leafs, I am not sure just how much progress I am making. But however slowly I am moving I still seem to have outpaced the aliens as I have not heard anything of them for the past few minutes. Maybe they've given up the chase, I think to myself.
However, I do not think that the time is right for me to rest on my laurels. For all I know they are about to burst of the forest just behind me at any moment. And exposed as I am at the edge of the stream I am sure that they can shoot me well before I can dive for thicker cover. And at this stage, on my second escape bid, I can not bank on them thinking that I am worth the trouble of keeping alive.
In fact, that is basically my master plan. I am hoping that they simply give up the chase and assume that this alien forest will do the job of killing me for them. It might be a morbid thought, but I think that it is a pretty good assumption. Just as I complete that thought, I slip from the riverside rock I am trying to land on and plunge knee deep into the icy water. I let out a loud scream at the shock of the water. And moments later start to shiver as the water, despite being only knee deep, seems to suck all the heat from my entire body.
Everything that I have ever seen on TV or read about survival in the wilderness comes back as I realize that getting wet is supposed to be a death sentence. I look around at the strange forest that I find myself in, and decide that I am not giving up just yet.
I clamber up out of the water as quickly as I can. Slipping twice and scraping my forearm in the process. As I stand there, streams of icy water flowing from my shoes, I hear a far off, mechanical buzzing. I look around, but I can not see anything. Nor with all the vegetation can I discern from which direction it is coming from. However, it is definitely getting louder. But whatever strange creatures that might inhabit this alien forest I am sure that none of them sound like a high powered drone.
The alien drone comes around a bend in the stream and I dive off the rock and plunge deep into the icy water as I duck down behind the waist high rock I had been standing on.
I do not know if the drone pilot saw me before I dived for cover. But I guess that they must not have, for the drone wizzes straight past me and around the next curve in the meandering stream without slowing. I stay in the icy water, shivering and with my teeth chattering until the buzz fades.
Except that the buzz of the drone's engines does not fade away. Instead, it starts to get louder again as the drone circles around. Obviously, the pilot knows that I am not going to get very far on foot in this wilderness and is coming back to look for me. The drone is flying off to my right. I shall have to cross the stream to move away from it. However, as I am totally soaked already, it won't make too much difference to me.
I wade across the waist deep water and clamber across the slippy moss on the other side, just getting back under the cover of the denser vegetation as the drone zips by over my head once more.
I hope the drone has infrared sensors, I think to myself as I crouch under one of the hung leafs and hug my shivering body. For I am quite sure that I won't register as a heat source at the moment. But while it might be useful to be cold to avoid detection, I definitely don't want to catch pneumonia. "Maybe the bugs on this planet won't infect human bodies," I say out loud.
But then I sneeze and start to feel worried.
I can hear the drone coming around behind me, ready to make another sweep along the valley and I know that I need t
o find some kind of shelter. There is no way that I can outrun a drone.
Turning my back to the river I start walking uphill. I start looking for some shelter while staying under the cover of the big, board leafs. But staying under the trees also blocks out the sun and makes me even colder. That combines with the slippy brown moss underfoot everywhere makes my journey very stressful. The drone periodical buzzes overhead. Luckily the drone can not see through the canopy of the trees, for it passes straight over my head on several occasions.
But it is starting very dark. I realize that the sun must be setting. I am heading uphill away from the river where the leaves are bigger and offer more cover. And also maybe where I can find a cave, or some other shelter. For I am sure that the night is going to be cold.
As I walk, I keep my eyes on the ground, looking for loose rocks and patches of moss that avoid so as not to slip. So I'm not looking too closely at where I am going. Just keeping myself heading up as much as possible.
So I am taken by surprise by a low animal growl from my left. I freeze in terror.
Slowly I lift my head up and turn it to look.
There standing between the thin trunks of the fern like trees is an animal the likes of which I have never seen before. It is about the height of a large dog, or wolf. But much wider. It has four legs and a squat body. Its skin looks like it is covered with shiny scales and its earless head and red eyes are turned to look directly at me.
It growls again. And I feel a terrified shiver run down my spine as all the hairs on my body stand on end.
For the longest moment nothing happens.
I look at it.
It looks at me.
Neither of us moves.
It pulls back its lips, showing a row of sharp looking teeth, and growls again.
For some reason I growl back.
I didn't know that I could growl. I have never had occasion to do so before. Not for real, as it were. I am surprised that I sound as menacing as I do. At least I hope that I sound menacing. The alien creature must think so as it continues to stand and look at me without deciding immediately to rip me apart.
I suppose neither of us knows what to do as I am sure our species have never met before.
It is clearly trying to figure out if I am predator or prey. Unfortunately, with its big mouth and sharp teeth, I am sure that it could probably bite me in half without overly excerpting itself. And that would be before it ripped me apart with the sharp claws that I can see on each of its paws.
I look around. I guess the monkey brain part of me wants to run up a tree. But I am not too sure if these fern like plants would offer much protection. Assuming that I could climb one faster than the alien animal could run.
The animal makes its low growling sound once again and I hear the ground crunch under its paws as it takes a step towards me.
I snap my head around to look directly at it and once more growl back at it.
This time, however, I feel like it knows that my growl is just an empty threat.
It growls again and takes another half step towards me.
My heart is beating wildly in my chest and I am having trouble breathing. Fear and panic threaten to well up inside me and threaten to overcome my senses. For the first time I consider it might have been better to have stayed and lived as a slave.
But then I clear my head and stare squarely at the creature. "So it's you or me is it," I say.
It pulls back its lips and bares its teeth at me once more.
I shift my weight and some loose rocks roll away from under my foot.
The animal takes another step towards me. It is still unsure, but the longer I just stand here doing nothing the more sure it is going to get that I am food and not a danger.
I carefully bend down, keeping eye contact with the creature, and pick up a handful of good sizes rocks.
There is not much else that I can use as a weapon.
The alien animal takes another step towards me and I growl again.
It stops and cocks it's head as it tries to figure out if I am actually a danger. But all I have for my protection is bluff. For I am no match physically for this creature.
I make a sudden jump and shout at it.
It takes a step back
I throw a rock at it. The rock sails over its head and clatters to the ground behind it.
It spins around at the noise of the rock hitting the ground. But quickly snaps back to face me. Moving faster than I can follow and once again fixing its eyes directly on me. It growls more aggressively now as it starts to walk towards me.
I shout and jump once more.
It stops in its tracks.
I throw another rock that clatters to the ground in front of it.
It darts back a step. The rocks are confusing it. But not driving it away as it stands and looks at me, once more bears its teeth.
I throw another rock and shout again.
It freezes, unsure as to what is happening.
I take a couple of steps towards it and throw a rock that hits it directly between the eyes.
It makes a little yelp, sounding more surprised than injured.
I take a deep breath and shout with all my might.
It turns and darts away. Disappearing into the alien forest in an instant.
I let out a sigh of relief and kneel down on the cold, hard ground.
After a moment I realize that I am kneeling on the ground in a forest on an alien planet and that first creature was not going to be the last one to find me. I jump to my feet, and stooping to pick up another handful of sharp looking rocks, I hurry away before anything else comes along to make dinner of me.
I need some kind of weapon. Something more substantial than the small handful of rocks that I am carrying now. I look around for a stick. A big stick. One that I might make a spear from. Not that I would know how to make a spear, let alone use one, I think to myself. But a long branch might be something that I could shake and swing about to ward off any other creature that might find me desirable.
But there is nothing that I can find. The fern like plants that make up this alien forest while being as tall as a tree back on Earth are basically all leaves and stems. There is no solid trunk or any branches that I might break off to use a staff. It is also starting to get dark. And I am starting to get tired. I know I shall have to find some place to spend the night soon.
I have been walking uphill since I left the stream and now the vegetation is starting to thin out. Maybe there's a cave, I think. The ground is getting steeper and more rocky.
I hear the buzz of the drone coming back to look for me again. I look around but I can not spot it. Not through both the vegetation and the gathering dusk. But I do spot a large outcrop of rock. There looks to be some large boulders around the base of it. Maybe I might be able to find some shelter there, I think to myself. I say maybe because I've never been an outdoors kind of gal. For me roughing it meant staying in a three star business hotel. But now I was regretting the fact that I have never gone camping. Not even once in my life.
"Well, there's no time like the present to learn what I need to do," I say to myself as I head towards the rocky outcrop. Keeping under the broad leafs of these alien trees, which are now more like overgrown bushes than real trees, to avoid detection if the drone should come back. I feel like I have been shrunk down and am wandering through the ferns of a forest floor rather than trekking across the surfaces of an alien planet.
The buzzing of the drone fades off into the distance. And I breathe a sigh of relief that catches in my throat as I hear a crunch behind me.
Turning sharply around I see the alien creature has returned. "Back for round two," I say, feeling confident as I am both standing uphill from it and also already have a rock in my hand ready to throw at it.
It snarls at me.
"So you're feeling brave now, too," I say, bringing my hand back and taking aim.
Then I hear another crunch from my left. I look over and see another cr
eature emerge from the forest. This one looks like the first, except bigger, and if possible, much angrier.
I glance around at another crunch from my right. I see another creature.
And then another, and another emerge from the alien forest. Until I have eight or nine hungry looking alien predators spread out in a semicircle, all looking at me.
"Oh shit," I say, not feeling at all confident anymore.
I glance over my shoulder at the rocky outcrop. I had been making good progress towards it, but it was easily fifty feet to the base of the cliff. I look back at the pack of creatures, wondering how fast they can run. The nearest boulder at the base of the outcrop is about fifteen feet away from me. I do not know if I have any chance of making it before the first of these creatures can reach me. But it is my only hope. Assuming that these creatures can not climb. I would try shimmying up the nearest tree, but as I have said these trees are more overly tall bushes than real trees, and there is no trunk or branches for me to climb.
So the rocky outcrop is my only hope.
I look around at the pack of creatures. They are going to pounce sooner or later.
I throw the rock I have in my hand as hard as I can at the creature in the center of the pack and scatter the rocks that I am carrying in my other hand as I turn and start to run. I do not waste any time seeing if my throw has been accurate. The startled yelp that rings out tells me that I must have hit something. But the chorus of vicious growls that follow hot on my heels motivates me to run fast and not look back.
From right behind me I can hear the harsh breathing and the clatter of the alien creature's paws on the ground.
I had about ten or twelve feet head start on the creatures and I am pumping my legs as fast as I can, but I know that they are going to catch up with me in a matter of seconds. Sooner than I can reach the theoretical safety of the rocky outcrop. Focusing on my salvation I redouble my efforts and manage to pick up speed.
I make a running jump at the first of the boulders at the bast of the outcrop. The boulders are half buried and jumbled on top of each other. I hear a yelp and the scraping of claws on the rock behind me. Without looking back I jump up the three or four feet onto the next boulder. Behind me I hear a heavy, wet thump and another pained yelp as one of the creatures collides with one of the boulders. But beside me I see that another of the creatures has managed to jump top of a boulder. I jump from mine just as it jumps for me, landing with a growl and a scraping of claws on rock at the very spot I have just vacated. I am quickly playing a frantic game of hopscotch as I jump from one to the next, trying to both move fast and also not slip and break my leg, with various creatures jumping and scraping and slipping on the boulders behind me.
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