Chapter 10
Haley
That heavy feeling in my chest, the one that makes my pulse pound and a trail of warmth spread over my skin, suddenly recedes.
I don’t know what’s causing it. Maybe it’s anxiety from everything that has happened, but somehow it feels like more than that. It feels important. Like the heavy static in the air just before a big storm is about to break. I glance up at the clear sky and shake my head.
So far, that weird feeling has only happened twice – yesterday and again today. But it’s gone now. It disappeared just as suddenly as it appeared. Left behind in its wake is an almost empty feeling, as if something is missing. A part of me. It’s crazy, but then my life has been nothing but crazy lately.
As promised, Zoe and I have ventured outside today to see the rainbow-colored birds. She’s enjoying her new pet’s antics, and I’m just happy to see a smile on her face.
After a few minutes, Aria joins us, and I watch as she takes in her first view of the dense tangle of vibrant foliage that surrounds us, the brightly colored sky stretching as far as the eye can see, and the colorful flock of birds busily searching for food. Her mouth drops in awe as she slowly spins in a circle, and I chuckle to myself as I realize this is probably the first time I’ve seen her speechless. Not even the abduction or the crash could keep her quiet for long.
“Wow. This place is unreal. It’s, like, really a jungle, isn’t it?” Aria’s voice is breathless as she studies our surroundings.
It really is a breathtaking scene. Today, there are large butterfly-like insects with iridescent wings fluttering among flowers that bloom around the edges of the clearing. Trees that are so tall and big they would put redwoods to shame stretch high into the sky around us, and a light breeze brings an exotic scent that I can’t identify. It’s all so big and vibrant and bright and so. . . so much.
Aria turns to me with a frown and in a voice soft enough that Zoe can’t hear, she whispers, “Do you think it’s safe out here?”
“Um. . . I hope so.” I decide not to remind her of the roar we heard yesterday that we all agreed was just the wind.
It was probably the wind. Hopefully. Please, let it have been the wind. So far, we haven’t heard anymore strange roars or see anything odder than the tall trees and the birds.
“So far, the only alien lifeforms we’ve seen are the parrot-flamingos, and they only seem to be dangerous to bugs.” I gesture to one of the colorful birds that really do look like someone crossed a flamingo and a parrot.
“You know, I was in my first year of vet school before the um. . . the abduction.” She frowns and clears her throat before moving closer to where Zoe is kneeling on the ground. Her eyes are distractedly fixed on the flock of birds and the not-butterflies fluttering among the flowers. “I wonder how similar they are to Earth birds. Maybe they’re like flamingos and metabolize the pigment in their diet.” Aria carefully eases herself down with a grimace to sit cross-legged next to Zoe.
Zoe glances up with an easy, open smile, “Do you know what Miss Morgan. . . I mean, Rose, told me a group of flamingos is called?” At Aria’s shake of her head, the little girl answers, “A ‘boyance. Wait, no, I said that wrong. . . it’s a flamboyance.”
Aria chuckles in response, her shoulder-length curls shaking with mirth. “A flamboyance of flamingos. I like that.” They exchange grins and return their attention to the birds.
It is clear they are in no hurry to get back inside and we’re going to be out here for a while. It makes me nervous to be outside and so exposed, but I vow to keep my eyes open and on the lookout for any dangers so they can enjoy this little bit of fun. Zoe is the youngest of our group, and Aria, always so cheerful and positive, has had a worried frown stretched across her face all too often since we crash landed. They both deserve a little bit of carefree fun after everything that has happened. We all do.
If I’m honest with myself, sometimes I’m a little envious of Aria. She’s so easygoing and cheerful most of the time. Like a warm ball of sunshine.
When my mom was alive, she always said that I spent too much time in my head and that I worried enough for twenty people. I could learn a lot from Aria and even Zoe. Instead of being so pessimistic, I should try to enjoy life more. I’m alive and free, and that’s what matters most right now.
If the last couple of weeks have taught me nothing else, it’s that life can change in an instant and I need to embrace every moment of it. Right now, I’m one of the few humans getting to experience this new planet, so maybe I should try to think of this as an adventure.
I take a deep breath of the air that smells so different from Earth. So fresh and otherworldly, but with hints of aromas that I recognize. The mustiness of the soil and dead leaves underfoot and sweetness from the flowers, but there’s a hint of spiciness that I can’t place. We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore.
A little longer out here won’t hurt anything, and it will be good for us to get some sunlight and fresh air after being cooped up in the spaceship for so long.
I take a few steps away from Aria and Zoe to get a closer look at a large blue flower that is growing all alone in the middle of the churned-up dirt around us. It’s trumpet-shaped with petals as big as my hand and dark blue leaves that sprout from a thick stem How did this bloom survive the crash when everything else around it was destroyed?
In the background, I hear Zoe ask if Aria thinks there are any kittens or ponies on the planet. I don’t hear Aria’s answer, but I hear Zoe announce she’s going to see if Rose wants to come out and see the birds and butterflies. As she skips by and disappears inside to find Rose, I notice a large shadow fall over where I’m standing, and I look up in confusion.
Holy fucking shit.
It’s a pterodactyl. Kind of.
A large creature with wide leathery wings flies high in the sky above us. It looks to be the size of a small car with sharp talons on its feet. Unlike pterodactyls in movies, this one has a tuft of blue feathers growing out of the top of its head like a hat. More feathers cover most of its body, and a tail stretches out behind it with a smattering of feathers on the tip like the tuft of hair on a lion’s tail. Its long neck and wings are free from feathers, and I can see each individual blue gray scale that make up its skin.
My heart feels like it jumps into my throat, and I stand frozen in place for one long moment before I snap out of it and into action. “We have to get inside!” I yell to Aria.
She looks up, startled at my shout, before her mouth drops open in shock at the flying dinosaur above us. She scrambles to stand up and begins to run back towards the ship. It’s just yards back to safety, but it feels like miles as time seems to slow down. The pterodactyl-ish spots us and begins a diving descent downwards, its eyes fastened on its prey.
I glance up and wish I hadn’t. It’s so close now that I can see the razor-sharp teeth filling its long beak. Time seems to grow even slower as, ahead of me, I watch as Aria stumbles over a root and falls face first onto the ground. She tries to rise to her knees, but her left shoulder is still healing from its injury and in a sling, and she struggles.
The loud screech of the pterodactyl thing sends a chill of fear down my spine. It sounds like it’s close – really close. I swear I can smell its dank, putrid breath breathing on my neck.
As I reach the spot where Aria has managed to rise to her knees, I wrap an arm around her shoulders and drag her all the way upright. Together, we take off and run as fast as we can. The shadow of the beast grows larger and larger until it blots out the sun over us. Terror rises up and claws at my chest, and the bitterness of bile burns at the back of throat.
At the last minute, as another loud shrill screech echoes around us, Aria and I reach the ship and we dive through the opening to safety. We roll and come to a stop on the floor just inside one of the cells. We’re both covered in sweat, and Aria’s face is streaked with dirt and tears.
My lungs pump air in and out like bellows and my legs ache from exertion. I’m not used to running at all. On Earth, I was more of a take a nice stroll around the neighborhood type of person than a runner. Hell, I was never even picked first for dodge ball as a kid.
Outside, I hear the pterodactyl thing that almost made us its dinner let out a loud screech of frustration as its flies over the ship. The beat of its wings fades into the distance.
Aria gasps for breath. “That. . . was a. . . dinosaur, right?” She looks at me, shock and terror still frozen on her face.
My chest is still heaving up and down like I’ve run a marathon, and I can’t speak, yet, so I just nod my head.
Fucking hell. There are dinosaurs on this planet.
****
Hours have passed, and the girls and I have settled down for the night. It took a while for me and Aria to calm down and explain to the others what happened. They heard the loud screeches, but it was all over before any of them could come investigate. We all quickly decided we wouldn’t venture back outside until we absolutely must.
I still can’t believe we were almost eaten by a dinosaur. What kind of planet is this? A dangerous one, obviously. My resolve to treat this as an adventure and try to enjoy the moment has crumbled. If there are pterodactyls on this planet, what else is out there? Shit, I really hope there aren’t any t-rexes.
I was fast asleep until a few minutes ago. I’m not sure what woke me up, but I am wide awake, now. Looking around the room, I search for anything out of place.
The dim red emergency lights cast a sinister haze over the medic bay and shadows lurk in the dark corners of the room. I count each huddled mass to see if there’s anyone missing. Aria and Isabella are snoring softly on either side of me. Mara, Maddie, and Crystal are on the far side of the room near Emily, and they’re all sound asleep. Jayden is laying on her back, her mouth wide open and a soft snore rumbling from between her lips. Rose is beside Jayden with Zoe in. . .
The spot where Zoe was sleeping earlier tonight is empty. She’s not there.
Oh no. Oh no Oh no.
Zoe has clung to Rose most of the time since they were brought on the ship, except for the last two days when she’s ventured away from her a couple of times. Maybe she’s just gone to the bathroom.
Kids wake up to go pee during the night, right?
I mean, I think they do. I don’t have much experience with young children, except for back when I was a kid myself. Zoe woke up, needed to pee, and went to one of the bathrooms in the cells. That’s probably what woke me up. I’ll just ease out of my cozy little bed and take a quick trip to the other room to check on her. She’ll be there and everything will be fine, I assure myself.
Flashes of Zoe becoming supper for the feathery beast that wanted to dine on me and Aria threaten to overwhelm me, but I tamp down those thoughts. Everything will be okay. Zoe will be in the cargo bay, and she will be safe.
I tiptoe out of the medic bay and across the debris strewn floor of the room next door. This room suffered more damage in the crash, and I’m reminded again that we were all incredibly lucky to have survived.
The red lights along with a bright beam of moonlight that streams through a large hole in the ceiling offer enough illumination for me to quickly search for Zoe in the nooks and crannies of the cargo bay and each of the cells and their corresponding bathrooms.
She’s not here.
Flashbacks of the day before when she snuck outside to explore our surroundings intrude into my thoughts. A sick feeling rises in my gut and panic threatens to set in. Then, I remember her questioning Aria about whether there might be any cats and horses here, and I think of the drawings of kittens and ponies that Zoe made when we were all confined to our cells.
Of course, I groan to myself.
I know what I have to do. I don’t want to wake up Rose – she hasn’t been sleeping well as it is, the lines of exhaustion are carved even deeper on her face and purple shadows have made a permanent home beneath her eyes. I’ve tried to convince her to let the med scanner check her over, but she is reluctant to do so. I think she might be scared the scanner will give her bad news about the pregnancy.
She already has enough to worry about, and I don’t want to add more worry to that.
I draw back my shoulders as I make my decision. I’ll just take a real quick peek around the clearing and I’m sure I’ll spot Zoe. She’s probably just outside looking for kittens or ponies or more birds. I’ll find her and drag her back inside if I must, and once I do, we are going to have a serious talk about not wandering around by herself.
I draw in a deep breath and step outside from the shadowy interior into a completely changed environment that is so different from how it appeared in the daytime. My breath stills in my lungs as I gaze around.
The colorful leaves and vines of the jungle have transformed it into a magical glowing world. It’s like someone has taken glow-in-the-dark paint and splashed it all around in shades of blue, green, purple, and pink. It reminds of that algae back on Earth that glows because of bioluminescence or something. A blue glow from the two moons above – seriously, this planet has two freaking moons! – adds to the ethereal dream-like world. It’s spectacular and I just stand there for a couple of minutes stunned at the sight in front of me.
After a moment, I shake my head to clear it and then scan the area around the crashed ship looking for a little blonde head of curls. But there’s no sign of Zoe anywhere.
My heart picks up speed as I walk in a circle all the way around the ship, softly calling out to her. “Psst, Zoe. Zoe, are you here?”
Where could she be?
My eyes land on the mass of trees and vines around me, and my heart sinks with the realization that she must have ventured into the jungle. Children disappear every day on Earth, but here on planet wherever-this-is. . . with a freaking jungle to search? I push down the hopelessness that threatens to consume me. I promised myself I’d try to be more positive and less pessimistic.
I will find her. We’ve made it this far together, and I refuse to lose anyone. I steel myself with determination before taking a few steps towards the intimidating wall of foliage. It looks almost impenetrable and even with the glowing leaves and vines and the moons providing illumination, it’s still shadowy. I feel my pulse begin to pound in my forehead as I study the bushes and trees at the edge in a search for any signs of Zoe.
About ten feet away, I find a section of branches on a flowering bush that are bent over and trampled. It looks as if something entered the jungle here. I’m fairly certain Zoe leaving is what woke me, so if she did go into the jungle, she couldn’t have gone very far. And with the evidence staring me in the eyes, it looks like she did.
Am I really doing this? I take a deep breath to try to settle my stomach that feels like it has a lead weight in it before taking a tentative step into the shadowy recesses of the trees.
Looks like I’m doing this.Oh, shit. This is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever done, but here goes.