Non-art book

Rewrite #2 - Earth

Original:

I woke up in the middle of a green forest, light filtering through the leaves above. I had a killer headache, and my ankle felt wrenched out of place, but other than that and a few scratches I was unharmed.

"Where am I?" I said to myself. The air here was nothing like back at home. It seemed... clearer. The plants surrounding me were also a brighter green than back at home as well.

Is this the planet I saw on my scanner?

No, it can't be. I was about two hundred light years away when I got sucked into that black hole.

I stood up, wincing as I put weight on my ankle, and looked up to see a brilliant white light shining from above. It hurt to look at, so I looked away. This is definitely not Xero.

"I think it was over here!"

I jumped as I heard voices in the undergrowth, coming straight towards me.

"Dude, there's no way it didn't burn up before it hit the ground, it came from space!"

I looked around for a way out of the clearing, but all I saw were trees. I guess that's better than nothing, so I decided to climb one (which was proving to be quite difficult with a wrenched ankle). I made it to the top and peered through the leaves.

A few moments later, two figures came from the bushes. They looked a bit like me, but one was wearing a light blue onsie with two round eyes on it, and the other had an orange hoodie that probably resembled an animal on this planet.

"See, Meme? I told you, it wouldn't have made it all the way down!" The orange hoodie man said. He turned slightly my direction, and I noticed he wore some kind of black eyewear that blocked his eyes.

"It wasn't even on fire!" The guy called Meme said, "And look, there's a mark in the grass, so there was SOMETHING here!"

"Maybe we scared off a deer that was nesting," orange hoodie said.

"Well, you can get back home if you don't believe me, Blaza, I'm gonna look around," Meme stated.

"Fine by me," orange hoodie, Blaza, said. He then turned around and headed back to where they came from. Meme, however, stayed behind and investigated where I crashed.

Bint.

Meme walked forward and inspected where I had been laying. He wiped his finger on the ground and I noticed a bit of blood where he had wiped. I must have been so rushed to hide that I didn't cover my tracks at all. Bint again.

He turned around and gazed towards where I had run, then looked at me. Like, right at me.

"I can see you in there. The orange spacesuit kinda gives it away," Meme called.

I gasped. He had found me. What was I gonna say? I don't know how smart these things are, or if I should trust them.

I sighed. I'm over thinking this.

I slid down the trunk of the tree and looked up at the guy. He seemed surprised, as if he was expecting something else.

"... Hi," I said, giving a small wave. I'm not sure how different his species culture is, so I hoped Meme understood it was a hello.

Meme looked at me, curiosity in his eyes, "Who are you?" He asked.

I stood there for a moment, thinking. "I'm Socks. 541-69 of Regiment Xero."

Meme just looked at me, confused. "Regiment? Xero? Seriously, what are you talking about?"

"Uh..." I started, but my head started to pound in my skull. I collapsed to my hands and knees and let out a groan of pain.